Breaking down the lingo

We have all ran into the issue of receiving an invitation with "Black Tie" or "Black Tie Optional," and are stuck wondering "What's does that mean?" So I will break down the lingo for you either as a guest or if you are bride and deciding on how formal you would like your wedding guests to dress for your big day!

White Tie:

Men Wear tuxedos, long black jackets with tails, white vests, and bow ties. Think: long gloves with formal, full-length ball gowns.

Black Tie:

Men wear tuxedos, bow ties, and cummerbunds, and the women wear cocktail dresses or long gowns. You could wear a ball gown or a full A-line dress with beading and embroidery.

Black Tie Optional:

Men can wear a tuxedo or dark suit and tie. Women should wear long dresses, dressy suits, or a formal cocktail-length dresses. You can go with a simple ball gown or A-line or with an embellished sheath.

Semiformal:

For evening, darker hues are apropos, but in the daytime, opt for lighter colors and fabrics. The men war suits and ties, and the women wear cocktail dresses or dressy skirts and tops. you should skip the ballgown. I typical think of "Sunday Best."

Casual:

The men might wear seersucker suits or another light-material jacket with khakis. The women wear sundresses or skirts and tops. Light fabrics, like chiffon and cotton, are appropriate for your dress. This might be what you wear to a casual church service or a nice dinner out with your man.

De-Coding the Dress Code

If you're anything like my family, everyone calls to discuss what they will be wearing to an event. The tricky part is always in distinguishing what type of event calls for what type of dress. Hopefully this will help put your nerves at ease to make sure you don't show up at a Black Tie event in December wearing Festive Attire!

Black Tie
A Black Tie invitation calls for formal attire. Men wear tuxedos, women wear cocktail, long dresses or dressy evening separates.

Formal Attire
Formal usually means the same as Black Tie, but in some trendier cities like New York or Los Angeles, it could mean a black shirt, no tie with a tux. Women wear cocktail, long dresses or dressy evening separates.
More about formal dresses:


White Tie
A White Tie or Ultra-formal invitation requires men wear full dress, with white tie, vest, shirt. Women wear long gowns.


Black Tie Optional
A Black Tie Optional or Black Tie Invited gives you the option of wearing a tuxedo or formal dress, but it should clue you into the formality of the event, meaning a dark suit and tie would be your other option. Women wear cocktail, long dresses or dressy evening separates.

Creative Black Tie
Creative Black Tie leaves room for trendy interpretations of formal wear. He can go more modern with a tux -- maybe a black shirt, no tie. She wears long or short dresses or evening separates.
Sometimes, themed parties call for dress codes like Texas Black Tie or other variations of Creative Black Tie. In that situation, you can have more fun with it, choosing a dressy look with a theme (for him, it could be a tux with boots and for her it could be a long dress paired with Southwestern style silver belt and jewelry).

Semi-Formal
Semi-Formal or After Five means that tuxes are not required, nor are long dresses. An evening wedding (after 6 PM) would still dictate dark suits for him, and a cocktail dress for her. Daytime semi-formal events mean a suit for him and an appropriate short dress or dressy suit for her.
Business Formal is the same as Semi-Formal for him, but for women it suggests that women opt for more tailored dressy suits and dresses (nothing too slinky or sexy).

Cocktail Attire
Cocktail Attire means short, elegant dresses for her and dark suits for him.
More about cocktail dresses: Best Little Black Dresses

Informal
Informal is often interpreted as the same as Casual but it actually calls for the same dress as Semi-Formal -- dark suits for him, short dresses for her -- especially when associated with a wedding or special event.

Festive Attire
Festive Attire is usually seen around the holidays, with the mood of the party being Informal or Semi-Formal. For her, it means to choose looks with a bit of sparkle or holiday bent (i.e. a beaded sweater with black pants, a red silk blouse with a black skirt).


Casual
Dressy Casual calls for dressed-up versions of casual looks. For him, it could be trousers and a sportcoat, for her a dressy pants look. Jeans, shorts, T-shirts and other casual looks are not appropriate for Dressy Casual.
Casual generally means anything goes.