Remember the days when the only dress code ever listed on an invitation was ‘costume’? Even that elementary word caused anxiety as you wondered how your interpretation of ‘costume’ would stack up against the rest of the invitees. Would a mardi gras mask be acceptable or were the hosts expecting an unrecognizable version of yourself to walk through the door?
Who knew those would be the good days. Now with dress codes ranging from ‘black tie’ to ‘smart casual’ it seems you need an urban dictionary just to get dressed for a cocktail party.
‘Black tie’ is actually a cakewalk, compared to ‘creative black tie.’ We applaud hosts who have enough trust in their guests to give them free reign over a black tie affair. When slapping ‘creative’ on an invite, you might find yourself sandwiched between a man in a maroon tuxedo and a woman only wearing some assemblage of black ties, and then wonder if their pre-school aged children picked out their outfits for them. Although, kudos to the guest’s creativity, and the host’s support of human expression.
Another we have seen strewn haphazardly across invites recently, is ‘LA Chic.’ So Lindsay Lohan attire right? Bug-eye sunglasses, ripped leggings, stilettos and a Venti Starbucks beverage? That is what you would like us to come to your garden party dressed in?
Just as bad as ‘LA Chic’ is ‘Traditional.’ Traditional to whom? Connecticut natives might come in polo’s and pearls while Cali Girls will show up in flip-flops and tan lines. This sounds more ‘costume’ than ‘traditional.’
Business oriented gatherings are a minefield. ‘Smart Casual,’ ‘Business Savvy,’ ‘Casual Friday.’ Kill us now. We already hated that our closet looked like the World War III with the staunch divide between our work clothes and weekend clothes, but now our work clothes are taking sides against each other. Thanks to dress codes, our morning routine now involves peace talks.
We still hope for a day when dress codes are forgone altogether, but until then, excuse us as we need to go shopping, again, to keep up with the costume demands of the holiday party season.
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