Decoding the Dress Code

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You’ve gotten the invite of the year. You’re totally pumped up but you have no idea how to dress. The invite says business casual, does that mean suit or no suit? What on earth is a “creative black tie”? Here we’ve outlined popular dress code descriptions and what they really mean.

White Tie/Ultra Formal

• Most formal of all dress styles.
• • Women – formal, floor length evening gown.
  • Men – black tailcoat and matching pants, white stiff front shirt, white vest, white bow tie, white or grey gloves, black patent shoes, black socks.

Black Tie

• Women – formal, floor length evening gown or short dressy cocktail dress.
• Men – black tux and pants, formal white shirt, black bow tie, black cummerbund or vest that matches tie, optional suspenders, black patent shoes, black socks.

Black Tie Optional

• Women – formal, floor length evening gown, short dressy cocktail dress or dressy separates.
• Men – black tux (as described in Black Tie) or dark suit, white shirt and conservative tie.

Black Tie Creative

• Women – see Black Tie above. Black tie creative may be a “themed” party or might be as simple as adding a boa, mask, gloves, colorful shawl or funky jewelry.
• Men – black tux (as described in Black Tie) plus trendy or funky items like a black shirt instead of a white one, bright colored tie and cummerbund or a fun hat.

Cocktail Attire

• Women – short afternoon dress, short cocktail dress or long dressy skirt and top.
• Men – dark business suit, matching vest, white shirt, conservative tie, dressy shoes and dress socks.

Semiformal – Similar to cocktail attire.

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