It is the season of the year when the invitations start rolling out for all of the events happening during the socializing summer months. Most of the time, invitations are sent out with a dress code instruction. Depending on the event, you can see anything from "black tie affair " to "business casual" to "cocktail attire" to "black tie optional". And these are just a few of the instructions you might see. If you are not accustomed to events of this nature, you might be confused by these instructions. Even if you are accustomed to these sorts of events, you can still be left with wondering what does cocktail attire mean, and what does black tie optional mean, and what kind of Party Dresses should I even be considering? If you find yourself frequently confused by invitation dress code instructions, read here to get the inside scoop on what messages like "cocktail attire" really mean.
For starters, before you even start thinking about where to buy your sexy party dresses for this year's social calendar, it never hurts to ask the host what the dress code instructions mean. You will find that many people say the same thing, but mean different things. Business casual attire for a mom and pop stationary store event for example will be much different than business casual event for a Fortune 500 company. Wearing the wrong party dresses to either of these events can be downright mortifying. But most of the time some of these instructions like black tie and casual are fairly straightforward. It is the instruction of "cocktail attire" that leaves the most confusion when it comes to party dresses.
Cocktail attire for women generally refers to party dresses that are neither too formal or too casual. This is an occasion where you get to dress up a little bit, without having to break out the whole nine in party dresses preparation. A simple dress with a little bit of blinged out texture paired with some sexy heels and a stunning clutch will be all you need for cocktail attire. Generally speaking cocktail party dresses are shorter than dresses you would wear for a black tie event, so hemlines that fall at the knee or even shorter are perfectly acceptable. As well, most cocktail party dresses for this season have less texture than their formal counterparts, offering a sleek and sexy silhouette for the cocktail event in question.
Cocktail attire refers to the time of day the event will be held, cocktail hour. This hour typically falls right before the dinner hour, and can be anywhere from 4 PM in the late afternoon to 8 PM in the evening. As such, full formal evening wear is not required, but a less formal but still dressy look is all you need when selecting cocktail party dresses for your next cocktail attire event.
In today's day and age, instructions for dress code on your invitations are less rigid than they have been in era's gone by. If ever in doubt on what party dresses would be suitable for your occasion, call the host and simply ask. Your respect in meeting their wishes will flatter and honor them, and will ensure you aren't fretting the night of your event over whether or not the club party dresses make you over or under dressed.
