Appropriate Dress to Wear As Wedding Guest. Black? Red?

[presto]

hello! I want to go 1940s retro (hair,make-up mostly) to a wedding, but is rude when its a modern wedding and nobody else will be dressed that way? I dont want to stand out too much, as i'm only a guest not the bride!

 

[Solid Citizen]

Welcome Presto!

Greeting welcome to the Lounge. You may want to do another post in the "Powder Room" area for suggestions. This is an interesting question, if you are making the wedding as your first 1940's turnout & your friends are not familiar with seeing you dressed this way it might not be a good idea. Also if you never done this before you yourself can become very self concious of being in period dress. If you become uncomfortable after arrivng at the wedding those around you may also become uncomfortable. Peter

PS Recently attended a friends wedding wore 1940's suit & swingtie, frankly at this one guests were more interested in the bride & groom than what I was wearing which was fine I did NOT wear a fedora just felt it was too over the top for this specific situation.

 

[presto]

thanks for the reply, your right I should have posted in the powder room! I have dressed 1940's vintage before, however not on a regular basis and never to a wedding. I think I'll skip it for the wedding or do a toned down 40's look. Cheers!:cheers1:

 

[Eleanor Marie]

The Wedding I went to...

In case anyone is interested......
I have a picture here ladies of me wearing the vintage inspired dress I bought in January. The other thing to note is that hubby is wearing an evening dress suit and looks amazing - probably never to be repeated!!!!!! It was a great evening and oh boy did I squeeze to get in it!!!!:eusa_doh:

Eleanor

 

[Foofoogal]

Congratulations. You look marvelouusss darling!
Isn't it fun to get honeys to dress up.:eusa_clap lol

 

[goldwyn girl]

You both look wonderful, men don't seem to realise how handsom they are when they are dressed up.

 

[Lola Valentine]

Wedding colours

Hey ladies,

I was wondering if you could help me with something? I have a wedding to go to this summer & when looking for a dress to wear, I realised I'm not sure which colours are proper to wear to a wedding. I've asked a few friends, who all told me that there's no such thing as proper colours to wear to a wedding anymore, but hey, I wouldn't be posting in the FL if I agreed with modern societies take on things! I've always personally thought that it's a no no to wear white or black, but what about other colours?

 

[texasgirl]

I've heard not to wear white or ivory as you wouldn't want to upstage the bride. I think black used to be true too because my maid of honor wore black and my mom was not thrilled about it. Also, if you wear a solid, you might be the same color as the bridesmaids- I've seen this happen. I'd wear something floral and fun since it's summer!

Here's the advice on the Knot if it's an evening wedding:
Your best bet is to dress in "cocktail attire" -- a nice dress that you would wear to any other formal evening affair. Don't be afraid to wear a black dress: Although it's still not appropriate for a brunch or luncheon wedding, black for a formal evening event will never go out of style. You can go simple and elegant in a nice solid-color shift dress, or add a little color, beading, or embroidery if you like.

 

[KittyT]

I am traditional and don't think white or black is ok for weddings, unless you're a guy and wearing a black suit! I think a black item, like a skirt with a colorful blouse and shoes or something similar would be ok, but not a black dress.

 

[Paisley]

The traditional idea is not to look too somber or upstage the bride. Something too sexy isn't appropriate for a wedding, either, and some churches require that ladies cover their shoulders.

 

[Miss Sis]

No black, white/cream or red!

Floral prints or pastels seem to be the best for summer weddings. Nothing too loud. You shouldn't upstage the bridal party is the main rule, in my opinion.

I have a wedding to attend tomorrow and I will be wearing a pale orange and cream chiffon print dress with 3/4 sleeves. Covers shoulders as it is in a church and I feel that is appropriate.

 

[princessofcandl]

Obviously its a summer wedding right? So think summer cocktail dress. Color wise... soft summer colors. Pastels in a print would be pretty. Sexy-ish dress is ok as long as you bring a shawl or jacket to wear during the church.

And don't forget you gloves!

 

[pin_up_pixie]

Ask the bride or maid of honor what colors the bridesmaids and mothers will be wearing. My grandmother gets so mad when people at weddings wear those colors. She's says it's just as rude as wearing white. Other than that, I believe the ladies before me covered it all quite nicely.

-Julie

 

[Paisley]

Bridesmaid dresses are usually hideous, though. Wearing something in a nice design should keep you from being mistaken for one, I think.

 

[vintagelaura]

Several years ago I went to a wedding out-of-state for one of my husband's cousins. I wore a nice black cocktail-like dress to the wedding, which I had worn once to another wedding. We were college students at the time, and it was the nicest dress I owned, so I wore it.

Well, the out-of-state wedding turned out to be rather upscale. And at the ceremony, I lost count of how many other women were wearing black! I swore then and there that I would never wear a black dress to a wedding again. I felt like I was part of a parade!

Laura

 

[StraightSeamGal]

Goldwyn Girl - I quite agree, i attended a wedding recently with my boyfriend and was quite impressed at how well he scrubbed up, i hadnt seen him in a suit before.

 

[Zig2k143]

In case anyone is interested......
I have a picture here ladies of me wearing the vintage inspired dress I bought in January. The other thing to note is that hubby is wearing an evening dress suit and looks amazing - probably never to be repeated!!!!!! It was a great evening and oh boy did I squeeze to get in it!!!!:eusa_doh:

Eleanor

You looked great and very happy...

 

[Elaina]

I, on the other hand, wear bright colors.

My sister is getting married July 7. I plan on wearing a teal jacket, teal skirt and a peach blouse (color sounds awful, I know, but looks good together. Strange, it was also the color of my wedding and dress when I got married. What's even stranger...it's the same 19-teens walking dress I got married in with a less fancy blouse.)

Really, everyone's covered it. It's considered rude to wear a color lighter then the bride, the same color as the bridesmaids and the mothers and it's considered poor taste to have a better dress then the bride. Unless you're me, and you're going to a wedding where the bride (aka my sister) has her tattos showing with cleavage that's not the bust line. Then it's just fun .

 

[BegintheBeguine]

Since black clothing is no longer a symbol of mourning, black is considered appropriate and chic for a city wedding, especially in the evening. Skin-tight jeans, however, are apparently considered proper for mourning, as are flip-flops and dirty t-shirts, so these garments are not appropriate for a wedding.
I didn't know what colors the mothers were going to wear and I gave my sister, my matron-of-honor, two dresses from which to choose, bought new from the Salvation Army. Not traditional, I know. She chose the navy blue one which made her look like a princess, my mom wore a colorful jacket over I don't remember what, and my mother-in-law wore some dress from out of her closet, something nondescript.

 

[Viola]

I don't think there's a problem with red unless its cleavage down to your navel or something. White or black, however, no. But a black print is okay, there are a lot of summery cocktail dresses that are floral prints on a black base or black flowers on something else. My sister has a gorgeous dress that's sand-gold flowers on black; its very cute, and not too somber OR too loud.

And black/white dresses are okay. Just nothing funereal or an all-white (or all ivory) dress.

-Viola