What would you wear?

[maintcoder]

If you were invited to a function that listed 'evening/cocktail' as the attire, what would you wear?

Last Saturday evening, I saw people attend said function wearing:

• T-shirt and cargo pants
• Jeans, button down shirt, no tie, and corduroy jacket
• Slacks and sport coat, button down shirt, no tie
• Single breasted suit with a polo shirt
• Dockers and a white button down shirt (no tie)
• Camisole top and slacks
• Formal gown
• Tuxedo

I was not surprised, but somewhat saddened that so many people made little or no effort to dress appropriately.

 

[griffer]

i hope the formal and tux were not in the minority.

that is a terrible feeling; dressing for the occasion, only to be surrounded by judgmental slobs looking at you as if your clothes were a slap in their face.

 

[maintcoder]

There was only one tuxedo in the room (I was wearing my DB tuxedo, of course) and 2 formal gowns. There were quite a few ladies in cocktail dresses and many of the men in suits with ties, but those that showed up looking like they just rolled out of bed and threw on what was lying nearby really brought the 'feel' of the party down IMHO. Sadly, two high level executives were in the fashion faux pas arena...

Naturally, I was challenged to wear tails to next year's event (which would not be acceptable for 'evening/cocktail' wear) and I may skip the whole affair given the lacking manner of dress from those attending.

 

[Tomasso]

If you were invited to a function that listed 'evening/cocktail' as the attire, what would you wear?

A dark suit and tie. I wouldn't wear a dinner jacket.

 

[Fletch]

I'd err on the safe side – black DJ with pristine white T-shirt and holed jeans.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

depends where the function is being held.

I'd wear a dark suit for a standard cocktail evening.

bk

 

[Feraud]

Naturally, I was challenged to wear tails to next year's event (which would not be acceptable for 'evening/cocktail' wear) and I may skip the whole affair given the lacking manner of dress from those attending.

I would not take up that particular challenge. It appears your co-workers think of your dressing appropriate for a formal event as "outrageous" or somehow different or rebellious.
I would not stoop to their level by wearing what they perceive as "Wild & Crazy" for next year's event.
Wear what you think is appropriate and feel free to inform your co-workers if they really think t-shirts, cargo pants, and jeans are appropriate for a formal function.
Be generous and haughty with the incredulous laughter when they reply, "yes".

 

[Fletch]

Wear what you think is appropriate and feel free to inform your co-workers if they really think t-shirts, cargo pants, and jeans are appropriate for a formal function.
Be generous and haughty with the incredulous laughter when they reply, "yes".

Generous people are rarely haughty, nor vice versa.

 

[maintcoder]

Of course, I withheld showing disdain towards those that failed to understand or cared not to abide by the dress code for the event. Since I work in high tech (where you can come in with sweats, pajamas, shorts, etc) all day every day, my wearing of suits and ties every day is a source of issue. I had only hoped that those who were obviously under-dressed would have been requested to leave until appropriately attired.

 

[Feraud]

Generous people are rarely haughty, nor vice versa.

Except on the rare occasion.
I would not tell anyone to turn the other cheek in certain "dance monkey!" situations. This reads like one of those situations when the co-workers are challenging you to something like this.
There are many other tactics one could use to drive the point home. Another would be to "challenge" the most slovenly dressed individual to wear a suit next year! Tell him to try something really individual, radical, and rebellious one day.

 

[griffer]

Scene: A cocktail party

Linus, recently transferred from his parents basement, pulled out his finest surplus BDU's pants, cynical t-shirt and birkenstocks for th evening.

Buck, in his tuxedo, works with Linus.

Linus: "Well, Mr. Fancy Pants, don't you look sharp!"

Buck: "Thank you, Linus. You certainly look comfortable. Love the socks."

Linus: "Hey, yeah, well winter gets chilly, ya know, man?"

Buck: "You'd think they would design a winter sandal to handle that. They could call it a 'shoe'."

Linus: "Whoa, dude. Just 'cause I haven't 'sold out to the man'!... Shouldn't your pinky be sticking out from your glass?"

Buck: "Linus, seriously, do you even own a suit?"

Linus: "I have a blue jacket thingy with those shiny buttons."

Buck: "That's not a suit. Nevermind."

Linus: "You should wear tails, go the whole nine yards. You know- like those guys in the grey tux's at prom...you know, like in the old british movies."

Buck: "I would no sooner wear a morning coat in the evening, then black tails at this pajama party. How about next year you just try to bring it up to a suit. Remember, when you buy a suit the pants aren't sold separately."

Linus: "Whatever. Get me drink, you look like a waiter."

[Buck, turns on his heel, because he has some.]

Buck: "Certainly, sir."

(over his shoulder)

"And I won't be holding my breath on the suit..."

Linus: "Why not?"

Buck: "They don't come in permanent press."

[Exit Buck, stage left. Linus scratches himself.]

End Scene.

 

[maintcoder]

Linus, recently transferred from his parents basement, pulled out his finest surplus BDU's pants, cynical t-shirt and birkenstocks for th evening.

Buck, in his tuxedo, works with Linus.

Linus: "Well, Mr. Fancy Pants, don't you look sharp!"

Buck: "Thank you, Linus. You certainly look comfortable. Love the socks."

Linus: "Hey, yeah, well winter gets chilly, ya know, man?"

Buck: "You'd think they would design a winter sandal to handle that. They could call it a 'shoe'."

Linus: "Whoa, dude. Just 'cause I haven't 'sold out to the man'!... Shouldn't your pinky be sticking out from your glass?"

Buck: "Linus, seriously, do you even own a suit?"

Linus: "I have a blue jacket thingy with those shiny buttons."

Buck: "That's not a suit. Nevermind."

Linus: "You should wear tails, go the whole nine yards. You know- like those guys in the grey tux's at prom...you know, like in the old british movies."

Buck: "I would no sooner wear a morning coat in the evening, then black tails at this pajama party. How about next year you just try to bring it up to a suit. Remember, when you buy a suit the pants aren't sold separately."

Linus: "Whatever. Get me drink, you look like a waiter."

[Buck, turns on his heel, because he has some.]

Buck: "Certainly, sir."

(over his shoulder)

"And I won't be holding my breath on the suit..."

Linus: "Why not?"

Buck: "They don't come in permanent press."

[Exit Buck, stage left. Linus scratches himself.]

End Scene.

lol You pretty much described it perfectly...

 

[Flying Scotsman]

If you were invited to a function that listed 'evening/cocktail' as the attire, what would you wear?

Last Saturday evening, I saw people attend said function wearing:

• T-shirt and cargo pants
• Jeans, button down shirt, no tie, and corduroy jacket
• Slacks and sport coat, button down shirt, no tie
• Single breasted suit with a polo shirt
• Dockers and a white button down shirt (no tie)
• Camisole top and slacks
• Formal gown
• Tuxedo

I was not surprised, but somewhat saddened that so many people made little or no effort to dress appropriately.

Just went to exactly this kind of affair on Saturday myself...I wore (surprise) my kilt, with french cuffed shirt, kilt jacket, formalwear sporran and sghean dubh, etc.

Most of the gentlemen at the party wore suits and the ladies wore cocktail dresses or equivalent. It was a very nice evening (but as usual at work things like this, we spent so much time "working the room" that I got no food...luckily for us, old town Pasadena was just a cab ride away!).

 

[Senator Jack]

I'll wear a tux at the drop of a hat. Any excuse will do, and the holiday season is a great excuse. Women always appreciate it, and as for men, well to hell with them. In fact, I went to a cocktail party the other night in a tux and I thought I'd like to write an article called 'Thirty Days in a Tux'.

Regards,

Senator Jack

 

[Sir Dobbs]

I believe a tuxedo may be overdoing it, but a simple single-breasted jacket with a nice dress shirt would do the job in most cases.

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

I'm the type of gal that erring on the side of caution means over dressing rather than under dressing. I'd much rather be too dressed up and have people give me funny looks. But then again, I love to dress up, and will do it any chance I get.
When invited to a party that states cocktail/evening attire I can think of a few options that would be suitable for women and men. For woman, you can never go wrong with a dressier knee length dress. It used to be protocol for the cocktail dress to be black, but it's fine now for it to be a different color. Red this time of year is always nice. But, a lady must be careful with the red dress she chooses, for some can look trashy. Also, material is important. A cocktail dress should never be of that meshy nylon material, that is in poor taste, IMHO. I think for these occasions a dressy suit can look nice too. But, it shouldn't look like a business suit. I don't think that just a skirt with a blouse is dressy enough, but topped off with a dressy shawl it could be OK, just not for me I'm a dress kind of gal. An evening gown is a bit too much. Although I love wearing them any chance I can get, it's just too dressy for cocktail attire.
A man should wear a suit. That is just my opinion. Like the women's suit, it shouldn't look like you came right from work. I really like when a man wears a sweater vest under a suit, I think that looks really nice. Men should not wear anything else but a suit to a cocktail attire affair.

I do know what you mean about people dressing too far down. I recently went somewhere where I thought that wearing a cocktail dress would be appropriate. The gentleman I went with wore a nice evening suit. There were people in all sorts of dress at the event. Some people were even wearing jeans! More the half of the men were wearing khakis and polo shirts. At this event, a man wearing khakis paired with an oxford, tie and a sweater would have looked nice. But these guys looked like they had just spent the afternoon in the mall and rushed to the event. Their dates were wearing slacks and sweaters. Most looked frumpy, like they didn't give any thought to what they were wearing. To my surprise, the couples who were dressed up came from two groups. The over sixty crowd, which actual wasn't a shock. But, I was shocked by the twenty something crowd. A majority of this group was very well put together. Usually, IME, this is the group that tends to look the sloppiest. It is disappointing to see so many people who spend a lot of money to go to such an event, not putting a second of thought into how they want to present themselves at said event. I just don't get it.

 

[Elaina]

Sad, yes. Really.

Sadly, hubby and I had to do that Xmas party junk, and he wore a Victorian slack and vest (no jacket, the Prince Albert coat was too much), a dress shirt, and a brocade ascot whose color matched my dress (I dressed him, can you tell?) and I wore a standard 1940's two piece suit, sans hat (since it WAS after 5). Midnight blue silk doupioni with black velvet tirm, below the knee, and yes, it showed a hint of cleavage. I wore a brooch from the 1800's that matched it, sapphire earrings, and my gold cross. Standard 3" heels, stockings, hair done up...Nothing overtly sexy, nor fancy. I do wear a corset, and that was no exception, and yes, you can tell I wear a foundation garment. This was listed as "After 5." Since this is also a business function, we opted for conservative and business-y rather then staight out cocktail attire. (We looked fine, BTW.)

So to me, After 5 means cocktail, which are one in the same, and my husband prefers the suits to dresses anyway, so I have a couple that can double as a suit or cocktail attire. So we get there and the head honcho is in a hawaiian shirt, khakis and his wife is in her undies (okay she wasn't. But a camisole top with the same type of nylon pant IS undies to me.) We went casusal (for us for that type of thing) but I was one of three in a skirt and the only one in heels. I was also one of the few women that didn't look like they dragged out of a club at 3 am, forgetting where my clothing was either.

Since the whole casualness and the popularity of the office to the bar look with one change of a piece, the dress for cocktail/after 5/formal has altered greatly. If you check out modern fashion mags, they tell you frequently that the camisole/slack look is a teribly chic after 5 look, and the less clothing the better it is. Yuck. I'm going to be sick next year.

 

[lindylady]

If you check out modern fashion mags, they tell you frequently that the camisole/slack look is a teribly chic after 5 look, and the less clothing the better it is. Yuck. I'm going to be sick next year.

Tell me about it I used to be an avid reader of Vogue, but now, all they feature are deadpan little girls dressed in tight jeans and glittery camisoles. The Vogue reader is advised that this is the look du jour. Or should I say de nuit?

The same goes for GQ. They tell men to pair khakis with an untucked, button-down shirt for evening. Hmm, perhaps those sloppy dressers at the party are not so unaware of fashion as we think. Maybe they read Vogue and GQ! lol

 

[patrick1987]

I always wear black, and a tie. I'd love to get a tuxedo but since I am still growing I have been advised to wait to get a suit and a tuxedo.

 

[Viola]

I would wear a dressier knee-length dress, and higher-than daywear heels. I might mix it up and do a color other than black, though; I rather love pewter gray and deep moss green.

-Viola