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Black Tie wedding attire

22 years ago

We are going to a black tie wedding in about 3 weeks. My husband is wearing a black suit,with a tuxedo shirt,and bow tie......Now,for me; I havn't got my dress yet;plan to go this week. Does it have to be LONG,or will a dressy street length be appropriate?
Dotty

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Comments (6)

Dotty9
Original Author
22 years ago
It's just me again; Also,is a dressy pant suit appropriate?
Dotty
colleenoz
22 years ago
Well, to me, "Black Tie" indicates formal- men in tuxedos, women in long evening wear. I wouldn't wear even the dressiest pants suit. Perhaps you could canvas other guests of this wedding as to what they intend to wear. Not everyone goes strictly by the rules any more.
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DISASTER !!! In my infinite wisdom, I decided to wash my mother's earrings and bracelet. The set is older than I am, and probably hadn't been worn in 40 years, so I thought a gentle cleaning was in order. I used some Ivory liquid and warm water, and gently rubbed the surfaces of the jewelry. As I rinsed the jewelry, many of the tiny pearls began to come loose. The pearls appeared to be held in by brackets, but I think they were, in fact, glued in. The water must have loosened the glue. Some of the pearls went down the drain, but I caught most of them. Unfortunately, it is going to be impossible to re-set them. The residual glue is still mostly in place, and I can't get the pearls to fit back in. About 2/3 of the pearls fell out. :( I am so unhappy that I won't be able to wear the set tomorrow. So... I don't really have any other jewelry that is formal enough... I have a multi-layer freshwater pearl necklace and bracelet, regular pearl strands, and assorted plain gold necklaces and bracelets. Looks like I will be jewelry shopping today! I think I will look for some rhinestone chandelier earrings similar to the ones that Maddielee posted upthread? And, regarding the shoes -- the gold shoes have a pink insole, which makes the picture look pink. In real life, the shoes are a pale gold when worn (the pink insole doesn't show). I do have basically the same shoes in black suede that I can wear depending on how the jewelry situation works out.
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sweet_pea10
22 years ago
I agree. Black tie is too formal for pants of any style.
nancylouise5me
22 years ago
Have to agree with the other posters, pant suits are not formal wear attire. Long dresses or gowns are appropriate. You want to look as formal as your husband. Go long and classy. NancyLouise
Dotty9
Original Author
22 years ago
Thank you all for your opinions.Even though I have dressy pant suits,I really didn't plan on wearing one,just wanted opinions; I love dressing up,and wearing long dresses,so really am looking forward to it.Thank you all.
Dotty
gellchom
22 years ago
Well, this may be yet another thing that varies with community, but for what it's worth: around here, when the invitation says "black tie," the women wear very dressy outfits, and what that means varies from year to year. In the last few years, at black tie weddings, I have seen long dresses, dressy short dresses, and plenty of dressy pants outfits, too (and I've worn all three myself and felt fine in each). It seems to be more the fabrics, trims, and cut (low neck or back, short skirt, tight, etc.), and even accessories (sparkling jewelry, evening bag, party shoes) that make the difference than length of skirt or skirt vs. pants.

Dotty says she wants to wear a long dress anyway, so this is not relevant to her, but in case someone else reading this thread already has a party outfit that has pants, she should know she can go ahead and wear it to a black tie event (at least here, she could) and not have to run out and buy something new because pants are "forbidden."

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