Social obligations are not prerequisites for feeling great about your appearance. You can dress up simply because looking good makes you happy. But more often than not, the situations where we put a lot of care into our outfits are big events with explicit dress codes. The best-case scenario is that we’re dressing for both reasons: because it boosts our self-esteem and because we want to look situationally appropriate.
Still, knowing what is appropriate can be a head-scratcher. The dress code might be implied, and even when it’s made explicit, the jargon can be difficult to decode. Which is why we spelled it out for you here.
If the invitation says…
- Casual: You do not need to dress up. Sneakers, jeans and T-shirts are all acceptable, and even encouraged.
- Dressy casual: You should dress up, but only a little. It’s often just a matter of wearing nicer shoes, a snazzier top or pants that aren’t blue jeans (though denim is fine with the right kind of shirt — more on that later).
- Business attire: You should dress as someone might for a client-facing job. Of course, there is plenty of variation within this category. It might mean a suit, a knee-length skirt, or a blazer and khaki bottoms. But it definitely means no jeans and no sneakers.
- Cocktail: You should dress much nicer than you do every day. Try separates in satin, silk or velvet. Suits. When in doubt, wear black.
- Black tie: You should wear a very elegant dress – say, a long gown or a cocktail dress that’s on the fancier side – or a tuxedo.
- White tie: You should look very fancy. Tailcoats, floor-length gowns and, potentially, white gloves are all on the table.
Now let’s get specific.