OT - dress code etiquette

Totally OT (unless you make your own clothes which I do not), but do any
of you know of a webpage which explains the various dress codes (like
casual, casual chic, smart casual, formal etc)?

In Denmark I never heard these, and I'm getting fed up with having to
always ask someone else if wearing this will be "good enough", just
beacuse I have no idea what the dress code means.

Of course, mostly I go places where I don't need to be overly formal :-)

Oh, and my guess is there might be a difference between various
areas/countries. I'm particularly interested in the UK and the US.


Thanks,
Hanne in London

Yeah, that's a bear to find.....I've been looking for you. g

http://www.eternaldreams.com/bridald...l_informal.htm
That's wedding-specific, but does cover a range from formal to informal,
which is some indicator.

I'll be damned if I understand any distinction between "casual chic" and
"smart casual"; I'd read them both as "business casual" (you can get a
bazillion hits on google for *that* term) with maybe just a light inflection
of "more fashionable" for chic.

Plain old casual generally means something in the area of jeans or khakis
and tee shirts or other casual top but there's still some interpretation
based on what the event is, and I don't know how to tell you how to tell.
(Your best friend's barbecue might have a plain jeans-and-tee "casual",
whereas your boss's barbecue might mean "your best pair of jeans and a
really nice tee or polo shirt"---which also depends on where you work and
what your boss is like.

That's US standard, and even that varies by where you are. Southern
Californians and Floridians may be the most casual dressers in any given
context, and "rust belt" (northeastern, band from Chicago to NY or Boston)
cities may be the most formal.

My perception is that Brits tend to be about one notch more formal than
Yanks, but I could be wrong: I'll let the Brits weigh in on that.

Asking is actually fairly normal, but more often done in a "what are you
wearing to....." format rather than I "what should I wear."

--pig, who's lived here forever and doesn't always get it right either


On 11/30/04 04:04, in article , "Hanne
Gottliebsen" wrote:

Totally OT (unless you make your own clothes which I do not), but do any
of you know of a webpage which explains the various dress codes (like
casual, casual chic, smart casual, formal etc)?

In Denmark I never heard these, and I'm getting fed up with having to
always ask someone else if wearing this will be "good enough", just
beacuse I have no idea what the dress code means.

Of course, mostly I go places where I don't need to be overly formal :-)

Oh, and my guess is there might be a difference between various
areas/countries. I'm particularly interested in the UK and the US.


Thanks,
Hanne in London

--

I'm in So. Cal. and it is tough to find somewhere to go that needs
more than a nice pair of jeans. Last time I put on a nice dress to
go out for dinner I felt overdressed. Wedding and funerals seem to
even have gone casual. Kind of sad.
Taria

Listpig wrote:
Yeah, that's a bear to find.....I've been looking for you. g

http://www.eternaldreams.com/bridald...l_informal.htm
That's wedding-specific, but does cover a range from formal to informal,
which is some indicator.

I'll be damned if I understand any distinction between "casual chic" and
"smart casual"; I'd read them both as "business casual" (you can get a
bazillion hits on google for *that* term) with maybe just a light inflection
of "more fashionable" for chic.

Plain old casual generally means something in the area of jeans or khakis
and tee shirts or other casual top but there's still some interpretation
based on what the event is, and I don't know how to tell you how to tell.
(Your best friend's barbecue might have a plain jeans-and-tee "casual",
whereas your boss's barbecue might mean "your best pair of jeans and a
really nice tee or polo shirt"---which also depends on where you work and
what your boss is like.

That's US standard, and even that varies by where you are. Southern
Californians and Floridians may be the most casual dressers in any given
context, and "rust belt" (northeastern, band from Chicago to NY or Boston)
cities may be the most formal.

My perception is that Brits tend to be about one notch more formal than
Yanks, but I could be wrong: I'll let the Brits weigh in on that.

Asking is actually fairly normal, but more often done in a "what are you
wearing to....." format rather than I "what should I wear."

--pig, who's lived here forever and doesn't always get it right either


On 11/30/04 04:04, in article , "Hanne
Gottliebsen" wrote:


Totally OT (unless you make your own clothes which I do not), but do any
of you know of a webpage which explains the various dress codes (like
casual, casual chic, smart casual, formal etc)?

In Denmark I never heard these, and I'm getting fed up with having to
always ask someone else if wearing this will be "good enough", just
beacuse I have no idea what the dress code means.

Of course, mostly I go places where I don't need to be overly formal :-)

Oh, and my guess is there might be a difference between various
areas/countries. I'm particularly interested in the UK and the US.


Thanks,
Hanne in London

I don't think we in the US have a dress code anymore. Some businesses
require a "professional dress" with "blue jean Friday" but I have seen blue
jeans with a velvet jacket & lace chemise at high fashion get together.

My rule of thumb is comfortable. If I am comfortable it's good enough.
They don't like the way I look - they can just look elsewhere. LOL!

--
~e~
"
/ \
Snigdibbly

Listpig wrote:

Yeah, that's a bear to find.....I've been looking for you. g

http://www.eternaldreams.com/bridald...l_informal.htm
That's wedding-specific, but does cover a range from formal to informal,
which is some indicator.

That's *so* useful! Thanks!
---------------------------------8--------------------------------------

My perception is that Brits tend to be about one notch more formal than
Yanks, but I could be wrong: I'll let the Brits weigh in on that.

Ha! NOBODY does formal like us when we get our undies cranked up!
Where else in the world do folk still wear WHITE tie evening dress?

And the rules are different for day and evening.

Asking is actually fairly normal, but more often done in a "what are you
wearing to....." format rather than I "what should I wear."

--pig, who's lived here forever and doesn't always get it right either

I knew someone who was invited to a ball at Sandhurst, and she had no
idea what to wear... Full White Tie evening dress, I said, but if you
think that may be OTT, ring the mess and ask! She did and I was right.
For ladies that means LONG evening dress, and long gloves if you have
no sleeves. The posh end of the market is quite clearly defined, but
the casual end can be a nightmare!

--
Kate XXXXXX
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

SNIGDIBBLY wrote:
I don't think we in the US have a dress code anymore. Some businesses
require a "professional dress" with "blue jean Friday" but I have seen blue
jeans with a velvet jacket & lace chemise at high fashion get together.

My rule of thumb is comfortable. If I am comfortable it's good enough.
They don't like the way I look - they can just look elsewhere. LOL!


I find that diamonds go with just about anything, even
a thimble.

--
Bonnie
NJ

Bonnie wrote:
SNIGDIBBLY wrote:

I don't think we in the US have a dress code anymore. Some businesses
require a "professional dress" with "blue jean Friday" but I have seen
blue jeans with a velvet jacket & lace chemise at high fashion get
together.

My rule of thumb is comfortable. If I am comfortable it's good
enough. They don't like the way I look - they can just look
elsewhere. LOL!


I find that diamonds go with just about anything, even
a thimble.

OK, for dressing up I _would_ wear the gold/white gold earrings with the
tiniest little diamond, I got myself in Germany this summer. But I'd
need to wear a little more than that for going out for dinner!

I'm not worried about work - I'm a university lecturer, and I can get by
with jeans and a t-shirt (sweater this time of year) at work, but for
going to a nice restaurant or some more formal party, I'm pretty clueless.

Hanne in London

Wasn't there some wisdom from Mark Twain, something like "beware any
endeavor that requires new clothes"? If anybody bothers to put a dress code
on an invitation, (and you are forced to accept it,) this generally means
they don't want you to show up in jeans. Apart from that, just wear to that
event whatever you would wear in Denmark! Although my dear friend Jackie
insists that sequins are not appropriate before 6pm.
Roberta in D

"Hanne Gottliebsen" wrote in message
...
Totally OT (unless you make your own clothes which I do not), but do any
of you know of a webpage which explains the various dress codes (like
casual, casual chic, smart casual, formal etc)?

In Denmark I never heard these, and I'm getting fed up with having to
always ask someone else if wearing this will be "good enough", just
beacuse I have no idea what the dress code means.

Of course, mostly I go places where I don't need to be overly formal :-)

Oh, and my guess is there might be a difference between various
areas/countries. I'm particularly interested in the UK and the US.


Thanks,
Hanne in London

Roberta Zollner wrote:
Wasn't there some wisdom from Mark Twain, something like "beware any
endeavor that requires new clothes"? If anybody bothers to put a dress code
on an invitation, (and you are forced to accept it,) this generally means
they don't want you to show up in jeans. Apart from that, just wear to that
event whatever you would wear in Denmark! Although my dear friend Jackie
insists that sequins are not appropriate before 6pm.
Roberta in D

So maybe this is where I go wrong, I don't think I even have anything
with sequins!

Then of course, I did have a hat made of popcorn last year...

Anyways, I need to do somethign about my wardrobe (not because others
tell me to, but because _I_ want to). I have enough everyday clothes,
but every time I'm wanting to dress up even just a little, I'm like "I
have nothing to wear". And I want to think about what I'm looking for
before going out into Christmas-frantic London to clothes shop
(something which I do not enjoy even when it is quiet).

Hanne in London

Roberta Zollner wrote:

Wasn't there some wisdom from Mark Twain, something like "beware any
endeavor that requires new clothes"?

I like the Gilda Radner quote: "I base my fashion sense on what doesn't
itch."

If it hurts, I'm definitely NOT wearing it.

-georg