So you’ve been invited to a fancy event and it’s dawning on you that you may be great at choosing the right sneakers to go with your favourite track pants but when it comes to dressing in anything that isn’t casual streetwear your totally lost. Well, don’t fret because I am here to help. I’m going to take you through what each of the dress codes means so that you’ll never have to stress about it again.
So there are four different levels of dress code. Ranging in terms of prestige from lowest to highest they go as follows. Informal wear, Casual Wear, Semi-Formal wear and of course Formalwear.
Let’s start with the easy one. Casual Wear. This type of dress is what you wear on a daily basis. If you’re a guy think Jeans a T-shirt and sand shoes. If you’re a woman think, Jeans a T-shirt and sand shoes. It’s pretty straightforward. If you can wear it in a supermarket without people staring its Informal Wear. Unless of course, you’re wearing too little but that’s a whole other kettle of fish.
The next one up, where things start to get tricky is Informal Wear. I know what you’re thinking, ‘Isn’t that the same as informal?’ No. Absolutely not. So focus up. Casual Wear is a step up. Think button-up shirt rather than a T-Shirt. Think Chino’s or Jeans rather than track pants. Don’t go so far as to put on a black trouser. That’s for the next level up. The idea with casual wear is that it creates a calm environment where people feel relaxed whilst being relatively well dressed. A good example is to think of what you might wear to a church. That’s informal wear. For men, it can even be a simple suit and for women a cocktail dress.
Then you have Semi-Formal Wear. Semi-formal wear is a step up again. Think This is a special occasion, like a wedding or important work dinner. Typically you’d wear a Black lounge suit if you’re a man and an evening gown if you’re a woman. The idea behind Semi-Formal is that it’s a special occasion and as a result, everyone should be wearing a particular standard of dress. This lifts the room to have a different feel. It’s a nice but rare occasion where everyone can look their best.
Finally, the most prestigious dress code is Formal Wear. This is typically worn at state dinners, formal balls and royal events. This is also known as full dress and consists of either a morning dress suit for men if it’s during the day or a white tie if it’s in the evening. For women, this is a chance to wear a ball gown. This dress is almost ceremonial in its meaning as it’s a very heightened form of dress only to be worn at the most important events. It’d designed to portray regality and allure.
