totally OT: do i have to wear a black dress to a black tie wedding?

[ikkin]

title says it all. wedding is super fancy- at the four seasons in DC. HELP??!?!?!?

[ikkin]

p.s. its an evening wedding on a saturday.

[Zen]

Black Tie

* For men, black-tie denotes a single or double-breasted dinner jacket with a black silk bow tie (properly referred to as a dinner jacket, but commonly called "tuxedo" or "tux.").
* For women, an invitation to a black tie event means wearing a long, floor length evening dresses or evening separates. A short cocktail dress may be appropriate for some cocktail receptions, summer events, or daytime functions.

It doesn't have to black but it definitely should not be white

[xeney]

Depends on local custom. In some places, wearing a black dress to a wedding is a complete no-no. In others, it is becoming the norm for fancy weddings.

But I don't think women are ever required to wear black. You might go with a dark color if you don't want to stand out in case others are wearing black -- I attended a similarly fancy wedding and wore a simple navy blue floor-length dress, and I felt completely at ease. Most of the other women were also in floor-length dresses of various colors, but some of the younger women (I was a younger woman at the time!) wore black cocktail dresses, and I did not feel out of place next to them the way I might have in a pastel or brighter color.

[SadieKate]

Black Tie doesn't refer to the color of the dress. I personally wouldn't wear black to a wedding unless I knew the bridesmaids/matrons were wearing black also. I have seen pictures where the bridesmaids wore black for a very formal evening wedding.

zen's post says it all.

[Blueberry]

Hmmm....black is definitely not required. That said, in DC, you won't go wrong with it either. Especially with great accessories. Anything except white or cream should be OK - but you are looking for a semi-formal dress. White tie is dressier and would require a formal dress.

CA

[shootingstar]

Zencentury answered the question. No need.

It does sound like a dressier wedding, so the black tie designation is an alert just so that you will have an idea what to wear in terms of a dress.

If you know the bride/bridesmaids maybe get a vague idea what colour they will be wearing...so you won't be surprised.

At my partner's son's wedding, I wore a black strapless dress with just tiny rows of pink ribbon edging at bodice edge and hem of dress. Dress just hit me above my knee.

I wore this dress....because I originally bought it for a black-tie Christmas dinner part for a law firm that I once worked for. I spent $50.00 on that dress...just too lazy/cheap to buy another dress which I may not wear again.

Discovered in advance that the bridesmaids...were wearing blak satin dresses..with straps, various styles. They looked to me, contemporary and proper. Bride wore a creamy lacy gown.

To ensure that I was NOT part of the bridal party, I wore a light pink, transparent chiffon shawl...this was a summer hot wedding. They coincidentally provided me a lovely pink orchid wrist flower to wear.

Have fun choosing your dress ...and hopefully you can wear it to 1-2 other events later!


Meanwhile I'll keep on cycling ..to ensure I will fit that dress later.

[SouthernBelle]

Up until the last few years black for women was a big faux pas at weddings. With the advent of black & white weddings, which Miss Manners still doesn't like, that has loosened up.

Black traditionally connotes mourning, thus it was considered improper for weddings.

I would still stay away from anything white or close to it.

[RoadRaven]

I thought weddings were a chance to wear purty colours.....

And Belle, remember that black for funerals is culturally bound as is white for the weddding dress.
Some people have white as the mourning colour. And one country dresses its brides in red.

[SouthernBelle]

I thought weddings were a chance to wear purty colours.....

And Belle, remember that black for funerals is culturally bound as is white for the weddding dress.
Some people have white as the mourning colour. And one country dresses its brides in red.

True that. But the OP is in NH.

[SadieKate]

True, but that doesn't mean that there aren't potential ways to show respect for another culture. Older generations will certainly notice if you wear a taboo color.

And it can still be a chance for purty colors.

[xeney]

That is exactly why I don't wear black to weddings, SadieKate. The bride probably wouldn't be offended these days, but her grandmother might be, and why go around offending grandmothers when you can just wear pretty colors instead?

I forgot that for the last fancy evening wedding I went to, I bought a great espresso brown cocktail dress. I was probably the only woman under 50 who was not wearing black except for the bride, though.

[SadieKate]

And I bet you stood out like a beautiful orchid amongst the funereal masses.

[xeney]

Heh. A brown orchid.

[SadieKate]

Hey! My mother had a brown orchid corsage on her "going away" suit!