It seems to be more and more confusing to decide what to wear to parties these days. There are multiple terms meaning the same thing being used on invitations. This duplication leads to many gray areas when it comes to what you really should wear to your event.
Here is a quick reference guide to dress code implications for social events listed in the order of informal to formal. I follow this with a quick glance at what constitutes a tuxedo and separates a ball gown from an evening gown.
Casual - This means use your own good judgement. Keep in mind; it never hurts to look a step better than everyone else! Please avoid cliches like Santa ties and reindeer antlers!
Dressy Casual goes along the same lines as business casual but maybe a touch more formal. A nice button down or collared shirt for a man will step it a pair of nice jeans. SO will a sport coat. Some folks say jeans are not appropriate but I think they are fine if they are dark washed, dress jeans. Shorts are definitely not appropriate.
Business Casual - Men should wear a sport coat and slacks, no suit is required. Women should also wear something other than a suit. Dresses or dress slacks with a sweater work well. The overall theme is that you should be neatly dressed and professional in appearance.
Cocktail Attire - Remember, the word cocktail implies fun so try not to dress in your work uniform. Something less than formal but more than business is required. For women this means short, elegant dresses for her and dark suits for him. Elegance and sophistication will give you a step up when you wear a dress. Keep away from flash and glitz, instead go simple and streamlined. Typically, cocktail-wear is knee length, though if you are wearing a simple straight skirt, you can wear a longer hemline. If slacks are your choice, combine them with a sleek and sexy top. Silk blouses or cashmere sweaters will dress up your slacks. With pants or a skirt, be careful to avoid looking like you are going to a business meeting.
Semi-formal - This is the sketchiest of all dress codes. Women can wear a dress, pant suit or dress suit. Great fabrics for women's semi-formal attire are the luxurious fabrics of silk, velvet and cashmere. Usually, anything silky goes. Dresses can be cocktail dresses, no more than an inch above the knee, or they can extend to the ankle. For men, this usually means that tuxes are not required. A wedding scheduled for after 6 PM still requires dark suits for the gent, and a cocktail or short elegant dress for her. Daytime semi-formal events mean a suit for him and an appropriate short dress or dressy suit for her.
Creative Black Tie - You have the latitude to create your own look. A trendy interpretation will combine a tuxedo with a black or colored shirt and no tie. Fashion trends can sometimes dictate that various color selections for the pants and jacket of the tuxedo are appropriate, She can wear a short or long dress or maybe a long skirt with sequins or lace trim and combine it with a lightweight cashmere sweater.
Black Tie Invited - This means that you don't necessarily need to wear a tuxedo, but it does let you know that the event is indeed a formal affair. A dark suit and tie is another option. Women should wear long dresses, cocktail gowns cut to the shin or combine separates that are festive and glitzy.
Semi Formal Dress - For women, semi formal mean anything from a dressy business suit to a cocktail dress and never a ball gown. The golden rule of the semi formal dress: keep the hemline to the knees or lower, but never touch the ground. Men will wear dark suit and tie or dress slacks and nice shirt with blazer/ jacket.
Black Tie Optional -This indicates that men should wear a dark suit and tie or use the option of wearing their tuxedo. The darker the suit color, the better. Black, dark gray, super deep navy. Your shirt/tie should not be playful or made with crazy patterns, to follow the theme of black tie seriousness. I found a great quote online about this, and although appears tongue in cheek it does include a waft of reality: "Black tie optional" is passive aggressive. It means, "If you don't think we are worth going to the trouble of wearing a tux, we won't kick you out, but are we really asking too much that you dress up nicely for once?!"
Formal - This is usually the same Black Tie. In more fashion-forward cities like LA or New York, it could also be interpreted as a black shirt worn without a tie and combined with a tuxedo. Women have more latitude to wear cocktail gowns, floor length dresses, or evening separates.
Informal will often mean the same thing as casual. If this invitation is associated with a wedding or other special event, you should at least step it up a notch with a dress for her or a nice shirt and pair of slacks for him would be considered informal. Make sure you show respect for the event.
Black Tie - This means formal all the way. While men should wear tuxedos, women will wear cocktail, long dresses or dressy evening separates.
Ultra-formal = White Tie - So why don't they just say white tie? Perhaps because many are confused about what white tie actually is! Men will wear full tuxedos; women will wear long ballroom gowns. Floor length gowns are a requirement.
White Tie - This is even more formal than black tie. It is ultra-formal with men in full tuxedo, with white tie, vest and shirt. Women should absolutely wear long ball gowns and not an evening gown.
For Your Reference:
A Typical tuxedo combination will include:
A Black Short Coat
Black Cummerbund
Black Bow Tie
White Dress Shirt
Black Pants
Black Dress Shoes, typically in patent leather
Ball Gowns versus Evening Gowns
A ball gown is typically worn with hoop skirts or a petticoat. These gowns are generally created using velvet, taffeta or silk and modest coverage on top. An evening gown is floor length and typically cut closer to the body and does not use petticoats or hoops. The evening gown also typically shows more bust line and might be strapless or have small spaghetti straps.
BestCustomerReview
Over the past half-century, the dress shirt has gone from being an undergarment to holding a prominent place in many outfits. This is one reason why it is today available in so many styles, colors, and patterns. Whether one's style is chinos or suit-and-tie, shirts are an essential means of expanding one's wardrobe.
Over the past half-century, the dress shirt has gone from being an undergarment to holding a prominent place in many outfits. This is one reason why it is today available in so many styles, colors, and patterns. Whether one's style is chinos or suit-and-tie, shirts are an essential means of expanding one's wardrobe.
Topics:
Of all the many spectacular outfits that Freddie Mercury wore over the years, perhaps the most famous of all was the 1986 Wembley yellow jacket outfit, which he usually wore with a white vest, white trousers and a pair of white trainers.
Large breasts can prove to be a real headache especially when it comes to choosing the type of cloth to wear. Large breasts makes a woman's body to acquire a unique figure which calls for unique clothes. It does not matter whether it is office wear or gym wear or casual wear. What matters is clothes that fit correctly. Clothes that do not attract unwanted male attention by making you look too flirtatious. This has forced many women who have large breasts to wear boring v-necked T-shirts as a last result. Women with a full-bosom play a tricky balancing act because their clothes only come in two categories; they are either stylish or trashy though there are various tips to minimize your bust line.
Your work or office clothes should be made expertly and professionally. But this does not give you a reason to look drab and boring. You should go for cuts that try to minimize your bust line rather than making it more conspicuous. Being in possession of a full bosom is actually a blessing and your work clothes should be in a capacity of flattering your body, your plus size breasts included. This brings up the big question on what you should exactly wear to work. Women who have large breasts should actually try out wrap dresses. The pattern is of no consequence as a custom-fitted wrap dress will play down the size of the bust line. It still leaves you looking dashing and flawless. A wrap dress flatters your bust as well as hugging your curves making you a sight to behold.
A dress with fabric that flows gently and loosely from under the bosom line is usually ideal for women who have large breasts. It is good to avoid high neck and clingy dresses. They only help to exaggerate the size of your bust while at the same time stealing the show from the beautiful dress itself. Thicker and and more supportive straps that provide that much needed lift are more appropriate for work and official functions. It would be advisable to give straps such as halters and spaghetti styles a wide berth however sexy they are. They only make your breasts to be more pronounced while projecting your shoulders even more. An empire-cut sleeveless cloth is ideal for a night out in town. If you have large breasts, you will always be oscillating between showing too much or showing too little.
If you are looking for a blouse to put on, get one which is tight on the waist and loosens out towards the chest. It creates a picture of a small waist and an illusion of an even smaller bust. In your quest not to show too much, avoid limiting yourself especially if you are going to have fun on a Friday night. You can jump into your halter dress without giving a care to the world on the amount of flesh it exposes. If you feel too self-conscious because you have large breasts, you can put a bolero that is stylish enough to bring the best out of you.
Most Freddie Mercury fancy dress costumes currently available seem to be replicas of that 1986 Wembley yellow jacket outfit. Although they vary in price and quality, most of these type of Freddie Mercury outfits usually include just the jacket and a white jumpsuit. This means that if you want your Freddie Mercury fancy dress outfit to look authentic then you are going to need to buy some cool accessories.
Moustache
A Freddie Mercury costume from the eighties without a moustache would just not look right, so buying a moustache for your outfit is a must. In my opinion, a groovy hippie moustache makes a good base for your Freddie one, but of course you will need to trim it to make it more authentic looking.
Wig
As well as his moustache, Freddie also had an extremely distinctive haircut. The best way to recreate this look is by purchasing an Andy Warhol black wig and combing it so that it looks like Freddie's 80's crop.
Flash t-shirt
Freddie occasionally swapped the white vest for a white Flash Gordon t-shirt, as first worn during the video for Flash. This is an optional extra, as your outfit is likely going to come with the white vest anyway, but it certainly does look good underneath the yellow jacket.
Retro white Adidas trainers
As with most costumes, the right footwear makes a huge difference to the overall effect of your outfit. During the 1986 Wembley concerts, Freddie often wore a pair of white adidas trainers with blue stripes. You should definitely have a look at some retro trainers websites to try and create this look, or failing that have a look at current adidas range to see if they have any similar trainers on offer.
Microphone and stand
One of Freddie's trademarks throughout the years involved the use of a microphone and stand, minus the bottom section. He would often throw the microphone stand up in the air during his routines on stage. Next to his moustache, this is the thing that most represents Freddie visually and so it is important that you try to recreate the microphone and stand in order to make your costume that little bit more authentic looking.
1. Careful Policy Drafting
2. Sex Discrimination
3. Race and Disability Discrimination
4. Religious Discrimination
5. NLRA
6. Tattoos and Body Piercings
7. Commonsense Tips for Drafting and Enforcing Your Dress Code
If you are like many employers, you may mistakenly believe that discrimination laws restrict your right to determine appropriate workplace dress. In fact, you actually have a lot of discretion in what you can require your employees to wear to work. Generally, a carefully drafted dress code that is applied consistently should not violate discrimination laws. However, this fact will not stop employees from questioning your policy. This article, from our HR Matters E-Tips free electronic newsletter, examines common legal challenges to dress codes and suggests ways you can avoid problems.
Careful Policy Drafting
You probably have been faced with an employee who complains that a dress code "violates my rights." Some employees will even go so far as to allege discrimination on the basis of sex, religion, or race under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. However, if a dress code is based on business needs and applied uniformly, it generally will not violate employee civil rights.
Sex Discrimination Claims.
Sex discrimination claims typically are not successful unless the dress policy has no basis in social customs, differentiates significantly between men and women, or imposes a greater burden on women. Thus, a policy that requires female managers to wear uniforms while male managers are allowed to wear "professional dress" may be discriminatory. However, dress requirements that reflect current social norms generally are upheld, even when they affect only one sex. For example, in a decision by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Harper v. Blockbuster Entertainment Corp., 139 F.3d 1385 (11th Cir. 1998), the court upheld an employer's policy that required only male employees to cut their long hair.
Be aware, though, that at least one state, California, prohibits employers from implementing a dress code that does not allow women to wear pants in the workplace. According to Section 12947.5 of the California Government Code, it is an unlawful employment practice for an employer to prohibit an employee from wearing pants because of the sex of the employee. The California law does make exceptions so employees in certain occupations can be required to wear uniforms.
Race and Disability Discrimination Claims.
Race discrimination claims can be even more difficult to prove since the employee must show that the employer's dress code has a disparate impact on a protected class of employees. One limited area where race claims have had some success is in challenges to "no beard" policies. A few courts have determined that a policy that requires all male employees to be clean-shaven may discriminate if it does not accommodate individuals with pseudofolliculitis barbae (PFB), a skin condition aggravated by shaving that occurs almost exclusively among African-American males.
No-beard rules also may violate disability discrimination laws. A few courts have ruled that PFB is a disabling condition and thus requires reasonable accommodation under state disability laws and the federal Rehabilitation Act (which prohibits federal contractors from discriminating in employment based on disability).
Religious Discrimination Claims.
Employees have had more success claiming dress codes violate religious discrimination laws. These claims are likely if an employer is unwilling to allow an employee's religious dress or appearance. For example, a policy may be discriminatory if it does not accommodate an employee's religious need to cover his head or wear a beard. However, if an employer can show that the accommodation would be an undue hardship, such as if the employee's dress created a safety concern, it probably does not have to allow the exception to its policy.
NLRA Claims.
Dress code claims also may be filed under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). To comply with the NLRA, employers, even in nonunion workplaces, may not universally ban the wearing of union insignia. An employer may set neutral policies that, when uniformly enforced, prohibit employees from wearing certain items of clothing that also have union insignias on them, such as T-shirts with union logos if the policy prohibits all T-shirts. However, several courts have determined that employees have the right to wear union buttons and pins to work, unless the wearing of these items creates a safety hazard or, in the case of workers with public contact, the employees consistently are required to wear uniforms without buttons and pins.
Tattoos and Body Piercings.
Many employees also mistakenly believe that they have a right to show tattoos and body piercings in the workplace. While tattoos and piercings may be examples of employee self-expression, they generally are not recognized as indications of religious or racial expression and, therefore, are not protected under federal discrimination laws. Accordingly, as with most personal appearance and grooming standards, you have wide latitude to set policy regarding tattoos and body piercings.
Common Sense Tips for Drafting and Enforcing Your Dress Code
Here are some ideas for ensuring that your policy complies with the legal restrictions described above:
1. Base the policy on business-related reasons. Explain your reasons in the policy so employees understand the rationale behind the restrictions. Common business-related reasons include maintaining the organization's public image, promoting a productive work environment, or complying with health and safety standards.
2. Require employees to have an appropriate, well-groomed appearance. Even casual dress policies should specify what clothing is inappropriate (such as sweatsuits, shorts, and jeans) and any special requirements for employees who deal with the public.
3. Communicate the policy. Use employee handbooks or memos to alert employees to the new policy, any revisions, and the penalties for noncompliance. In addition, explain the policy to job candidates.
4. Apply the dress code policy uniformly to all employees. This can prevent claims that the policy adversely affects women or minorities. However, you may have to make exceptions if required by law. (See next suggestion.)
5. Make reasonable accommodation when the situation requires an exception. Be prepared to accommodate requests for religious practices and disabilities, such as head coverings and facial hair.
6. Apply consistent discipline for dress code violations. When disciplining violators, point out why their attire does not comply with the code and what they can do to comply.
Learn more: http://www.ppspublishers.com/articles/dress_code_policy.htm
A shirt's style signals quite a bit about the wearer's intentions. A dress shirt with a button-down collar, left breast pocket, plain front, and single-button cuffs signals leisure while a dress shirt with a turned-down point collar, no breast pocket, placket front, and French cuffs signals formality. The beauty of adjusting a shirt's style is that you can design it for not only for the occasion but also to compliment your unique features.
Shirt Collars
The men's dress shirt collar is the most important style detail, both in determining the garment's level of formality and in how it flatters the wearer's face. Button-down collars are the least formal and extremely versatile; they look great without a tie but can just as well support a tie and sweater, blazer, or sport coat combination. The wing collar, on the other hand, is reserved for formal wear and should always be worn with its companion parts. It is the least versatile collar, whose sole purpose is to signal the highest level of dress.
Most men's dress shirts sport some sort of pointed collar, but there is huge room for variety here. While the standard point collar looks good on most men, those with narrower faces do better with slightly shorter ones, while round faces carry well above long collar points. As a general rule, the greater the angle between the short sides of the collar points, the more formal the presentation. Spread collars, which leave a wide opening between them, take large tie knots especially well. The edges of the cut-away collar nearly form a straight line above the tie knot; this is the most formal collar arrangement. An exception to the parallelism of spread and formality is the tab collar: here little tabs of fabric extending from each side connect behind the tie knot, holding the collar close together and projecting the knot outward for a precise, no-nonsense look. The white contrast collar, in any style, with or without matching white French cuffs, is a favorite of power-dressers. While it certainly raises a suit-and-tie above the masses, let the wearer be warned against it if he cannot equal its eminence.
On most decent dress shirts, the collar's points are kept straight by collar stays. These 2- to 3-inch pointed splints are inserted into slots on the underside of the collar after ironing, and later removed for washing. Besides the plastic ones that come with most shirts, you can buy them in brass, silver, and even ivory, but their material has negligible effect on their function.
Shirt Cuffs
Barrel cuffs, standard on most dress shirts, come in a variety of styles and except for the most formal of occasions are never a bad choice. The common variety has a single button; cuffs with two or even three buttons are somewhat more artful. French cuffs are de rigeur for formal wear; they look good with a suit but are always optional. A button in the sleeve placket helps the sleeve to stay closed during wear and can be opened to iron the cuffs; it is optional but nearly ubiquitous.
Shirt Pockets
The traditional left breast pocket adds a little depth to a dress shirt, especially if worn without jacket and tie, and can be useful for holding pens, tickets, and the like. A shirt with no pockets can look slightly cleaner with a coat and tie, but since the coat covers the pocket the difference is minimal when wearing a suit. As with most things, simplicity equals formality, so the pocket-less shirt is the dressiest.
Shirt Front & The Placket
The standard placket is a strip of fabric raised off the men's dress shirt front with stitches down each side; this is what most casual shirts and many dress shirts have. In the more modern French placket, the edge of the shirt front is folded over, creased, and held together only by the button holes. This cleaner front sharpens more formal dress shirts; it should not, however, be combined with a button-down collar. There are also hidden button plackets, and as the name suggests hide the front buttons under a sheath of fabric.
Shirt Back
Men's backs are not flat; thus we use pleats on the back panel of a shirt so that the fabric may hang from the yoke (the piece covering the shoulder blades) and better conform to the body. There are two common varieties of pleated shirt back styles: the box pleat consists of two pleats spaced one-and-a-half inches apart at the center, while side pleats lie halfway between each edge and the center of the back. While the former are more common on ready-to-wear shirts, the latter better align with the actual shape of the back, and thus fit most men better. A well-made custom shirt can be cut and sewn to fit its wearer perfectly without pleats, and this makes it cleaner and easier to iron. Nonetheless, many men prefer to have pleats even on their bespoke dress shirts.
Monograms
A man may elect to have his shirt monogrammed, usually on the edge of the breast pocket or on the shirt's cuff. Monogramming originated as a way to identify one's shirts in a commercial laundry, akin to writing a child's name on the tag of their jacket. More recently, as the shirt has taken a more prominent role in men's dress, the monogram has emerged as a way to subtly communicate the care a man has taken in obtaining his clothes. While large, garish monograms certainly do more harm than good, many men enjoy the quiet display of their initials, usually in a color similar to the shirt's own.
A shirt's style signals quite a bit about the wearer's intentions. A dress shirt with a button-down collar, left breast pocket, plain front, and single-button cuffs signals leisure while a dress shirt with a turned-down point collar, no breast pocket, placket front, and French cuffs signals formality. The beauty of adjusting a shirt's style is that you can design it for not only for the occasion but also to compliment your unique features.
Shirt Collars
The men's dress shirt collar is the most important style detail, both in determining the garment's level of formality and in how it flatters the wearer's face. Button-down collars are the least formal and extremely versatile; they look great without a tie but can just as well support a tie and sweater, blazer, or sport coat combination. The wing collar, on the other hand, is reserved for formal wear and should always be worn with its companion parts. It is the least versatile collar, whose sole purpose is to signal the highest level of dress.
Most men's dress shirts sport some sort of pointed collar, but there is huge room for variety here. While the standard point collar looks good on most men, those with narrower faces do better with slightly shorter ones, while round faces carry well above long collar points. As a general rule, the greater the angle between the short sides of the collar points, the more formal the presentation. Spread collars, which leave a wide opening between them, take large tie knots especially well. The edges of the cut-away collar nearly form a straight line above the tie knot; this is the most formal collar arrangement. An exception to the parallelism of spread and formality is the tab collar: here little tabs of fabric extending from each side connect behind the tie knot, holding the collar close together and projecting the knot outward for a precise, no-nonsense look. The white contrast collar, in any style, with or without matching white French cuffs, is a favorite of power-dressers. While it certainly raises a suit-and-tie above the masses, let the wearer be warned against it if he cannot equal its eminence.
On most decent dress shirts, the collar's points are kept straight by collar stays. These 2- to 3-inch pointed splints are inserted into slots on the underside of the collar after ironing, and later removed for washing. Besides the plastic ones that come with most shirts, you can buy them in brass, silver, and even ivory, but their material has negligible effect on their function.
Shirt Cuffs
Barrel cuffs, standard on most dress shirts, come in a variety of styles and except for the most formal of occasions are never a bad choice. The common variety has a single button; cuffs with two or even three buttons are somewhat more artful. French cuffs are de rigeur for formal wear; they look good with a suit but are always optional. A button in the sleeve placket helps the sleeve to stay closed during wear and can be opened to iron the cuffs; it is optional but nearly ubiquitous.
Shirt Pockets
The traditional left breast pocket adds a little depth to a dress shirt, especially if worn without jacket and tie, and can be useful for holding pens, tickets, and the like. A shirt with no pockets can look slightly cleaner with a coat and tie, but since the coat covers the pocket the difference is minimal when wearing a suit. As with most things, simplicity equals formality, so the pocket-less shirt is the dressiest.
Shirt Front & The Placket
The standard placket is a strip of fabric raised off the men's dress shirt front with stitches down each side; this is what most casual shirts and many dress shirts have. In the more modern French placket, the edge of the shirt front is folded over, creased, and held together only by the button holes. This cleaner front sharpens more formal dress shirts; it should not, however, be combined with a button-down collar. There are also hidden button plackets, and as the name suggests hide the front buttons under a sheath of fabric.
Shirt Back
Men's backs are not flat; thus we use pleats on the back panel of a shirt so that the fabric may hang from the yoke (the piece covering the shoulder blades) and better conform to the body. There are two common varieties of pleated shirt back styles: the box pleat consists of two pleats spaced one-and-a-half inches apart at the center, while side pleats lie halfway between each edge and the center of the back. While the former are more common on ready-to-wear shirts, the latter better align with the actual shape of the back, and thus fit most men better. A well-made custom shirt can be cut and sewn to fit its wearer perfectly without pleats, and this makes it cleaner and easier to iron. Nonetheless, many men prefer to have pleats even on their bespoke dress shirts.
Monograms
A man may elect to have his shirt monogrammed, usually on the edge of the breast pocket or on the shirt's cuff. Monogramming originated as a way to identify one's shirts in a commercial laundry, akin to writing a child's name on the tag of their jacket. More recently, as the shirt has taken a more prominent role in men's dress, the monogram has emerged as a way to subtly communicate the care a man has taken in obtaining his clothes. While large, garish monograms certainly do more harm than good, many men enjoy the quiet display of their initials, usually in a color similar to the shirt's own.
