What is Festive Attire for a Woman

What is Festive Attire for a Woman

What is festive attire for a woman

One of the most confusing choices that a woman has to experience in her life is when she is asked to dress for a festive occasion. Gone are the days when you could walk in whatever you wore, have fun at the party and head back home. Today is the day of “dress codes.” Every festival or every party that you are invited to comes with a specific “theme.”

This theme demands you to dress in a certain way – casual, business casual, dressy casual and more. What do these terms mean? What exactly is festive attire? Keep reading to get answers to these questions.

When you read the invitations for the occasions that you are planning to go, apart from the mandatory details such as the timing & date of the occasion, you will also find a section for the dress code. Some of the most common dress codes that are included as part of a woman’s festive attire and what they mean are explained in the following sections:

1. Black Tie

Most of the hosts mention “black tie” as the dress code when they invite guests for a particular occasion. Does this mean you should dress up in a professional business suit wearing a black tie while attending the occasion? Definitely, not! Black tie, for those of you who are new to the world of fashion, is a term used to mention something that is highly sophisticated.

You could wear an off-shouldered, thigh-high slit dress or a three-piece business suit when you have a black-tie code. The key is to remain as sophisticated and elegant as possible.

Most women choose the safe option and opt for long, figure-hugging dresses as part of this theme. Long, flowing dresses with different types of sleeve, neck and slit styles will never go out of vogue in the “black-tie” theme.

2. Festive

Some invitations mention “festive” as the main dress code. When there are no other details specified regarding what you should wear, you are likely to get confused as the term, festive, includes hundreds of designs in its category. Here, the safe choice would be to think out of the box and opt for short & stylish dresses in bright colors such as black, blue, green, yellow, red and the like.

You could add a little more spunk in your festive attire by opting for shimmery, lacy or beaded fabrics. Most of the women wear short & beautiful black, laced frocks as part of their festive attire. However, the attire could depend on the occasion as well. We will see more about this in the later sections.

3. Feel at Home

When your invitation card mentions, “feel at home” as the dress code or something to do with comfort or ease, it is quite easy to decode the meaning, isn’t it? It means, you could wear your most comfortable dress and attend the occasion, as nobody will judge you for what you wear.

However, remember that you shouldn’t give too much importance to the dress code by attending the party in your pajamas! That would be quite embarrassing for you and the other guests as well. A light-colored shirt with a dark-colored skirt or jeans with a tan-colored cardigan or jacket (depending on the season) is a good choice for this dress code.

4. Office Party

If you are planning to attend an office party, you should be very careful about choosing your festive attire. You don’t want to go overboard with your fashion choices, but you don’t want to come across as boring as well.

So, you can choose to wear sheath dresses, long printed frocks, well-fitting satin shirts with pencil skirts or an asymmetrical frock are great choices of festive attire for office parties.

5. Resort Attire

This is a new style of festive attire that applies to outdoor parties. This happens during occasions like pre-wedding or post-wedding parties, beach parties with friends, outdoor vacations and the like. The attire that best suits this dress code is a flowing sundress in a bright color.

Pair the look with a matching shade of footwear and sunglasses to get the ultimate “resort look.” Beaded jewelry, floral tiara, and colorful flip-flops are must-haves for this kind of a party.

Choosing the Attire Based on the Nature of the Occasion

There are various kinds of parties, events, and occasions happening all throughout the year. You have to dress appropriately for each of these if you don’t want to look out of place.

Though your invitation card may give you an idea of the dress code you are expected to follow, you should remember that a dress code doesn’t mean the same thing at different parties or occasions. You have to choose your dress wisely based on the nature of the occasion you are attending.

Here are some tips that will help you in this process:

If you are Attending a Party Hosted by Friends or Relatives

Here, the occasion is quite casual, and you don’t have to be very choosy about the dress that you have to wear for the same. There is no strict dress code that you have to follow because these are simple & casual parties, where you know everybody quite closely.

For these friendly parties, you have to choose that one attire that will never betray you. There is no better festive attire than a pair of jeans for casual get-togethers. Pair your jeans with any top of your choice – long tunics, short tops, tank tops, full shirts and more.

If you are feeling cold, you can wear a cardigan or jacket over your top to complete your look. A pair of brown shoes will complete your casual, festive look.

If you are Attending Cocktail Parties

Cocktail parties are conducted during the late evening hours. There are two things you should consider while attending these parties. Is the party going to be conducted indoors or outdoors? What would be the climate at the time of the party? The answers to these two questions will decide what you have to wear for the cocktail parties.

If it isn’t too cold in your part of the world during these parties, you are lucky as you get a lot of bold options to try out. Don’t hesitate to add some color, shine, and ruffles to your short dresses.

Wear sequined or laced patterns in dark shades, as these are the trending festive attires for evening get-togethers. Opt for thin shoes with high heels to complete your sexy look. If it gets cold during the party, you can wear a satin or shimmery jacket over your dress.

If you are Attending Office Parties

Yes, there is not much room to experiment and get bold when you are attending an office party. However, you can still ooze up your fashion quotient by option for long flowing skirts for these occasions. You can wear ruffled shirts with flared sleeves along with long floral-print skirts to look decent yet festive at the same time.

If you have been wearing a three-piece suit all day long during meetings, here is a quick way to convert it into a party attire in the evening. Remove the blazer and replace your business trousers with a high-waisted pencil skirt to do the trick for you.

If you are Attending Parties at the School

At school parties, you can experiment as much as you can with colors and designs. Long-sleeved, dark-colored shirts with light-colored flowing skirts or trousers, simple tunics with high belts and jeans, long, single-piece dresses that show off your beautiful figure and the like are some excellent choices that you can try for school parties.

Complete your look with a pair of neutral-shaded pumps, and you will be the star of the party.

Some general points to note about wearing the right festive attire for the right occasion

• Most of the time, the host doesn’t specify any dress code in the invitation, leading to lots of confusion about the potential guests. If you are invited to a party but have no idea about the theme, don’t hesitate to call up the host and check with her about the same. Talking to the host will clarify your doubts and help you wear the right attire so that you don’t look out of place.
• You should always be mindful of the venue of the occasion. If it is a simple and casual gathering at a friend’s home, you can dress up casually and not create a huge fuss about it. However, if the party is held at a luxury resort or hotel, you have to dress appropriately to match the decorum of the place. So, you have to choose elegant, stylish and over the top dresses (that you don’t usually wear) for these parties.
• If the occasion has religious importance or is related to an important ceremony, remember to dress up conservatively. Going to such an occasion in a bold outfit may hurt others’ sentiments.
• When the party is held during the evening hours, it demands you to spend more time & effort to choose your attire than for the parties that are held during the day.