Know Your Dress Code
It is a wrong assumption that dress-codes and dressing up are women’s forte while a man can throw on a shirt and a pair of trousers and he is good to go! The male species of Homo sapiens come in unimaginable varieties of ignorance, confusion and goof ups when it comes to dressing, literally the beast of the Beauty and the Beast story (snigger). Please pardon us, but that is the truth. Most men even go to the extent of saying, do we really have to bother about it? We look good as it is! Wow! Totally immersed in the bliss of ignorance! What else can we say folks! No blokes, it is high time you shred the shackles of your lethargy and wash away the darkness of ignorance with the light of knowledge about fashion!
Dress codes and dressing up are equally important for men as for women. There are many important milestones that come in a boy’s life starting from his first birthday, first date, prom night, college, graduation, clubbing, dancing, job interview, boardroom meeting, client meeting, weddings, parties, holidays, family functions, funeral, and much more. Each and every occasion demands a particular type of attire. Dressing up appropriately can earn you admiration and respect. It is the mark of a gentleman.
To simplify dress-codes, we can put them in five basic categories of:
Formal (White Tie): This is like the Crème de la crème of all the men’s dress codes and is classic formal dressing. A majority of men do not even own the clothing required for this kind of dressing. This dress code can be different for morning and night. For morning it involves a tailcoat and vest. For the night it involves a white tie. This kind of dressing can be seen only in the events of the stature of a handful of British sporting events, award ceremonies or diplomatic events.
Semi-Formal (Black Tie): Now just because it is called semi-formal it does not mean you can take it easy and mix and match your formal and casual wardrobes up. It is a strict dress code and is different for morning and evening occasions. For morning one wears a stroller which involves single or double-breasted jacket coat, formal trousers, necktie, waistcoat and a pair of oxford shoes. For evening one wears a Tuxedo/Dinner Jacket and black bowtie.
Business: This form of dress code means suits with matching coat and trousers. This is what we see bankers, lawyers, businessmen and Wall Street guys wear. It involves clothing like a bespoke suit, a plain shirt, a pocket square, neckties, socks, and oxford shoes. This dress code is a little flexible where colour is concerned and for day times one can also wear lighter shades.
Business Casual: This is a flexible dress code for professional with a casual touch. There is a room for experimenting with this look however, still maintaining a professional look to add a bit of seriousness. In this dress code, although jackets are preferred but are not necessary and jacket need not match the trousers. It can be contrasting or complementing. A pair of trousers and a button-up shirt is enough for this look; however, you can complement it with a sports jacket or a blazer.
Casual: In this dress code all you must worry is to look sharp. There is a lot of flexibility in this dress code and you can have the liberty of experimenting with a variety of permutation and combination. You can use denim jeans, chinos, casual jackets, you can tuck in or tuck out shirts, polo shirts, etc. For footwear you can opt from a range of deck shoes, loafers, sneakers, etc.
A good knowledge about dress-code will help you in your future events. Instead of people sniggering behind your back give them a chance to admire you for your dressing sense.