Levels of Formality

Maggie0829 · December 2014

CMGragain said:

“It is always better to be slightly underdressed.”

― Coco Chanel

Well if Coco Chanel said it then it must be true!

slothiegal · December 2014

Looks, I can Google random quotes, too!

"You can never be overdressed or overeducated."--Oscar Wilde

"I believe in overdressing."--Audrey Hepburn

"One thing you can't do with babies, you can't give them steak."--Flavor Flav

PrettyGirlLost · December 2014

CMGragain said:

It is always better to be slightly under-dressed than to be overdressed.

Despite what Coco Chanel says, I'd argue the opposite.

misshart00 · December 2014

slothiegal said:
Looks, I can Google random quotes, too!

"You can never be overdressed or overeducated."--Oscar Wilde
"I believe in overdressing."--Audrey Hepburn
"One thing you can't do with babies, you can't give them steak."--Flavor Flav

The last one is definitely true. I've tried it.

ohannabelle · December 2014

I'm of the "don't overdress" camp.

I think, judging by the previous posts, that a lot of people aren't on the same page with the definition of overdressing.

If I'm invited to an outdoor afternoon wedding, and show up in a pretty sundress, and the rest of the guests are in jeans, I'm not overdressed. I'm dressed appropriately. If I show up in a floor length going to the Oscars ball gown, I'm overdressed.

Lolo wore a pretty dress to a shower. That's not overdressing. What the other guests chose to wear is irrelevant. If she had a worn a sequined cocktail dress with six inch heels, that would have been overdressing. Dressed for an evening out on the town, not a shower.

The "don't overdress" rule simply means don't be a big AW by deliberately wearing over the top inappropriate clothing suited to another time and place. Likewise, when Chanel refers to "underdressing," it refers to a simplicity of style, rather than inappropriately casual dressing. Because Chanel (who gave us the little black dress) believed in elegant simplicity.

Dressing nicely isn't overdressing.

Bubblegum5586 · December 2014

dcbride86 said:

Do people still have White Tie events? I've never heard of someone having a white tie wedding, although I think FI said they're more common in the south, so maybe that's partly why.

My boss just went to one in DC this past fall! Her husband rented a tux with tails and she wore a beautiful gown.

CMGragain · December 2014

My late mother overdressed for everything. She often looked rather silly. She was obsessed with clothes and appearance. It is such a relief not to have to constantly shop for the gifts she demanded.
I remember her at my sister's second wedding - the one in the park. She had been told repeatedly not to dress up, but there she was in her cocktail dress, with her high heels sinking into the mud and a sour expression on her face. I had worn a simple skirt and blouse with flat shoes. (Shorts do not flatter my plus size butt!)
When Mom died last year, her friends organized the Betty Jane Smith Memorial Fashion show to sell the hundreds of expensive clothes that were crammed into her small senior apartment. I gave away quite a bit, too.. She was buried in a new outfit. The funeral director cut the tags off!
I don't get it, and I never will.

Maggie0829 · December 2014

CMGragain said:

My late mother overdressed for everything. She often looked rather silly. She was obsessed with clothes and appearance. It is such a relief not to have to constantly shop for the gifts she demanded.
I remember her at my sister's second wedding - the one in the park. She had been told repeatedly not to dress up, but there she was in her cocktail dress, with her high heels sinking into the mud and a sour expression on her face. I had worn a simple skirt and blouse with flat shoes. (Shorts do not flatter my plus size butt!)
When Mom died last year, her friends organized the Betty Jane Smith Memorial Fashion show to sell the hundreds of expensive clothes that were crammed into her small senior apartment. I gave away quite a bit, too.. She was buried in a new outfit. The funeral director cut the tags off!
I don't get it, and I never will.

So your Mom loved fancy clothes and wearing them every chance she had. What don't you get? She wasn't hurting anyone by wearing what she loved. Those who were around her and judging her for what she wore are the ones who who looked silly.