Respect event host by finding out what proper attire entails

Question: Last summer I attended an evening wedding and the invitation stated "semi-formal" as the suggested dress. My husband wore a suit and tie and I wore an evening cocktail-type dress. When we arrived we saw that we were the most dressed-up people there, with most women in sundresses and men in casual pants and even one man in jeans. We thought we were following the proper protocol based on the invitation but it ended up being very awkward. Did we interpret "semi-formal" wrong?

Answer: The invitation sets the standard for a function's attire, and out of respect for the hosts, guests should make every attempt to honor their request. Unfortunately, short of spelling out precisely what to wear, some people just don't know how to interpret an invitation's dress requirements. Based on the "semi-formal" dress that was printed, you and your husband were appropriate with what you wore, and the guests in sundresses and jeans were way off the mark.

In some situations you can quickly downgrade an outfit by taking off sparkly jewelry and letting a formal hairdo down, and a gentleman can take off his tie and/or jacket.

Otherwise I would hold your head high and give the place a little class.

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Tia Warren is owner of Executive Image by Tia in Colorado Springs. She is a Certified Image Consultant and a member of the Association of Image Consultants International. Reach at www.imagebytia.com.