Different Cocktail Attire Styles

As parties become increasingly fabulous each year, cocktail attire is being revolutionized. Some 70 years ago, men’s cocktail attire was not as formal as it is today.  They could wear just about anything as long as it was rough and dirty looking.  Then, in the 1950s, slim silk or rayon trousers were popular amongst men, matched with a custom-made jacket over silk or cotton shirt with slender ties.

Nowadays though, cocktail attire has no ‘standard’ design because cocktail parties can be a thematic in nature. The degree of formality is also dependent on the occassion, rather then the fact that it is a cocktail party being held.  As such, you really have to look at the invitation to actually figure out what to wear.

Here is what a man could wear, depending on the occassion of course. .

• For semi-formal parties, you could opt to wear a black suit (tie is optional). Alternatively, you could pull of a James Bond and sport a stylish tuxedo.
• For parties that fall towards the end of the year, a darker shade of fabrics would suit the occassion a lot better. In the beginning of the year though, it’d be better to sport something that is lighter in nature. The respective colour tones for the respective seasons suit the feel of the parties a lot better.
• In today’s rush rush corporate world, a lot of us won’t even have much time to prepare for the parties we might be attending. But here’s a solution. Improvise! If you feel that you’re short of time, just play around with what you’re already wearing. For instance, if you’re in khakis, button down your short and wear a blazer over it. If you’re in the deep-coloured jeans, you can don a sport coat, or leather moccasins to go with it. But we warned! Never ever wear sneakers! 
• The time of the day also affects the type of attire you should wear. If it’s a lunch time party, a casual outfit will be perfectly fine. However, if it’s over dinner, a tuxedo would suit the event much more appropriately.

Thematic cocktail parties are pretty fun as well! Depending on the actual theme, you could end up dressing the part of the likes of James Bond, Austin Powers or even Zohan! All you really have to do is head Online do a quick search of the characters that tend to wear cocktail attire.

In terms of factors that affect what women should wear, there’s not much that differentiates a woman’s attire from men’s. However, in terms of style, there are differences. To get the cocktail look, women should usually wear dresses that are either knee length, or slightly above the knee. Not exposing too much of the thighs will ensure you don’t pass off as sleazy. And not going below the knees gives you the much needed style (or anti-geek look). Some examples are halter-type tube tops, sleeveless dresses or off the shoulder dresses. In fact, a classic example of women’s cocktail attire is the black mini dress! If this doesn’t suit your taste though, you could opt for something more velvety. You can get a few brilliant dress ideas from prominent fashion magazines.

Ultimately, when selecting your attire, you should ensure that whatever you wear suits your body structure. This way, you’ll be sure that you can pull the look off!

Author Bio

Guest post written by Michele Ohare who is an freelance writer who writes about clothing design. She is inspired by brands like justfab when writing.