What Does Cocktail Attire Mean For Party Dresses

Posted by printdress on June 11th, 2014

If you are not accustomed to events of this nature, you might be confused by these instructions. Even if you are accustomed to these sorts of events, you can still be left with wondering what does cocktail attire mean, and what does black tie optional mean, and what kind of Party Dresses should I even be considering? If you find yourself frequently confused by invitation dress code instructions, read here to get the inside scoop on what messages like "cocktail attire" really mean.
For starters, before you even start thinking about where to buy your party dresses for this year's social calendar, it never hurts to ask the host what the dress code instructions mean. You will find that many people say the same thing, but mean different things. Business casual attire for a mom and pop stationary store event for example will be much different than business casual event for a Fortune 500 company. Wearing the wrong party dresses to either of these events can be downright mortifying. But most of the time some of these instructions like black tie and casual are fairly straightforward. It is the instruction of "cocktail attire" that leaves the most confusion when it comes to cheap women's dresses.
Cocktail attire for women generally refers to party dresses that are neither too formal or too casual. This is an occasion where you get to dress up a little bit, without having to break out the whole nine in party dresses preparation. A simple dress with a little bit of blinged out texture paired with some sexy heels and a stunning clutch will be all you need for cocktail attire. Generally speaking cocktail party dresses are shorter than dresses you would wear for a black tie event, so hemlines that fall at the knee or even shorter are perfectly acceptable. As well, most cocktail party dresses for this season have less texture than their formal counterparts, offering a sleek and sexy silhouette for the cocktail event in question.
Cocktail attire refers to the time of day the event will be held, cocktail hour. This hour typically falls right before the dinner hour, and can be anywhere from 4 PM in the late afternoon to 8 PM in the evening. As such, full formal evening wear is not required, but a less formal but still dressy look is all you need when selecting cocktail party dresses for your next cocktail attire event.