A Lady’s Guide to Dressing for a Dinner Party

Dinner parties are often a great time, but you need to look to the part. Here’s a lady’s guide to dressing for a dinner party.

Each month, approximately 11 million Americans make Google searches on how to throw a dinner party.

Clearly, this fun and exciting social event is something that a lot of women look forward to attending on a fairly regular basis. Still, the question of what to wear to a casual or black-tie social event can still weigh heavily on you weeks after an invitation is issued.

Luckily, dressing for a dinner party can be a lot of fun! Read on to some tips on how to make yourself look beautiful and elegant at any event.

Classy Attire

Choosing the appropriate dinner party attire shouldn’t be nearly as hard as it is! We totally understand and sympathize with your plight, and that’s why we’re here to help. Read on to learn some of the dress styles that look amazing at both casual and formal events!

The Little Black Dress

It’s a staple of every woman’s wardrobe- the little black dress. You know, the one that you wear to pretty much every first date and informal social event. These styles are a classic because they’re not too formal or too casual and because they look flattering on basically anyone. They also go well with any accessories that you choose to wear.

If you’re not feeling like being adventurous with your wardrobe, wearing this dress to your next dinner party is 100% alright. Just make sure that you don’t wear it to too many events in a row!

The Long, the Short, and the Flowy

Still, wearing the same dress over and over again is no fun. Especially not when there are so many beautiful dresses out there just waiting for a lovely lady like yourself to wear them!

Long dresses and short ones alike work well for dinner parties. Generally, the best dress lengths are those that stop either right above or right below the knee. They’re not too revealing, but they also don’t make you look too prudish. This length provides you with that happy medium.

However, ankle-length dresses can be gorgeous when you style them correctly. Maxi dresses look best when they’re layered, meaning that multiple pieces of different-length fabric make up the skirt. The absolute best thing is when these dresses flow past your ankles and look like a cascading waterfall behind you as you move across a room.

When it comes to necklines, a standard square-cut of v-neck should do nicely. Think about getting something with a pretty deep neckline (don’t be afraid to show off a bit of cleavage) and then add a statement necklace to your outfit. This will accentuate the accessory and provide you with a bit of modest coverage while wearing a low-cut dress.

Color-wise, anything looks good on a dress. Yellow is one of the most fashionable colors this year, but royal purple or navy blue are sure to make you look elegant and womanly. Make sure that you choose a color that works well with your skin tone, and you’ll be ready to roll!

Accessorize Appropriately

Once you’ve chosen an outfit to wear to your next dinner party, it’s time to consider ways to draw your newly-made outfit together. Read on to learn 

Fantastic Footwear

Shoes are an often-overlooked but critical part of assembling an outfit. At a dinner party, heels are generally the best shoes for women. They look great with any dress and come in a wide variety of styles. Square-toed shoes are ‘in’ lately, too, which means that your toes won’t be crushed as they descend into the tips of your heels.

However, flats are a 100% acceptable alternative if you’re a woman who values comfort. Like with heels, closed-toed flats look great with squared shapes. Mary Janes are a great type of flats that are making a comeback. They were popular in the 20th century because of their simple color and shape as well as the little strap that covers the top of the foot. That, in addition to their comfort, might be why people like them so much today!

Finally, if you get a gorgeous pedicure and want to show it off, you can also choose to wear nice sandals. Consider something that has crisscrossed straps that go all the way around the foot. These look amazing, as do wedge sandals with tall platforms.

Jazz Up With Jewelry

While it may sometimes seem like an afterthought, jewelry is one of the most important parts of any dinner party ensemble. A shining gemstone or a golden chain may be the thing that you need to draw your entire outfit together, so don’t underestimate the power of accessorizing.

Dinner party jewelry should be classic and formal, which means that it should be a bit more subtle than everyday pieces. Strings of pearls are the classic accessory for a black-tie event, but a looping chain will do just as well. You also can wear a small charm necklace, which is an incredibly popular style lately. Choose a charm that features a single gemstone in the same color as your dress or footwear.

Speaking of gemstones, this is something that you’ll definitely want to consider. A pair of wholesale earrings will look gorgeous with an aquamarine bracelet or a ruby necklace. Make sure that all of the metals and colors match before heading out, and you’re sure to turn heads.

Heavenly Hairstyles

Now that you’ve decided what to wear to your upcoming dinner party, it’s time to discuss some of the ways that you can make your hair look amazing.

Many women choose to leave their hair down and let it flow past their shoulders. This is a good choice because it’s sophisticated and beautiful on pretty much every woman. Feel free to straighten or curl it as you see fit, but you really can’t go wrong leaving your hair loose no matter what you do.

However, putting your hair up is also an option. If you’re wearing certain color jewelry or have accents in a specific hue on your dress, you may like to wear a hairclip or pins in the same color to hold your hair back. If you have the right accessories, you also can fashion a crisp bun with a gem-studded comb holding it in place.

More Tips for Dressing for a Dinner Party

While there are a lot of things to consider when getting ready for either a casual or black-tie event, you’ll feel incredibly amazing by the time you’re all put together. It will be 100% worth it.

Now that you have the best tips on dressing for a dinner party, it’s time to get more ideas on how to make yourself look classy and beautiful. Check out the ‘clothing’ tab on our homepage for more specific tips to help you choose the dresses and jewelry to express your personal style. You’re sure to find something that you look and feel lovely in!