Every Dress Code Explained and Ranked: The Complete Guide (2026)

White tie is the most formal dress code there is: a tailcoat, a white waistcoat and a white bow tie for men, a floor-length gown for women ¹.

It is also the rarest, and it is "inevitably announced on an elaborate invitation several weeks before the event" ¹. Emily Post calls it "the most formal of all dress codes" and adds that it signals guests who are "high-caliber, royal, or have high social standing" ².

A century ago, the tailcoat was ordinary evening wear: in 1922, Emily Post still described it as necessary "at balls, formal dinners, and in a box at the opera" ³. After the Second World War it became special-occasion dress, and its definition froze. Etiquette experts now agree that the fundamentals of full dress "are not open to interpretation" ⁴.

The unwritten rules

• No wristwatch. A pocket watch is acceptable; a wristwatch has always been wrong with white tie ⁵.
• The white waistcoat must never show below the front of the tailcoat. It is the most common mistake of first-timers ⁵.
• Decorations only when the card asks for them ("White Tie, Decorations"). In much of Europe, white tie is the only attire considered formal enough to wear one's honours ⁶.
• For women, Debrett's is categorical: short dresses "are not acceptable and trousers should not even be considered", rules "particularly strictly adhered to in Scotland" ⁷.
• Evening gloves remain correct, but Debrett's says they "are no longer compulsory" ⁸.

Classic mistakes

• Wearing a dinner jacket, a morning coat or a black shirt instead of the tailcoat and white piqué shirt ⁵.
• Adding a cummerbund or a belt: neither belongs with a tailcoat ⁵.
• A short dress, however glamorous ⁷.

Black tie means a dinner jacket (a tuxedo) and a black bow tie for men, and an evening dress for women, long or a dressy cocktail length ¹.

It is less formal than white tie and the most frequently encountered formal evening code ¹; "more formal than business attire" ². On an invitation it is not a suggestion: "Black Tie" indicates "unequivocally" that the host expects tuxedos ¹⁰.

The legend places the birth of the tuxedo at the Tuxedo Club, in New York State. The ledgers say London: in 1865, Henry Poole & Co. recorded an order from the Prince of Wales, the future Edward VII, for a short blue silk evening jacket to wear at private dinners at Sandringham ¹¹. In 1922, Emily Post wrote that the English dinner coat "was first introduced in this country at the Tuxedo Club", "and the name has clung ever since" ³. Until the First World War, the dinner jacket was considered informal, reserved for evenings among men; only after 1918 did it replace the tailcoat as everyday evening wear ¹².

The unwritten rules

• Tie your own bow tie: avoid clip-on and ready-tied ones ¹.
• For women, Debrett's admits that black tie "can signify any level of dress, ranging from a little lycra number to just sub-white-tie levels of splendor". Its advice: ask the hostess, and read the invitation. A drinks party from 6.30 to 8.30 needs only a little black dress; drinks, dinner and dancing need "a much grander dress", because "the greater the effort of the hostess, the greater the level of formality expected of the guest" ⁷.
• Jewels yes, tiaras no: at black tie, Debrett's calls them "inappropriate" ⁷.
• The white dinner jacket is a warm-weather variation, born on cruises and in the tropics in the early 1930s. The British never wear it at home, except at the Last Night of the Proms ¹³.

Classic mistakes

• Reading "black tie" as simply "dressy" ¹⁰.
• Turning up in a business suit. The Black Tie Guide quotes the National Post's verdict: "Grow up or don't show up" ¹⁰.

Black tie optional means the hosts will wear black tie and invite you to, but a dark suit for men, and a cocktail dress or dressy separates for women, are just as correct ²¹⁴.

A code that "gives guests a couple of formal options to choose from" ². It was designed to acknowledge, without judgement, that not every man owns or can afford a dinner jacket ¹⁴.

Its critics are less kind. The Black Tie Guide calls it "basically the formal equivalent of business casual: an attempt to please everyone that ultimately benefits no-one" ¹⁰.

The unwritten rules

• You can never be overdressed in black tie at a black tie optional event ¹⁴.
• If you choose a suit, make it very dark: black, charcoal or deep navy. Brown is best avoided ¹⁴.
• Frank Sinatra's solution to the dilemma: when in doubt, wear the tuxedo ¹⁰.

Classic mistakes

• A black suit with a black bow tie: it reads as an imitation tuxedo ¹⁴.
• Wearing a tuxedo but dressing it down: "optional" is not an excuse to skip parts of it ¹⁴.

Black tie invited or preferred means a dinner jacket is welcome but not required.

Sources disagree on which phrasing asks for more: one guide reads "invited" as the host very much wanting black tie ¹⁶, another treats it as the same thing as "optional" ¹⁷, and the Black Tie Guide lists "Black Tie Invited" as a simple synonym of "Black Tie Optional" ¹⁰.

The unwritten rules

• When the card hesitates, dress for black tie: you will never be wrong.

Creative black tie keeps the formality of black tie but lets you play with colour, texture and accessories ².

"Attire with a black-tie foundation with room for some creativity and flair" ². Debrett's files it with "relaxed" or "bohemian" black tie, where a woman may choose a short or long dress, or tailored or palazzo evening trousers ¹.

Yves Saint Laurent showed his first smoking for women in the autumn-winter 1966 haute couture collection. The couture clientele was so shocked that it boycotted the model, which sold a single copy ¹⁸. It gave women the most coded garment of male evening dress ¹⁹. Creative black tie is the code that finally took the hint.

The unwritten rules

• Most experts suggest keeping the creativity to the shirt, the tie or the accessories ¹⁰.
• Even the authorities disagree on the details: Emily Post's creative black tie allows men "a black shirt" ², while the Black Tie Guide says never to wear a black shirt to a formal evening event ⁵.

Classic mistakes

• Turning it into fancy dress. Russell Smith: "Who would want to go to a party, unless it's a fancy dress ball, to be judged by his costume?" ²⁰

Cocktail attire means a knee or midi-length dress, or dressy separates, for women, and a dark suit, tie optional, for men ¹.

A code born from the cocktail hour of the 1920s, roughly six to eight in the evening; the term "cocktail dress" was popularised by Christian Dior in the late 1940s ²². Debrett's lists "smart frocks" and "party dress" as other names, and leaves women free to choose "whatever dress/trouser combination" makes them feel chic ¹.

The unwritten rules

• Read the hours on the card: the code was made for the early evening, roughly six to eight ²².
• Men are released from black tie: lounge suits, velvet jackets, Nehru jackets ¹.

Classic mistakes

• A ball gown: beautiful, but it outranks the evening.

Semi-formal means a dark suit and tie for men, and a short cocktail dress, a little black dress or dressy separates for women ².

"More formal than what you would wear to an office, but slightly less formal than what you would wear to a formal event"; after 6 p.m., Emily Post advises erring on the side of formality ².

The word has changed meaning. After the First World War, "semi-formal" was the polite name given to the tuxedo, which had just replaced the tailcoat as evening wear ¹². Today it means a suit. Same word, a century apart.

The unwritten rules

• Look at the time on the invitation: it does half of the work.

Festive attire is cocktail attire with a seasonal, holiday touch ².

For Emily Post, it is "essentially cocktail party attire with a seasonal and festive holiday touch" ². Peggy Post, of the same institute, has said that "festive attire" is unclear to most people: it can mean anything from nice work clothes to a cocktail dress ²⁴.

The unwritten rules

• If the card says nothing more, read it as cocktail, then add one festive element: a colour, a texture, a jewel.

Lounge suits means business attire: a dark suit, shirt and tie for men; a tailored dress, a trouser suit or a skirt with a tailored jacket for women ²⁵.

According to Debrett's, "'lounge suits' is an expression that is only seen on invitations". The name goes back to the 19th century, when a shorter suit worn at home was called a lounge suit ²⁵.

The unwritten rules

• Wear the tie. If the occasion is more relaxed than expected, it is easy to take it off: "it is always sensible to err on the side of formality" ²⁵.
• Coming straight from work, swap low heels for high ones and the everyday bag for a small evening bag; one bold accessory lifts the whole outfit ²⁵.
• No belt with a waistcoat or a double-breasted suit, and no bulky full Windsor knot ²⁵.

Classic mistakes

• Treating it as smart casual: Debrett's reserves the more creative dressing for that code ²⁵.

Business formal means a suit: jacket with matching trousers or skirt; the darker the suit, the more formal ².

Accessories can personalise the look, "but they should not be a distraction in any way" ².

The unwritten rules

• Stockings are optional in summer; heels can be low or high ².

Business casual means slacks, khakis or a skirt with a shirt, blouse or polo; dresses and blazers fit too ².

Emily Post calls it "pretty ambiguous" ². The idea started in Hawaii, where a manufacturers' association, the Hawaiian Fashion Guild, launched "Aloha Fridays" in 1966. In 1992, Levi Strauss mailed a "Guide to Casual Business Wear" to some 25,000 HR managers, and by 1995, nine out of ten companies let their staff dress casually, up from about two-thirds in 1992 ²⁶.

The unwritten rules

• Always check your company's own dress code first ².
• For women, Emily Post's list excludes spaghetti straps and décolleté ².

Smart casual means no everyday leisure clothes: a jacket and open-necked shirt for men, a dress or well-cut trousers with a silk or printed shirt for women ²⁵.

"By far the most common of all dress codes" ¹, and, in Debrett's words, "a plea from a host to guests requesting them not to turn up in everyday 'leisure' clothes" ²⁵.

The unwritten rules

• Change your clothes for the event, and make sure everything is laundered and at the smarter end of what you own ²⁵.
• Jeans only if they are dark, clean and well fitting, offset by a tailored jacket ²⁵.
• A printed invitation card means the formal end of the spectrum; an email about a birthday in the country means the relaxed end ¹.
• It is easier to take an over-smart outfit down than to dress up an informal one at the last minute: err on the side of formality ²⁵.

Classic mistakes

• Trainers, hoodies, jogging pants or flip-flops: precisely what the code exists to prevent ²⁵.

Dressy casual sits between formal and casual: a dress, or nice jeans with a dressy top, for women; a seasonal blazer and an open collar for men ².

"A versatile balance between formal and casual", for networking events, fundraisers or dinner at a nice restaurant ².

The unwritten rules

• Let one piece do the effort: a dressy top with simple trousers, a jacket over a plain shirt.

Casual means informal and comfortable, "yet clean and professional" ².

Emily Post's advice is to go with nicer casual wear and avoid the baggier items you wear around the house ².

The unwritten rules

• Plain T-shirts only, no slogans; jeans clean and without holes ².

Morning dress is the formal daytime code: a morning coat, waistcoat, striped or grey trousers and a top hat for men; a formal day dress, usually with a hat, for women ²⁷²⁸.

In Britain it is worn at formal church weddings and at daytime events in the presence of the monarch, such as Royal Ascot and Trooping the Colour; in America it is "extremely rare" ²⁹. Debrett's advises against it for events at or after 6 p.m., where white tie takes over ²⁷.

The rule against evening wear by day has a logic: the black of the tuxedo is made for the night, and in broad daylight black suits "look dull and lifeless" ²⁹.

The unwritten rules

• A tuxedo at an afternoon wedding is a mistake, however formal the wedding ²⁹.
• A "morning suit", coat and trousers in the same cloth, is the less formal version, for races and summer weddings ²⁹.
• The top hat is optional elsewhere, but obligatory in the Royal Enclosure at Ascot ²⁹.

At a royal garden party, men wear morning dress or a lounge suit, and women wear day dress, usually with a hat or a fascinator ²⁸.

Over 30,000 guests are invited each year, and "national dress and uniform are also often worn" ²⁸.

The unwritten rules

• You cannot ask for an invitation: guests are nominated through a network of sponsors ²⁸.
• The gates open around 3 p.m.; the party begins at 4 p.m., when the royal family enters the garden and the national anthem is played ²⁸.
• Shoes that respect a lawn: the whole afternoon happens on grass.

Garden formal has no official definition. Ours: formal length, light construction, movement, and shoes that survive the grass.

No etiquette authority defines it, and guides disagree, from semi-formal to cocktail adapted for the outdoors. So here is ours.

The unwritten rules

• Name the silhouette, not the colour: that's how a host makes this code clear.
• Block heels or flats; the lawn decides.

Classic mistakes

• Black for him: the garden asks for lighter tones.

VKELLER · our answer

Ceremony in the silhouette.
Garden in the way it moves.Discover the pieces

Beach formal means the most formal clothes you can wear on sand: light suits and linen for men, light dresses for women ³⁰.

In strict classic terms, "formal" means morning wear, black tie or white tie, so the word is used loosely here ³⁰.

The unwritten rules

• Don't bring a tuxedo unless the invitation explicitly says black tie ³⁰.
• Choose open weaves that let the air through: linen, cotton, light wool ³⁰.
• The more formal the invitation, the more formal the expected dress ³⁰.

Classic mistakes

• Stilettos in the sand.

At the Glyndebourne Festival, evening wear is traditional; the autumn season is smart casual ³¹.

John Christie and his wife, Audrey Mildmay, opened the first Festival in 1934 ³². Bringing a picnic, or dining in one of the on-site restaurants, is part of the visit ³¹.

The unwritten rules

• Glyndebourne puts it simply: a visit is "a chance to look different for a day" ³¹.

In Royal Ascot's Royal Enclosure, women wear a hat (or a headpiece with a base of at least 10 cm) and dresses just above the knee or longer with straps at least one inch wide; men wear morning dress and a top hat ³³.

Midriffs stay covered; strapless, off-the-shoulder and halter-neck styles are not permitted. Jumpsuits are allowed if they fall below the knee and follow the same strap rules. In the Queen Anne Enclosure there is no minimum length, but straps, covered midriffs and a hat or fascinator are still required ³³.

In May 1910, King Edward VII died and Britain went into mourning. Royal Ascot went ahead on one condition: everyone in the Royal Enclosure wore black. It became known as Black Ascot. Cecil Beaton later dressed the Ascot scene of My Fair Lady in black and white; the V&A lists Black Ascot among his inspirations ³⁴³⁵.

The unwritten rules

• Jackets and pashminas are allowed, but the dress underneath must comply on its own ³³.
• Trouser suits are welcome if they are full length and of matching colour and material ³³.
• Men: morning dress in black, grey or navy, with a waistcoat and a tie. Bow ties and cravats are not permitted, novelty waistcoats and ties neither, and the top hat may not be customised, not even with a coloured ribbon ³³.
• Socks must cover the ankle ³³.

Classic mistakes

• A small fascinator in the Royal Enclosure: it needs a solid base of at least four inches (10 cm) ³³.

In Henley's Stewards' Enclosure, women wear a dress or skirt below the knee, or trousers with a jacket; men wear a lounge suit or blazer with a tie or cravat ³⁶.

No shorts, leggings, tracksuits or jeans ³⁶. Admission "will not be permitted to anyone not dressed appropriately" ³⁶.

Trousers for women were only allowed in the Stewards' Enclosure in 2021, after a petition started by Oxford student Georgina Grant gathered more than 1,680 signatures ³⁷.

The unwritten rules

• Hats are customary for women, not required ³⁶.
• Children aged ten and over follow the same dress code ³⁶.

At Wimbledon, players must dress "almost entirely in white" ³⁸.

"White does not include off-white or cream", and coloured trim can be "no wider than one centimeter" ³⁸.

In November 2022, the All England Club announced that women could wear dark-coloured undershorts, after players spoke about the stress of wearing white during their period ³⁹⁴⁰.

The unwritten rules

• The rule applies down to the soles of the shoes ⁴⁰.

At the Vienna Opera Ball, the dress code for every guest is "ladies: long evening dress; gentlemen: tails" ⁴¹.

It applies to everyone in the house, accredited reporters, photographers and camera crews included ⁴¹. Austrian press adds that the gown should reach at least the ankle, ideally with a full skirt, and that a skin-tight dress is not done ⁴².

In 1877, the emperor finally allowed a "soirée" in his opera house. Dancing was officially not permitted; after midnight, the first dance happened anyway. The first ball to carry the name "Vienna Opera Ball" took place in January 1935 ⁴¹. In 2020, it presented its first same-sex debutante couple ⁴³.

The unwritten rules

• The debutantes who open the ball follow their own rules: a pure white, floor-length ball gown, no hoop skirt, no glitter, white gloves to the elbow, closed white shoes and hair that can hold the tiara without slipping ⁴⁴.
• Vienna takes the subject so seriously that its ball organisers published a 160-page booklet devoted to dress codes; ignorance of the codes, they said, "is something that becomes an issue at almost every ball" ⁴⁵.
• Not every Viennese ball is white tie: in that booklet, tails were mandatory at only two of the 26 balls listed ⁴⁵.

Classic mistakes

• A short dress or a business suit, even for a celebrity guest: the organisers complain that such photos teach the public the wrong code ⁴⁵.

At the Nobel Banquet, men wear white tie and tails; for women, "the choice of evening gowns is endless" ⁴⁶⁴⁷.

Gentlemen wear a black tailcoat with silk facings, trousers with two rows of braid, a white stiff-fronted shirt with a wing collar, a white bow tie and a white low-cut waistcoat ⁴⁶. For ladies, "there are no restrictions to color and design, or even taste" ⁴⁷.

The unwritten rules

• Shirt studs and cufflinks should be silver or white, and a white handkerchief is usually worn ⁴⁶.
• Guests with state decorations usually wear them: miniature medals, up to four breast stars, a neck riband and a sash ⁴⁶.
• Long gloves and a shawl are optional ⁴⁷.

At The Ritz London, gentlemen must wear a jacket and tie for afternoon tea and in The Ritz Restaurant ⁴⁸.

In The Ritz Restaurant, "jeans and sportswear are not permitted for either ladies or gentlemen". Smart casual is acceptable at breakfast and in The Rivoli Bar ⁴⁸.

At the Kentucky Derby, the unofficial dress code is a hat: the bigger and bolder, the better ⁴⁹.

The tradition goes back to Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr., who founded the track after touring Europe's royal racecourses, and who promoted the Derby with his wife as a well-to-do affair ⁴⁹. At the turn of the twentieth century, local newspapers printed an alphabetical list of who wore what ⁴⁹.

Hats were part of every fashionable outfit until the 1960s, so for the Derby's first century they were nothing special. As they disappeared from daily life, they survived at special occasions like the Derby, and became its signature ⁴⁹.

For its gala screenings, the Festival de Cannes asks for evening wear: floor-length gowns and tuxedos; cocktail dresses, dark trouser suits and suits with a tie or bow tie are also accepted, with elegant shoes or sandals and never sneakers ⁵⁰.

The ritual is as old as the festival: from the earliest years, the arrival of the stars for the gala screening has had "its very own dress code", one "often respected, sometimes subverted" ⁵¹. In 2025, the official charter added two rules: "nudity is prohibited on the red carpet", and so are voluminous garments and long trains that slow the flow of guests; the welcoming teams are obliged to refuse anyone who does not comply ⁵⁰.

At a wedding, white belongs to the bride. The rule is printed nowhere, and everyone knows it.

Queen Victoria did not invent the white wedding dress: white had been a popular choice for brides for centuries, although royal brides usually wore silver or gold. Her 1840 wedding, the most public royal wedding there had ever been, helped make white the bride's colour, and for a bride white was a show of wealth: a white garment was very hard to keep clean ⁵². In 1899, the economist Thorstein Veblen explained the charm of "neat and spotless garments" by the suggestion that the wearer never has to work ⁵³.

In 2015, women were turned away from a Cannes premiere for wearing flat shoes, under a heel rule the festival had never written down ⁵⁶.

In May 2015, a handful of women were turned away from the premiere of Todd Haynes's Carol for wearing flat shoes; at the time, the festival confirmed that heels were obligatory at red-carpet screenings ⁵⁶. It later said heels had never been mandatory ⁵⁷.

In 2016, Julia Roberts climbed the steps barefoot; in 2018, Kristen Stewart took off her shoes on the red carpet ⁵⁸⁵⁷. The festival's own history page now shows Julia Roberts' bare feet on the steps ⁵¹.

Victorian mourning was a calendar of clothes: years of black for widows, an armband for most men ³.

In 1922, Emily Post still described the old-fashioned rule for a widow: deep mourning with a crepe veil for two years, black the third year and "second mourning" the fourth. Most men simply wore a black band on the hat or on the left sleeve ³. After Prince Albert died in December 1861, Queen Victoria wore black for the rest of her life ⁵⁹.

Black belonged to servants and to mourning until Chanel, and Vogue's "Ford" of 1926, gave it to the evening ²³.

The unwritten rules

• Even then, a young widow was allowed a shorter calendar: a year of deep crepe, then lighter mourning ³.

A themed dress code asks guests to interpret an idea chosen by the host, from "razzle dazzle" to "vintage glamour" ¹.

This is when "the host's imagination runs free". Debrett's suggests that the more discreet can simply acknowledge it with accessories ¹.

The Met Gala publishes a dress code every year: "The Garden of Time" in 2024, "Tailored for You" in 2025, "Fashion Is Art" in 2026 ⁶⁰⁶¹⁶².

The unwritten rules

• A costume jewel, a velvet stole, a vintage evening bag: one gesture is enough to show you've read the card ¹.

In 1972, the Rothschilds' Surrealist Ball asked for "black tie, long dresses & surrealist heads" ⁶³.

On 12 December 1972, Marie-Hélène de Rothschild held a Surrealist Ball at the Château de Ferrières, outside Paris. The invitations were printed backwards, so they had to be read in a mirror ⁶³⁶⁴.

A masquerade asks for evening dress and a mask.

By the 13th century, Venetians wore masks with such enthusiasm that the city's Great Council passed special laws to keep the practice within bounds: no masks for card games or visits to convents ⁶⁵. In 1891, Oscar Wilde wrote: "Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth" ⁶⁶.

Masks have their dark side too: in 1792, King Gustav III of Sweden was assassinated at a masked ball ⁶⁵. The sociologist Erving Goffman later described everyday life as a performance, and listed clothing, along with "insignia of office or rank", as part of the "personal front" we present to others ⁶⁷.

"Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth."Oscar Wilde · 1891

A black and white dress code limits the palette to two colours; everything else is free. Its model is Truman Capote's 1966 ball ⁶⁸.

On 28 November 1966, Truman Capote threw his Black and White Ball in the Grand Ballroom of the Plaza Hotel in New York. Guests had to wear black and white, and masks, which came off at midnight. The theme came from Capote's love of the black-and-white Ascot scene in My Fair Lady ⁶⁸⁶⁹.

A dress code born of mourning for a king in 1910 became, fifty-six years later, the theme of the most famous party of its time ³⁴⁶⁸.

An all-white dress code means head-to-toe white; at Le Dîner en Blanc, accessories may be white, silver or gold ⁷⁰.

In 1988, friends and friends of friends gathered for a dinner in the Bois de Boulogne, in Paris; dressing in white was "an elegant way to spot each other in a public space". More than 120 cities in over 40 countries have hosted one since ⁷¹. The founder, François Pasquier, had simply asked his friends to come dressed in white ⁷².

The unwritten rules

• Guests bring their own folding table and chairs, a white tablecloth, cloth napkins and a meal for two, plus a garbage bag ⁷³.
• Nobody goes to the venue alone: everyone follows a Table Leader to a location kept secret until the last moment ⁷⁰⁷³.
• It happens rain or shine; if it rains, the raincoat or umbrella should be white or transparent ⁷⁰.
• The dinner begins when everyone waves a white napkin in the air, in unison ⁷³.

Classic mistakes

• Leaving anything behind: the site must be left as clean as it was found, "if not cleaner" ⁷⁰.

Adjective codes such as "chic" or "dress to impress" describe a mood, not an outfit ¹.

Debrett's describes these codes as concentrating "on evoking mood" while lacking definitive sartorial guidance; they "may leave some people feeling anxious and inadequate" ¹. Its reassurance: the hosts are simply pleading with their guests to make an effort, and "under-dressing is not an option" ¹.

"Or national dress" on an invitation means the formal dress of your country is as correct as the stated code ²⁸.

At royal garden parties, "national dress and uniform are also often worn" ²⁸. Scottish Highland wear covers the whole spectrum of formality, from morning dress to white tie, and a kilt is correct at a black tie event if it is worn properly ⁷⁴.

The unwritten rules

• In Vienna, "festive national costume" is accepted at only a few balls, and only in its authentic, formal version ⁴⁵.

Before invitations, dress codes were laws: what you could wear depended on your rank.

Elizabethan sumptuary laws dictated which fabrics, garments and accessories each rank could wear: only the royal family could wear purple silk, cloth of gold and sable fur. The 1574 statutes punished offenders with a fine of £10 for every day and three months in prison ⁷⁵. At Versailles, the palace was open to the public, provided visitors were decently dressed ⁷⁶. In Britain, debutantes were presented at court until 1958; Princess Margaret is quoted as saying: "We had to put a stop to it. Every tart in London was getting in" ⁷⁷.

These codes kept people in, too. In 1783, Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun exhibited a portrait of Marie Antoinette in a muslin chemise. Imported cotton instead of French silk, and far too relaxed: it caused enough of an uproar to be removed from the Salon. She painted the same pose again, in formal silk ⁷⁸. Even the queen was not allowed to break the code.

In muslin, 1783: removed from the Salon

The same pose, in silk

And finally, the one almost nobody uses yet. What if a dress code was not a level of formality, but one detail?

Think of Halloween. Everybody interprets it differently, and yet the moment you walk in, you know it's Halloween. A detail code works the same way: the event is instantly recognisable, and every single guest is still free.

It's also the easiest code to judge. "Ruffles" leaves no room for misunderstanding: either you're wearing ruffles, or you're not. Clear in one sentence, distinct from every other code in one sentence, and endlessly creative.

And it gives people a reason to step out of their comfort zone. You try a shape you never wear, a fabric you never chose, and sometimes you keep it. A good dress code doesn't only dress one evening. It leaves something in your wardrobe.

Ten examples

1. 01Dress code: ruffles.
2. 02Dress code: V-neck.
3. 03Dress code: something that moves when you dance.
4. 04Dress code: the colours of blue hour, from pale sky to midnight.
5. 05Dress code: fringe.
6. 06Dress code: one thing borrowed.
7. 07Dress code: black, white, and one colour.
8. 08Dress code: silk, and nothing else matters.
9. 09Dress code: bare shoulders.
10. 10Dress code: dressed for the last dance.

Wimbledon proves that one colour is enough to make a whole court look like one event ⁴⁰. Capote proved that black, white and a mask were enough to make a party legendary ⁶⁸. One detail gives you the unity of a dress code, without telling a single woman what shape she has to be.