We all had something to say on whether you should dress for the occasion when I wrote about the lack of tradition seen in the Birdcage at the spring racing carnival. I loved your comments that ranged from total agreeance to one of you accusing me of outright Lara Bingle jealousy- ouchies!
From a young age I’ve been fascinated with the psychology of why we dress the way we do. For the most part in the western world we have choice as to what we wear every day, and whether you commit to loving fashion or not, society dictates that we humans wear clothes. In public anyhow.
So whether you are of the ‘I don’t give a fig what I wear’ or the ‘my belt and shoes must match’ ilk, we make these choices because we live in a world where we have to wear clothes.
This week’s idea is around what colour means to you, and how you apply that to various occasions in your life. There are common traditions like black or dark colours for a funeral or a bride wearing white for example. And I’m aware that these traditions extend to all sorts of variations depending on your cultural or ethnic heritage.
But what about colour and occasions? I’m off to a wedding shortly and thought about what colour I should wear.
“It is a question I get asked a lot – what are the no go colours to wear to a wedding. In a former life I was a marriage celebrant and for a number of years now I’ve been an image and colour consultant, so I think I can speak with some authority that comes purely from experience,” Jo Shires from The Style Advisor tells me.
“Although we live in modern times, white or cream belong to the bride. It is tradition. Accept it and respect it,” she says.
I can recall going to a wedding years ago where a rather gorgeous female attendee turned up in a neon pink, figure-hugging, strapless mini dress. Tanned and lithe she looked an absolute knock out with just the right amount of sexy thrown in.
But next to the bride? It screamed ‘LOOK AT ME!’
You couldn’t keep your eyes of Miss. Neon Pink and while I will never know whether she did it on purpose or subconsciously, I can recall wondering what was going through her head when she got dressed for that wedding.
“I think you need to find the colour that suits you best and wear it but don’t take attention away from the bride!” Jo says.
“For the majority of women black is not a colour that suits them and it’s not really appropriate for a wedding anyhow. It’s not a bad idea to find out what colour the bridal party are wearing so you don’t end up looking like the extra bridesmaid.”
So am I overthinking it? I’m not sure, but I do know I’m not the only person who’s ever attended a wedding, wearing clothes that I chose to wear.
What do you think?
18 comments
Can anyone give me some ideas on what to wear to a Winter Melbourne wedding? Dress code semi-formal…..
I love wearing colour to a wedding. It brings out your personality more than just wearing just black.
I just got married recently – I wore a evening gown which was “sand” coloured and my husband wore a navy suit with burgundy braces and navy and blue Vans. It was really important to us that people felt comfortable at our wedding, didn’t feel that they had to buy something new but wore something they truly felt beautiful in. I myself have worn black before, it does suit some people and I didn’t mind when people wore it to mine.
Thank you for all your comments, I have loved reading all your ideas!
I really can’t agree with wearing Black to a wedding! Honestly why wear Black when there are so many beautiful colours to choose from? What is wrong with Melbourne gals who wear black every day? I’m sick of it! Get a life and use some colour , especially at a wedding!!
Think about your skin tone and the colour of your eyes and hair. If you aren’t sure the best investment is ‘having your colours done’. It will change your life, give you the wow factor and
change you from a duckling into a swan!!
If you really can’t bear to go without wearing a black or white dress, at least ASK THE BRIDE or somebody in her family first. Get a feel of how traditional they are. I think it’s okay to wear something that isn’t your number one preference one day out of respect for somebody else.
I wore a white dress to a friends wedding earlier this year and while I was apprehensive about it I covered it up with a massive flowery scarf so you could only see white at the back. I always made sure I looked ‘floral’ when next to the bride so she was the only one dressed in white. It can be tricky but I think vibrant and fun is the best way to go. Thanks for a great post!
Bollocks to tradition, I say! I wore black at my own wedding and totally rocked it. I completely disagree with Jo’s comment – on the one hand she notes that black is not a colour that suits people and on the other notes that white/cream is appropriate to reserve for the bride. Puh-lease! White looks pretty *meh* on most women, let’s be honest!
I say wear what makes you feel good and happy 🙂
Frock up. Even if it is in a garden (wear wedges then so you don’t sink into the lawn!). In a colour that doesn’t match the bridesmaid, I’ve been there and I was hideously embarassed even though the bride was very gracious about it. I would never have picked her to choose red as a bridesmaids’ colour and as it turned out she didn’t, it was here sister’s choice (and I didn’t know her sister well at all). I couldn’t even rush home and change as we had traveled 500klms for the wedding. From then on I always inquired as to the colour of the bridesmaids to avoid a repeat.
The most fun I had dressing for a wedding was an Italian/Polish couple. We went to the church service in very smart day wear (complete with hats) and then formal after 5 for the reception. That was fun!
I see weddings as an opportunity to dress up. Oh hang on, I see any event as an opportunity to dress up 🙂
I have a wedding this Saturday and I have been racking my brian deciding on what colour to wear! I think I will go with purple and organge, fun vibrant and not taking away from the bride! Great post!
x Kirsty
http://geelongfashionista.com
I thought the rule of thumb for weddings is Never wear white and not to outshine the bride
I think the most outstanding gong for a ‘Look at Moi ‘ moment was when Princess Beatrice wore that awful hat to the Royal Wedding a couple of years ago!!
It is important that guests respect that it is the bride’s day, so whatever you do, do not dress to take the eyes off the bride. Wear a colour that suits you and a style you feel comfortable in as you will be standing, sitting, dancing in it for hours!
interesting! I respond to combincations of colours, more than one on its own.
There isn’t one ‘go to’ colour. It depends on a lot of different factors. If possible, I like to wear a colour that compliments the bridal party without actually matching it.
Yellow makes me happy, blue apparently represents intelligence and I luuurrrrvvvveee cobalt and royal blue. I also love timeless blends of colour like houndstooth, fleur de lys, polka dot etc. Anything but boring!
I wear black everywhere
Oh weddings. I think it really depends on the couple. For a Chinese couple’s wedding I knew it would be inappropriate to wear white or red as those are the death and good luck colours (hence the bride in red). Black is generally a no-no, that said, I have worn an oriental print on black dress to a friend’s wedding who loves all things oriental, completely with her blessing – we weren’t allowed to wear navy like a bridesmaid however. I think it comes down to what colour suits you and doesn’t scream for attention. For me, it’s normally various shades of blue.
for me it is I love red and where whenever I need to feel confident…black is my got to colour as is cream – but red is my fav…..I also follow appropriate traditions for weddings and funerals