As a guest is it considered wrong to wear black to a wedding?

[Deelight]

I have a wedding of a close friend to attend to soon which I am really looking forward to . But I have a question about attire the event will be fairly upscale so I figure cocktail dresses and such will be the norm but I am not certain what the code is on the colour black? Another friend attending asked me as well and I was stumped I know in my culture it is considered the height of rudeness but I am not sure if that applies in Oz or anywhere else?

I am completely stumped if anyone can clarify for me I would be so appreciative

 

[monarch64]

I used to think wearing black to a wedding was terribly rude, but I''ve been to so many weddings in the last few years and seen so many women wearing beautiful little black dresses that I don''t think it''s so awful anymore. I have worn a LBD to two weddings in the last two years and I have a gorgeous navy silk concotion waiting in the wings for a wedding this May...I have changed my mind completely seeing other women wearing black so often to evening weddings that I am convinced there is nothing really offensive about it.

I was married on a Sunday afternoon outdoors and I didn''t see one woman wearing a black dress...I think the time of day still stipulates what color a gal will wear, you know? Evening weddings it seems like anything (within reason ) goes. HTH!

 

[Deelight]

Thanks Monarch

I was having a chat with my friend who was also asking the same question and it left me stumped, usually I am all up with the do''s and don''ts. I really am not sure how rude it is considered anymore. I think I could possibly get away with a LBD I like black it is a really flattering colour .

The wedding will be at 3pm and the reception is to follow would that make it an appropriate time for black attire? I am thinking considering the venue a knee length dress to just below would be suitable?

 

[bee*]

I''ve worn black to the last two weddings I was at and there were tons of people wearing black at them. I''m going to a wedding next week also and I''m wearing a beautiful black cocktail dress to it also.

 

[Delster]

All the weddings I''ve been to in the last few years at a guesstimate I''d say 75% of the younger women were wearing black cocktail dresses. Black was the most popular colour for sure, even at Summer weddings. So it''s definitely acceptable. The older generation was commenting on it though!

 

[Deelight]

Thanks for the input guys , I just did not want to feel as if I made a huge boo boo

Finding a nice black cocktail dress is easier then trying to find a non black one , Now to find a shop that stocks nice dresses :K I feel like I live in the fashion Sahara

 

[Stephanie]

What really seems to dictate the dress is the time of the event. Usually anything past sunset is considered a little more formal because a dinner is associated with that time of day. Also, the bride''s manner is a huge input - does everything about her wedding say formal? Since the event is a three, a patterned (black and white) dress would be fine as well as a black dress (as long as the fabric isn''t too dressy.)

Are you looking for strapless, shift, etc?

 

[Deelight]

She is fairly down to earth but this wedding will be very formal which at first was really surprising as she is fairly not into the whole formality thing but it will be a beautiful event .

I am thinking something with maybe little straps so I can comfortably wear a bra underneath otherwise then I have the added drama of trying to find a strapless bra

which again is nigh impossible. I think something with an A-line to allow for hips and just below the knee I hate my knees .

 

[Independent Gal]

I think black is A-OK. But what I''d do is wear a brightly coloured accesory - necklace, scarf, shoes.

My mom and FI''s mom will both be wearing black dresses to part of my wedding. No worries here! It''s very normal these days.

 

[LegacyGirl]

Are we talking all black or can black with a design like flowers or something be considered rude too?

 

[Stephanie]

Date: 3/20/2008 9:33:15 AM
Author: LegacyGirl
Are we talking all black or can black with a design like flowers or something be considered rude too?

Patterns can work very well.

Dee - this is kinda what I was thinking of with the pattern comment: http://www.whitehouseblackmarket.com/store/browse/product.jsp?colorFamily=&productId=300110531&subCatId=&catId=cat210002&fromSearch=&inSeam= It's a little silk shift dress and looks really good on.
And it's longer than it looks on that uber tall model. Comes past my knees and I'm 5'6".

If you want to stick with a black dress and do some accessories like Indy said (which I totally agree), something like this may work -
http://anntaylorloft.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=11770&N=1200012&pCategoryId=199&categoryId=211&Ns=CATEGORY_SEQ_211&defaultColorNameFromCategory=
Black&defaultSizeTypeFromCategory=Misses#ATLtop

or

http://www.anntaylorloft.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=11724&No=15&pCategoryId=199&Ns=CATEGORY_SEQ_211&N=1200012&Nty=1&categoryId=211&defaultColorNameFromCategory=
Black&defaultSizeTypeFromCategory=Misses#ATLtop

 

[Deelight]

Date: 3/20/2008 9:33:15 AM
Author: LegacyGirl
Are we talking all black or can black with a design like flowers or something be considered rude too?

I always always told full black I would not consider something with a pattern to be bad but I think it is officially established that black is okay YAY

Stephanie thanks for posting those dresses I will have to see if I can find something like that over here (I am in Australia), My height can be a problem as well when I look for things I am about 5''10 so things tend to be shorter then they are meant to be

If worst comes to worse I think I might have to fly to Melbourne to shop oh how sad

 

[SarahLovesJS]

Date: 3/20/2008 9:10:49 AM
Author: Independent Gal
I think black is A-OK. But what I''d do is wear a brightly coloured accesory - necklace, scarf, shoes.


My mom and FI''s mom will both be wearing black dresses to part of my wedding. No worries here! It''s very normal these days.

Ditto! Accessories are great and I think they preserve the little black dress look while completely eliminating any possible I''m going to a funeral feel. Granted most people don''t wear "little black dresses" to funerals, but hey you never know.

 

[OUpearlgirl]

My mom is sometimes over the top in being Miss Manners.. She says it''s okay to wear black to a wedding as long as you have SOME color on you... I''ve worn a black dress with a pink pashmina or red shoes before.

 

[Haven]

I don''t and wouldn''t wear black to weddings, but I''ve seen many women do so.

 

[sunnyd]

Hey it''s better than white!

Especially if your boobs are falling out...

SO''s ex did just that to his sister''s wedding. Ick. As well as someone at my friend''s wedding! Must be some new sick trend?!

 

[zoebartlett]

I think it''s fine too. As others have mentioned, if you wear something a little more colorful with it, the black will look great!

 

[allycat0303]

Well I know that it is considered rude in my culture (Viet) but I don''t really see anything wrong with it. I''ve noticed that some brides pick black as a bridesmaid colour so it can''t be totally taboo.

 

[Elmorton]

Two people in my wedding party wore black - a reader and a soloist, and my wedding was an afternoon outdoor ceremony in June. Both of these friends are very trendy, conscious, and fashionable - so I think it really is becoming more and more OK, esp. since many weddings are becoming increasingly formal. I wore a black and tan dress to a September wedding (finding an appropriate dress color in the fall is really difficult if you''re trying to avoid black!) But...I''m going to a wedding at the end of May, and I''m still trying to figure out if I''m comfortable going with a black dress or if I want to wear a floral print instead.

 

[aquarius_ser]

I always wear black and everyone I know always wears black... it doesn''t matter what season or what time of day the wedding is...

 

[ephemery1]

My bridesmaids actually wore black, so it was definitely ok by me! Because it was a formal, evening wedding, a lot of our guests wore black as well (we did "black tie optional") and it looked so elegant and lovely in the pictures afterwards. It was May 5th though, so still early spring... I think people tend to wear colors and more casual dresses for late spring/summer weddings, especially if any part of it is outdoors.

 

[Pandora II]

I wear a lot of black to weddings, I don''t wear all black though.

I will tend to wear a bright pink dress with black jacket and hat, or black dress and hat with a coloured jacket.

Loads of people in the UK also wear white, cream or ivory to weddings - the last wedding show I went to they had a fashion show for outfits for guests/mob etc to wear and 50% were in ivory or cream...

Here''s one of my favourite hats - I wore it to a wedding in the US last year and was rather surprised how many people told me I was very brave to wear a hat that big...

 

[Gypsy]

I'm Persian so going to most Persian weddings is like attending a funeral only with nicer jewelry and longer hemlines. Still and all, I try not to wear straight black. I almost always have some color as an accent-- even if it's just the shoes. I don't see anything wrong with it. I made a concious effort to not wear black to the last wedding we attended with was a formal NYE wedding, and it was only because of that time of the year, when there are plenty of evening gowns available, that I was able to find a lovely dark olive gown and accessories. I did end up wearing black to that ceremony though. Again, with a colored accent. But it was really hard to avoid.

 

[ephemery1]

Date: 3/20/2008 3:55:50 PM
Author: Pandora II
I wear a lot of black to weddings, I don't wear all black though.

I will tend to wear a bright pink dress with black jacket and hat, or black dress and hat with a coloured jacket.

Loads of people in the UK also wear white, cream or ivory to weddings - the last wedding show I went to they had a fashion show for outfits for guests/mob etc to wear and 50% were in ivory or cream...

Here's one of my favourite hats - I wore it to a wedding in the US last year and was rather surprised how many people told me I was very brave to wear a hat that big...

Pandora, it is so fun that people wear hats to weddings in the UK!! I have been to countless weddings here in the US (probably 20+) of varying degrees of formal, and can honestly say I've never once seen a woman wearing a hat... it is definitely considered unusual over here, regardless of the hat size! But my friend is English and I know when she attends her relatives' weddings over there, it's very common. Maybe you can start the tradition over here...

 

[Octavia]

I will be wearing black to a wedding this summer because I''m a bridesmaid and it''s the color my friend chose for our dresses. It''s nice because the dress is cute and very easy to wear again (in fact, I''m trying to refrain from wearing it beforehand!) but I generally wouldn''t wear black to a wedding otherwise. Not because I think it''s rude, because wedding etiquette seems to have come well past that point, but because I much prefer to wear pretty color! I don''t often get the chance to be "pretty," it used to be mainly "businesslike" and now it''s "sloppy student." For me, the little black dress is the cocktail-party equivalent of jeans, sneakers, and a college hoodie sweatshirt

but there''s definitely a reason both things are so popular!

 

[Angel7]

I say no.
I''ve worn black to several weddings. I always think of those horror stories where the future MIL doesn''t want the marriage to happen and wears all black to show her disapproval and mourning.

I think the little black dress is fashion forward and that''s how people view it now...just my 2 cents!

 

[krispi]

As far as I''m aware, the only thing that you really shouldn''t wear to a wedding is solid white. I don''t know anyone who would be offended by a black dress, especially at a formal evening event - it just seems to fit the occasion.

 

[bee*]

Love the hat Pandora! Wearing hats is a huge thing over here also with the parents and older family members-my mother has already started looking at hats for our wedding next year-she said that''s the one thing that she doesn''t care how much money she spends on it!

 

[Pandora II]

I love hats - I have rather a lot of them...

Ebay after Royal Ascot is the time to buy - you can get the most amazing designer names for ridiculous prices.

I bought a very strange one this week for my cousin''s wedding in May, but it looks as if it''s a perfect match with my dress, which is vintage 1920''s mustard coloured silk with huge amounts of beading. It needs a few feathers though, so I''m looking for yellow ostrich ones!

If I wasn''t getting married and wanted my hair long, I would get it bobbed and have one of the fabulous 1920''s hats I keep seeing...

I''ve worn this one a few times, so it has now been retired...

Ephemery, it''s time for you to all get with the Hat Thing! My FSIL who is from Chicago is very excited to be buying her first wedding hat - she begged me to wear the one above to her wedding.

I tell you, getting that thing all the way to Chicago with stops in NY and New England en-route was an interesting experience. It doesn''t fit in airport x-ray machines and I was freaking out about the feather''s getting squished!

 

[katebar]

Deelight now come on you should be able to find soemthing in BrisVegas!!!
How about Natalie Deening or that new fashion mecca in the Valley
Plus there''s lots of lovely online shops now with great return polices! I love (for my daughter www.glamourpussprincess.com.au) and I have heaps of other sites if you like