If they end up going tuxedo less though they should wear a formal dark suit and tie instead.
Black tie optional wedding women s attire.
Women have a little more wiggle room when it comes to interpreting black tie optional wear for a wedding or other formal event.
While cocktail dresses can be an appropriate option for black tie long dresses tend to be a more elevated choice.
If you lack a full length gown a special occasion cocktail dress one adorned with sequins and worn with formal shoes for instance would work as well.
Both men and women have multiple options for black tie optional outfits.
While attire may be slightly more casual than a black tie affair some overlap in appropriate dress exists when comparing black tie and black tie optional events.
Women can go the long evening gown route but a dressy suit or shorter cocktail dress is fine too.
Floor length gowns are always permissible and the most formal outfit.
For a black tie optional wedding men can wear a tuxedo but it s not a requirement.
As such it requires a sophisticated level of dressing.
For women the code typically calls for a floor length dress or gown.
Evaluating the dress code.
As far as women are concerned there s not much of a difference between black tie attire and black tie optional attire although mae says it s more acceptable to wear a dress that shows the ankles.
A black tie optional dress code calls for formal attire.