There are many points of etiquette surrounding weddings, and those include expected behavior and attire for the wedding guests. While many of the traditional rules have relaxed, they have not gone out the window altogether. A frequently asked question these days is whether it is okay to wear white (or black or red) to someone else's wedding, or if that is still taboo.
The reason to avoid wearing white as a wedding guest is that the color is reserved for the bride. It is the job of guests at weddings to be dressed appropriately and festively, but not to upstage the bride. Wearing white can definitely fall into the category of drawing attention from the bride, even if it is completely unintentional. This is particularly true if you wear some sort of a white dress with pearl wedding jewelry. Unless you are actually wearing a wedding gown, no one is going to mistake you for the bride, yet it would still be pushing the edge of good taste. While the bride might not be uptight about such old-fashioned rules, the chances are that her grandmother will be, and why do something that is likely to offend?
For a summer wedding, it is true that many of the prettier dresses in the stores may be white (more so some years than others), but there are so many other colors out there in the world that one can surely find a safer alternative. Another option is to wear a dress with a white background which has a colorful print on it, such as blue and pink flowers. Few would find fault with that; even those who interpret traditional wedding etiquette strictly will understand that a patterned dress with a little white in the background is in no way an attempt to upstage the bride. The one exception, by the way, to wearing white attire to a wedding is the naval officer's summer dress white attire.
Black has also been banned at weddings traditionally, although for a very different reason than the ban on white. The reason why black has long been deemed inappropriate for a wedding guest is because it is the color of mourning. A generation ago, if a guest wore black to a wedding, it would have been interpreted as meaning that they were wearing mourning attire to show their disapproval of the marriage. This is surely not the message that any guest wants to send with their wedding attire!
These days, black has become fairly accepted for wedding guest attire in many social circles (especially around the big cities). That said, there will still be those who find it inappropriate for a wedding, and it should be avoided by the mothers of the bride and groom due to the old meaning that black meant disapproval of the match. For the other guests, while you probably can get away with wearing black, especially for an evening wedding, it is still not the best color choice. Why? Because black is rather somber and dark for an occasion as festive as a wedding. Even if it is not strictly taboo, it is still nicer to wear a color other than black.
This brings us to the other old belief, that red is inappropriate for a wedding guest. The simple reason for the ban on red is that it is bright and flashy. While no one will think you are trying to look like a bride (white) or show disapproval (black), they might well think that you are trying to upstage the bride by wearing such a bright color. A true red will definitely tend to "pop" in pictures. That said, red can definitely be worn in a manner that is completely appropriate for a wedding. The key when wearing a bold color is to select a dress with a very classic design. A red silk shantung sheath worn with pearl jewelry to a fall afternoon wedding is going to look elegant. A skin-tight Lyra mini-dress in fire engine red, on the other hand, will definitely make the wrong kind of statement! When dressing for a wedding, let your good taste and good judgment be your guide to sartorial success.
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