How to dress appropriately at a reception?

With the further development of Chinese wine culture, there are more and more wine tasting parties in large and medium-sized cities. Maybe it's because as a woman, I have a natural sensitivity to things like clothes. Participating in various cocktail parties, except the wine itself, I subconsciously observed the clothes of the people present. Many times, you can enjoy the beautiful and handsome guys in Yun 'an, but there will always be a scene of "disharmony" without accident.

Some people, either dressed too casually or dressed too grandly, have become the focus of the whole scene. Last weekend, I organized a cocktail party for friends in a theme bar. Because they were all old classmates who had known each other for more than ten years, and some people brought their children to attend, they didn't explain the dress code. Judging from the scene, people generally wear casual clothes. Men are actually quite nice. They usually wear short-sleeved shirts or POLO shirts and trousers Because in such hot weather, no one will wear a suit and tie on this occasion, so women's clothes are more diverse. I was going to wear a long skirt, but it happened to rain that day, so I wore jeans and the simplest T-shirt, and several other women also wore casual clothes.

However, a friend of mine is a little embarrassed because she has never attended a luxurious cocktail party before. She saw that everyone in the photo was wearing a dress or something, which was very grand. So this time she deliberately wore a dark brown V-neck dress to show her graceful figure, pearl earrings and delicate makeup, which was very beautiful. However, compared with everyone's relaxed dress, her dress is a bit too grand. She also said, "If I had known it was such a relaxed atmosphere, I wouldn't have dressed like this." In fact, for the organizer, I am very satisfied with her dress attitude, which at least shows that she pays enough attention to this reception, but it also tells us that no matter how familiar people attend the reception in the future, they must also explain the dress requirements to avoid the guests being embarrassed by the dress problem.

However, if there is a dress code, does everyone dress according to the code? If most people do this, it means that a few people don't dress as required. If most people don't dress as required, it means that a few people dress as required. Isn't it a bit "bad money drives out good money"? I have been in a similar situation. Once, I was invited to a birthday dinner hosted by a famous winery owner in Nanjing. The location is in a super five-star hotel. The invitation clearly stipulates that I should attend in formal attire, and the organizer has told me several times orally. So, of course, I'm wearing a little skirt, high heels and a handbag. Is that in line with the regulations? Arriving at the scene, I saw the birthday girl dressed in costumes, welcoming each guest one by one on the other side of the long red carpet. But when I look at the guests again, I will be blindsided-there are many elderly guests, all of whom are local high officials and the like, because it is autumn and people wearing high collars can be seen everywhere, which is casual anyway. The people wearing formal dresses are mainly the receptionists and staff at the scene. Another media friend and I, who are also dressed very formally, can't help sighing that it is a long way to go to popularize cocktail party culture in China!

As far as my own understanding is concerned, there are mainly three kinds of wine-themed receptions popular in China at present. The first kind of reception, including dinner, especially the reception of western-style dinner, is grand and must be dressed appropriately. Ladies must not wear slippers or jeans. It is better to wear a skirt with high heels. Even men can't wear shirts or collarless clothes. The second kind of cocktail party, where people can take wine at will, walk around and communicate with each other, is actually very common now, and some associations in producing areas generally adopt this form to promote it. According to my observation, the dress of this cocktail party is divided according to the crowd. Some women who love beauty are of course skirts with designer bags, while some media people are big bags or shoulder bags, which are convenient for carrying cameras and notebooks. But the clothes are more formal. However, I once saw a lady wearing a shorts T-shirt at a famous brand tasting in Medoc, which was really out of line with the atmosphere. The third kind of cocktail party, of course, is limited to a small cocktail party in a certain circle, such as a cocktail party where one person brings a bottle of wine. I think this kind of reception, everyone is more entangled in what wine to bring, and as for what to wear, it is second. Wear whatever you feel comfortable within the allowable range. Once I attended a friend's birthday party, I explicitly asked for a dress code for wearing flip-flops, which immediately made people feel relaxed.

In fact, the reception is "high-end, foreign style and high-grade" in many people's minds. People who love wine often love life. Most of the men and women I saw at the reception were well dressed, but sometimes many people wore the wrong clothes because they didn't know the situation. Arturo Perez-Levitt, a famous Spanish writer, talked about such a dress concept in his book The Queen of the South, which can actually be given to such people. "If you don't dress properly, the last remedy is to show as much confidence as possible." Well, if you wear the wrong clothes at a cocktail party, in front of everyone's surprised eyes, all you have to do is shake the glass, put your nose in it, smell it deeply, then sip the wine in the glass and say, "This wine is from 2000, using American oak barrels." So, you win.