What to wear

Occasions

Every guide settles one occasion completely — what to wear, what to skip, and why. Read it once, weeks early.

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Black tie, cocktail, and festive mean different garments, not different moods. White is out. The floor you dance on decides the shoe.

Charcoal and navy wool do more work than a shiny black costume. Religious rooms, graveside grass, and jewelry each have their own rules.

One notch above the people already in the building. Finance still wants a suit. A startup does not. Do not buy the outfit that morning.

Mute colors, no logos, closed shoes, a belt that will not set off the magnetometer. Defendants should be the quietest people in the room.

Dress for the actual plan. Layers you can peel, shoes you can walk six blocks in, and one spray of scent — not a cloud.

Linen and voile, not clinging viscose. A wedge or an ankle-strap sandal, not a stiletto. Mid-saturation color. A wrap for the wind. No white.

Merino next to skin, compression under dark trousers, shoes that come off and go back on at immigration. Land looking like you meant to arrive.

All occasions guides