Dinner dress

“ The full dinner dress for guests admits of great splendor. It may be of any thick texture of silk or velvet for winter, or light rich goods for summer, and should be long and sweeping. Every trifle in a lady's costume should be, as far as she can afford it, faultless. The fan should be perfect in its way, and the gloves should be quite fresh. Diamonds are used in broaches, pendants, ear-rings and bracelets. If artificial flowers are worn in the hair, they should be of the choicest description. ”

“ A dinner engagement must never be broken except in case of sickness or death. Should one fall ill or be obliged for any imperative reason to withdraw the acceptance of the invitation, the hostess should be notified at once in order that she may if possible fill the place left vacant. For men the proper costume for late dinner (at six o’clock or after) is regulation evening dress—i.e., black swallow-tail coat, with trousers to match, low-cut white waistcoat, white dress-shirt, white lawn tie, pumps or patent-leather shoes, and black socks. ”

“ One does not go out to dine in a tea-gown except in the house of a member of one's family or a most intimate friend. One would wear a tea-gown in one's own house in receiving a guest to whose house one would wear a dinner dress.
When In Doubt
There is one rule that is fairly safe to follow: When in doubt, wear the plainer dress. It is always better far to be under-dressed than over-dressed. If you don't know whether to put on a ball dress or a dinner dress, wear the dinner dress. Or, whether to wear cloth or brocade to a luncheon, wear the cloth. ”

“ The dress of a hostess at a dinner party should be rich in material, but subdued in tone, so as not to eclipse any of her guests. A young hostess should wear a dress of rich silk, black or dark in color, with collar and cuffs of fine lace, and if the dinner be by daylight, plain jewelry, but by gaslight diamonds. ”

“ As a matter of fact, it is well to take two evening dresses, one on the order of a dinner dress with only a slightly low neck, and the other a more elaborate evening gown as there is usually some special occasion for which one needs it. ”

“ Dinner Dress.
Ladies dress elegantly, and in any manner, or color, that fancy or becomingness may dictate. Corsages, however, while open at the neck in either square, or heart-shaped fashion, are not as low-cut as for a ball-dress, while the sleeves are usually of demi-length. Gloves are always worn, and not removed until seated at the table. They are not resumed afterward unless dancing follows.
Very young ladies wear less expensive toilets of white or delicately tinted wools, or light-weight silks. ”

“ The degree of full-dress worn at dinner varies with the formality of the occasion and the fashions prevailing in the social circle represented. On very grand occasions a very rich and stylish costume may be required. In general, a lady wears her choicest silk or velvet gown at a dinner. ”

“ It might delay the dinner.
Bread should be broken, not cut in small pieces. To butter a large piece of bread and then bite it, as children do, is something the well-bred never do.
In eating game or poultry do not touch the bones with your fingers.
Never gesticulate with your knife or fork in your hand, nor hold them pointing upward, keep them down on your plate.
A gentleman wears a dress suit at dinner. A lady wears a handsome gown, “dinner dress” being “full dress;” differing, however, from the evening party or reception gown in the kind of fabrics used. ”

“ Men should be always in full dress,—black coat, waistcoat, and trousers, and white cravat. There is no variation from this dress at a dinner, large or small.
For ladies in delicate health who cannot expose throat or arms, there is always the largest liberty allowed; but the dinner dress must be handsome.
In leaving the house and ordering the carriage, name the earliest hour rather than the latest; it is better to 91 keep one's coachman waiting than to weary one's hostess. It is quite impossible to say when one will leave, as there may be music, recitations, and so on, after the dinner. ”

“ It is considered polite to arrive twenty minutes or a half-hour before dinner is served. If it is a formal and elaborate dinner, evening dress should be worn; but afternoon or semi-evening dress is appropriate for the informal dinner. It is not at all incorrect, if one is in doubt, to ask the host or hostess whether one should wear full dress or not. It is certainly wiser than to make oneself conspicuous by wearing different dress from all the other guests. ”

“ I have an evening dress, pink mull over silk (I'm perfectly beautiful in that) , and a blue church dress, and a dinner dress of red veiling with Oriental trimming (makes me look like a Gipsy) , and another of rose-coloured challis, and a grey street suit, and an every-day dress for classes. That wouldn't be an awfully big wardrobe for Julia Rutledge Pendleton, perhaps, but for Jerusha Abbott—Oh, my! ”

“ And they shade things off so much more minutely than they do with us. A ball-dress cannot be a dinner-dress, and vice versâ; while in America the same toilette is considered appropriate for both occasions. If a dinner-party is to number over twelve guests, a low-necked dress is admissible; otherwise, the dinner-dress must be made with open corsage and half-long sleeves. ”

“ Evening dress for ladies may be as rich, elegant and gay as one chooses to make it. It is everywhere the custom to wear full evening dress in brilliant evening assemblages. It may be cut either high or low at the neck, yet no lady should wear her dress so low as to make it quite noticeable or a special subject of remark. Evening dress is what is commonly known as "full dress," and will serve for a large evening party, ball or dinner. ”

“ It is the height of the gayety of the day; and although dinner calls for handsome dress, a ball demands it. Young persons of slender figure prefer light, diaphanous dresses; the chaperons can wear heavy velvet and brocade. Jewels are in order. A profusion of flowers in the hands of the women should add their brightness and perfume to the rooms. The great number of bouquets sent to a dbutante is often embarrassing. The present fashion is to have them hung, by different ribbons, on the arm, so that they look as if almost a trimming to the dress. ”

“ On the other hand, an elaborate costume before dinner is in excessively bad taste. The dress should be made to fit the figure neatly, finished at the throat and wrists by an embroidered collar and cuffs, and, unless there is a necessity for it, in loss of the hair or age, there should be no cap or head dress worn. A wrapper made with handsome trimming, open over a pretty white skirt, may be worn with propriety; but the simple dress worn for breakfast, or in the exercise of domestic duties, is not suitable for the parlor when receiving visits of ceremony in the morning. ”

“ Every woman knows what she likes best, and what she considers suitable. Two alternating traveling dresses at least will be necessary, and two or three semi-evening dresses to put on for dinner. One very simple half-dinner dress of black, that has a combination of trimmings such as described earlier in this chapter, is ideally useful. Tourists do not put on evening clothes except in very fashionable centers, such as London, Paris, Monte Carlo or Deauville, and then only if staying at an ultra fashionable hotel. To be over-dressed is always in bad taste. ”

“ Your dress need not be more showy than you would wear when dining at a private house, particularly if you are a permanent boarder. There is no place where dress escapes with less scrutiny than at a great hotel. Still, it is bad taste to go to the dinner-table in ungenteel and unbecoming habiliments—such as a figured or party-coloured mousseline-delaine, a thing which always has the effect of calico, and, like calico, gives an unlady-like look even to the most decided lady. ”

“ Elderly women often substitute a dress cut out slightly at the neck, with elbow or transparent sleeves, for the regulation décolleté gown. Those who catch cold very easily have their dresses cut accordingly.
For an informal dinner the usual costume in America is of the sort just described. Young women select light colors as a rule. Velvets, heavy brocades, and similar materials appropriate for matrons are out of place in the toilette of young girls. Those who follow the English fashion wear décolleté costume whether they dine at home or abroad. ”

“ A graver and more important institution is the London dinner, commencing at half past seven, with good evening clothes—a white neckcloth and black vest for gentlemen; for nous autres, evening dress, not resplendent. The dinners we attend have perhaps the edge of state a little taken off, being given at short notice; but we observe female attire to be less showy than in our recollections of twenty-four years previous, and our one evening dress, devised to answer for dinner, evening party, and ball, proves a little over, rather than under, the golden mean of average appearance. ”

“ A man who is a faithful adherent of his party may feel it to be his duty and his pleasure to attend its festivities. At a stag dinner a dinner-jacket with black waistcoat, black trousers and tie may be worn. Many women wear low-necked and short-sleeved gowns. Others dislike doing so on such a public occasion. They wear handsome costumes of silk, satin, velvet, brocade, chiffon, or other dressy material, slightly cut down at the neck and with elbow-sleeves. The French call this “demi-toilette,” signifying that it is a half-way stage between every-day and full dress. ”

“ Similarly, in the afternoon unless the occasion is an elaborate one, when she may wear an elegant reception gown or an informal tea, when she may wear one of the exquisite creations especially designed for such occasions.
There is a semi-evening dress which may be worn to afternoon affairs or to dinner and to all evening entertainments except very elaborate ones. For these a woman's gown should be décolleté and should be of beautiful material. The color and design are at the discretion of the individual but it is well to remember that those which are simplest are most effective. ”

“ Much jewellery is out of place in a ball-room. Beautiful flowers, whether natural or artificial, are the loveliest ornaments that a lady can wear on these occasions.
At small dinner parties, low dresses are not so indispensable as they were held to be some years since. High dresses of transparent materials, and low bodices with capes of black lace, are considered sufficiently full dress on these occasions. At large dinners only the fullest dress is appropriate.
Very young ladies should wear but little jewellery. Pearls are deemed most appropriate for the young and unmarried. ”

“ Each man has found upon the dressing-room table an envelope addressed to him, in which is the name of the lady whom he is expected to take out to dinner, and also in the corner "R" or "L" to indicate on which side of the table he and his lady are to sit.
After all the others have passed out, the hostess brings up the rear with the gentleman guest of honor, who will sit at her right.
Evening dress should always be worn. For [156] a lady a gown with low neck and short sleeves or elbow sleeves; for a gentleman, a dress coat and its accompanying trousers, vest, and tie of regulation cut and color. ”

“ Gloves are always removed, never at a dinner should they be tucked in at the wrists. Men, of course, wear full evening dress to a formal dinner.
In hotels and other public dining-rooms there is more freedom of choice as to what one shall wear but it is in bad taste to attire oneself conspicuously. A woman dining alone should always wear her hat into the dining-room even if she is a guest of the hotel. ”

“ Evening dress is the same for a large dinner party, a ball or an opera. In some circles, however, evening dress is considered an affectation, and it is as well to do as others do. On Sunday, morning dress is worn and on that day of the week no gentleman is expected to [Pg 324] appear in evening dress, either at church, at home or away from home. Gloves are dispensed with at dinner parties, and pale colors are preferred to white for evening wear. ”

“ We do not pretend to understand why, but it is one of the unalterable laws of masculine etiquette. A white waistcoat is never worn with a dinner-jacket. For a formal dinner the proper costume for women is a low-necked evening gown, with sleeves either very short or of the length required by the fashion prevailing at the moment. It is by no means necessary that the bodice should be extremely décolleté. Long gloves, white or delicately tinted, dress-slippers, and silk stockings complete the costume. The foot-gear may match the dress or it may be white or black. ”

“ The theory is that it should never be worn where there are ladies, but the modern practise has broken the theory down so that at small dinners, the theater, club affairs, etc., the dinner coat is worn by men who give the subject of dress intelligent consideration. ”

“ To-day a light dress is seasonable; to-morrow a cloak might not be uncomfortable. It is difficult for the modiste to designate the best costume for promenade; and to avoid error, we will confine our report to fashion in the parlor, drawing-room, and saloon.
Fig. 1 represents a pretty Dinner or Visiting Toilet. The head-dress is composed of blonde, ribbon and white satin, velvet ribbon and white feathers, and is worn very backward on the head. The blonde forms a round with scalloped edge, covered with figures. ”