What to Wear: Business Casual Wedding
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My husband loves to get dressed up. Wearing three-piece suits with patterned shirts and patterned ties, sometimes he looks like he’s walked out of the pages of Details magazine. That’s one reason why he was so excited to attend a friend’s wedding next weekend–the opportunity to wear his new bespoke suit. Unfortunately for J, the bride and groom have asked their guests to “opt for business casual attire instead of more formal options.”
Business casual attire? What exactly does that mean? Khakis with a button-down shirt and a tie? Khakis with a polo shirt? J complains that girls have it easy. We can just throw on the same dress we’d normally wear with a pair of more casual shoes, which is what I’m planning on doing for this particular affair. I’m dressing down a dress I wore to my cousins wedding last year by adding a pair of flat, black sandals. This is the outfit I’m planning to wear (my apologies for the poor quality image of the dress; image of shoes from DSW):
Adding insult to injury, J has even fewer options of places to shop than I do out here in Omaha. J.Crew recently discontinued selling menswear at their one-and-only Omaha store because, while it was selling well, it wasn’t selling as well as the women’s clothing. There are a bunch of older men’s clothing stores, like Joseph A. Bank, and a handful of younger guy’s retailers like Abercrombie and Buckle. But what’s available for those young adults? Nowadays, at least out here, not much.
So I ask you, readers: What’s appropriate for a guy to wear to a business casual wedding?


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Business casual to a personal celebration!?! I have been to and planned many a wedding in my day and have never heard of such a thing.
Cocktail attire, Festive attire - yes. But business casual seems like a very strange way to describe what the wedding guests should wear. However, it does point to and describe what you said in the post. A oxford “work shirt” and tan or grey slacks, nice shoes and a matching belt. No tie, no short sleeves.
I agree with ABCD! Business casual to a wedding??? How interesting! I much prefer the term “snappy casual” or “cocktail-lite”! Anyhoo, my husband’s firm is business casual everyday and he rotates between a casual suit with no tie / slacks and a button-down, sometimes adding a blazer.
Hope that helps!
kate’s most recent blog post: say cheese? yes please!
Ugh - I HATE it when people say “business casual” for a wedding. It’s not a work function, people! Anyway, here’s how I dress my husband for events with this level of formality: (1) khakis, buttown down shirt, tie; (2) khakis, button down shirt, blazer (no tie).
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I just posted about the wedding guest wardrobe topic over on EAD Weddings (http://www.elizabethannedesigns.com/blog/2009/07/10/what-not-to-wear/). I think you’ve gotten good advice so far! I’m a fan of khakis, a white shirt, and a navy blazer. You really can’t go wrong with that combo.
Emily’s most recent blog post: Our Labor of Love
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