work function...what do I wear?

formerlyGDaisy09

My boss is being honored at a large banquet for a regional award he won from a foundation that funds a lot of our research. our department is paying for our team to attend the event in November, I'm at a complete loss for what to wear. (I also need to sneak into my boss's office and take a closer look at the invitation to see if there are any formality hints there).  the event will be attended by many well respected MDs in this specialty, Pharma, foundation board members, etc.

tickets to this event are $400 a plate...if it's black tie I assume that'll be on the invitation, however if it's not how formal should I assume this event is?

I'm cosidering Rent the Runway if I need something more formal...I'd rather rent something for $30-60 than spend $100+ on something I may only wear once. does anyone have experience with that? 

hoffse

Little black dress  - dressy heels & the fanciest/nicest jewelry you own (or could borrow).  I'd also go with a stand-out clutch.  Make your accessories the focal point and let your dress be a backdrop.

As for "black tie...." lots of communities don't follow it strictly anymore.  I go to several black tie events per year, and there's usually a mix between floor length and knee-length (but very expensive looking) dresses.  Most women who wear short dresses also wear some pretty legit jewelry to seriously dress it up.  Most men do wear tuxes.

I know we live in different parts of the country, but that's what happens in a mid-sized southern city where people tend to be sticklers for the "rules."  

EDIT: regarding RTR, I haven't tried it yet but I probably will for our next event.  I do hear good things about it.

hoffse

One other note - I scrounge for deals on dresses (or I'll start to use RTR), but I did invest in a very nice formal clutch and pair of "event shoes" that nicely coordinate with my fancy jewelry.  I don't have much fancy jewelry, but I also borrow my mom's on occasion, and my shoes and clutch go well with hers too.  They aren't hard to store, and I tend to pull them out for most events, so it's been a good investment.

It works for me.  If you think you might have more of these in the future, it's just something to consider.

Xstatic3333

I'll defer to hoffse on the fashion advice (considering my last work function was a pig roast!) but will say my best friend uses RTR all the time and gets the nicest dresses. They even send you a back up size. I plan to use it if I ever get anything to dress up for

formerlyGDaisy09

Ok, I found the event on facebook...looks like it's cocktail attire...

I do have one nice LBD on hand, that's always an option, but I've worn it to a couple work and school functions in the past year, and it may need a break. I should probably add a good pair shoes to my closet... in the past year I've had about 3 of these type of events for work (2 at reseach conferences I'll likely attend most years). Plus H and I have 6 weddings on the books in 2015. I did recently pick up a more summery dress on the clearance rack for weddings next year, not apporpriate for Boston in November.

I've been working on building my wardrobe of career "investment" pieces, perhaps I need a couple event investment pieces as well. 

I'm also planning a much smaller cocktail event to raise money for the ballet company I work with...so I see more events like these in my future. 

hoffse

Gdaisy09 said:

Ok, I found the event on facebook...looks like it's cocktail attire...

I do have one nice LBD on hand, that's always an option, but I've worn it to a couple work and school functions in the past year, and it may need a break. I should probably add a good pair shoes to my closet... in the past year I've had about 3 of these type of events for work (2 at reseach conferences I'll likely attend most years). Plus H and I have 6 weddings on the books in 2015. I did recently pick up a more summery dress on the clearance rack for weddings next year, not apporpriate for Boston in November.

I've been working on building my wardrobe of career "investment" pieces, perhaps I need a couple event investment pieces as well. 

I'm also planning a much smaller cocktail event to raise money for the ballet company I work with...so I see more events like these in my future. 

Yeah, I would look around for a couple nice pieces that you can always pull out.  I honestly felt guilty about buying the clutch and shoes, but I've worn them enough that the cost per event has made them a pretty good deal (compared to shoes/purses I've bought on sale and barely used).  Plus I always get compliments on them from random people, so they make me feel confident.  I'm not the most outgoing person, so a good confidence booster is always welcome in situations like that!

I spent between $100-$125 on each IIRC and it was money well spent for me.  I'm trying to move toward buying less stuff that's nicer quality.  I don't need a closet full of "steals" that I never actually wear.

6 weddings is intense....

formerlyGDaisy09

hoffse said:

Gdaisy09 said:

Ok, I found the event on facebook...looks like it's cocktail attire...

I do have one nice LBD on hand, that's always an option, but I've worn it to a couple work and school functions in the past year, and it may need a break. I should probably add a good pair shoes to my closet... in the past year I've had about 3 of these type of events for work (2 at reseach conferences I'll likely attend most years). Plus H and I have 6 weddings on the books in 2015. I did recently pick up a more summery dress on the clearance rack for weddings next year, not apporpriate for Boston in November.

I've been working on building my wardrobe of career "investment" pieces, perhaps I need a couple event investment pieces as well. 

I'm also planning a much smaller cocktail event to raise money for the ballet company I work with...so I see more events like these in my future. 

Yeah, I would look around for a couple nice pieces that you can always pull out.  I honestly felt guilty about buying the clutch and shoes, but I've worn them enough that the cost per event has made them a pretty good deal (compared to shoes/purses I've bought on sale and barely used).  Plus I always get compliments on them from random people, so they make me feel confident.  I'm not the most outgoing person, so a good confidence booster is always welcome in situations like that!

I spent between $100-$125 on each IIRC and it was money well spent for me.  I'm trying to move toward buying less stuff that's nicer quality.  I don't need a closet full of "steals" that I never actually wear.

6 weddings is intense....

and I have 2 more friends that just got engaged...it's going to be a busy year! 3/6 of those weddings are my closest friends from college and 1 is my BFF from high school. we also have a couple more friends that we've got running over-unders on when they'll get engaged.

agreed that confidence boosters are helpful.  I actually just spent the summer ridding my closet of all those inexpensive "steals" that I no longer wear for a variety of reasons (out of style, stretched out, faded, falling apart...or maybe they didn't fit quite right in the first place) I'd much rather spend a little more on things that are more classic and will last longer (and give me a little confidence boost because they fit well) than cheap stuff that I'm going to replace more often.

als1982

What night of the week is it?  If it's a weekday, I'd wear business formal (skirt/pants/dress and a jacket).  If it's after 6:30 p.m. on Friday, or Saturday/Sunday evening, I'd go with Hoffse's suggestion. 

formerlyGDaisy09

It's a friday night 7pm

formerlyGDaisy09

Gdaisy09 said:

hoffse said:

Gdaisy09 said:

Ok, I found the event on facebook...looks like it's cocktail attire...

I do have one nice LBD on hand, that's always an option, but I've worn it to a couple work and school functions in the past year, and it may need a break. I should probably add a good pair shoes to my closet... in the past year I've had about 3 of these type of events for work (2 at reseach conferences I'll likely attend most years). Plus H and I have 6 weddings on the books in 2015. I did recently pick up a more summery dress on the clearance rack for weddings next year, not apporpriate for Boston in November.

I've been working on building my wardrobe of career "investment" pieces, perhaps I need a couple event investment pieces as well. 

I'm also planning a much smaller cocktail event to raise money for the ballet company I work with...so I see more events like these in my future. 

Yeah, I would look around for a couple nice pieces that you can always pull out.  I honestly felt guilty about buying the clutch and shoes, but I've worn them enough that the cost per event has made them a pretty good deal (compared to shoes/purses I've bought on sale and barely used).  Plus I always get compliments on them from random people, so they make me feel confident.  I'm not the most outgoing person, so a good confidence booster is always welcome in situations like that!

I spent between $100-$125 on each IIRC and it was money well spent for me.  I'm trying to move toward buying less stuff that's nicer quality.  I don't need a closet full of "steals" that I never actually wear.

6 weddings is intense....

and I have 2 more friends that just got engaged...it's going to be a busy year! 3/6 of those weddings are my closest friends from college and 1 is my BFF from high school. we also have a couple more friends that we've got running over-unders on when they'll get engaged.

agreed that confidence boosters are helpful.  I actually just spent the summer ridding my closet of all those inexpensive "steals" that I no longer wear for a variety of reasons (out of style, stretched out, faded, falling apart...or maybe they didn't fit quite right in the first place) I'd much rather spend a little more on things that are more classic and will last longer (and give me a little confidence boost because they fit well) than cheap stuff that I'm going to replace more often.

...and my cousin just got engaged...make that 7 weddings next year.