Observations on Elegant Night

[Cushing985]

 

  He would have preferred to dress casual.   Made me uncomfortable that he was uncomfortable.  Just my two cents worth . . . what do you all think?

 

I think you're a great wife being so in tune with your hubby!

[Kermarkim]

I like taking the formal photos once a year.  So I don't over dress but we come dressy casual.  DH and son will wear dress slacks and a nice dress shirt (no tie).  The generally leave the top two buttons undone.  I generally wear a nice jumpsuit or a nice dress (nothing too fancy but nothing too casual).  The pictures come out amazing and I purchase at least 1 a year as our official family photo.  I then take my phone camera and take a picture of the formal picture and post it on social media for all to see.  One 8X10 is generally $20 or so.  I only really need one as I have all of our own photos we take with our phone.  We eat in the main dining room on all elegant evenings because those are the best menus.  If I don't like what they have, I can always go to the Lido.  They have never turned anyone away on elegant night in the dining room.  I see kids in shorts and tennis shoes and adults in jeans and t-shirts.  So don't over pack but dress to your own liking.

[RNsoon2beNP]

Me, hubby, and the kids love formal/elegant night, we normally go all out and have fun with it suits/tuxs & gowns, but on longer cruises when theres a second one, we normally go causal-to-nice, but dont stress it at all. Im not a hair & makeup gal, by NO means but playing dress up is fun. But since im on vaca, id rather spend an hour by the pool, rather than getting all dressed up for a second time. Just my 2cents 😎

[TubT]

On 1/19/2019 at 7:01 AM, Aplmac said:

.

I was wondering the same thing myself.

People get dressed-up for the food?

No, people get dressed up for the tradition, as much as anything. 

 

I say, ask yourself why you wear anything at all to elegant night.  Once you've answered that question, you know why you should follow the printed dress code, right?

Edited January 23, 2019 by TubT

[TubT]

On 1/19/2019 at 4:40 PM, Stacie. said:

😮I need to remember to pack a pair of dress pants for DH. I'm trying to convince DH that we should wear the outfits we purchased for a Gatsby themed fundraiser last year, which would have him in black dress pants, crisp white shirt, black bowtie and suspenders (we'd leave the fedora at home) and I would wear my sparkly flapper dress and pearls (but probably not the feathered head piece as I don't see it making the trip unscathed). 😉

 

I think that would be great.  For the boys?  See if you can't find them some zoot suits.  I've seen teenagers dressed that way, and it looked great.  And I don't see a good reason not to wear the feathered head piece, unless, as you say, it's too delicate to make the trip.

 

On our cruise (next week, on the Vista), there will be pirates in costume on formal night.  I have been tempted to wear wizard's robes, as proprieter of "Olive and Her Wands" store.  (If you're a Harry Potter fan, say it quickly.)

 

I wear a tux, but it's kind of joke, the dirt-poor kid, retired trucker, sticking it to the man, so to speak.

[MoxieDoll66]

Since I don't work outside the home, I LOVE having the opportunity to pull out all the stops on formal nights.  My husband and son wear suits and ties and I'll either wear sequins or a floor length gown.  My husband's job is super casual, khakis and polos so he doesn't mind wearing a suit a few times a year.  The other nights in the MDR I wear "smart casual" dresses and wedges and the guys wear khakis and button down shirts.  

 

The last few cruises, we've felt a little awkward but have also gotten compliments from random other passengers.  I personally like doing hair and makeup, but I get other people might not get any pleasure out of it or think it's more of a chore.  

[grandmarnnurse]

2 hours ago, MoxieDoll66 said:

Since I don't work outside the home, I LOVE having the opportunity to pull out all the stops on formal nights.  My husband and son wear suits and ties and I'll either wear sequins or a floor length gown.  My husband's job is super casual, khakis and polos so he doesn't mind wearing a suit a few times a year.  The other nights in the MDR I wear "smart casual" dresses and wedges and the guys wear khakis and button down shirts.  

 

The last few cruises, we've felt a little awkward but have also gotten compliments from random other passengers.  I personally like doing hair and makeup, but I get other people might not get any pleasure out of it or think it's more of a chore.  

I get how you feel about dressing up. As a retired RN, who put her career on hold to raise a family—5 children—in a generation that was expected of that for a woman (my hubby never even changed a diaper on all 5) I returned to work on weekends only when my youngest was 3, and out of diapers, and full time when she entered kindergarten, and our oldest was a freshman in college.I then worked a long career. Our early years of cruising we always dressed up to the nines. But as we grew older, and then retired, we got tired of lugging all that formal wear. Not to mention, my hubby put in many years getting dressed up for work, as director of operations for a corporation. He no longer wanted any part of it. We still dress neatly and appropriately—-dresses or capri sets and sandals for me, and khakis and polo for the hubby. We do love watching all the people that still do dress up, though. 

Edited January 23, 2019 by grandmarnnurse

[pe4all]

We have gone from our family wearing tuxedos and cocktail dresses on our first 10 or so Carnival cruises, to wearing dress shirt/slacks for dh and dressy tops and pants for the females in our family. We would always go back to our cabin after dinner and change back to casual clothing anyway, and it became too much of a hassle to pack all those clothes/shoes once the 50 lb limit went into effect on the airlines. (though my luggage for this upcoming cruise just weighed in at 32 lbs, with my toiletries bag weighing 5 of that 32, so I have gotten better at packing what I really need!)

[grandmarnnurse]

1 hour ago, pe4all said:

We have gone from our family wearing tuxedos and cocktail dresses on our first 10 or so Carnival cruises, to wearing dress shirt/slacks for dh and dressy tops and pants for the females in our family. We would always go back to our cabin after dinner and change back to casual clothing anyway, and it became too much of a hassle to pack all those clothes/shoes once the 50 lb limit went into effect on the airlines. (though my luggage for this upcoming cruise just weighed in at 32 lbs, with my toiletries bag weighing 5 of that 32, so I have gotten better at packing what I really need!)

Same here! We have cutback dramatically over the years, leaving all that formal wear home, but my personal products bag (that I just weighed for our upcoming cruise) comes in at 7lbs! 😱 I may have to go back through it and decide what can be left home. As it is, I’m not a make up and hair person, so there’s none of that in there. I’m big on natural body creams, etc., and I carry a huge personal pharmacy of OTC meds for “just in case”. But all formal wear stays home. Dress or Capri set and sandals for me, khakis and polos or Hawaiian print button down shirts with brown loafers for the hubby.

[Bob NC]

We went on our 8th Carnival cruise 2 weeks ago.

 

After all the cruise critic grumbling about "Elegant night" dress codes I had planned to observe what the majority of folks were wearing in the MDR.

 

When I saw this post today, I realized I simply forgot.  I didn't notice what anyone was wearing.

 

Darned the luck, I missed an opportunity to be offended by simply not paying attention.

[SurfCat]

2 hours ago, pe4all said:

We have gone from our family wearing tuxedos and cocktail dresses on our first 10 or so Carnival cruises, to wearing dress shirt/slacks for dh and dressy tops and pants for the females in our family. We would always go back to our cabin after dinner and change back to casual clothing anyway, and it became too much of a hassle to pack all those clothes/shoes once the 50 lb limit went into effect on the airlines. (though my luggage for this upcoming cruise just weighed in at 32 lbs, with my toiletries bag weighing 5 of that 32, so I have gotten better at packing what I really need!)

 

We're sorta doing the opposite.  In the past, my three boys and I have worn Charleston tuxes ( Navy blazer, white button down shirt, khakis, loafers and striped tie) and my wife has worn a cocktail dress.  This year we've (I've) decided that we're going to wear tuxes and formal gown.  We overpack anyway so one more set of clothes isn't going to be that big of a deal.

 

We don't concern ourselves with what others wear, .  We do this for us and it won't affect me one way or another if the table next to us has on shorts and tank tops.

 

Over the course of eight years, we've seen the full gamut of clothing on elegent night.  While the folks who don't dress up don't upset me, I do love seeing those who put forth the effort.

[pe4all]

4 hours ago, grandmarnnurse said:

Same here! We have cutback dramatically over the years, leaving all that formal wear home, but my personal products bag (that I just weighed for our upcoming cruise) comes in at 7lbs! 😱 I may have to go back through it and decide what can be left home. As it is, I’m not a make up and hair person, so there’s none of that in there. I’m big on natural body creams, etc., and I carry a huge personal pharmacy of OTC meds for “just in case”. But all formal wear stays home. Dress or Capri set and sandals for me, khakis and polos or Hawaiian print button down shirts with brown loafers for the hubby.

I also carry a lot of OTC meds - "just in case!"  But my heaviest items are my nivea, sunscreen, and keratin shampoo/conditioner.  Even though I buy the travel sizes, they still add up weight-wise - and I have cut down on my shlepping them by having each family member carry their own personal care items!

[pacruise804]

On 1/19/2019 at 5:40 PM, Stacie. said:

I need to remember to pack a pair of dress pants for DH. I'm trying to convince DH that we should wear the outfits we purchased for a Gatsby themed fundraiser last year, which would have him in black dress pants, crisp white shirt, black bowtie and suspenders (we'd leave the fedora at home) and I would wear my sparkly flapper dress and pearls (but probably not the feathered head piece as I don't see it making the trip unscathed).  The three girls and I have enough dresses to chose from but I always struggle with the two teen boys.

 

15 year old is so tiny around the waist that he kind of needs an adjustable waistband but his legs are too long to find any pants in the boys' section that fit him in length. Men's pants fall right off of him and he looks ridiculous in a belt as it looks like we're cinching a gunnysack. 😮 He's determined to eat many ice cream cones on the cruise so maybe things will start fitting him. 😉 

 

14 year old boy has it even worse, as he is 6'2" and growing, and just about as small around the waist. 

 

The only solution I can come up with is to have them wear the nice looking chino dress shorts I was able to find with button up short sleeve dress shirts. We spent an entire day shopping and while they were good sports, it is not a teen boy's idea of a good time to try on 25+ pairs of dress pants that don't fit. We live in a rural area so our options are limited. 

 

I hope nobody we dine near is offended that the boys are wearing shorts instead of pants but I literally cannot find anything that fits them correctly (that does not require tailoring). They mostly wear drawstring athletic pants/shorts but they do each have at least one pair of darker colored jeans that fit (I make them wear that to our church, which is fairly casual). I'm not sure which rule is worse to break, the no jeans rule or the no shorts rule. 

 

 

 

The Gatsby clothes sound great!  Thanks for leaving the fedora at home - even though dressier hats look cool, I still don't like seeing them in the dining room.

 

My 13 yo has the same tall/skinny issues.  We had an awful time finding pants for school this year and eventually found some Hagar 28x32 pants at Target.com that work ok with a belt.  He's had another growth spurt though, and I suspect they will be floods by the end of the school year.  He's required to wear dress pants (non-denim) once per week plus concerts, so I'm hoping his waist will catch up to his legs soon.  I think the specialty men's store that has unfinished hems starts at either 30 or 32" waist.

 

If you can't find anything on line I would probably opt for the dressier shorts vs jeans too, but either way you are likely to offend someone.  

[jessbp]

I love elegant night, but I honestly dress almost the same every day - I wear a lot of dresses, so I just save my slightly nicer ones for elegant night. 
I don't do my hair any different, and I never wear makeup. 

 

Maybe /i'm/ out of place, or not putting enough effort in or something, because it doesn't make much of a difference to me which dress i'm shoving on?! 😞

I still -feel- nice though? I'm not uncomfortable And nobody has ever called me underdressed... lol now i'm panicking for nothing 😛 

[RWolver672]

On 1/20/2019 at 8:24 AM, crooooze said:

On the last cruise, we saw an angry guy who was turned away from the MDR on elegant night. He was wearing cut off denim shorts, tank top, beach sandals, and a cap. We were very amused because he literally wore everything that was on the forbidden list. Wonder if it was a test...

 

On 1/20/2019 at 8:30 AM, Aplmac said:

.

Almost certainly that was a test!

 

 

 

My guess would be no, it wasn't a test if he was angry for being turned away.

[Aplmac]

5 minutes ago, RWolver672 said:

My guess would be no, it wasn't a test if he was angry for being turned away.

.

My guess is he was angry because he was humiliated by the refusal
and had to turn back, looking like the .....oh never mind.

[DaisyGirl55]

Usually it depends on how long our cruise is, but the hubs and I generally dress up for Elegant night.  Not for my dinner mates.  Not for the cruise line.  But for each other and to take advantage of the opportunity to do so.  Plus, I was also raised to dress appropriately when the occasion calls for it.  Just like going to Mass.  I like to look nice, not to impress anyone - but because I was taught to do so.  Guess I am old fashioned in that sense.

 

So much of today is casual and fast.  Heck we cannot even type or talk without acronyms much of the time!  But I like to look good for him, and vice versa.

 

I don't agree with shorts in the MDR on Elegant nights, but I am not going to fuss about it.  If for some reason the two of us don't feel like dressing up we go to the Lido restaurant, have pizza, try the sushi place or just order in.