By guest writer Alice Keller
I come to you with an invitation…hand-written and sealed with a kiss. Welcome to my world of themed dress codes, making any mundane event feel like a party! Because adults deserve to play dress up, too.
In high school, my friends and I would have days where we all dressed up. And by “dressed up” I mean literally in dresses. For fall couture, we paired our best plaid garments with an ankle boot. For spring couture, we donned those Urban Outfitters-style sundresses with white sneakers (Stan Smith, I know you’re reading this…). In the uniform days of elementary school, we’d have a dress-down day every month where we got to wear our real clothes. I always wore a sparkly dress on these days because if six-year-old me only has one shot to show everyone who I truly am - behind the plaid skirt and blazer mask - she’s GOING TO advertise herself as untouchable and glamorous. And I live by that.
Playing dress up has always been around. Halloween ring any bells?
But a few years ago, I started fitting the game of dress-up into my everyday life. I decided to start doing themed lunches (with world-class fun girl Tess MacFarlane), and once I started I couldn’t stop. Setting a theme for a mundane Tuesday lunch turns meals into a catwalk. Think the Met Gala: you get to see how different people interpret a theme, how their personal style melds to fit into a box. Katy Perry wore a hamburger, while Jared Leto carried around his own head for the night. I wore a sparkly dress to a diner off of I-95 (not talking about the Met Gala anymore - shocking!) and some people wore jeans and a tee. It’s a cool opportunity to exercise and recognize your unique style.
Below are 9 dress code themes that are near and dear to my heart. Take them or leave them. They’re great to pull out for a meal or an event or however you see fit. Feel free to try some of these out solo! As well as being fun to do with friends, a dress code can be the perfect step-ladder for getting out of a fashion rut.
Suit Up
This is a classic. Men have been doing it for centuries, and—just like everything else men have done for centuries—it ROCKS. A suit is empowering, any way you slice it. How do I slice it? A pin-striped suit, a t-shirt underneath, any shoe-style shoe, a bun, a headband even. I have chills. Suits are for everybody!
Buying a suit was the second best thing that’s ever happened to me. The first best? All of my FRIENDS buying suits, too. When my squad and I pull up in suit, we are invincible fashion weapons. The whole room feels it. Also, between you and me? A suit implies a high level of effort went into your look when…often times? 5 mins or less, baby.
2. Dress like the Other Person
What better way to express your understanding of a friend than to dress like them? This one is sooooo fun because you get to give and receive. You get to see yourself from the outside for once! If you want, you can swap closets for this one, but I challenge you to play dress up out of your own supply! That way, you can say “I have this item of clothing that I love and it reminds me of you.” Swoon.
3. Matching Outfits
Everyone loves a Venn diagram. Finding the overlap territory between your closet and a friend’s is a beautiful thing. One of those moments where you think, “Huh. Maybe we’re not all that different after all…” This can be as complicated as you want it to be. Maybe you both have jeans and a black sweater. Or maybe you both have the red bow hair clips from Chunks - sue me! Either way, matching with a friend feels like sisterhood.
4. Librarian Chic
SHHHHHH. Grab a sweater vest. Slip on a damn maxi skirt, for all I care. Leave your contacts at home and pop on some readers (or, if you’re like me, blue light glasses *bows head in shame begs you to believe that I haven’t worn blue light glasses since sophomore year begins to sing and you realize that, all along, I’ve had this beautiful voice that I’ve just been…hiding from you*). Open a book for the first time in your LIFE. It’s time we paid homage to the quietest, kookiest, and most well-read fashionistas on the planet.
5. Clashing Patterns
I find this one hard, I’ll admit! My brain very much likes to put colors and patterns into their own little boxes. But a clashing patterns theme is the best way to step outside of the box and combat that color-coded mentality.
Think stripes and polka dots, the Adam and Eve of clashing patterns. Plaid. Zig Zags. Houndstooth. Horizontal and vertical stripes.
Get crazy. Get weird. It just might work.
And if it doesn’t? That’s okay! You still followed the dress code perfectly.
6. Ugly Hot
Well, you know what they say…dress for the job you want, not the job you have. I recently came up with this one, and I have been itching to try it. Kind of based on the internet phenomenon of “ugly hot” celebrities (where people are like “wait…why do I find Timotheé Chalamet/Nick from New Girl/Adam Driver attractive…”). I’ll stay out of the discourse for the most part. But fashion is inherently political, so I present to you: Ugly Hot.
Technically the outfit is ugly. Those pieces should not work together. But alas. Hot. You look so good.
If you’re feeling particularly experimental, try the “hot ugly” alternative option (the Channing Tatum of it all…) and take your best pieces and combine them heinously I guess??
7. Big Time Talent Scout/Theater Agent
Picture this: you’re off to see a performance. Time to make it about you. Time to assign importance to yourself as an audience member. Pair a blazer with a turtleneck. Wear a blouse and tie a teeny tiny silk scarf around your neck. Go into your closet and grab your finest…discerning look.
Bring a purse. A big one.
If you want, bring a clipboard to prove that you can conjure utter stardom out of thin air.
This one is maybe a little more location-centric than the others (i.e., it works best at the theater), but honestly? Talent scouts are everywhere. And you just never know when one is going to spot you.
8. Subtle Rainbow
This one feels self-explanatory. What you’re going to want to do is incorporate every color of the rainbow into your outfit but…be chill about it.
Maybe you’ll pair some stuff you’ve never paired before, like a green and orange cardigan over a purple tee. Jeans (yes, they count as blue) and white sneakers with red detailing. A yellow hair clip. Boom.
By the way, I’m a purist: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple. None of that Roy G. Biv nonsense. I will let no man dictate the nomenclature of MY rainbow.
9. Off-Duty Model
This one is fun any day, but it is particularly capable of doing wonders on the journey towards self-love. If you don’t think you look your best and can’t convince yourself otherwise, peel your eyes away from the mirror and FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT. Picture it: you are the highest paid model in the world. That’s just the truth (congrats, by the way). After tireless weeks of fittings, walks, and shoots, you finally get day off.
Grab a baseball cap, sunglasses, casual sneakers, and a comfort bottom. A jean or a track pant perhaps. Bonus points for a chic (meaning literally any) hoodie or fleece. Honestly? It doesn’t matter what you wear. The paps are gonna drool over it regardless. Live that truth.
I hope this sparked some interest in spicing up your day-to-day wardrobe and brought you back to the playfulness of Kindergarten dress up. So next time grandma asks if you want to go to the diner, remind her to bring her pearls.
@aliceakeller
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