Semi-formal attire / people etc.

Shazkar Shadowstorm

My friends are making me go to this EDIT FOR CLARITY (my bad) freshman dance with chocolate fountains and other cool things, school thingy, (school being college), and the attire recommended is semi-formal. Not really sure what that implies exactly and what I can and can't get away with... my suit is at home (and it's got pinstripes-ish so its businessy anyway).. I have a sports jacket/coat thingy here, but I kind of like the idea of goin' with my black pants/shoes/belt and a dece solid color shirt and a tie... acceptable, or no?

Also, they were like "Do you want to go to this thing with a really hot girl?" and I said "OK." So apparently in saying that I'm going with my friend's friend who I don't know. Uh, question is, I never went to any dances/proms/shit like that in high school, least of all with complete strangers. So... general guidelines of what to do and stuff, as I have no idea. About anything.

-sigh- I should probably take a few shots beforehand so I don't have to worry about any of this as much. But I won't. =/

Doc

My friends are making me go to this thingy, school thingy, (school being college),

What are you talking about?

Shazkar Shadowstorm

That's me being stupid. Edited for increased clarity, hopefully.

Doc

That would probably be acceptable. And regarding the girl, just relax. I don't think anything is really expected of you except for a few obligatory dances as her date.

Ask your friends if they do corsages. I never did dances in college.

Virum

I was taught semi-formal =

Sports Coat + white dress shirt + tie (usually black).

Pants usually match the coat.

Basically, a step below Tuxedo (Black Tie; White Tie is the Uk formal equivalent I think)

Doc

Virum wrote:

I was taught semi-formal =

Sports Coat + white dress shirt + tie (usually black).

Pants usually match the coat.

Basically, a step below Tuxedo (Black Tie; White Tie is the Uk formal equivalent I think)

White Tie is a step above black tie in terms of formality. It's the most formal state of dress I know of.

Virum

Ah. I've never even owned a suit or been to a dance so the finer details are lost on me.

OP - you should be ok with your solid color shirt and your tie, but I really would recommend wearing a sports coat - you can always shed it if a significant amount of people aren't wearing one.

You just don't want to stick out.

ChopperDave

Well, it could mean two things, because college students tend to be bad at clarifying on this.

Semi-formal is a sports coat and tie get-up, while formal is the tux and full nine yards. In layman's terms, your high-school Homecoming dance was probably a semi-formal, while your prom was a formal.

They migh talso mean dressy casual. Dressy casual usually means a collared shirt (w/ tie, if you want), slacks, and decent shoes. Sometimes you can pull off sweaters. Basically, imagine you just got off work from a deskjob, and that's probably close to what you should look like.

I'd just go with the sports coat get up. If it ends up being closer to dressy casual, you can just take off the coat and the tie and loosen up the shirt and you'll be fine.

As for the girl...just be nice. Offer to dance if she wants to, even if you don't know how. Sit down if she looks like she's getting tired. Be approachable and talk, and try to include her in conversations with your friends. You don't have to be awkward and try to imitate some dumb high school mating ritual - just treat her like you would (hopefully) any guest and you'll be fine.

MichaelLC

ChopperDave wrote:

I'd just go with the sports coat get up. If it ends up being closer to dressy casual, you can just take off the coat and the tie and loosen up the shirt and you'll be fine.

This Werewolf speaks truth. Jackets/sport coats are always good because you can always take them off if the event is less-formal and/or your dying of heat (as I usually am).

Shazkar Shadowstorm

Mm, i see. My sports coat is blue, so I guess that means go with khaki instead of black. Oh well. Wish I had a black sports coat. That'd be cool beans.

bodiema

Certainly if you wanted to drop seven to ten dollars could find a thrift store in your area and get a black jacket. Check the phonebook for thrift stores. Generally, places like Goodwill and Salvation army will have a decent selection. I've had better luck with the latter. I found acceptable matching jacket and pants for $14 the morning of a dance once.

kaliyama

Semi-formal is probably synonymous with business casual, which probably ranges from a suit and shirt w/o a tie to khakis and a polo shirt. not that i suggest running a cavalry (three or more pieces of polo at once) but it would probably be appropriate.

EggyToast

kaliyama wrote:

Semi-formal is probably synonymous with business casual,

Pretty much. To the OP: don't wear jeans, and wear a tie and matching shirt. Done!

Precursor

GISing "semi formal" will give you an idea of what people usually where to these kinds of things. It seems like going without a sport coat and just a dress shirt + tie would be okay. Although... in general it's better to overdress than to underdress.

Go with what you're more comfortable with cause it's going to be awkward enough without you worrying about how you look. I don't do dances so I'm a little lacking in the advice area here, but the best piece of advice I could give you is to remember you're there to have fun.

Good luck with the girl, hopefully you two get along.

Solidaritus:

Precursor wrote:

Good luck with the girl, hopefully you two get along.

And even if you don't get along that's ok, just don't hang around her like a housefly or something then. Dance with many other girls.