Elegant-Night Gown; Foolish?

[Matt&Heather]

heading out Sunday on my first Carnival cruise out of Baltimore. Was planning on bringing black dress pants, dressy tops and some accessories and heels to dress it up further for elegant night. Will this stand out or blend in? I would liken it to something I would wear on a date with my husband or to his company holiday party or a wedding, even though it's not a cocktail dress.

[Mysticks1]

heading out Sunday on my first Carnival cruise out of Baltimore. Was planning on bringing black dress pants, dressy tops and some accessories and heels to dress it up further for elegant night. Will this stand out or blend in? I would liken it to something I would wear on a date with my husband or to his company holiday party or a wedding, even though it's not a cocktail dress.

 

What you have planned will be just fine. You will blend in nicely.

[manmtnmike]

Elegant-Night Gown; Foolish?

 

One of my favorite things about cruising is being able to dress to the 9s on formal nights.

 

 

Thanks for any insight.

 

Well, I always suggest - NIGHT GOWNS:D:rolleyes:

 

Seriously, Just from a guy's point of view, it's great seeing my lovely wife dressing up and we have great memories of pics from the years of cruising.

 

I'd say "Go for it!"

 

Mike

Edited January 3, 2014 by manmtnmike

[Elustriah]

I wore a long black evening gown when we went in July (last year) and as people stated there weren't many dressed as well (but there was some). I didn't feel out of place at all though. I love dressing up and that's what the night is for!

 

and we got a fabulous picture!

Edited January 3, 2014 by Elustriah

[Fla Senior]

My wife and I base our clothing decisions on the minimum Carnival requirements. Neither of us like to dress up anymore. It's shorts for us on casual nights and dress slacks/button down shirt for me and comparable for my wife on elegant nights.

 

That works for us. Now if others choose to dress to the max, then I'm happy for them. It seems to work the best if everyone would at least stay at the minimum standards for dress code and also not have hostile comments for those dressed at either end of those apparel standards.

 

It would also be a lot easier for everyone if Carnival would strictly enforce these dress codes.

[INCHARGE]

JayMo...Your pictures look so pretty. I absolutely love the 13 year old one! :)

 

Blk Amish...All of your picures look very nice. Many men like for their lady to dress up, including mine.

 

OP...I hope you decide to wear your gowns. Being pretty will never go out of style. Strut proudly, and have a great time. :)

[BARBARA J.W.]

One of my favorite things about cruising is being able to dress to the 9s on formal nights.

I have several gowns that I wear only on cruises and my work Christmas party.

 

However with Carnival going more casual and having elegant nights I'm not too sure about what to wear? I keep reading posts about people showing up in black jeans, shorts, tank tops and polo shirts.

As much as I want to wear a gown, I'm starting to think I'm going to look rather foolish next to someone in black jeans and a polo.

 

 

 

Thanks for any insight.

 

It's your Vacation....

If you want to wear a Gown, I say wear it.........

Happy Cruising....................

[Matt&Heather]

What you have planned will be just fine. You will blend in nicely.

 

Thank you so much! :)

[Lerin]

Well, I always suggest - NIGHT GOWNS:D:rolleyes:

 

Seriously, Just from a guy's point of view, it's great seeing my lovely wife dressing up and we have great memories of pics from the years of cruising.

 

I'd say "Go for it!"

 

Mike

lol, my husband said almost the same thing!

 

Dressed up is how it's going to be for me. Now just have to decide which gown to bring.

[linga]

I just cruised in December 2013 on the Legend and there were many ladies in long, formal gowns on both of the elegant nights. I wore mine! You will not feel out of place wearing your formal, you should go for it!

 

Most people were dressed up on elegant night in the Main Dining Room I was in, only a few did not.

[TY22]

I like to dress up, and I think you should do what makes you happy! I love looking at everyone's pretty dresses, and I don't think it's foolish at all.

[Almost Packed]

About a 1/2 hour ago I started packing for our upcoming cruises. I asked my wife if I should pack my tux and she replied "sure you never get to wear it except on cruises". After reading all the responses I will pack my tux and enjoy wearing it on elegant nights. Patrick...:)

 

Nothing....like a sharp dressed man!

 

I love it when DH wears his tux.

[TexasAnnie345]

I just bought a pretty cocktail dress to wear on my cruise next week! So excited!! Going to get shoes tomorrow.

 

I would wear long dress if I could. With my arthritis, they are not safe for me anymore.

[Sailor_Sally]

Your third gown was perfect . The ball gowns are a bit over the top !

[Blk_Amish]

JayMo...Your pictures look so pretty. I absolutely love the 13 year old one! :)

 

Blk Amish...All of your picures look very nice. Many men like for their lady to dress up, including mine.

 

OP...I hope you decide to wear your gowns. Being pretty will never go out of style. Strut proudly, and have a great time. :)

 

Thank you. This thread is more representative of what I have experienced on all of my cruises.

 

Now casual seems to be different depending on where you are from or how lazy you are. A lady in shorts using her back brace to highlight her tr@mp stamp to a simple maxi dress or shirt with a nice top and sandals.

[MISSSNOOPYGIRL]

It's worth it to get a beautiful picture taken of you! I always do. I don't understand people who consider it such a chore to dress up a few times a year.

[deborahjo]

Went on the Liberty in October with friends. She informed me they were not dressing for formal nights. So for the first time in 6 cruises I did not take one dress.

 

Boy I felt so out of place. We love to dress for dinner. Believe me in September I will have my gowns in my suit cases.

 

Each to his own but that is just part of cruising for us.

[Prphan2]

My opinion...FWIW

 

If you wear a stylish dress with the correct accessories (make sure the shoe style is correct for the dress) you'll look nice.

 

No matter what you wear....if it's too small, too short, just doesn't fit right, wear the wrong shoes, wear unflattering jewelry....you'll look, as you said, "foolish".

 

(I emphasize "the shoes"...because there's nothing more foolish looking than a nice gown with a pair of sporty sandals etc.)

 

It's not what you wear....but how you wear it.

 

Due to horrifically flat feet, stylish shoes are agonizing for me to wear, so I've had to opt for super cute, dressy (yes, they do exist) flip flops that match the outfits. I also had to have a total knee replacement on 12/3/13, so I have to be careful of what footwear I'll be donning. My dresses and accessories are spectacular and since I own what I'm wearing and walk tall and proud, I really don't care that I have to dress down in the shoe department. :p

[Prphan2]

at how many are dressed to the 9s! DH and I love to dress up for the elegant nights. At minimum he wears a suit, nice shirt & tie and I am in a dressy cocktail dress, with awesome accessories. We also have been known to do a tux for him and gown for me. I just booked our April cruise last evening and the first words out of my mouth, after telling hubby it was booked, were to tell him what one of my elegant outfits was going to be, lol! For the casual nights he wears nice slacks with a polo or a Tommy Bahama style shirt and I wear cute sundresses. While I know that Carnival is more casual than other lines, it still annoys me to see a guy in the MDR wearing a basketball shirt with his hairy armpits showing...YUCK!!!:eek::eek::eek:

[lola61]

Dress how ever you want!! I don't worry what others think:)

[sharecruises]

Those dresses are very elegant, so I say yes...wear them!

 

Oh yeah they will fit right in with the guy who wore a huge Pittsburgh Steelers cotton shirt with a collar on "elegant night" LOL

 

Realistically - the third /purple dress is something you might see...IMHO the first dress looks like a bridesmaid and would probably be more elaborate than most everyone else

 

It also depends where you live - if you have to pay extra to lug those dresses with airline baggage charges I would leave them, or at least skip the first 2

When I had to fly for my Alaska cruise it was hard to keep the luggage weight down...living near ports in Florida I of course never worry about luggage weight.

 

IMHO many of the cruiselines have allowed people to dress down (NCL and Carnival are known for it) I think one big reason was the cost and luggage weight limits from the airlines

[cruzzza]

As a staunch defender of more formal dress codes in the past - I have to say that it ain't like it used to be. I used to wear full length gowns every cruise, sometimes in full sequins. Not anymore, and I will bite my lip and admit that it's easier now to be a bit more casual and I don't fight the direction that the dress code as going as much anymore. I'm sure it's mostly because I'm a mother of 2 now and it's just not as easy to wear a formal gown and take care of 2 little ones at the same time! I still dress up on formal nights, but the days of extravagant gowns are over. There may be a handful of elegant gowns onboard, but the days of fitting in while wearing one are gone. While some gowns are still long, the entire direction of the fashion for formal night is going much more cocktail rather than formal. I will still wear flashy or sequin dresses, but only if they are around knee length or shorter. I wore a full length dress on my last cruise as well, but it wasn't really a "gown" in my eyes.

 

I think the purple gown will fit in fine, but leave the other 2 at home (IMHO). On the other hand, you can wear as fancy as you want, but be prepared to stand out a little. Enjoy!

 

p.s. I do still get irritated when people don't at least follow the minimum dress code, but that's other thread! ;)

[Lerin]

Sailor_Sally Your third gown was perfect . The ball gowns are a bit over the top !

 

Realistically - the third /purple dress is something you might see...IMHO the first dress looks like a bridesmaid and would probably be more elaborate than most everyone else

 

lol, I think the first one may be a bridesmaid dress.

 

Remember those aren't my dresses, I just quickly found some Google photos that are similar to mine. I don't post photos of myself online is the reason and couldn't find my exact dresses.

 

Also since those Google photos are on models, those dresses have hoop-skirt crinolines under them which leads to the "fullness". I will not be packing a hoop skirt! Can you imagine trying to fit that into my luggage! :eek:

[JayMo]

Thanks y'all for the kind comments...and yes, I was only 15 lol.

From the pictures posted, y'all are a sharp group! The type of people I would love to see on Formal Night :)

 

OP...I hope you rock your gown!