Is it considered gauche to...

[twirlacurl]

wear the same formal dess for both formal nights?

 

We are SO tight on funds and I would love to get double-duty out of my formal. Men have it so easy; All they have to do is change ties. We are going to be on Holland's Westerdam and one formal will be at the Pinnacle Grille. We also are doing the Dine As You Wish.

 

Opinions and Advice?!

[KLLund]

You certainly won't be alone .. by all means wear it both nights and enjoy your cruise !!!

[Aurori]

wear the same formal dess for both formal nights?

 

We are SO tight on funds and I would love to get double-duty out of my formal. Men have it so easy; All they have to do is change ties. We are going to be on Holland's Westerdam and one formal will be at the Pinnacle Grille. We also are doing the Dine As You Wish.

 

Opinions and Advice?!

Do it up! By all means wear the same dress for both nights. Nobody is going to notice and if they do, so what! If you feel a bit self conscious, you can always add a shawl and a clutch or other type of item to accent the dress differently for the second night.

[CowPrincess]

Gauche? Heavens, NO!! With the baggage restrictions imposed by the airlines, you will NOT be alone. Lots of us are taking one dress for 2 nights.

[tomko2]

I have often wore the same formal twice on a cruise. I am sure lots of women do the same.

Kathy:)

[cb at sea]

No one will even notice!!!

[1like2look]

I agree with the others: don't worry about it! I'm bringing one dress for an anticipated three formal nights. It's basic black, looks pretty good, folds up small (rayon jersey), and doesn't weigh a ton.

 

My goal is to do our upcoming 10-day with one carry-on bag. Paring the formal wear to the absolute minimum is key. One dress, one pair of shoes, one purse, three different pairs of earrings. Monotonous but appropriate. :D

[ashefrog]

I have to agree.

 

Hair and accessories can go a long way to give an outfit a "new" look.

[cruz guy]

My wife usually wears the same out fit twice. don't worry

 

 

Note from his wife: I'm onboard tonight also, surfing the boards together.

Anyway, I typically wear the same dress twice to cut down on baggage. Have a great time.

[twirlacurl]

What a relief! Thank you so much for your replies:) .

 

My first and only other cruise was over 22 years ago and don't remember anything I wore back then.

 

You have all made my stress level drop about 90% and I really appreciate it.

 

Have fun!

Joan

[poochierebelbear]

Hi,

 

I'm a first timer and I'd say no. Seems like it would be understandable since they have all these baggage restrictions. What I plan to do is: I have an outfit that is a dressy skirt (floor length), a velvet jacket and a black/red top. I'm going to change my tops out, jewelry, and that's it. Just go and have fun on your cruise. Don't worry about what other folks will think, because I'm sure most will be doing the same thing too.

 

Erica

[Ehpride]

If you're concerned or want a change, just change your accessories up. I prefer to take two seperate outfits, but if I had a dress that I loved and could easily accessorize two ways, I wouldn't have a problem.

[Senoj84]

I've thought about doing this myself just to cut down on clothes. ;)

[suezyq50]

Go for it. Wearing it twice is getting more milage out of the dress.

[Soxfan05]

No need to worry, you're in good company:

 

http://www.observer.com/2008/style/anna-wintours-favorite-dress

[mama_hao]

Gauche? Heavens, NO!! With the baggage restrictions imposed by the airlines, you will NOT be alone. Lots of us are taking one dress for 2 nights.

 

That is what I was going to say. Since our luggage is limited and we are taking our own snorkel equipment this time I am down to one dressy outfit.

[eandj]

No problem repeating ANY of your outfits. Mix and match your pants/capris/skirts and tops.

I've learned over the years we've traveled land or sea, that if I feel and look good I'm happy. If I have a favorite outfit, I WANT to wear it more than once. Have a great cruise and don't worry about your wardrobe.

[yogi2929]

On our last cruise I mixed and matched what I wore for dinner: one pair of black 'travelers' pants, one skirt and different tops. Mix and match is the way to go. You can dress things up by changing jewelry or adding a scarf. Some of the tops I wore the during the next day.

I brought more, but this is what I actually wore. The girls in the family don't dress fancy, just nice 'going to a wedding' clothes. The family we were traveling with has seen me at my worst:eek: , so I had no problem with them seeing the same clothes more than once.

 

DD just looked over my shoulder and said that she wore the same things two, three times. I honestly never noticed!

[Oh2Travel]

Wear the dress twice, just use different accessories to give you a diff look. If you do anytime dining you won't even see the same people anyway. OR, take one pr black pants and different dressy tops that you probably have hanging in your closet already. The latter is what I'm doing.

[thedoctoriscruising]

On a 14 nighter, I wore the same black dress three times! First, I wore it with a red velvet topper (it was around xmas time). Then I covered it with a silvery poncho and finally with a black gauze and lace poncho. I changed my earrings and necklaces and if anyonenoticed, I didn't hear.

 

Think of it this way: would you rather see people wearing the same dress twice or wearing jeans and a t-shirt on formal night? I'll take the former any day.

[slkmbz]

I would have always said NO REPEATS because it just didn't see fashionable to repeat.

 

My first 7 day cruise I did not realize there were 2 formal nights therefore only packed ONE formal. I wore it twice - jewely shoes and all the same! Absolutely had a great time and received compliments both nights.

 

What changed my mind???? The second night a lady at my dining table actually said "Oh this dress is so much more you than the first one you wore!" Now I was not expecting a stranger to remember what I wore or how I looked but...the woman at my dining table that complimented me - was my AUNT!

 

(another added benefit is - you get do-overs in pictures and you can pick the night you looked the best to purchase!)

[AmberMarie]

Is there a website showing pictures of one dress accessorized two different ways? That'd be great!

[MISSSNOOPYGIRL]

Wow that just doesn't seem fun! I mean how much room does a dress take up? I also like having 2 separate dresses for 2 different sets of pretty pictures!

[pcur]

I just prefer to wear a different outfit, so I take separates. For instance, let's say I'm on a longer cruise with 3 formal nights.

 

I have a grey crepe chiffon 3-piece pantsuit, with beading and embroidery.

 

I have a grey beaded top to wear with the pants on another night.

 

I have a black and silver glittery jacket.

 

I have black pants and a black skirt. The glittery jacket can be worn with the grey pants, the black skirt, or the black pants.

 

I have other tops to wear with all three bottoms for non-formal nights.

 

That's three formal nights and all the others with two lightweight pants and a lightweight skirt with multiple tops.

[Happy ks]

I took 3 different cocktail dresses for 3 formal nights and to be honest with you, I wished I would have simplified things and only taken 2, or even just one and changed the accessories. The main reason I took them was that I have the dresses, we'd planned the cruise for over a year and a half and over that period of time had done a few weekend cruises. So I'd bought these dresses and wanted to get additional wear out of them.

 

I think for me, it has to do with having been on so many cruises and knowing that I'll wait until the last night of the cruise and only purchasing one photo. Formal night doesn't have the same appeal it did for me 5 years ago, I still like to dress up but my cruise planning doesn't revolve around it as much as it used to. I barely even notice what others are even wearing any more, so I'd not know if someone else was wearing the same dress several times.

 

The other 9 nights I wore the same 2 pair of black and ivory pants with assorted tops. I ended up taking at least 2 more tops than I needed for those evenings and brought home unworn stuff. Packing has become such an ordeal, to have to figure out how to get everything needed into one lightweight case, people really need to start paring down to the essentials.

 

I saw so many Europeans traveling while we were there, toting only a shoulder bag and a very small rollaboard, probably 17 inch bags. My goal is to get my packing down to just carry on, I know it can be done.