Decoding the party dress code

A black tie suit or a tuxedo? A black dress or a shirt with broad pants? Does bandhgala or chikan kurta qualify as formals? Can you wear mandals (man sandals) for a casual evening, and escape being stared at at the party? These questions often bother many when they try to decode what 'casual', 'formal', 'semi-formal' or 'smart casuals' stand for as mentioned on invitation cards. While many just ignore the footnote, knowing they can never get it right, some take it too seriously, and often end up being the only ones to follow it. The most common phrases mentioned under dress code in India are 'formal', 'casual', 'semi-formal' and 'formal/Indian', and each one is open to individual interpretation. While in the west, a dress code ensures that there is uniformity in the way everyone dresses up, in India, a more specific dress code leads to more people dressing up differently. "We have limited categories, and there is a wide variety that falls under them. For example, for most of us 'formals' would mean a suit or a bandhgala. However, a kurta pyjama doesn't come under 'formals', but pairing it with a Nehru jacket would make it ‘formal’. On the other hand, 'formals' in the west would strictly mean a suit with a tie. So dress code rules are more well-defined and taken seriously abroad than in India," says designer Ashish N Soni. Here's a quick guide to the various dress codes. (L) Dona Masih and (R) Rina Dhaka (L) Shivani Wazir Pasrich and (R) Sunil Sethi Rahul Dev