I keep a couple of suit jackets and some large collar shirts (about 1/2" more than usual, so I don’t cut off oxygen to my brain) and some clip-on ties (I have never learned to tie a tie in my 63 years on this planet and damn if I’ll start now). Wear them at appropriate times (which include formal nights on a cruise) but get out of them as quickly as possible.
So while I look good enough dressed up, it is not something I seek out.
Yup. And I also dress for practical. Living in the high mountains of Colorado does not ‘fit’ well to anything that is close to dress clothes. And so… Even with a fitted suit, it is immediately out of it’s element, which makes me feel the same.
I think I’ve only worn formal-wear once in my life, when I was a bridesmaid in my best friend’s wedding (I didn’t go to the prom). I was super uncomfortable at the time, but that was because my dress was too low-cut and the tops of my bra cups were exposed, so that kind of makes assessment difficult.
I do like wearing semi-formal clothes, and I liked it even better when I was at a healthy BMI and knew I looked well-put-together in fitted clothing. Now I’m fat and have bad knees, so heels and fitted dresses are out, but I still enjoy wearing shift dresses and wedge sandals.
I’m going on a cruise, myself, in September, but thank god this is the dress code on the ship:
I can do a dress or slacks with a sweater, no problem.
Which cruise line has no formal night? I’d love that!!
I went to one like that in Lincoln Center, and, heaven knows, anything goes.
It depends.
It’s been a long time since I had to wear “business wear” on more than the occasional basis. I remember not liking it very much, but then it wasn’t particularly well fitting and I had to wear self destructing pantyhose every day (I don’t mind hose in and of themselves. I mind going through 3 pairs on a bad morning and then finding out that I somehow managed to put a run in the fourth pair sometime between lunch and the end of the day.)
These days, I get “dressed up” three or four times a year. If I can find something great to wear (which does happen reasonably often), it’s fun. It’s like playing pretend for an afternoon or evening. When I can’t find anything that fits right or looks good on me, then it’s just miserable.
I would totally go on a 1930s cruise with Cole Porter.
I’m mostly a t-shirts and jeans kinda guy, except for work, where it’s usually business casual. But there’s something about occasionally stepping out in a tailored suit with power tie that gives me a little bit of a strut. I’ve never been a big fan of tuxes…I’ll rent one if the situation demands, but they all look the same to me.
I’ve been on Norwegian Cruise Lines in the Mediterranean and the Baltic, and I think there was a formal cocktail party (you might have gotten free champagne) but it didn’t seem to be something a lot of people went to. I didn’t even bring a suit jacket, and we ate in the main dining area most nights, and I never felt under dressed.
I’m always the outlier in threads like these, because I just love clothes so much. As I’ve mentioned before, selecting and managing my wardrobe is a hobby for me the way other people collect stamps or play in fantasy sports leagues. When I have the opportunity to dress up, I go all out, selecting the dress, the accessories and the jewelry very carefully, trying on dozens of different items to get exactly the look I want. I do it because it is genuinely fun for me. I’m not a snob – I don’t care what you are wearing; I don’t even care what you think of what I’m wearing. I have been known to put together a carefully coordinated outfit knowing that I’m staying in all day and no one else will ever see it. I just enjoy the process of putting myself together in a way that looks good to me.
OTOH, I wear no makeup whatsoever, because I find it annoying.
Oh, and since I’m always, always cold unless the temperature is at least 80 degrees, even my nicest outfits include a sweater, jacket or wrap to go over the dress.
Hey, that’s cool. I sometimes wish I liked it.
There is no difference between getting “all dressed up” and wearing a costume - they’re the same thing.
I am pretending to be elegant and sophisticated. And people fall for it.
Same thing at work, where I wear a suit and tie even though it is “business casual” officially. I am pretending to be a grown-up, even though I don’t feel inwardly all that different than when I was sixteen. One of the great disappointments of growing up - I thought grown-ups knew what was going on, and weren’t just improvising as they went along.
Plus everyone else looks nice when everyone is all dressed to the nines, and everybody is sending the social signal “this occasion is important enough to take trouble over”. And that puts everyone in the right frame of mind.
Regards,
Shodan
No pants?! That IS informal. 
In a word, no. I hate dressing up.
Our “dress blue” formal uniforms for Taekwondo are jacket and tie. I hate wearing a tie with a passion equal to the fire of the sun. SWMBO despairs because she really likes dressing up and getting me into a coat and tie is a knock-down, drag-out affair. And a tux? Well, once I’m dead, she can put my carcass in a tux and bury it, but that will be the only time.
That is incorrect.
Well, you know what they say. If you’re on a cruise, and you look around but can’t find the pretentious person … 
Even Danny DeVito? :eek:
Absolutely. I look good in a suit. A suit is clothing designed to make people my size and shape look good. And when it fits well, it feels excelent.
A suit does not look good on a typical teenage boy, because they are too skinny for the look. They can, however, do “latin”, which is a look for thin fit young men.
The tux— it’s a functional style, not as flattering as any other kind of suit. Like a monkey-cut mechanics jacket, but with decorative tails, and tailored out of comfortable fabric. That’s why it’s the style of choice for mingling or dancing.
Viking River Cruises!
I love getting dressed up. I see it as an opportunity to make myself into an art piece. I also do this professionally and know what all the various paints and widgets are for, which helps.
For all the ladies bemoaning that female formalwear always leaves you feeling naked and freezing, might I suggest shopping online at places that cater to Muslim women? Abayya (“modest” dresses, more or less) evening wear is full-coverage and much of it is absolutely gorgeous. Fancy ladies who opt not to show a lot of skin often make up for it with beautiful fabrics, rich colors, and beadwork.
I do actually. In my work, dress codes run the gamut from Silicon Valley jr high casual to Wall Street preppy suit attire. I tend to like wearing suits. I’d get some custom made, except I seem to perfectly fit a 42R off the rack.
I loathe getting dressed up, my uncomfortable-ness has nothing to do with the clothes “not fitting right”, I’m just uncomfortable in dress clothing.
I hate, loathe, and despise anything that has a necktie of any sort attached to it, if it was up to me, I’d nuke every suit in existence