The Journal — Formalwear / Weddings

A rental tuxedo is a compromised garment before it reaches you. It was made to a standard size, worn by many people before you, altered repeatedly for bodies it wasn't designed for, and will be altered again after you. Every tuxedo rental is a negotiation between what the garment was built to be and what it's being asked to do. For most people, the result is a tuxedo that fits approximately — acceptable at a distance, visibly imprecise close up, and nothing you'll want to wear again.

The rehearsal dinner is the night before the wedding — a gathering of the wedding party, immediate family, and close friends that exists to rehearse the ceremony and celebrate the evening before. It occupies its own position on the formality spectrum: more personal than the wedding itself, more relaxed than the black tie that may follow, but still a significant occasion that deserves real effort.

Charity benefits and auction events in New York operate on a specific social logic: the event exists to raise money, but it also exists to be seen. The major hospital benefits, museum galas, and charity auctions that anchor New York's philanthropic social calendar attract the city's most photographed guests — and those guests dress accordingly.

Dress code language has accumulated over centuries of social convention, and the terminology is imprecise enough that two different people can read the same instruction and arrive wearing completely different things. This glossary defines every dress code you are likely to encounter — from the most formal to the most casual — with specific guidance for men and women.