Back to Weddings Main What To Wear When You're A Wedding Guest The "little black dress" and dressy pants are becoming more typical outfits for wedding guests. MORE PHOTOS They're fundamental to every woman's wardrobe and sneak into just about every social event - cocktail parties, galas, fancy dinners - sometimes even funerals. And now, they're infiltrating weddings. The "little black dress," a must-own for every woman, has used its versatility to creep into the top spot for wedding guest attire, according to Ann Moody of AnnaJoy's and Joy Salyards of Reflections bridal store, both in Harrisonburg.  Though dressing in black head to toe gets a little morbid, accessorizing the outfit with colored scarves or jewelry can put away that sense of mourning.  "The little black dress with some pearls is very sophisticated. It's a basic staple for most women," Moody said.  Local professional wedding photographer Bessie Black has been surprised to see the dress come full circle into weddings.  "I think if you ask the generic person, they would probably say no, not to wear black. That's the way I felt for a long time - I'm sure I got that from my mother."  The little black dress is just one of many outfits guests could don to celebrate the occasion. But with changing styles and variance in wedding formalities, guests of late have been forced to fend for themselves and play a wedding-wear guessing game.  Time of day, time of season, type of wedding and the area in which a wedding takes place all influence attire.  Moody's guidelines are simple - just follow as season, fashion and wedding formality dictate. Lighter pastels and medium-depth colors are more appropriate for spring and summer, whereas darker tones are more appropriate for fall and winter. Pantsuits are fine and pants may be appropriate if the wedding is less formal. The later the wedding is in the day, the longer the skirt, but sundresses work well in the afternoon. Sunday best, she says, is most often what area wedding guests wear.  WeddingChannel.com gives an easy-to-follow rundown on guest styles per wedding styles. The basics are as follows:  * Casual Dress: This wedding may be outdoors, but don't go extremely casual. For women, dresses, skirts, dressy slacks or suits with flats. For men, nice slacks and a dress shirt with or without a tie will work. (Think Sunday Best here.)  * Cocktail Attire: Dress for a fancy party or dinner. Elegant or chic dresses work better than cute sundresses. Men can wear suits and leave out the tuxedos.  * Black Tie Optional: Women can go formal or stay in cocktail party wear. The "optional" allows men to wear a tuxedo and leaves room for those who don't want to dress formally or who don't own a tux.  * Black Tie: Men should wear tuxedos and women should go with formal, floor-length dresses. When in doubt, overdress.  Moody's no-no's are obvious - make sure tops and bottoms meet and avoid flip-flops at all costs. Sequins and red are fine, but leave out the white and ivory.  "If you look good in red and it's a nice, tailored outfit, why not? I don't want to say never without seeing what's in fashion. Not too casual, not too sexy - it is a religion-based function."  Salyards also forewarns against wearing flip-flops and adds tennis shoes and jeans to the "Do Not Wear" list. She also stresses the less sexy, the better.  Megan Huffman, manager of Bridal Impressions, acknowledges that weddings in this area are generally more casual in nature.  "We're still very conservative here - the guests, brides and bridesmaids - [but guests] are getting almost fancier. It used to be that girls would wear pantsuits, something they would wear to work."  Brides are also taking into account the fact that their bridesmaids' dresses, depending on their level of gaudiness, might not ever see the light of day again.  Rather than waste a perfectly fine dress, they're adapting, Huffman says.  "The trend that's going on here that I've seen a lot of is bridal parties wearing tea-length dresses (dresses that come to about the knee), so that they can wear them to [future] weddings."  Burnt orange and chocolate are recently popularized colors, and, to Huffman's delight, turquoise is making its way back into the color scheme.  Huffman's main concern is just plain going overboard, warning guests, "Don't do too much - too many sequins - you don't want to outdo the bride, for goodness sakes."  The wedding is all about the bride and groom, not about the guests, which should always be kept in mind.  To Moody, the only person whose dress really matters as a guest is the mother.  "The mother needs to find the dress she looks prettiest in. She's the hostess, but she doesn't need to match the wedding party."  Other guests shouldn't try to match their colors with the wedding party's either. If they wanted you to wear a big, frilly peach dress identical to theirs, they would've asked you to be a bridesmaid.  For full lists on what to and what not to wear, go to http://weddings.about.com/cs/weddingguests/a/guestattire.htm  or www.eternaldreams.com/bridaldirectory (under the formal, semiformal, informal link). Back to Weddings Main