What to wear as a wedding guest depends on three things: the dress code on the invitation, the venue, and the time of day. A midi or maxi dress works for almost all of them. Brands we carry include Free People, Motel Rocks and Lucy In The Sky, alongside our own Miss Behavin' Label. Sizes vary by label.
Written by Sophie · Updated August 2026
▾ What do the dress codes actually mean?
Casual or garden party. A sundress or a midi, flat sandals or a block heel. Grass is the deciding factor, not the wording.
Cocktail. The most common one and the vaguest. A midi or a short dress in a fabric with some weight to it, a heel, one good bag. Not a gown, not a sundress.
Semi formal or dressy casual. One notch below cocktail. A midi dress or a skirt and a good top both work.
Black tie optional. A long dress is the safe read, though a dressy midi passes at most of them.
Black tie. Floor length. This is the one time the rule is genuinely a rule.
If the invitation says nothing at all, treat it as cocktail and you will be right most of the time.
▾ Can you wear white to a wedding?
No, and that includes ivory, cream, champagne and anything that photographs white under a flash. It is the one rule with no exceptions worth taking, because you will be standing next to the person it belongs to in every group photo. The near misses catch people out more than actual white does: a pale blush, a very light beige, a heavily white floral on a cream ground. If you have to hold it up to the light and think about it, pick something else. The only exception is when the couple explicitly asks for it, which does happen and will be stated clearly.
▾ What colors should you avoid besides white?
Black is fine now at most weddings, whatever your mother says, particularly for an evening or a city wedding. Red is fine but reads bold in photos, so wear it deliberately rather than by accident. The genuine one to check is whether the wedding party has a color, because turning up in the exact shade of the bridesmaid dresses is an awkward twenty minutes. If you know someone in the party, ask. Otherwise a print, a jewel tone or a soft neutral is the safest ground.
▾ What do you wear to a beach wedding?
A midi or maxi in something that moves, and a flat or a block heel. Wind is the thing nobody plans for and it decides more outfits than the dress code does: a light fabric that lifts is a problem for four hours, and a stiletto in sand is a problem immediately. Choose a length that clears the ground, keep the layers minimal because you will be warm during and cool after, and bring something for your shoulders for the evening. Linen, cotton and soft prints all work. Heavy satin does not.
▾ Three wedding guest outfits we would actually wear
The one that works anywhere. A midi dress in a jewel tone or a small print, a block heel, gold jewelry, a small bag. Passes cocktail, semi formal and garden without changing a thing.
The evening one. A long dress in a deep color, a heel, minimal jewelry because the length is already doing the work. Reads black tie optional without owning a gown.
The one that is not a dress. A long skirt with a fitted or corset top, a heel and one good bag. Easier to rewear than any wedding guest dress you will buy, and it photographs as considered rather than borrowed.
▾ What about a cocktail dress code specifically?
Cocktail is the dress code you will meet most often and the one people overthink. It means a dress that is clearly dressed up but not floor length: a midi, or a short dress in satin, lace or anything with a sheen. Add a heel and one piece of jewelry that does the talking. The common mistake is going too casual rather than too formal, so if you are choosing between a sundress and something with structure, take the structure. A cocktail dress you can rewear to a night out is the one worth buying.
▾ How much should you spend on a wedding guest dress?
Less than you think, and put the difference into something you will wear again. A wedding guest dress gets worn once in that circle, because the same people will be at the next one, so the value is in whether it works somewhere else: a dinner, a birthday, a night out. That argues for a strong midi over a gown almost every time. If you have three weddings in a season, buy two dresses and change the shoe and the jewelry, which nobody photographs twice anyway.
▾ What to know before you order
Order early enough to try it on and swap it if the length is wrong, because hem length is the thing most people misjudge online. Sizes vary by label, so check the options on each product page. Formal shapes tend to run closer to the body than a daytime cut in the same size. If you are between sizes, message us and we will pull it off the rack and tell you what we see.
▾ Shop the rest of the edit
Wedding guest outfits pull from Dresses, Skirts, Corset Tops and Shoes. For a dressy evening that is not a wedding, Going Out + Night Out covers it, and Winter Formal Dresses has the shorter formal shapes. Everything grouped by where you are going lives on Shop by Occasion. The Miss Behavin' Label is our own line and the one nobody else carries.