black tie event at London 'gentleman's club'

[purplenights]

Help me find a lovely dress to wear to a black tie dinner at a London Gentleman's club please! Long or short? I'm thinking I'd better play it safe and classy but would love some ideas to steer me away from my signature black. 5'9, size 10/12, 34D. Thank you in advance.

If it's very formal I would go long. Good alternatives to black (and depending on your colouring and preference) are grey/silver satin, oyster, or even red. A marabou or faux fur shrug on top with some nice jewellery would be good. I like to wear a full length, bias cut dress with sufficient weight to drape nicely and skim curves, especially after a 3 course dinner. Structured is also ok, but tight corsetry is a no no for me. You could try Ghost (at John Lewis), Coast, or if you have time, look for a vintage piece from Etsy. If you're flush and not too far from the smoke you could try Selfridges or Harvey Nicks.

There are some lovely gowns in the sale online at Amanda Wakeley. I really must get to bed or I'll start vicariously shopping...

Er, I'd check and usually only go long if it's white tie.. Or if you know lots if other people wearing it. At any rate that's if it's somewhere like whites/ the reform, . Don't know about other non Piccadilly style places. But I'd ask your hostess which one..

If BT, yes, formal, not bare legs, nit doc martins or trainers, prob not trousers. And a bit if nice bling, real or fake. Black is always useful...

But it depends what the occasion is, obv. I'd still check.

Thanks for suggestions. It's a midweek birthday dinner at Brooks's. I usually would go for a knee length black cocktail dress with very sheer natural tights and black heels but don't want to appear 'underdressed' if everyone else is wearing long! Saw someone wearing a beautiful flower print silk knee length dress at a recent party which looked so elegant, it made me want to steer away from black. I have shoulder length brown hair and olivey skin (looking a bit pasty at the moment since it's January though!)

Well, unless they are 80 I suggest shorter but check. Avoid summer frocks though. Why not buy the latest copy of Tatler?

Ps, I think your cocktail dress plus some jewellery sounds just right.

Agree that you have a choice (especially as it's not a big work/professional event but a birthday), but worth investigating a bit more. I've only been for a dinner at the Travellers and there was a mix of long and cocktail there. If in doubt I tend to go long. With olive skin and brown hair you have a good range of colours to choose from. I am olive toned and when I'm trying to get away from the ubiquitous black I lean to wearing warmer colours when doing cocktail or long (oyster, cream, peach, even red and orange). The floral dress you mentioned sounds lovely. Having said that, as a change to black I got a full length deep navy blue gown from Badgley Mischka a few months ago which has served me well - not at all old fashioned looking.

The Outnet also has some nice cocktail length BM dresses (not sure about the sizes) here. I wore a bronze smokey eye and similar coloured bling and a bronze metal box clutch to warm up the navy. Vintage Styler have some nice clutch bags if you are into that sort of style.
If you wear a cocktail dress you could always dress it up by putting your hair up as well as wearing nice jewellery.

Black tie means demure length cocktail dress, surely? White tie is long

What's your budget, and what style do you normally like to wear?

Christiane, depends. WT certainly long.

Hi thanks for suggestions, I'm loving the Outnet dresses. 'black tie' can be interpreted both ways depending on the occasion - a ball, for example might say 'black tie' on the ticket and yet most people wear long. For ths dinner I had originally thought knee length cocktail dress (certainly no shorter) and am keen to find something gorgeous. I just wanted to 'not get it wrong' given the venue.

mid week birthday dinner doesn't scream "full length ball gown", though the best bet is to check what the hosts are wearing and take your cue from there.

Mind you, this might be one occasion where a jumpsuit might be a good compromise?

I think definitely gorgeous short for that venue and occasion.