Can I wear this dress to a funeral?

[suchagoofball]

I'm attending a funeral next week and tried on my suit only to find that the skirt no longer fits (I put on some weight over winter - I am working to get rid of it but obviously won't be able to do so in the next few days). I have another skirt that does fit but is a little bit tight so I'd rather not wear it if I don't have to.

I wondered if I can get away with this dress instead? It is a dark dress, albeit with white flowers. I'd be wearing it with black heels and either a cardigan or my suit jacket, depending on the weather.

(It hangs weirdly on the hanger but it looks much better when it's on, I promise! I can try and dig out a pic of me wearing it if that helps)

I would wear it. The last two funerals I have been to, (older relatives), not even the spouses or immediate family have worn all black, or even particularly dark clothing. I think smart and sombre is enough.

I wore a similar dress to my dad's funeral.

It looks fine.

I wear a similar dress for funerals. It looks perfect. It's very rare nowadays to see people dressed head to toe in black. Maybe that's an old person thing?

Definitely. Almost no one wears plain black any more, if they wear black at all. That's a perfectly nice respectful dark dress. No problems with it.

What’s wrong with that? Why the “God no”

I see no problem with this dress at all. I'm surprised that anyone does to be honest. I'd be really disappointed if mourners at a funeral were judging others' clothing. And no one insists that the men buy a black suit.

Sorry for your loss.

I've worn a similar dress to a funeral. As pp said, black not a requirement these days. You especially don't want to be in head to toe black if the immediate family aren't.

As a general rule, I'd say no bright colours, not too short or too tight and no plunging necklines. I usually have a grey or navy jacket in my wardrobe, which I would wear with black trousers, which I also have, and neutral coloured top.

A dark grey or dark navy suit worn with a suitable and sombre top would be fine too if you have either. You really don't need to be head to toe black, just respectful and sombre.

Your dress would be fine with a black jacket or smart black coat depending on the weather.

Last few funerals I have been to I have worn a black suit as I have a couple due to work. Once I wore a burgundy striped shirt with my suit another time a black blouse with white spots and a third a black dress and jacket. But prior to that I have worn a dark grey suit and before that a black skirt with a dark plum pattern and a dark plum long sleeved top with a black jacket.

It's fine. I usually wear a dark grey dress with a black soft blazer

Absolutely fine. I wore an all black dress (because it was already in my wardrobe) to my grandma's funeral the other week and I was the only person there in head to toe black.

thank you all for your opinions! I haven't been to many funerals so don't want to risk wearing the wrong thing!

Thank you for the condolences too.

God, no.

Any particular reason?

Could you get an inexpensive plain black dress, perhaps from a supermarket?

I'm tiny so really struggle to find dresses as I always end up drowning in them, which means they never look right as the waist is never where it should be and the hemline is always much further down my legs than it should be!
Worst comes to worst, I can a wear the black skirt and a plain, dark top I already have, I was just hoping to avoid it as the skirt is a little tight on me at the moment.

A dark grey or dark navy suit worn with a suitable and sombre top would be fine too if you have either.

My original outfit plan was to wear my dark grey suit but unfortunately it's the skirt that I can't zip up fully at the moment so can't wear it.

The dress is fine, but if you have some smart black trousers to wear with the suit jacket, that would be fine too, especially if the weather on the day is cool.

The dress is fine. Funerals don’t really demand black these days. I wore navy for both my parents’ funerals.

I wore black and white to my BiL's funeral. I wasn't the only person who wasn't in full black

It's absolutely fine. Don't know why anyone would think differently tbh!

Sorry for your loss. Definitely fine, and a dark jacket or cardigan will make it look even more sombre. I agree with other posters that all black is immediate family only nowadays - and not always then. I went to one funeral where we were asked not to wear black at all.

"no one seems to go for the whole black anymore "

Depends on the people you know I think. Every funeral I've been to has been black or very dark colours e.g. dark grey, dark brown, navy.
A black dress with white flowers is NOT appropriate for a traditional funeral imo.

Course you can

"Funerals don’t really demand black these days. "

Unless you're told differently, it's the default. I've never been to a funeral that wasn't with black clothes or very dark. If the person was elderly, I would follow tradition as it's respectful.

"I went to one funeral where we were asked not to wear black at all."

OP hasn't been asked not to wear black so that story is irrelevant.

I think black is seen as a bit over dramatic at funeral now - like your flaunting your grief. Of course every funeral is different but generally it's a lot less about looking like you're a grieving widow.

The last funeral I was at was for an elderly lady and her 3 daughter's came in very smart, colourful dresses. One in yellow, one in fuschia, one in cobalt. They looked lovely against all the dark colours and I felt it was a beautiful tribute to their very vibrant, bubbly mum. Obviously it's the prerogative of close family to turn up in bright colours, not random guests! But I think it illustrates a general trend for funeral wear to be a little more negotiable these days. Other guests were in black, navy, charcoal etc.

Typically dark smart clothing is appropriate for most funerals. That dress with a black cardigan and tights would be perfectly acceptable.

Unfortunately I went to my mum’s funeral a few weeks ago. I spent a lot of of time fussing about what I had that was both black and appropriate, but I think in the end I think I was about the only person all in black, including close family.

It's absolutely fine. I've been to two funerals this week, one for a very elderly person - I was just about the only person wearing black at that one.