Formal night on a cruise

[Twinstudy]

I have, somewhat against my better judgement, agreed to go on a cruise with my mum. One of the nights is a formal night and I've no idea what to wear. My mum's a seasoned cruiser so I could ask her but we have very different taste so I'd rather get ideas from others first!

I'm early forties, 5'5 and a 12/14. Anyone got any suggestions? I don't mind spending around £200. The website states black tie but I'm not sure how strictly that's followed.

Which cruise line?! They are all very different in how formal is formal enough!

Which cruise line, where are you sailing from?

I find the British tend to dress up more than the Americans for example.

Get yourself on to cruise critic forums and you will find a wealth of information.

If you have a cocktail dress then that should be fine if celebrity for example.

I don’t think I’ve ever worn long on a formal night but some do.

I'm going on my first cruise too and hit Vinted for a dress that spoke to me! I'll probably never wear it again so didn't want to spend much!

It's Fred Olsen and we're traveling from the UK. @DarkForces I'll definitely be looking on vinted, just need an idea of what I want first!

Would something like this work?

www.boden.com/products/clarissa-jumpsuit-damson

Some people go over the top, some don’t. A nice dress or smart trousers and top are okay, think of an evening wedding event type of thing. Depending on the ship it’s usually just formal in the main dining room, the theatre and perhaps the bars and casino. If you don’t want to dress up you can eat in the buffet restaurant or room service. We’ve not dressed up on formal evenings when we’ve had a busy day at port and just wanted to relax.
Have a lovely holiday

Some will go all out and others will give a nod to the occasion. Does your Mum mind what you wear? If you are not a dressing up person a smart pair of black trousers with a 'evening' blouse will pass muster!

Are you absolutely certain you don’t already have something in your wardrobe that you can dress up with a necklace & heels? Evening trousers with a dressy top as pp have said?

I've lost about 8 stone in the past year or so so I'm a bit short on clothes 😄i don't mind dressing up, but I don't want to be overdressed. I think part of the problem is I just don't know what suits me anymore.

Well done on your weight loss. I lost 5 stone years ago and had a similar issue. I booked a personal shopper at Debenhams and got a whole load of stuff. I’ve used John Lewis shopper also, tell them what you need and your budget. It then gave me confidence going forward knowing what to buy.

I usually wear something long and sparkly - think Christmas Do. Mine are not expensive - maybe around £50?

8 stone loss! Congratulations!

Thank you, I think a personal shopper might be a good shout. There's a big John lewis in town so I'll try there. It's really quite hard to get used to this new me haha, I've been obese most of my adult life.

Also some of my favourite dresses I took to a dressmaker to alter. Some more successfully than others.