Receiving an invitation to a glamorous cocktail event can provoke two simultaneous reactions – joy and horror.
Of course, it’s super fun to get dressed up and have an excuse to let our hair down with close friends and family, Champagne in hand.
But at the same time, now we have to scramble around to find an appropriate outfit that we feel fabulous in.
If you’re anything like us, sometimes you just can’t be bothered with the whole dress and heels situation, and instead ask yourself, “Can I get away with wearing pants to this thing?”
So, what do the fashion set think about donning trousers to a formal event?
We asked celebrity stylist Donny Galella for a straight answer.
Donny counts women including Home and Away star Ada Nicodemou, former Miss Universe Australia Tegan Martin, model Erin Holland and former MAFS bride Jules Robinson among his A-grade clients.
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So, can we get away with pants at a formal cocktail event?
“Pants? 100 per cent yes,” Donny said.
If you want to take your look to the next level, Donny suggested updating your simple top-and-pants look to a matching two-piece suit.
“We’re seeing a huge resurgence in the pant suit this season. At the Melbourne Cup, one of the biggest trends was pant suits. It’s almost a bit of a throwback to the Dynasty era, and that sharp power suit. I love it. It’s powerful,” he said.
“I think it’s great women are wearing the pants again and they’re totally rocking the pant suits at all these different event.”
Phew!
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While we had him, we asked Donny about that other fashion query we have every year around wedding season – can you wear black to a wedding?
“You totally can!” Donny said.
“You can never go wrong with a classic LBD [little black dress]. You definitely wear black to wedding.”
Hallelujah!
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Donny says the only hard and fast dress rule at weddings these days is that you cannot wear white.
“The main thing is not to wear white, so you don’t take away from the bride,” he said.
“Try to avoid anything that’s too similar to white, so ivory or off white. Pastels are a huge trend right now, so I think it’s fine to wear pastel pink, pastel blue, pastel apricot, that’s totally cool. Just don’t delve into the whites.”