Formal Night What do you wear?

[JoeyandDavid]

IMHO a gown is to the ankles and below.........everything else is a fancy dress.

I had always assumed a gown slightly dragged along the floor

[deb1220]

My one nice fancy black dress that I have worn comes just below mid-calf on me - I'm 5'9" so probably on an averge-sized woman it would be "gown length" - I don't know......I don't have any fashion sense either

[sailingrose]

My thought go to pagents where they call them Evening Gowns......they were always long. Also wedding gowns.......long

[JoeyandDavid]

My thought go to pagents where they call them Evening Gowns......they were always long. Also wedding gowns.......long

Ball gown... long (at least in the movies)

[JoeyandDavid]

I love to learn...

From http://www.merriam-webster.com

Main Entry: gown

Pronunciation: \ˈgau̇n\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French gune, goune, from Late Latin gunna, a fur or leather garment

Date: 14th century

1 a: a loose flowing outer garment formerly worn by men b: a distinctive robe worn by a professional or academic person c: a woman's dress d (1): dressing gown (2): nightgown e: a coverall worn in an operating room

2: the body of students and faculty of a college or university

— gown transitive verb

[deb1220]

I love to learn...

From http://www.merriam-webster.com

Main Entry: gown

Pronunciation: \ˈgau̇n\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French gune, goune, from Late Latin gunna, a fur or leather garment

Date: 14th century

1 a: a loose flowing outer garment formerly worn by men b: a distinctive robe worn by a professional or academic person c: a woman's dress d (1): dressing gown (2): nightgown e: a coverall worn in an operating room

2: the body of students and faculty of a college or university

— gown transitive verb

That really doesn't say anything about length....so now we're back at square one

[JoeyandDavid]

I love to learn...

From http://www.merriam-webster.com

Main Entry: gown

Pronunciation: \ˈgau̇n\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French gune, goune, from Late Latin gunna, a fur or leather garment

Date: 14th century

1 a: a loose flowing outer garment formerly worn by men b: a distinctive robe worn by a professional or academic person c: a woman's dress d (1): dressing gown (2): nightgown e: a coverall worn in an operating room

2: the body of students and faculty of a college or university

— gown transitive verb

That really doesn't say anything about length....so now we're back at square one

another website did say below the knee and lower qualifies ..but your right,, it doesnt say a thing about length..

[KeithnRita]

We belong to the Coterie Dance Club, which is a very formal ballroom dance club.

The women are required to wear long floor length gowns and the men wear tuxedos. The men are not allowed to remove their jackets. Guest men may wear dark suits and women dressy dresses, which are further described as tea-length, one that falls between the bottom of the knee and the bottom of the calf (about three or four inches above the ankle.

The club rules is why Rita has an array of long floor length gowns. She also has the tea-length dresses/gowns, and has worn them on formal and semiformal nights on cruises. On our New Year cruises you see just as many tea-length gowns as you do floor length for NYE.

http://coterie.info/about.htm

[DebbieandJerry]

Well, since I was the one who wrote about "fancy dresses", I guess I should clarify what I meant.

To me, gown is something that is darn close to the floor. When the person is standing, you really only see the top of their foot and/or their toes. When the person is walking, the gown moves below the ankle (i.e., floor length)

Fancy dress (or cocktail dress) is something that you wouldn't wear to work or to a business meeting. The length of this dress can be anywhere from skimpy (i.e., barely covering "the goods") to mid-calf.

I have many shorter dresses that are very elaborate and fancy. I don't call them gowns.

Whew!

Like I posted earlier, I tend to wear long black skirts or pants with glittery or fancy tops. This way, I can wear different tops with the same bottoms and multiple my outfits without having to pack so many dresses.

[zebra]

I'm done with gowns - I used to spend a ton of money on them, but since we retired the budget has been readjusted. So on formal nights I wear black pants and a glitzy top most of the time - I'm pretty much a "pants" girl anyhow, I feel comfy in them and they don't weigh too much in the baggage.