Navigating The New World Of Wedding Guest Dressing

Few fashion scenarios induce as much perspiration as trying to find a good wedding guest dress. If you’re reading this, it’s likely you’ve been dressing yourself with next-to-no drama for quite some time, yet having to clothe ourselves to witness someone else’s nuptials still seems to undo even the most accomplished dressers among us.

To be fair, it’s understandable if event dressing brings you out in a sweat. The rules used to be fairly simple – don’t wear white, don’t upstage the bride, wear shoes you can stand up in – but with today’s increasingly varied weddings it can be particularly tricky to work out what the hell you’re supposed to wear.

City weddings? Something chic, probably – but can you wear black? Really, the answer to that will depend on how chill your bride is. Country affair? Florals are always in, but shop on the high street and there’s a high chance you’ll be twinning with another guest. And as for those far-flung destination weddings? Nothing is more challenging than finding a dress that you won’t overheat in once the temperatures tip 40 degrees.

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So, how to win the summer wedding-guest dress game now? An easy option is to embrace the world of rental, where you can borrow something extra special without the investment. Platforms like By Rotation and Hurr have incredible designer options to hire for a few days or even a few weeks if you're headed abroad – perfect for an outfit you might only wear once.

Generally speaking, something party-ready fits the bill for most weddings these days – I might not know how fun your friends are, but I’m willing to bet hardly any of them will be mad at you for making a major effort on their big day, so consider ruffles, feathers and highlighter-bright hues all on the approved list. Even cut-outs are acceptable (to a point, obviously).

As for length? Pretty much anything goes these days, but a midi usually comes with maximum wardrobe mileage after the big day: a calf-skimming floral-print dress will look just as good with chunky boots at the weekend.

And finally, if your chosen look is feeling a little more prim and proper than you'd ideally like, the easiest way to bring edge to a wedding-guest look is via your accessories. Forget the traditional matchy-matchy outfit finishers and try shaking things up a little: a pair of statement sunglasses will dial down the femininity of a floral print, while letting a pair of sheer socks peek from platforms will subvert a pastel puffball perfectly. Have fun with it - at the end of the day, a good wedding is all about the joy.

So from nuptials in a country pile, modest church, local boozer or back garden, there's a wedding guest dress for each and every invite – here, see the ones we’ll all be wearing for this year’s love-in.

The Wedding Guest Dresses You'll Want To Wear Again And Again