Wedding Guest Outfits That Won't Make You Look Like Everyone Else
So good, you'll want to wear them more than once a year.
We’re inching ever closer to wedding season, and as anyone in their 30s will know, these are the events that make up most of our social calendars from May to September.
There’s a funny thing with weddings, though, especially when it comes to what we wear. We feel like we have to dress wedding-y because that’s what is so often served to us when we Google ‘wedding guest outfit’, scroll through occasion wear edits online or go down a rabbit hole on Pinterest.
And when florals and pastels aren’t your thing? It can feel confusing and… underwhelming. I’ve written about this before. There was my post last summer where I spoke about wanting to look like myself on my wedding day. A wedding dress edit earlier in the year for brides who don’t like wedding dresses. And more recently, non-predictable outfit and styling ideas for grooms, mothers of the bride, town hall ceremonies and more.
Today, the wedding guest takes centre stage. But these recommendations aren’t wedding-y, so you can absolutely wear them to parties, take them on holiday, or wear them to dressy dinners as well.
And if you’re looking for more tips on what to avoid wearing as a wedding guest, here’s an excellent list from
.Soeur dress & skirt
Soeur recently launched a collab with stylish, creative Dane Sophia Roe. I love how they’ve styled the Maya dress and Caroline skirt from the collection here. The dress has a relaxed fit and straight cut, with a deep open back. The skirt comes in the same sage-coloured twill fabric, and has a rounded hem with subtle side slits. They can be worn separately, of course (I particularly like the idea of the dress as a twist on the classic shift for summer), but together they make an effortlessly layered duo — and a good alternative to the usual wedding guest dress options. If skirts aren’t your thing, you could layer the dress over the matching trousers in the collection instead.
This shade would make a striking contrast to deep wine-coloured flats. For something softer, a cream-coloured strappy kitten heel would work too.
Massimo Dutti top & trousers
Summer weddings often (quite rightly) include an outdoor element. But we can’t always control the weather and, especially in the UK, the summer months can be a little iffy. This top is a contemporary take on the ubiquitous wedding guest shawl: a useful extra layer across the shoulders to keep you warm and add a bit of shape and texture. The trousers are a wide-leg maroon pair in a flowing linen/lyocell blend, with darted detailing on the front.
I’d wear this with walnut-coloured flat sandals.
COS dress
In my last wedding styling post, I wrote about how black can very much be worn to a wedding (unless otherwise stated in the dress code) — especially if said wedding is in a setting like a city. When you bring in shape and interesting elements like this dress does (a cowl neck, fluid shape, and draping at the back), black becomes a solid occasion wear choice, rather than appearing sombre. Black is also very easy to accessorise as it goes with everything. You could pair with silver or gold cuffs or colourful, sculptural earrings.
I’d wear this dress with a pointy aubergine-coloured kitten heel.
The rest of this post is for paid subscribers. Behind the paywall, you’ll find an effortless dress in a bold shade for those who don’t shy away from colour, a minimalist 90s-style dress on sale, the ultimate destination (read: hot weather) dress, and more.