Last night I attended a fundraising gala and for some reason I thought it was a black tie event. Even in Vancouver, The Most Casual City in the World, anything calling itself a gala should mean a cocktail dress for women and a very nice suit for gentlemen. I also love a tailored women's tux. You get my point.

I obviously got last night’s dress code wrong because when I arrived in my strapless purple silk number with bejeweled belt, the first thing I saw was a man in a crumpled white shirt, untucked, ill-fitting pants, and some sort of running shoes.  

Sigh.  What’s a girl to do?  My solution was to leave my coat on all night.  If it was December this would have been a problem.

It appeared most people came right from the office, so both I and rumpled-shirt man got it wrong.  He didn’t seem to care much, but I hate not dressing properly for the occasion.  And that’s true for all parts of life; whether it’s at work, playing tourist in another city, out for dinner, or at a party.    

I think I get my love of playing dress-up from my grandmother, who always knew just what to wear (and who recently left this world, on the dawn of her 100th spring).  But after last night, I’m wondering why I spend so much money on party dresses.  Rumpled-shirt guy seemed oblivious.

I know I have written about similar subjects before, but last night made me wonder:  If you’re going to go one way or the other, would most people prefer to be over-dressed or under-dressed?  Does one or the other make the people around you more or less comfortable?

Top photo: Michael@NWLens/flickr