What on Earth is Dancing Casual?

You read right.  That’s the dress code for a high school reunion we’re attending. My husband has two high school reunions this year—yes, that’s right, TWO.  He has stayed in touch with folks from his younger years even though he moved away before high school, so they invited him to their May reunion.  Then, in September, we go to the reunion for the high school he actually graduated from.

Naturally, I asked the first question on every woman’s mind: what’s the attire?  You will love this description: dancing casual for the Saturday night event with a band--slacks, golf shirt type for men. Pretty clear for the guys, but what about the girls?  I’m thinking the choices could run the gamut from slacks and capris to dresses or skirts, but who knows?

Just for kicks, I googled Miss Manners because I remembered her "dissing"  the seemingly endless variety of dress options on today’s invitations. I found her website and from there, I somehow stumbled across Pure Wow, with an amusing bio of Miss Manners, but not the answer to my burning question—what on earth is dancing casual?

Next I googled “dress on invitations” and found “Cracking the Mystery of the Party Dress Code”.  I had to laugh when I read, “If you are the invitation receivee, what the heck does Cocktail Casual mean? Or maybe your invitation said Texas Chic.”  Seems I wasn’t the only one facing the dress code dilemma.  They have a list of dress options and definitions, but no--dancing casual is not among them. 

I quickly decided to follow their advice, which I’ve followed most of my life: “When in doubt, dress up.  Who doesn't want to look better than the rest of the party competition? If you're overdressed, you can always say you are on your way to another party.”

I was starting to form a picture in my mind of a fun outfit, either a dress or skirt. I shopped off and on for a few months, with no luck. Nothing I saw matched that image.  It seemed the dresses in the department stores were tailored work dresses,  flowered church dresses or entirely too glitzy.

 I had just about convinced myself I could wear my linen LBD, when I ran in the local consignment shop one last time.  Voila!  I found an above the knee black and white skirt that looked perfect and flirty with either a black tank or one in a jewel color. Everyone knows what flirty is, right?  To me, it’s a skirt that moves or swings when you walk, or in this case, dance.  I added just the right shoes and jewelry, and I was set.

In fact, I realized I was doubly set when I  flashed on the fact that we had another celebratory event in May—our wedding anniversary.  We don’t have many occasions to go out for a fancy dinner, but our anniversary is one of them. Thank goodness!  I hate for a good outfit to go to waste.