'Tis the season for Marine Corps Ball Season. This is an exciting time because it gives Marine Corps spouses and significant others a really good excuse to dress up. Well for those that don't like to dress up, I guess it sucks for you but....oops.
Nonetheless, you still have to dress your part. I decided to do an updated version on this topic because my 2 most viewed posts on my blog are the Marine Corps Ball posts...
Now I won't get into detail about the importance of the Marine Corps Ball, (because you can just google that) but it is an event to celebrate the Marine Corps Birthday and it is a FORMAL event.
It's not an informal dance or the prom. So don't dress like you are going to an informal dance or prom. No club dresses or prom dresses.
If it's your first time and you're just not sure what type of dress to choose, just remember "SSE".
Sleek.
Simple.
Elegant.
The "safe" choices of dress colors are black, navy, and red. All 3 will compliment your husband's dress blues.
The 2 pictures I posted are great examples. The dresses on the top photo is from online shops promgirl.com and simplydresses.com. I've ordered my dresses from them many times while living overseas and they are military mail friendly! They ship fairly quickly as well, and that is a huge plus. I know many people are iffy about dress buying online, but if you analyze the size charts of each dress, you will have no problem. The size chart for each dress I have purchased is accurate...you also have to take into account the fabric of the dress as well...for example, if you want more stretch, you should make sure the fabric is jersey/spandex material, etc....
With that being said, if you are stateside, you have more options.
That's where renttherunway.com comes in...
If I had it my way, I would ALWAYS rent dresses from this site, but being overseas, I'm unable to...
The dress selection is much better and you're renting instead of buying...you return the dress in the time frame given to you...
I prefer this because I really don't want a closet full of formal dresses I only wore once.... :/
...or the hassle of trying to sell all the dresses...which I still have from previous years...
Some examples of dresses from renttherunway is from the 2nd picture I posted above...
...I won't really go into detail about both websites, because you can just check them out and see for yourselves....(and in case you're wondering, this is NOT a sponsored post! Although it should be!!)
One more note: Formal event equals LONG dress. If you want to be a little "different" and not wear black, navy or red, I think it's fine, but only if it's "tasteful". Another important factor is "dressing for your body". Don't force yourself to squeeze into something or spill out of it...I think little side slits along the legs are okay and a little bit of cleavage is okay as long as the overall look is "tasteful"...
Every dress is different and it will depend on how the person wears the dress...and not the other way around...
Here are some examples of the "not so typical" but great Marine Corps ball dresses...
The first one on the left is a light gray dress and it is a mock 2 piece dress with a "peek a boo" middle...it's subtle and the color is very refreshing...
The teal green one is really nice, and different because I usually don't see most wear this color...
but I think it's a nice alternative color to the typical colors of red, black and navy...
I really like this lacy light blue and white dress with the middle slit down the middle...the colors and lace is different and the middle slit is not too bad if you don't extend your leg out on purpose...it's daring without being too slutty looking....haha
And this last dress is really nice because I always thought white dresses are tricky, but this one with the gold detail on top makes it perfect! And this one also has a pretty high slit on the leg, but it's fine as long as you don't stick your leg out on purpose...
(click here to find dresses...)
(Click here for dresses...)
The first one on the left is a light gray dress and it is a mock 2 piece dress with a "peek a boo" middle...it's subtle and the color is very refreshing...
The teal green one is really nice, and different because I usually don't see most wear this color...
but I think it's a nice alternative color to the typical colors of red, black and navy...
I really like this lacy light blue and white dress with the middle slit down the middle...the colors and lace is different and the middle slit is not too bad if you don't extend your leg out on purpose...it's daring without being too slutty looking....haha
And this last dress is really nice because I always thought white dresses are tricky, but this one with the gold detail on top makes it perfect! And this one also has a pretty high slit on the leg, but it's fine as long as you don't stick your leg out on purpose...
(click here to find dresses...)
These dresses on the photo right above are from renttherunway...
For the first dress, as I mentioned before, white dresses are kinda tricky because sometimes it ends up looking like a wedding dress or prom dress, but this one has the cool pattern on it to make it really unique looking...
The second one I love, because it's a bold pink, which I actually have worn before...the color is really pretty without being too tacky and I love the top detail of the dress...
The third one is very "Hollywood glam" and I think that is an acceptable look for the Ball...
the green color is really nice and the sparkles are really elegant and not tacky...
The last one I actually really love...it's a metallic silver color and I know some may disagree with me, and think all metallic dresses are tacky, but I think there are some that are really elegant and do-able for the Ball...
...Just remember: LONG dresses. And "SSE". Sleek, simple, elegant. If you want to stay "safe" dresses, choose black, red or navy dresses with no crazy cutouts or slits and nothing extremely low cut. If you want to be a "risk taker" then try something along the lines of what I described in the last 2 photos...
Thanks for reading, and have a ball at your Ball! :D :D :D
For the first dress, as I mentioned before, white dresses are kinda tricky because sometimes it ends up looking like a wedding dress or prom dress, but this one has the cool pattern on it to make it really unique looking...
The second one I love, because it's a bold pink, which I actually have worn before...the color is really pretty without being too tacky and I love the top detail of the dress...
The third one is very "Hollywood glam" and I think that is an acceptable look for the Ball...
the green color is really nice and the sparkles are really elegant and not tacky...
The last one I actually really love...it's a metallic silver color and I know some may disagree with me, and think all metallic dresses are tacky, but I think there are some that are really elegant and do-able for the Ball...
...Just remember: LONG dresses. And "SSE". Sleek, simple, elegant. If you want to stay "safe" dresses, choose black, red or navy dresses with no crazy cutouts or slits and nothing extremely low cut. If you want to be a "risk taker" then try something along the lines of what I described in the last 2 photos...
Thanks for reading, and have a ball at your Ball! :D :D :D
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