It’s the middle of winter and it’s time to jump into some Snowdown formal wear costumes for this year’s theme: Black Tie Affair! Snowdown is Durango, Colorado’s mid-winter event consisting of a different annual costume theme, a lights parade and all sorts of fun events all over town (cat-a-pult, ski softball, chili cook-off, bloody mary contest, lip sync contest, bartender contest, costume contest, etc.) Learn more and see the fabulous list of events at snowdown.org.
In a Halloween post, I went over how to research, plan and execute a costume, so I won’t go into too much detail on that. This post will concentrate more on the end results and some cold-weather formal wear considerations.
This Town & Country article explains the difference between white tie, black tie, black tie optional and creative black tie pretty well.
My post covers the ladies’ side of formal wear costuming and includes some creative options, long dress, cocktail length dress, and of course, one puffy ball gown!
I plan to go to 4 out of 5 days of Snowdown so I need 4 outfits. Some events are outside at night so warmth is of utmost importance. It will be in the low 20s at night, sunny 40s in the day.
Research formal wear costumes
I had a few nice dresses (from thrift stores) in my costume closet so I did not buy any new dresses for this event, but I did buy a bunch of fancy, inexpensive accessories to mix with what I already had. I also went for cold-weather accessories, specifically long fingerless gloves and faux fur hats hats.
When thinking black tie, formal wear costumes, things that come to mind are: faux fur, fur, sequins, beads, lace, velvet, fringe, rhinestones, pearls, jewelry, ball gown, satin, fur shrugs (short sleeve coats), black and white, elegant. When looking through my closet, in stores and on Amazon, I try to keep these things in mind.
Online and real-life research are both good options. I did my in-person shopping at Target and Sam Moon (a bag and accessory store in Dallas that has lots of inexpensive rhinestone jewelry). I already had a couple nice pieces from Kohl’s and Amazon. I searched Amazon for “rhinestone necklace” and “faux fur black hat.”
Plan your costume(s)
At this point it’s time to narrow down your options and come up with some complete outfits and see how they might fit with stuff you already have.
I went through my costume closet and pulled out a few nice dresses, sleeveless beaded tops, faux fur shrugs and a ball gown (all purchased from thrift stores and Amazon). I spread everything out on my couch and started trying things on trying to gauge what would work best on which day based on day/night, indoor/outdoor events.
For my costumes, I like to play with color, but since this is black tie, I didn’t too anything too bright or outrageous. Things I liked from my closet:
- Red beaded top with black sequin pants (also a black and white beaded top)
- A long black dress with white fur shrug (black and white)
- A brown metallic ball gown with brown shrug (neutral, but fancy)
- A knee-length blue dress with white fur shrug
- A knee-length purple dress with black bead and lace overlay
Cold considerations for formal wear costumes
Mid 40s will be the highs this week so I created outfits and picked a couple coat options to add on top. One is a long white down parka; the other is a waist-length white to light gray faux fur coat (imagine a marshmallow). I got both of them at thrift stores. They are not pictured here.
I also chose one nice tall pair of black boots for all the costumes because they are practical for a little snow and they will help keep my legs warm. Black goes with every outfit I have planned.
Formal wear creative costumes on a budget
Red and black pants outfit
- For Wednesday, day to night
- Red beaded top (thrift store)
- Black stretch pants with peplum and sequins on the sides (thrift store)
- Black fur shrug that I’ve added battery-powered fairy lights to (thrift store)
- Rhinestone choker on velvet ribbon (Target)
- Rhinestone headband (Sam Moon)
- Miscellaneous red bracelets (Amazon and Sam Moon)
- Tall black boots (Tevas from Zappos, by far the most expensive part of every outfit!)
- Choice of long white down parka or white faux fur coat (not pictured)
I also like this outfit with a black and white beaded top, but I picked the red for the pop of color. Here’s the black and white version:
Long black satin & velvet dress
- For Thursday, day to night (no outside events)
- Long black sleeveless dress that is velvet on top and satin on the bottom (thrift store)
- White faux fur shrug (Amazon)
- Cream faux fur hat with large rhinestone brooch (Sam Moon)
- Long white knit gloves with pearl accents (Target)
- Rhinestone choker (Amazon)
- Rhinestone bracelet (Sam Moon)
- Tall black boots (Tevas from Zappos)
- Choice of long white down parka or white faux fur coat (not pictured)
Metallic ball gown
- Friday, day to night, outdoor night parade, going to Follies main event at a theater
- Long taupe metallic sleeveless gown with beaded waist accent (thrift store)
- Metallic and fuzzy brown shrug (thrift store)
- Cream faux fur hat with large rhinestone brooch (Sam Moon)
- Long black knit fingerless gloves with faux fur at wrist (Sam Moon)
- Purple rhinestone necklace (Sam Moon)
- Black beaded bracelet and other bracelets (Amazon and Kohl’s)
- Tall black boots (Tevas from Zappos)
- Choice of long white down parka (for outdoor events) or white faux fur coat (for indoor events)
Short purple and black dress
- For Saturday, day only (alternative to short black dress)
- Purple sleeveless dress with black lace over lay (thrift store)
- Black beaded shawl (Durango thrift store)
- Long black knit fingerless gloves with faux fur at wrist (Sam Moon)
- Rhinestone sunglasses (Sam Moon)
- Black rhinestone necklace (Kohl’s)
- Black beaded bracelet and other bracelets (Amazon and Kohl’s)
- Tall black boots (Tevas from Zappos)
Short blue dress
- for Saturday, day only (alternative to short black dress)
- Light blue and gray blue tulle dress with rhinestone waist (thrift store)
- White faux fur shrug (Amazon)
- Cream faux fur hat with large rhinestone brooch (Sam Moon)
- White knit arm socks with rhinestones (Sam Moon)
- Rhinestone sunglasses (Sam Moon)
- Blue rhinestone necklace (Amazon)
- Rhinestone bracelet (Sam Moon)
- Tall black boots (Tevas from Zappos)
Formal wear accessories on a budget
This board shows most of the accessories I chose. I plan to mix and match some of these with the outfits above.
- Blue rhinestone necklace (Amazon)
- Rhinestone choker on velvet ribbon (Target)
- Purple rhinestone necklace (Sam Moon)
- Black velvet and rhinestone choker (Target)
- Rhinestone choker (Amazon)
- Thin rhinestone choker (Target)
- Black rhinestone necklace (Kohl’s)
- Rhinestone sunglasses (Sam Moon)
- Rhinestone headband (Sam Moon)
- Bracelets (Amazon, Sam Moon, Kohl’s)
- Black and white knit long fingerless gloves (Sam Moon and Target)
- Cream faux fur hat with large rhinestone brooch (Sam Moon)
- Black scarf edged with faux fur (coming out of boot, thrift store)
- Tall black boots (Tevas from Zappos)
- Silver sequin backpack for my camera, scarf, wallet, etc. (Sam Moon)
Try on your costume before you need to wear it
Gather your pieces and try everything on, yes everything; tweak and revise as needed; document the final outfits, on and off of you.
I gather all my pieces and put it all on. I try to take a picture in a full length mirror partly for my own documentation and partly to see how it looks from a little distance.
After I take the costume off I shoot it on a 30” X 40” foam core board. I find that documenting what all is included in a single costume is great to refer to when I am putting it on “for real” so I don’t forget anything. It’s often a stressful time crunch and having something to refer to helps me maintain my zen.
Have fun!
When the occasion arrives, put on your costume, look fabulous and have fun! And hopefully you’ll have someone other than you take your photo to document your fabulousness.
Do you like costuming? If so, what are your go-to resources, online and brick and mortar? Do you have any resources that are good if you’re on a budget? What is your favorite costume theme? Please comment below! I love hearing about other people’s costuming finds and victories.
Next year’s Snowdown theme is ComicCon!