Yes, it's that time again. If you are a wife of a Marine, you have probably started thinking about what dress you are going to wear to the Marine Corps Ball. I have decided to do this post because I realized that my other older post I did about what I wore to the Marine Corps Ball, is like my 3rd most popular post that I have on the blog.
For those new wives, or for those who are still not sure....
Let me start with the one most IMPORTANT thing to remember: The Marine Corps Ball is a FORMAL event, which means your dress should be a LONG one. No SHORT dresses. I don't care how formal or sophisticated it looks, or if you've seen other girls wear short dresses. (Do you want to be "that girl" wearing a short dress?) Short dresses are not formal in any shape or form.
Another important thing to remember: The Marine Corps Ball is NOT a PROM. Please refrain yourself from wearing short frilly dresses, or even long frilly ball gowns. Also no flower corsages, boutonnieres and any other prom non-sense you can think of. And please don't wear those "quinceanera" type ball gowns. Repeat after me: THIS IS NOT A PROM.
Now that we've gotten those 2 important things out of the way, let's focus first on the Do's.
DO: Wear a nice, long dress that suits your style. It's been said that it's good to "match" your dress with your husband's dress blues....so wearing dress colors like red, black, navy and gold is a good match....while it is true, I can be sort of a fashion rebel when it comes to this part....I say that because I've worn purple, coral pink and sky blue as my dress colors, and I say that as long as it's "tasteful" and not tacky I believe almost any color is fine. The only exception might be "neon" colored dresses, those are a bit tricky. LOL
I've worn red and black before, and honestly it gets OLD and BORING. About 80 percent of the wives show up wearing red, blue and black. I like to stand out, and I like to be different, (NOT IN A BAD WAY, haha) so I stay away from the predictable.
DO: Make sure your dress fits properly. Get it altered if it doesn't, and make sure you have enough time before the big date to do so.
DO: Wear nice, but comfortable heels. We all have different tolerance levels for heels, but just choose one that goes with your dress, and consider the length of your dress as well.
DO: Something nice with your hair. Go get it done, or do it yourself. Just don't show up with hair looking like you rolled out of bed.
DO: Wear tasteful makeup. I've seen some girls over do it, and some girls show up looking completely bare faced. If you usually don't wear any makeup, just wear some color, like a light shade of lipstick and some eyeliner. For the ones who pile it on...what can I say...tone it down, make it tasteful and not look like a crayola box exploded on your face.
Here are some examples of some dress Do's:
(All photos are from promgirl.com.) I've bought 2 of my dresses from this website, and they also ship to FPO/AP addresses. And I KNOW I said this is not a prom, but this website also sells a whole lot of formal, non-promish, dresses. :D )
CLASSIC DO'S!!!!!!
Oh, I forgot to mention high cut dresses, like the one above...
I think they are fine as long as you don't purposely flaunt your legs, or stick them out
the way Angelina Jolie did at one of the award shows....
And now, I will show the more "daring" styles.
And by "daring" I mean, the not so classic, ordinary colors, styles, etc.
but the ones "I" think are totally awesome and acceptable.
The ones that will make you stand out, but in a good way.
DARING DO'S:
So these dresses are the "off" colors, and by off, I mean it's not red, black or blue. Honestly,
if you have a "good" dress, it doesn't matter what color it is. It doesn't have to "MATCH" your
husband's dress blues. And the so-called "rule" about not wearing a white dress because it looks like a wedding dress?!?! Just pick a dress that is not "wedding-looking" like the one I have pictured above.
Now for the DON'TS:
DON'T: Wear a short dress. Or a cocktail dress. Or a club dress. Or a pageant-looking dress. You're not running for Miss America. Oh, and no high-low dresses either. Or the ones that have a sheer bottom. (Like the ones pictured down below.)
DON'T: Wear a dress that is too tight, or a dress that fully puts your boobs on display.
DON'T: Wear 6 inch heels. (Unless you can gracefully walk and dance in them.)
DON'T: Pile on the makeup. I mentioned it before, but I have to mention it again.
DON'T: This is probably the biggest don't there is: DON'T LOOK LIKE YOU'VE BEEN HIRED BY THE HOUR. (Even if you were... : D :D :D :D)
Some photos of the DON'TS:
ABSOLUTE DONT'S:
Some of those Don't dresses are actually nice, but just NOT appropriate for the Marine Corps Ball.
Now, maybe some of you are wondering.....what am "I" going to wear????????? Well, I like to keep that a secret, and well honestly, I have not chosen one yet. You can most likely bet that it won't be red, black or blue, unless I happen to find one in those colors that is just out of this world........
I hope this post was helpful. I'm not trying to make fun of anyone, and if you have worn one of the Don't dresses to the Ball, then now you know not to. I wrote this post to be helpful and offer some advice for choosing the right dresses, since I've been to 7 Marine Corps Balls. If you have any questions, you can ask away on the comment section. Thanks!
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