5. Dress Codes
Brace yourself, this one usually creates debates. The military cannot tell you what to wear, BUT that does not mean you should not care about what you wear. You should consider how you are representing yourself, your service member, your mother, etc. Sweat pants are appropriate at times, but so is a nice dress with heels. Trust me, you do not want to be “that spouse” who doesn’t know what is appropriate. And because our service members are notorious for springing last minute events on us, without telling us the dress code, I always dress fancier than I need to. Here’s a few ideas. Change of Command, promotion, retirement, or reenlistment – business casual (slacks/skirt and a blouse with nice shoes OR conservative dress OR button down shirt with a tie and slacks). For anything that says semi-formal, a nicer dress or even a suit would work. For anything formal, I say a long dress or a suit. Here’s another article that may help. I’m a big proponent of no jeans or flip-flops to anything that an invitation is issued for. You can also judge clothes based on what your service member is wearing. Duty uniform – business casual; dress uniform/Class A’s – semi-formal/formal.
