To the eye of a beginner, an opera concert is a line-up of etiquette rules that dictate a type of formalwear of the most pretentious of types. We’re not saying that’s not true, but it’s not entirely true. Your attire for a night of entertainment at opera greatly depends on the nature of the concert itself. Depending on whether it’s a premiere, the location of the opera, and other various factors, there are several recommendations we can make regarding your outfit and choices.

Premiere Night

When we speak of elegance, glamor, and exquisite vibes, we’re talking about the night of a premiere, an event considered to be very important. The ladies with their shoulders clothed by a fur jacket and their hands cloaked in silk opera gloves (very much looking like they’ve come straight out of every poster for Breakfast at Tiffany’s ever) you’re undoubtedly associating with the word “opera” are those who attend premieres.

Opera Gloves

There are very few instances when you can wear opera gloves and claim that you are dressed appropriately for an event. Well, they’re most certainly not suitable for your mundane run to the store to grab a carton of milk for your cereal.

Opera gloves fit right in with everything – the décor, the elegant color palettes characteristic to opera buildings, the often extravagant and flashy, yet elegant, costumes of the performers. There is a reason why they’re called opera gloves, isn’t there? And the best part about them is that they can be further accessorized to increase the effect.

Pearls

Speaking of accessories, pearls not only make ideal matches for opera gloves (for instance, just think of how well they go with some pearl rings) but they also constitute your best ally when adding the finishing touches to a night of glamor and elegance. Perhaps aside from weddings, red carpets, and 1920’s-typical attires, this is the best environment to flaunt these natural seashell wonders.

Old School Dresses

Some gowns are meant to be worn at weddings, some at prom, and some at the opera. There isn’t necessarily a specific pattern followed by every woman who dresses up for a night at an opera concert, but there are certain parameters always worth following.

For example, polar extremes always leave the biggest impact. You can opt for a neutral color palette and wear an A-line dress colored either in black, white, or beige. In this instance, you can over-accessorize with scarves, hats, crystal necklaces, gloves all at once and you’ll safely get away with it. At the opposite end we have the bold choice of going with a mermaid dress glowing in a bright red or royal blue color.

Tiny tip – the latter always work best with diamond necklaces.

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Casual Night

There is such thing as a casual opera night, funnily enough. Most of the time, actually, anything that isn’t a premiere night can be considered casual and showing up in a black silk mermaid dress with opera gloves is only going to make you look over-dressed to the point of ridiculousness.

Keeping the Dress

Naturally, you can still head for a concert wearing a dress if you’d like to. A simple fit and flare dress in a light color is enough to keep you walking on that thin line between opera-characteristic elegance and the casual vibes of a non-premiere night.

A Pair of Jeans

On the other hand, you’re not restricted to a dress only. In fact, skirts aren’t mandatory and a right combination that involves some trousers can work just as fine. There aren’t as many restrictions when it comes to the attire attributed to an opera concert. If you fear that you can’t make jeans elegant, just remember that it’s not actually required of you to be elegant.

Hats on Top

While pearls were the stars of the premiere night, hats can really make any outfit shine in other situations. No matter how you put it, an opera concert is an event that diverges from how you’d averagely spend your evening, so you want it to show by clothing yourself something in a little bit more out of the ordinary.

A simple black hat, regardless of its size, can be the salt and pepper of your apparel for the night.

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