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Ladies do you wear your formal wear for more than 1 cruise?


mcchane1
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We have always dressed up for formal night but never actually in “formal wear”. I was thinking about getting a long formal dress but not sure I can justify $200 to only wear once. I would have no reason to wear a gown on land :). I’m thinking if I wore it for a couple cruises maybe. What is everyone else’s experience?

 

 

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I have never worn a full blown gown. I have several cocktail/party dresses that are more casual and bring on cruises.

 

If you want to go all out, rent a gown! Go to Rent the Runway dot com and check that out. They are awesome, cheap, and you don't feel guilty about a new dress worn once!

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Always rewear what I have. Both new gowns were under $200? 1 from Macys, 1 from Bloomies. One i bought on a whim because was my type of dress and fit right even thoigh i really could have gotten away without it. Both are packable. Bought for our QM2 cruise and will take them on our Anthem cruise in 3 weeks. Also taken on the QM cruise eas a gown that's more than 10 years old. I also have a longish black skirt, elastic waist, very packable, that i've worn 2x on a long cruise and just used different tops. Bought it for a northern route TA when I knew I was packing warm clothes and no summer clothes.

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If you are interested in dressing up for formal night and cruise more than 1 time a year, you could definitely justify that purchase of a dress. Everyone is different when it comes to what to wear for formal night. I personally don't get dolled up for it anymore...I'd go in my PJs if it wouldn't raise too many eyebrows lol

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HI

I buy mine on ebay, wear for two or three cruises and then sell them on. If you buy this time of the year when people are selling off fancy Christmas/new years dresses and sell about November/December when people are buying cocktail dresses you can often make a profit.

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I don't understand why anyone would spend that much money (or any amount, for that matter) on an outfit that they only wear once. Why, ladies, is it that you would only wear an outfit one time?
On the New Year's thread started today.....passengers were spending $175pp to have a seat in the promenade with cheap Champaign.

 

A nice gown is a good investment.....especially when it makes you feel fantastic. I enjoy seeing all the ladies in their gowns.

 

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On the New Year's thread started today.....passengers were spending $175pp to have a seat in the promenade with cheap Champaign.

 

A nice gown is a good investment.....especially when it makes you feel fantastic. I enjoy seeing all the ladies in their gowns.

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I enjoy seeing the ladies in their gowns also. I'm just questioning why anyone would spend any amount of money on something they would only wear once.

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I enjoy seeing the ladies in their gowns also. I'm just questioning why anyone would spend any amount of money on something they would only wear once.
If she feels she looks good in it.....she'll wear it more often. Maybe another cruise like others have said??

 

The gown doesn't need to be "over the top".

 

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I have 2 formal dresses (one floor length and one knee length with full sparkles) I am on about year 8 with those same dresses. I wear them a few times a year. I almost bought a new floor length one for New Years this year, almost. But then our 4 yr old daughter ended up with pneumonia and it dropped to the bottom of the to-do list so I wore my old one. Lots of people (that I knew and didn't know) commented on my dress...which made me really glad I didn't pay for a new one :-)

 

If YOU are content re-wearing it by all means re-wear it. Unless you find great value in shopping for a new dress each time it is so not worth the time and money! The whole point in dressing up is being dresses up. Not in being dressed in something brand new.

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We cruise a lot. I tend to pack a lot of the same clothes every time because they work. Take dressy black slacks, a couple of sparkly tops and dressy tops that don’t wrinkle. I have also found if you stick with two basic colors, shoes and purses are more interchangeable. Also, I have several flat shoes with rubber soles that are perfect for cruising in rough seas. With the anytime dining concept, I even repeat outfits on long cruises. You’re sitting with different people most of the time. Life is good.

 

 

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I never dress up outside a cruise ship, so a cruise is my one and only time to dress up. I say go for it. Buy yourself a nice gown and enjoy yourself. For me, I would wear it again on another cruise no question.

 

So far I have not actually bought a bonafide evening gown (yet) but it is on my bucket list of things to do. So far I dress up a maxi dress with jewelry and a sparkly shrug jacket. But some day I will splurge and actually buy a gown!

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DW, enjoys getting a new dress before each cruise. Usually not more than $40. That’s usually for the 1st formal night and the 2nd formal night is usually a repeat from the cruise before.

 

Trying to convince her to take last trip’s full length to the tailor and convert it to a cocktail dress. The hacked off bottom would also make a nice skirt.

 

 

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I've always gotten my formal ware at estate sales, garage sales, and or second hand. Most I have paid is $15 and least was $1. The $1 had to be taken in a little but still much cheaper than regular price. Husband has found me formal dresses on clearance racks at Dillards.

 

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I absolutely wear my gowns and cocktail dresses multiple times. Frequently I repeat within a year or two; last cruise I pulled out a dress I had gotten back in the 90s and it fit just great and looked totally classic. It went on that cruise, and I got lots of compliments. I got it at a charity store, by the way, as I do with most of my formalwear.

That's not to say I never shop again because I have eight or so great dresses. I still look, and sometimes buy.

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Mine now is black pants, black silk tank and a black sparkly jacket. I wear this on every formal night on every cruise. It's changed over the years, updating style and, yes, size! I wear the same clothes on every cruise and yet to run into someone who has seen me in that outfit on a prior cruise. Go ahead...wear that dress til it falls apart!

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We have always dressed up for formal night but never actually in “formal wear”. I was thinking about getting a long formal dress but not sure I can justify $200 to only wear once. I would have no reason to wear a gown on land :). I’m thinking if I wore it for a couple cruises maybe. What is everyone else’s experience?

 

 

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Does something go wrong with it after wearing once?

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We have always dressed up for formal night but never actually in “formal wear”. I was thinking about getting a long formal dress but not sure I can justify $200 to only wear once. I would have no reason to wear a gown on land :). I’m thinking if I wore it for a couple cruises maybe. What is everyone else’s experience?

 

 

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I do sometimes, if you look right now the $200 dress may be closer to $20 I have three and I have never paid full price all dresses were under $40 and I'm plus size so check for the deals.

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I don't take gowns anymore, but if I did I would wear the same thing both nights and I definitely would wear it over and over again on cruises.

 

I almost never pack more than one outfit for the dressy nights on a 7 night cruise and I'm getting ready to take a 15 night TA in April and plan to wear my dressy black pants outfit all three nights with maybe a change of accessories,( and maybe not.) If it get's dirty, I'll send it to be cleaned - so much easier than packing multiple outfits.

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