Make Mine a Double

My wife and I went to a cocktail party last weekend at the home of some friends. We have been to their home for parties many times before. This was the first time the invitation was specifically for a cocktail party.

As we were getting ready, I asked my wife what she was going to wear. I inquired if she was wearing a black formal. She told me she was going to wear jeans and a sweater. I then asked her if wearing a tux would be too much (since the tux just hangs in the closet, I like to look for occasions to wear it). She told me to feel free to wear it if I wanted. I ended up wearing jeans and a plain gray camp shirt with stitched cocktail glasses on the front.

When we got to the party, everyone was dressed about the same as us.

After all of this background, my question is...

When did cocktail party dress change from formal to hawaiian?

Maybe I'm just turning into an old fart (or maybe I already have). Somewhere in the back corners of my brain, I have images of Hugh Hefner on television holding cocktail parties with everyone in formal dress (except for the bunnies). It's not just Playboy After Dark, I remember my parents at least wearing a suit and dress when they went to cocktail parties.

Let me make it clear that I'm not complaining about how our culture has become much more casual. I much prefer wearing jeans and a polo shirt to work instead of a suit. I have a large assortment of camp/hawaiian shirts in my closet. But, there is something just fun about getting dressed up to go out for the evening.

Last spring my family went to see the stage production of The Lion King. We decided to "go to the theater". We got all dressed up in our formal wear, went to a nice restaurant for dinner and enjoyed the show. We may have been the only people dressed that way, but it was fun. At one point, my wife had me glance to my right at the person standing next to me. He was wearing shorts and a t-shirt. It was an amusing contrast to me in my tuxedo. My wife heard one of the ushers make a comment about how nice it was to see someone dress nicely as we walked by.

So, after all of this rambling, I guess I have decided that while I enjoy the increased casualness of our society, let's not forget that sometimes it's more fun, and appropriate, to get dressed up. It's what separates us from the monkeys.