For many people summer is the perfect time to hold a wedding. Flowers are still in bloom, friends and family are on vacation, and people are enjoying the longer days. Although summer can be a cheerful time to hold a wedding, the heat can make it difficult to dress appropriately while still enjoying the wedding. Wool suits and long dresses are uncomfortable in the summer heat. The key to dressing for a summer wedding is adapting your choice of formal clothing to the weather.

Groom

A white cotton shirt worn with a black or navy suit is acceptable for a summer wedding. Some men also choose to dress in cream colored tuxedos or suits. This is particularly appropriate for beach weddings or weddings that take place in a very warm place.

Bride

Brides should choose a lightweight and thin fabric for their wedding dresses to keep cool during the ceremony. Chiffon, lace, crepe, tulle and georgette are suitable fabrics for a summer wedding dress. A shorter dress will also be more comfortable in the summer heat. A tea length wedding dress that ends between the knee and mid-calf is a good length.

Male Guests

Male guests can come to the wedding wearing a simple blazer and dress pants and tie. For an outdoor wedding during the summertime, men can leave the jacket and dress in a pair of slacks, dress shirt and tie.

Female Guests

Women can choose from a wide variety of colors for the wedding, but should leave white for the bride. Light, summery dresses are best, since they will keep you comfortable and reflect the season.

Creating your own lolita clothing is easy as long as you have the right materials and tools. Minimal sewing skills are needed, but be sure you know how to work a sewing machine. Follow the below steps and you will make your special lolita clothes.

First, find clothes you can alter. Take clothes you already own, or do a quick run to the thrift store to find clothes to which you can add lolita clothing qualities. Great items for this include black dresses, skirts and vests. Remember that the lolita subculture stems from the lolita character, so a mix of strong and soft materials and colors is always the underlying theme.

Second, get lace and tulle to make your alterations. Hit a local fabric shop and find lace and tulle in bright colors to add to your garments. Use colors such as neon green, yellow and pink to add soft, young, whimsical qualities to black clothing. Lace and tulle are common materials in lolita-esque apparel due to their association with young girls.

Third, add trim to your black clothing. Lolita fashion is all about trims. Everything from a simple black blouse to a plain black skirt has a contrasting brightly colored trim. Measure the length of the garment of section thereof, and measure your lace accordingly. You can hand-sew trim on something small such as a sleeve if you have beginner sewing skills, while using a machine will likely make things more durable in the long run.

Forth, shop for plaids and white fabric. To create your own lolita fashion clothes from scratch, start with white and plaid fabrics. Materials for blouses should be soft and have a feminine demeanor, while plaids should follow the traditional schoolgirl look.

Last, use patterns to create simple apparel pieces. To create blouses and skirts, use patterns. Even with minimal sewing skills, patterns allow you to create the garment and customize it after it’s made. Cut your fabric following the pattern and sew it to complete the garment. Once you have integral pieces such as blouses and skirts, you can go about adding trim as suggested in the third step.

It’s tough to figure out what’s right to wear to today’s weddings. Yes, there are rules, but some of those rules are made to be broken, or at least bent.

Almost every wedding falls into one of three categories: formal evening; semi formal/cocktail and informal/casual. Here’s a guide for you to find the right wedding wear.

If it’s a formal evening affair

Men have it easy: a tuxedo.

For women, a long dress is entirely suitable but not required. It is bad form for guests to draw attention away from the bride, so a low-cut, skin-tight sequined red dress, for instance, would not be a good choice. As a wedding guest, it’s not your job to stand out. That’s the bride’s job.

A semiformal/cocktail wedding

For men, it’s suits and ties. A dark suit is right for evening, but tan or seersucker is fine for day.

For women, pick a short afternoon dress or suit but fancied up with jewelry so you don’t look as though you just came from the office. Evening calls for cocktail dress, but a pantsuit is an option. Add some sparkle, sequins or rhinestones to amp your outfit.

Informal/casual

The hardest one to get right. As a general rule: Better to be overdressed than underdressed.

Men might not want to hear this, but it would be nice if they wore a tie. It’s a sign of respect for the couple. Khakis or seersucker pants with a contrasting jacket are options. But if it’s a theme wedding, dress accordingly. Dressier leather sandals are a good option for the beach. Overall, take cues from the setting.

For women, even if the wedding is on a beach or in a meadow, showing lots of skin is not a good idea. What’s right? You have to infer based on location. On a beach, a long flowy skirt is great. You could even wear an embellished tank top. But in another setting, casual means Sunday best. For sure, wear flatties or sandals if you’re on sand or hiking up a hill. Can’t figure it out? It’s totally fine to ask.

A word about white: You may wear white, with caution. But, don’t even remotely approximate a wedding-type gown. Some brides will be enraged if you wear white. Others don’t care.

It’s fascinating that dressy evening events — cocktail receptions, charity galas, premieres — elicit such excitement of anticipation, yet so frequently disappoint from a fashion perspective. Why is it that so many people choose evening wear that is lackluster? The lamentable fact is that all of those humdrummers out there are really satisfied with their look. In most cases, people are simply in a fashion rut. Here’s how to get out of it:

Handbags

Why, oh, why do people persist in dragging around luggage-size handbags to evening events? What are people thinking? Do they line these behemoths with plastic in order to escape with leftovers? There is an easy prescription for getting this right: The dressier the affair, the smaller the handbag. We want to sing the praises of the clutch style, which comes in dozens of iterations. The clutch is precisely that — a handbag that one clutches. Our advocacy for the clutch has caused some women to balk: “But what do I do during a cocktail reception?” You place the clutch under your upper left arm with a cocktail in your left hand. This leaves your right hand free for greetings.

Legwear

There is no simpler way to be on-trend this season than to don a pair of fashion hosiery. They are loaded with glam and pizzazz, and maybe we can think of nothing easier — and more affordable — to lift the spirits of a basic black cocktail dress than these shimmering, sparkling, or iridescent newcomers. Furthermore, believe that when one is wearing stockings, one should look like she’s wearing stockings (few things offer more dowdiness than sheer hosiery). We rarely state that a particular item provides something for everyone, but in this case it’s true!

Cover-ups

Forget about global warming; just plain ol’ air-conditioning and heating are enough for me to salute the benefits of layering. But let’s banish the pashmina, please, and consider some alternatives. You can play it safe with a dress or skirt with a matching jacket, but we want you to consider the evening cover-up an opportunity to have some fun with a novelty item, like a metallic gauze stole or an embellished cardigan, or a plain cardigan in metallic wool, cotton, or silk.

Apparel

It goes without saying that the basic black dress is the core of evening attire. It provides a neutral platform for accessories. But we want to suggest separates as well. Think about the impact and fashion counterpoint of a pencil skirt paired with an exuberant white top. Or how about a fitted bustier with a voluminous skirt? There are limitless options. Just take a chance!