Smart and modest. That is the whole dress code - but "smart and modest" leaves a lot of room, so here is what it means in practice.
The only rule #
There is no stricter code than smart, modest attire. No required colour, no required cut, nothing that has to be bought specially. If you would wear it to a family event where you wanted to look like you had made an effort, it is right.
For men #
- A shirt, with or without a jacket. A tie is optional and most people do not wear one.
- Trousers rather than jeans, and shoes rather than trainers.
- Traditional dress is equally welcome and always appropriate.
- Trimmed, tidy, and not wearing scent so strong it arrives before you do.
For women #
- Modest, comfortable and something you can sit in for a few hours without adjusting.
- Abaya, jilbab, a long dress, or separates - all equally appropriate.
- Hijab as you normally wear it. The evening is not the occasion to try a style you have never worn.
- Shoes you can walk in. There is more moving between seats than people expect.
The mistake worth avoiding
Dressing as someone you are not. If you never wear a three-piece suit, an evening of structured conversation is a bad time to find out how it feels. Someone meeting you should be meeting you - and you will be more at ease, which is what actually shows.
What to bring #
- Valid photo ID. Required at check-in and matched against your application.
- A phone, charged, and then put away. Checking it during an introduction is the thing people remember.
- Two or three things to ask. Not a script - just enough that the first minute is not spent thinking of something.
Everything else is provided, refreshments included. You do not need to bring documents about yourself; the application already carries what we needed.
Getting there #
Check-in opens thirty minutes before the start and it is worth using that half hour. Arriving with time to sit down, get a drink and take in the room is worth more to how the evening goes than anything you wear. Venue details are on each event page, listed under browse events.
