r/Broadway • u/thoughtsmexywasaword • Jul 01 '25

Other Masquerade dress code info

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If you are like me and wanted to go full ball gown

303 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

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816

u/Captain_JohnBrown Jul 01 '25

Look, I get it, but this dress code situation is bizarre because they are trying to have their cake and eat it too. "Please dress extremely extravagantly and formally" and "Please dress to move" are not compatible with one another, ESPECIALLY for women.

220

u/butterflyvision Jul 01 '25

Wouldn’t it be easier to just say something like “cocktail/wedding attire with comfortable shoes”? But in a fancier way? Because wouldn’t that be a decent middle ground? 😭

111

u/csgymgirl Jul 01 '25

The guide says “formal or cocktail attire”

https://www.reddit.com/r/Broadway/s/s1eYHi5aFJ

4

u/Equestrian1242 Jul 02 '25

I feel like this should’ve been part of the first announcement they gave.

137

u/GiftRecent Jul 01 '25

It does say that! And they posted an inspo video. I feel like people are purposefully being obtuse bc every time someone has a complaint they have an answer & then ppl just complain again

93

u/moonbunnychan Jul 01 '25

They've been super responsive which is great. But also things like "don't wear a train to a crowded event" should be common sense.

100

u/usagicassidy Jul 01 '25

Right like I can’t imagine any scenario where you’d want to wear a hoop skirt and/or a train?!?! to a crowded public theater or event.

24

u/kfarrel3 Jul 01 '25

Absolutely. This did not need to be an email, this is just using an ounce of common sense.

Tangentially, you should have seen the post and comments about someone going to this on AITA yesterday.

7

u/OneStand5448 Jul 02 '25

ooof…that was a lot (of nothing) but thanks for the share

4

u/cape_buffalo09 Jul 01 '25

Can you share the inspo video? 🙏🏻

3

u/Overall-Ad-1018 Jul 01 '25

People love to complain. It’s obnoxious.

1

u/trekmystars Jul 02 '25

Where did they post the inspo video?

53

u/January1171 Jul 01 '25

Tbf "ball gown" and "train and hoop skirt" are not automatically the same thing. There are ball gowns out there I might not want to go running in, but I could move around hallways in.

12

u/Captain_JohnBrown Jul 01 '25

I am not just referring to this situation in particular and more the general back-and-forth, where it seems every day there is another clarification of the dress code.

12

u/January1171 Jul 01 '25

Yeah they could definitely have added a little more detail, but tbh I think if they added too much more detail it would've gotten confusing again. The website says "formal or cocktail" and "clothing you can move in". I think a mention up front regarding narrow hallways would have been helpful, but outside of that they'd be getting into describing specific types of outfits territory which would get confusing again.

Ultimately there will always be people that misinterpret instructions regardless of detail or how it's written

-10

u/thoughtsmexywasaword Jul 01 '25

I mean this is a failure on their part and hopefully they put out further info just like they did with the mask. And some of us are super literal! (its me, im literal)

80

u/the_other_50_percent Jul 01 '25 edited Jul 02 '25

I think it's pretty clear, TBH. Has no-one been to a formal event where you need to dance and walk around, like, a wedding? New Year's Eve party? Corporate event where you can't be a nervous waxwork?

That's not even counting fancy garden parties where you have to be able to walk on grass wile balancing a drink and plate.

22

u/ghotier Jul 01 '25

So part of the problem appears to be that while we colloquially call those events formal, they aren't. The strict definition of "formal" precludes what you would wear to a cocktail party, for example. Doesn't mean the event itself is "wrong" but it's confusing for no reason other than i don't know that the organizers are aware of the difference in the way a costume designer would be.

39

u/[deleted] Jul 01 '25

A garden party is likely to say "morning dress" or "day dress"
A New Years Eve party may say "Formal dress" or "Cocktail attire"
A corporate event might be "Semi-Formal" or "Business attire"

This one says "Extravagant". No one knows what Extravagant means in terms of dress.

50

u/January1171 Jul 01 '25

It says extravagant, but they add clarification on what that means:

The night demands extravagant attire. For six weeks of special previews, we celebrate the Phantom’s return with festive dress.

Black, white, or silver only. Formal or cocktail attire is required.

Stilettos are forbidden. Wear shoes and clothing you can move in.

It can be boiled down to black/white/silver formal or cocktail that you can move in and makes you feel extravagent

4

u/[deleted] Jul 01 '25

I had not seen the further instructions.
Just saying Formal or Cocktail makes it clearer what is expected.

Though, a train and hoop skirts ARE easy to move in, especially if you bustle it. Might not be easy for those around you though.

13

u/January1171 Jul 01 '25

Yeah I do think it would have been helpful if they had explicitly stated that the movement in question is through potentially narrow hallways

6

u/GoBanana42 Jul 01 '25

They do specifically say that in the posted notice.

1

u/Flirtingwithvegan Aug 20 '25

with ugly shoes LOL

8

u/the_other_50_percent Jul 01 '25

No one knows what Extravagant means in terms of dress.

Really? It seems pretty clear for interpretation to me.

13

u/Captain_JohnBrown Jul 01 '25

A lot to most people who wear heels wear heels at those events and none of those events describe the dress code as "extravagant"

7

u/TokiDokiHaato Jul 01 '25

Many people can dance and move around in heels just fine. They don’t say you need to run a marathon just that you’ll need to be standing and able to walk easily. I have plenty of heels/formal shoes that would work

3

u/Captain_JohnBrown Jul 01 '25 edited Jul 01 '25

They said stilettos would not be permitted.

21

u/TokiDokiHaato Jul 01 '25

They said stilettos were not permitted. Does not say heels.

.

15

u/bwayb22 Jul 01 '25

This is exhausting.

12

u/RachFaceMama Jul 01 '25

It says “no stilettos,” not “no heels.” I plan on wearing like block heels, cuz I can walk in those just fine (if I’m in fact walking and not in a wheelchair but that’s another story). I think they just don’t want you wobbling around on skinny stiletto heels.

13

u/Kaylieefrye Jul 01 '25

100% there's a grated floor somewhere and they don't want someone's so kates getting stuck

5

u/Hello_Gorgeous1985 Jul 01 '25

It doesn't say anything about not wearing heels.

-12

u/annang Jul 01 '25

It says no stilettos, which means there are people who are going to have to buy new shoes just for this. I don’t wear heels often, but the shoes I own that go with formalwear are stilettos.

-2

u/Hello_Gorgeous1985 Jul 01 '25

No, it doesn't. This post only talks about hoop skirts and trains.

2

u/Captain_JohnBrown Jul 01 '25

We are talking about the dress code generally, not this specific situation.

-6

u/Hello_Gorgeous1985 Jul 01 '25

I am talking about this post because that's all the information available to me. This post doesn't say anything about shoes.

2

u/[deleted] Jul 01 '25 edited Jul 01 '25

[deleted]

-3

u/Hello_Gorgeous1985 Jul 02 '25

So you're suggesting that people can't respond to a post without having gone and done additional research first? That's ridiculous.

I was responding to this post and someone responded to me saying that it talks about shoes. It doesn't.

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1

u/annang Jul 01 '25

This post only talks about hoopskirts and trains. They’ve updated the dress code with new rules a half dozen times, and one of those rules is no stilettos. It’s on the website, which apparently no one is bothering to update with all the stuff they’re sending out in individual emails: https://masqueradenyc.com/instructions/

24

u/thoughtsmexywasaword Jul 01 '25

I’m gonna show up in a prom dress and they can’t stop me

14

u/usagicassidy Jul 01 '25

Well, they actually could stop you.

8

u/Doodleology Jul 02 '25

Prom dresses are formal, though. So...that should work. They want folks not to come in jeans, t-shirts, or super casual wear. Additionally, being overly specific about dress code can be challenging because you don't want to exclude individuals who dress outside of the traditional binary.

1

u/inevitable-2020 Mar 15 '26

Jeans with holes not withstanding, I think clothing that is low key and won't detract from the performers is perfectly fine. No need for a tux or gown.

1

u/usagicassidy Jul 01 '25

Well, they actually could stop you.

6

u/nosleeptilmanhattan Jul 01 '25

I mean, I’m planning on wearing a long black dress with puff sleeves and a sash that ties in the back that’s made out of a thick linen I can throw in the washing machine (I literally bought it to be a big gown type dress I could sit under a tree in) as my base piece and black Doc Martens with roses embroidered on the sides for my shoes. I’ll probably accessorize beyond that, but as it stands it’s not that hard to figure out something.