How to request a specific dress code for a tea party

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by NinjaPoodle

So, I'm helping my friends host a garden tea party. We want female guests in floral/springy-summery-sun dresses and males in khakis. What's a nice way to indicate this on the invitation?

To be honest, I'm not sure there is a nice way to indicate this.

The reason to alert guests as to attire is so that they will be dressed appropriately for the occasion and so that they will not be embarrased by being overdressed or underdressed. What you describe is pretty much casual garden party attire, although there's always the risk that someone thinks casual means shorts or a tee-shirt.

But casual is where it should be left -- I'm not sure there's a polite way to tell men, for example, that the requested attire is khakis as opposed to some other nice, appropriate slacks. Likewise with sundresses.

The goal is to make the guests comfortable, not to achieve a certain "look."

[Senusret I]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

To be honest, I'm not sure there is a nice way to indicate this.

The reason to alert guests as to attire is so that they will be dressed appropriately for the occasion and so that they will not be embarrased by being overdressed or underdressed. What you describe is pretty much casual garden party attire, although there's always the risk that someone thinks casual means shorts or a tee-shirt.

But casual is where it should be left -- I'm not sure there's a polite way to tell men, for example, that the requested attire is khakis as opposed to some other nice, appropriate slacks. Likewise with sundresses.

The goal is to make the guests comfortable, not to achieve a certain "look."

I agree with this.

"Casual" is the only appropriate way to say it (according to The New Basic Black: Home Training for Modern Times). If they ask, then you can make the suggestion verbally. But the fact that it's a tea party should be indication enough.