Finding a wedding dress was easy compared to finding a dress for the Airman Leadership School (ALS) Graduation Dinner. It was my first military event, the first time meeting C’s co-workers, and my first event as Mrs. C. (I told you we like firsts…) I considered cancelling, then I thought better of it and went on a shopping spree.

The biggest challenge was making the connection between military uniforms and business clothes. If this was my work event, I would have worn a black suit. But that didn’t seem like the right fit for the occasion. And Sunday Best seemed too casual for our first event as a couple. C was sweet, but hearing  “you always look great” wasn’t very helpful.  I needed to know long dress vs short dress, cocktail dress vs shift dress with cardigan… I searched google images and found some great milspouse blogs but most folks were sharing what they were wearing to a ball/formal. Finally, I bit the bullet and bought a little black dress that could be worn to work with a cardigan and something a bit dressier. C made it easy. His eyes lit up when I tried on the second dress. Drum roll please…

ALS Graduation Dinner dress

The dress was perfect — it was 50% off and fit great. Plus it gave us a benchmark for what I should wear — all I have to ask is: “Dressier or more casual than ALS?”

How do you decide what to wear to military events?