Formal Attire Expressions

dress code

Tip: Swedish invitations state this explicitly far more often than English ones

white tie (the most formal code)

Tip: literally 'ceremonial dress'; on the invitation it may also just say 'frack' (tailcoat)

black tie / dinner jacket

Tip: a false friend: Swedish 'smoking' means tuxedo, from 'smoking jacket' — nothing to do with cigarettes

lounge suit / dark suit

Tip: literally 'dark suit'; by far the most common formal code on Swedish invitations

smart, jacket required

Tip: 'kavaj' is the suit jacket, and as a dress code it means a step below mörk kostym

to dress up

Tip: the reflexive 'klä sig' = to dress oneself; 'upp' adds the sense of smartening up

dressed to the nines

Tip: literally 'dressed to the teeth' — the Swedish idiom uses teeth where English uses nines

to be overdressed

Tip: a real worry in Sweden, where understatement is the norm

to be underdressed

Tip: note it is not 'underklädd' as in underwear — that is 'underkläder'

an evening gown

Tip: literally 'a long dress'; what högtidsdräkt means for women

to wear a tie

Tip: Swedish uses 'ha' (have) rather than 'bära' (carry) for everyday clothing

a bow tie

Tip: literally 'a fly' — the insect; the shape gives it the name

cufflinks

Tip: literally 'cuff buttons'

to polish your shoes

Tip: 'putsa' = to polish or clean; also used for windows

it fits like a glove

Tip: literally 'it sits as if cast' — like moulded metal, said of a perfect fit

tailor-made

Tip: literally 'tailor-sewn'; also used figuratively for anything perfectly suited

to try something on

Tip: in a shop you ask for 'provrummet', the fitting room

a splash of colour

Tip: literally 'a colour blob' — the one bright detail in an otherwise sober outfit

less is more

Tip: a principle taken seriously in Swedish dressing

to break the dress code

Tip: 'bryta mot' = to break against, used for rules generally

to look the part

Tip: 'representativ' = presentable in a formal or professional setting