What to Wear: The Dress Code
The dress code is more than a rule. It’s your invitation to set the mood.
Before you cross our threshold, you will dress for it. This is not vanity. Clothing is the first language of the evening — it tells the room how seriously you take the night, and the room answers in kind. At VLVT, the standard is black tie, interpreted with intention.
For gentlemen: a proper tuxedo. Black, midnight, or a very dark jewel tone if you carry it well. A bow tie, tied by hand if you can manage it. Polished shoes — the floor notices. No business suits; a suit says you came from work, and tonight you came from nowhere.
For ladies: a gown, a cocktail dress with architecture, or refined lingerie beneath an opera coat if the evening’s theme allows it. Choose fabric that wants to be touched and wont betray you after midnight — silk, velvet, heavy crepe. Avoid anything you must adjust every twenty minutes; confidence is incompatible with tugging.
A note on the mask: your face will be half-hidden, which means your silhouette, your hands, and your fragrance do more of the talking. Dress the whole body, not just the mirror’s favorite angle. Gloves are welcome. Jewelry should glint, not shout.
Minneapolis is honest about its limits: there is no dedicated black-tie gown boutique here at the caliber the evening deserves. For the gown itself, we trust your own sources — and we have listed ours below:
Suggested Resources:
Rent the Runway and The Black Tux — for a gown & tux worn once and returned without sentiment.
Net-a-Porter and Mytheresa — for a gown you intend to keep.
Fleur du Mal and Honey Birdette — for the hottest lingerie and what not.
Kruchinina NYC - MPLS and Sloane’s — for beauty before the night will unfold.
Smitten Kitten — for all toys you might want to bing with you.
