Summer party dress codes out of control as guests struggle to decipher the likes of ‘red carpet royal core,’ ‘garden party retro’

Megan Scruggs had a specific vision for her May wedding in Bristol, Rhode Island: a “Met Gala” dress code.

“I wanted my wedding to be really unique, and I hadn’t heard anybody use this phrase before for a dress code,” Scruggs, 29, told The Post. “I wanted people to know that going all out was highly encouraged.”

Instead, she admitted, the edict just seemed to confuse guests.

“I was trying to have fun with it and do something that no one else had done, but people got so stressed out,” said the Los Angeles-based content creator. “They were like, ‘We need direction.’”

Indeed, party and wedding guests this summer are struggling to decipher creative dress codes that, sometimes, read like word salad.

A month ago, Joseph, a 32-year-old marketing communications professional who lives on the Upper East Side, attended a destination wedding where the dress code was “summer cocktail” — but “black tie welcome.”

“They are completely different dress codes,” griped Joseph, who asked to withhold his name lest he not be invited next time. “To me, ‘black tie’ is so straightforward, and the same with ‘summer cocktail.’ Combining the two seemed oxymoronic.”

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He tried to do online research, to no avail. “I googled, but you can assume that nothing helpful came up,” he said. “I couldn’t find a happy medium between the two.”

Once he got to the wedding he realized he was not the only one confused. “It was all anyone could talk about,” said Joseph, who ended up wearing a beige jacket with a navy J. Crew shirt and navy slacks.

Cameron Forbes, an event planner in New York City and the Hamptons, said she is seeing growing bewilderment around dress codes. She’s worked on recent events with such what-to-wear themes as “1950s Prom,” “Coastal Chic,” “Pink Cocktail” and “Nancy Meyers Meets Wyoming.”

“We are seeing a lot of ‘summer formal,’ which really confuses people,” Forbes said. “There is ‘summer black tie,’ ‘summer cocktail attire,’ ‘summer chic,’ ‘garden party chic.’ We did an event in June that was coastal attire.”

She has an event coming up in the Hamptons with the theme “garden party retro.”

“It’s ’80s themed, but it’s also outdoors,” Forbes explained.

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For such fanciful visions, she instructs clients to help their guests understand by adding a detailed description and, sometimes, even a visual style guide with photos.

If you don’t, “It’s all just different amalgamations of words.”

Lexie Hall, co-Founder of Follow the Bride, a wedding content company, also recommends brides add a photo-led style guide to their website.

“People might have the opinion that this is controlling, but I think guests like it,” said Hall, who notes a current trend is asking guests to adhere to a wardrobe color palette that complements party decor. “They want to be told what to do.”

The fashion brand Svarini had a party in New York City last week with the dress code “red carpet royal core.”

“As reference, think James Bond meets ‘Bridgerton,'” a brand rep explained on TikTok . “Corsets, Y2K, sparkle, glitter … bedazzled black tie.”

Guests complied with cleavage, sequins and cinched waists. Designer Sheel Yerneni was happy with how it went.

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“A cool dress code like this makes for an immersive universe at the event,” she said. “It also brings out a lot of personality from the attendees.

Social media influencer Christina “Tinx” Najjar was recently a bridesmaid at a wedding where the dress code was “countryside coastal: blue, red, or pink.”

She said she thrived on the challenge and that her dress — a floral brocade midi number by Markarian — nailed it.

“Personally I love a little direction,” she told The Post. “Is there anything better than slaying a sartorial prompt — aside from seeing your dear friend get married of course?”

Scruggs, the Met Gala bride, ultimately sent out invitations calling for “black tie optional,” but with the added specification that “formal wear is required” — this after her sister-in-laws asked her if they could wear sundresses for black-tie optional.

Ultimately, her guests showed up in dark suits and many long jewel-tone dresses.

“I would have loved some pink suits from my guy friends or something more risqué from the girls,” she said. “I wanted it to be fabulous, but with the new dress code it was just formal.”

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