Ask the Image Expert Sherry Maysonave is the founder and president of Empowerment Enterprises, one of America's leading communication-image firms. Sherry conducts corporate seminars and coaches executives, professionals, and politicians in achieving excellence in communication and image. She is also the author of Casual Power: How to Power Up your Nonverbal Communication and Dress Down for Success Black Tie Optional Question: My fiance and I are attending a "black tie optional" ball. I have a semi-dark gray silk dress mid-calf in length with beads and sequins on the bust, which is cut like a string bikini top (open back). First, is this dressy enough; second, what type of shoes would be appropriate with this dress; and third, should I wear sheer black stockings? Stephanie Answer: Yes, since the invitation says that black-tie attire is optional, your dress certainly sounds dressy enough to be appropriate. Ideally, your shoes are a pewter color or a dark silver metallic tone. With this dress and for this event, your shoes should be quite dressy; they can even sparkle. Avoid regular leather shoes—kid leather is not dressy enough for this occasion. Suede, silk, micro-fiber, or metallic fabrics fit the bill. Within this, you have the style options of strappy sandals (high-heel types), sling-back pumps, mules, or pumps. If you wear strappy sandals or mules, do not wear hosiery. And if there's dancing, I do not advise wearing mules, as they are too hard to keep on dancing feet. Hosiery can be worn with pumps or slingbacks. The appropriate hosiery color for a dark gray dress falls in the range of gray to smoke to silver shades. An off-black (light black) color would look better with your dress than black would. Be sure to check the undertone of the hosiery color with your dress. Many gray tones have greenish or blue undertones to them. Check it out in good lighting and try to match the undertone of your gray dress. And yes, if you wear hosiery, opt for a sheer or ultra sheer style, as sheers are considered to be the dressiest hosiery. Best of luck to you, Sherry Maysonave Also see: The law firm I work for just adopted business casual dress policy. What should I wear? Should I buy new post-pregnancy clothes? Ask your image questions Personal Power: A case study from Casual Power