The elaborate, all-white dinner is back again this year, and Georgetown stores aren’t about to let it pass by without getting in on the fun. Tonight, a handful of retailers are planning prep parties—that’s right: parties to help you get ready for the real party on August 27.
If you’re one of the 3,500 planning to attend the sold-out Dîner en Blanc, Rent the Runway, Ledbury, and Goorin Brothers will all be armed and ready to help you to pull together the necessary all-white ensemble for the evening. At each store, cupcakes, wine, whiskey, and Champagne will all be on hand to keep the shopping spirits high.
Ladies can hit up the extensive white dress selection at Rent the Runway, which is offering 20 percent off for the event, while the gentlemen can try pieces on for size at Richmond-based Ledbury in Cady’s Alley. To top it all off, Goorin Brothers’ 40 percent off summer sale will bring markdowns to their selection of fascinators and feathers—styles which were definitely popular at last year’s dinner.
After building up an appetite shopping, dinner attendees can then head to Georgetown’s Dean & Deluca to scout out the picnic basket offerings. Cheeses, salads, bread, and charcuterie marked with the Dîner en Blanc logo on them come with Dean & Deluca’s recommendation for guests who want to DIY their baskets, and the shop is also offering a catered basket that can be picked up the day of the dinner. Finally, shoppers can plan to end the night on a sweet note with a selection of white macarons at Olivia Macaron in Georgetown.
The prep parties are scheduled to run 6 to 8 PM on August 15. Tickets to the dinner on August 27 are sold out as of August 11, when tickets officially opened to the public. To see how last year’s guests pulled it off, take a peek at some of the dinner’s most dedicated guests.
Caroline Cunningham joined Washingtonian in 2014 after moving to the DC area from Cincinnati, where she interned and freelanced for Cincinnati Magazine and worked in content marketing. She currently resides in College Park.
