Some people think today's holiday fashion sense is nothing to celebrate.

Wearing jeans to the orchestra? A sweatshirt to church? A goofy Christmas sweater to anything?

Yup, all that -- and more. Holiday dress has slipped, along with dress in general, in recent years, according to style-watchers. Back in the day, the holiday season was the time to "don we now our gay apparel." Now anything goes.

"We've become such a casual society," said Marilyn Pentel, educator on social skills and creator/CEO, Mannerly Manners, of Minnetrista. "People used to dress up to go to the opera, to the orchestra -- very few do now," an unfortunate trend, in her opinion. "When people show up [for a cultural event] dressed very casually, what it's telling those performers is that you don't respect them enough to dress for their performance," she said.

People behave differently when dressed up, she noted. They carry themselves differently; they're more polite. Her advice: "If you'd wear it to hang around home, don't wear it out to the theater."

But Twin Cities cultural institutions have embraced today's casual dress norms, in part because they don't want to discourage attendance. And audiences definitely dress down more than they used to, said Rita Wolf, receptionist for the Minnesota Orchestra.

"There aren't any rules like, 'No jeans in the hall,'" she said. "Most of the time, it's very casual. Business casual is about as dressy as it gets."

At the Guthrie Theater, where "A Christmas Carol" is a holiday tradition, dressing up is still common although far from universal, said David Russell, manager for the front of the house and visitor services. "We still see families with girls in red velvet dresses. There's more dressing up during the holidays. Maybe they're doing group photos. You've got those holiday clothes, and you can't wear them in January."

During his 17 years at the Guthrie, Russell has seen it all -- from furs to kilts to bare feet (on a recent female guest who said her shoes were uncomfortable). But on the whole, theater dress is more casual, he said. "The biggest change is fewer men in ties, and more women in pants." Even the staff dresses more casually. "They used to wear black and white with a bow tie, but when we moved to the new building [in 2006] we wanted to be a little less formal. Now they wear a red polo shirt with the Guthrie logo. We wanted to send a message that this isn't that formal. We wanted to keep it casual and fun."

What about holiday soirees? Here in frigid Minnesota, they've never been particularly formal or fashionable.

"In New York, there are fancy holiday parties, but the holidays around here have such a family vibe -- people dress for comfort," said Jen Boyles, local fashion columnist and editor of citypages.com.

Increasingly, it's hard to know what to wear to a holiday party, Pentel said, because hosts rarely put dress codes on invitations anymore. "You have to pick up the phone and ask, 'What are you wearing?'"

Obviously, the style of party makes a difference, Boyles said. "If you're invited for cider and sledding, then of course you can go casual, in jeans and a sweater. If the invitation says 'cocktail party,' be festive. Wear a cute little black dress and maybe red accessories."

But don't go overboard, she cautioned. "Don't wear red AND green AND silver AND gold. Pick one and do it well. Don't try to look like a ball of tinsel. There are decorations up. You don't need to compete with that."

And a word about those ubiquitous Christmas sweaters. You know the ones: covered with reindeer or Christmas trees or snowflakes, embellished with sequins, beads or glitter. They're a fashion don't -- unless you've been invited to an "Ugly Sweater Party," a recent trend among younger revelers. Even then, Boyles urges caution. "I would never go out in public like that. I couldn't handle it -- even if it is ironic."

Kim Palmer • 612-673-4784