
With the festive season coming up, we thought it time to break down a few formal event dress codes and provide some options for each category.
White Tie is the most formal you can get for eveningwear. Quite frankly there’s rarely, if ever, an occasion where anyone would need a white tie ensemble. You'll most likely see it at high level government events or galas. We might as well describe it anyway, as the rules for white tie are pretty strict.
The outfit classically consists of:
A black wool barathea tailcoat/dress coat with satin silk peak lapels.
A white dress shirt, typically with a piqué bib and must have a wing collar and single cuffs.
A set of studs and cufflinks as closures for the dress shirt.
A white piqué waistcoat & white bowtie.
A pair of high waisted black wool barathea trousers typically with two silk stripes running down the outseam.
Due to the formality of the outfit, patent leather dress shoes are the only acceptable footwear.
The options for customization and fit of all of these garments are fairly strict, and there is often no wiggle room for customization beyond the standards that your tailor suggests.
White tie outfits
Morning Dress is the most formal dress code for day attire. It's almost never seen in North American society. The most likely place you’ll see morning dress is at a day time wedding in the UK or at the Royal Ascot.
Morning dress includes the following:
A single breasted morning coat, usually with a single button, with the front quarters gradually curving away into a pair of tails.
A waistcoat that matches the cloth of the morning coat.
A pair of trousers in any formal striped or check variation. The pattern is always in muted tones of black, silver, white, and charcoal gray. This doesn’t mean any striped cloth will do. Generally, the appropriate cloth will be chosen by the tailor .
A dress with either a white detachable collar, collar studs, and a tie, or it can be with a cravat and a wing collar, depending on the formality of the occasion.
Typical trimmings include a plain silk pocket square, and either black oxfords, or dress boots.
Morning dress outfits
Black Tie is generally as formal as North American society ever goes. When we use the term “black tie”, it strictly means tuxedos. It does not mean a dark coloured suit and a black tie. This seems to be a weirdly misunderstood notion. When black tie is done correctly, it can easily be the most attractive look on a guy. When it’s done wrong, it can make a guy look like a complete schlub.
Black tie is exactly as follows:
Matching jacket and trousers, commonly in black barathea, with either satin or grosgrain lapels and trousers with a stripe running down the leg
Matching silk cummerbund, or matching cloth evening waistcoat, a black bowtie, and a white dress shirt with French cuffs, either a wing or turn down collar, a bibbed or pleated front, with either a hidden placket, or one closed by studs.
You complete the look with either high shine or patent evening slippers, or whole cut oxfords, over the calf black socks, possibly a white silk pocket square.
THESE ARE NON-NEGOTIABLE. If you’re missing any of these things, you are not doing black tie. It’s rare that you’re ever going to be required to wear a black tie ensemble, but if it’s requested, then the occasion is clearly important to someone that you should do the best you possibly can to adhere to the dress code. For your safest bet in making sure you don’t make any mistakes, it’s best to consult your tailor. Our favourite configuration is a jacket with a roped sleeve head, single button front, grosgrain peak lapels and ribbon down the side of the trousers. The discussion of shirts with a vest versus cummerbund is dependent on the occasion and the client, but these attributes are what we find to be the most foolproof and flattering for most clients. While we strongly suggest that clients commission a black tuxedo as a first black tie outfit, white and off-white options are not out of the question. A white tuxedo is appropriate for warmer weather or day time events.
Black tie outfits
Creative black tie is where we veer off from tuxedos and start to enter the realm of dinner jackets, smoking jackets, and other eveningwear. While it’s generally less strict, it can be even more complicated to comprehend as the rules are more fluid.
This is an area where you might start to see more novelty colours, textures, patterns, and details, including:
Velvets, Moire, Dupioni silk, brocades, & Black Watch tartans
Shawl lapels, frog closures
Again, you should not expect any of these items to fit within a strict black tie dress code. The formality of the event, time of year, time of day, setting, attendees, etc. are all deciding factors in what’s appropriate. Make sure you have a handle on all of these factors and consult a professional well before commissioning or purchasing your formal wear.
Creative black tie outfits
Black Tie optional is a common dress code, especially in the more casual times we currently live in. Black tie optional means exactly that. You either wear a tuxedo and follow the black tie rules as we’ve stated above, or you don’t. But if you don’t, that doesn’t you get to mean you get to wear whatever you want. If you’re going to be in a setting where there will likely be other people in black tie, then you should be doing your utmost to get as close to that level of formality as possible. Meaning no light or bright colour suits, no loud patterns, no casual fabrics (linen, cotton, etc). Your goal not just for yourself but in respecting those around you, is to dress as simply and as sharply as possible.
We recommend the following:
A very dark midnight blue or charcoal gray 2 or 3 piece suit (full wool or wool/mohair mix)
A regular plain white or light blue fine cotton dress shirt
A conservative tie with no loud colours or patterns
And complete the look with matching colour socks, and black oxfords, or dressier loafers.
Black tie optional outfits
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