A Proper Education

Attire: Defining Black Tie

Etiquette: Black-Tie Tradition

Etiquette: Dress Codes

Etiquette: Black-Tie Codes

Formal Facts White tie was originally referred to as full dress while black tie was known as half dress and the ordinary lounge suit was categorized as undress.

ØOther Formal Wear   To learn more about the correct rules of the various other types of formal wear check out the White Tie and Morning Dress pages.

What's in a Name?   Eveningwear etiquette is the basis of the name of one of the oldest formalwear manufacturers in America.  After Six was founded in 1903 as S. Rudofker's Sons and is the largest company of its kind.

Dress Decorum   Dressing toddlers in adult formal wear screams "tacky". Instead, Emily Post's Etiquette prescribes white Eton jackets with short pants for very young ring bearers, train bearers and pages and navy blue suits when they are older.

British Wedding Etiquette   In Britain the unwritten nuptial protocol remains the standard according to Debrett’s New Guide to Etiquette and Modern Manners which dictates that "dress for a wedding is never stipulated on the invitation, but is passed by word of mouth and follows the lead of the bride's parents."  However, black tie would never be one of the options as British weddings must take place during the day by law.

First Night Opening Night at the Metropolitan Opera "First night" is the term for the opening night of a performance run, usually in opera or ballet (which do not have previews and an official opening night unlike theater). The first night of a performance season is the dressiest of the year.

What's in a Name? Prom   The word prom derives from the Promenade Balls of the late 19th century.     The Canadian equivalent  is Grad or Formal and is usually only held for graduating high school or junior high/middle school students (as opposed to American proms which are often held for the junior and senior classes of these school levels).   According to wikipedia, the British synonym would be Valedictory Ball, Leavers' Ball or Leavers' Dinner.

Dress Decorum There is wisdom behind the traditional taboo against dressing in evening wear for daytime weddings since a flashy evening cocktail outfit is entirely at odds with the sanctity of a church ceremony.  Furthermore, black-tie attire's stark contrast is a poor aesthetic choice for broad daylight.

Shipboard Black Tie   Formal night on Queen Mary 2   Sophisticated dressers will be in good company on Seabourn, the most formal of the upscale cruise lines, as well as Cunard, Crystal and Celebrity, the most genteel of the mass-market lines.     The number of designated formal nights on a given cruise varies so the best bet is to contact your travel agent or visit CruiseCritic.com to chat online with experienced passengers who can tell you exactly what to expect.

Etiquette: Black-Tie Tradition

“Formalwear customs vary according to geographic regions and – let’s be honest – social strata.” 

Dressing Right

Having established what constitutes black tie's attire, we now turn to its etiquette to determine when and where that attire should be worn and by whom.  (For answers on how to wear it - for example, whether or not to leave a dinner jacket unbuttoned -  readers can look to the Dress Decorum sidebars located throughout the Classic Black Tie section.)

• When: Evening Wear Etiquette

White tie and black tie are the two categories of a class of dress known as evening wear.  The concept of wearing only the finest attire after sundown has existed for centuries but became codified during Victorian times.  The purpose of such attire was originally to leave behind the dirt and smell of a day spent on horseback or in the city, but after the advent of the automobile it implied what one etiquette guide described as "nothing more among people of social standing or inclination than the desire to be clean, neat, and as attractive as possible when they meet for social purposes.”  Prior to World War II this meant that the dinner jacket and tailcoat were the only attire appropriate for wear in the evening.  Following the war the business suit (then known as a sack or lounge suit) became acceptable after dark which meant that evening wear became redefined as attire appropriate only for evenings.   

Regardless of how it is defined, the ideal for the dinner jacket or tailcoat is that it should not appear in broad daylight.  Because this can be quite unavoidable during summer - particularly in regions located far from the equator - etiquette experts have had to devise more practical guidelines.  The most common solution is to define evening chronologically and discourage the wearing of corresponding attire in public prior to six o'clock.  The other school of thought allows more latitude for earth’s latitudes and asserts that evening begins at 6 p.m. or dark, whichever comes first.    In either case, unless he is working as a waiter the only excuse for a man to be seen in a tuxedo during the day is if he is traveling to an evening event or attending certain European state functions.

The protocol of reserving the dinner jacket and tailcoat for wear after six is self-evident in Britain which has maintained the elegant custom of morning dress, a category of apparel designated specifically for daytime formal events.  On the other side of the Atlantic, however, formal day clothes have all but disappeared since the war and in their absence most North Americans have come to view the tuxedo and tailcoat erroneously as all-purpose “formalwear” and commonly sport it at afternoon weddings.  Consequently, the proper use of evening wear has become a habit generally confined to the privileged minority that attend black-tie events often enough to view the tuxedo as an integral part of a man’s wardrobe rather than as a rented novelty.

• Who: Age Appropriate

Evening wear is intended for adult occasions and so dinner jackets and tailcoats have traditionally been considered inappropriate for children.   According to the Encyclopedia of Etiquette, “As a general rule, boys do not wear dinner jackets much before they are fifteen, or tailcoats before they are about eighteen.”  Although published in 1967 this advice remains perfectly germane considering that these are the very ages when young men trade in their youthful clothes for grown-up attire at popular coming-of-age ceremonies (see below).

In fact, the only time that children younger than these ages are likely to attend a formal affair is when they are invited to a wedding.  And while it has become common to dress ring bearers similar to the rest of the groomsmen (often with black shorts substituting for tuxedo trousers) this practice - like the trend of matching ushers’ bow ties to bridesmaids’ dresses - can easily suggest an ignorance of the sophistication, elegance and maturity that formal wear is meant to imbue.  Only junior ushers should wear the same clothing as their adult counterparts.

• Where: By Custom

Fading Traditions

Prior to World War II there was an implicit understanding among polite society as to what type of occasion called for what type of attire.  Throughout Victorian and Edwardian times the tailcoat was expected at every evening function where women were present - originally including dinner in one’s own home - while the newly invented dinner jacket was deemed appropriate only for informal stag affairs.  Then, during the interwar period the tuxedo supplanted the tailcoat as standard evening wear and white tie became reserved only for very formal occasions such as balls, formal dinners or a box at the opera. 

Following the Second World War the rules became more subjective as social standards grew more casual.  During the forties and fifties the tuxedo was increasingly associated only with special occasions such as formal parties, fine dining or an opening night at the theatre, traditions which dwindled during the counterculture movement of the sixties and seventies.  Although yuppie consumerism brought about the return of the swanky soirée in the eighties the universal customs of old had long been replaced with conventions determined by geographic region and socio-economic status as pointed out by the author Dressing Right in 1978.    Thus it is today that in the U.S. alone there can be significant differences in formalwear standards between the country’s east, west and gulf coasts and even within these regions there will be different expectations at upscale galas and cosmopolitan debutante balls versus middle-class weddings and suburban proms.   

Consequently, most formal affairs requiring black tie will now state this explicitly in the invitation or other forms of guest instructions.  Yet there remain a few occasions where evening wear is expected or welcomed largely by implication.  If you are looking for excuses to enjoy your black-tie finery or just want to ensure that you will not be noticeably underdressed, you would do well to research local custom before choosing your outfit for any of the following formal functions.

Public Entertainments

Opera has traditionally been considered the most prestigious of all the arts and has consequently required patrons to dress in the most formal style of apparel.  In fact it was the great opera houses of Europe that originated the term dress circle for the section of seats limited exclusively to ladies and gentlemen who were properly attired.    While the days of mandatory tailcoats (not to mention elaborate social protocols) are long gone, it is still common in many cities to see the best seats at the opera occupied by aficionados dressed in their finest evening wear for special performances such as first nights and season openings (see sidebar).  Premier performances at the ballet and symphony are also often implicitly Black Tie Optional affairs as are opening nights of prominent theatrical productions.  In fact, Emily Post’s Etiquette advises that black tie is virtually mandatory for a theater premiere when it is invitation-only.

A word of caution though: the balcony is a “don’t dress” section unless you and your companion will later be attending a formal function.  “A couple in evening dress but sitting in the balcony might seem to be slumming”, points out etiquette maven Amy Vanderbilt, “though it is true that those who know music and the dance prefer the vantage point of the first balcony to the more fashionable orchestra.”

Private Entertainments

At the most formal end of the spectrum, black tie has taken over from white tie at many occasions where the latter would previously have been worn, such as a diplomatic ball or reception, (rare) private balls or an important fund-raising dinner.  According to Emily Post’s Etiquette, only if the invitation specifically states White Tie must a man wear a tailcoat. 

Miss Manners’ Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior also recommends traditional dinner jackets for White House dinners as well as dances at conservative country clubs.  

Coming-of-Age Ceremonies

One type of formal dance that the Emily Post book specifically highlights as an unwritten white-tie affair is the debutante ball: the formal introduction of young ladies – usually 17 or 18 years of age – to affluent society.  Dating back centuries, this custom is rich in tradition including the practice of the debutante’s escort and father wearing full dress while the other male guests attire themselves in black tie. 

As the middle-class version of the upper-class debutante balls, proms (see sidebar) usually have a much less sophisticated interpretation of “formal”.  Even in the schools where tuxedos are preferred over regular jackets and ties, young men will often opt for outfits that bear little resemblance to proper black-tie attire.  

Then there is also a relatively new tuxedo tradition has recently emerged in America. The Quinceañera (pronounced keen-say-ah-NYE-ra) translates roughly as “fifteenth birthday girl” and refers to a Latin American celebration that is equivalent to an elaborate Sweet Sixteen or a debutante ball.  The celebrant is customarily accompanied by her escort plus a “court” of fourteen other couples, usually dressed in formal attire. 

Formal Evening Wedding Ceremonies

Marriage ceremonies are commonly held to more traditional standards than are most other social occasions and a formal evening wedding is the grandest of all.  If you are invited to a ceremony that begins at 6 o’clock, takes place in a cathedral and is followed by an elaborate reception then chances are that the guests will be adorned in traditional black tie.   If you are asked to actually participate in such a ceremony then expect to be wearing white tie. 

Such affairs are relatively rare though - particularly in Britain where weddings are not held in the evening - and the most formal type of ceremony the average man is likely to attend will only require tuxedos of the groomsmen.   For complete details of proper wedding attire, see Evening Wedding Dress Codes.

Evenings at Sea

Many traditionalists lament the loss of shipboard formal tradition but the present situation isn’t quite as bleak as some like Miss Manners make it out to be:

Dressing on cruise ships has become Standard Tourist . . . Miss Manners deeply regrets the general passing of wearing black tie to dinner, and applauds those few ships and passengers who steadfastly stick to the custom.  Of course, one does not so dress the first night out, the last night out, the night before getting into port, nights when the ship is in port, or nights when the ship is leaving port.   On most cruises, this accounts for every night there is, but Miss Manners would still like to see evidence of the intention, such as a steamer trunk full of evening clothes in case the ship is unexpectedly stranded at sea.

While it is true that black tie is no longer mandatory for evenings at sea thanks to the advent of budget-priced mega-ships, the fact is that, other than weddings and proms, cruises provide the most popular opportunities for most men to don a tuxedo.  In fact, some cruise lines pride themselves on their formality after six, a few going so far as to remind passengers that they are expected to dress not just for dinner but for the duration of the evening.  And even the lines that market frivolity over formality usually offer onboard formalwear rentals for the benefit of tradition-minded passengers. 

The number of formal nights on a cruise can vary widely depending on the itinerary, the cruise line (see sidebar) and sometimes even the ship itself.  Generally speaking though, itineraries with more sea days will offer more formal evenings because port days do not provide adequate time for passengers to change before dinner.   (This makes transatlantic crossings very formal, especially on Cunard.)  Also, don’t expect a black-tie dress code on the first or last evening of a cruise since most of a passenger’s wardrobe is packed away on these nights. 

• Where: By Invitation

Black-tie-only events are now almost exclusively indicated by invitation rather than tradition.  Originally it was considered gauche to state a dress code on an invitation because of the aforementioned universal understanding of what attire was appropriate for what type of event. This was especially true in the case of weddings and private parties where an invitation that was engraved and written in the third person was the unmistakable mark of a formal affair and guests knew implicitly that evening dress or morning dress was expected depending on the time of the event.  (In fact, should you ever receive such an invitation, it would still be a wise idea to confirm that this is not the case.)

In North America however, so few parties today are truly formal that even the conservative Emily Post’s Etiquette allows hosts to include dress instructions on invitations in order to make it clear to guests that an event is formal.  The author advises readers that “‘black tie’ or ‘white tie’ is conventionally printed in the lower right corner of invitations to proms, charity balls, formal dinners or dances, and any event for which clarification of dress standards may be necessary.” 

Yet despite the black and white simplicity of this system, hosts in recent decades have taken it upon themselves to needlessly complicate matters by devising ambiguous variations of the clear-cut Black Tie label.  To understand where these deviations came from - and why they are to be shunned – lets start with look at the concept of dress codes in general.