White Tie Honours: Nobel Prize Awards Ceremony

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The Nobel Prize Awards Ceremony is arguably the most high profile white-tie affair in the world and takes place annually on December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death. At the 2013  ceremony I was very proud to see Jenny Munro accept the award for literature on behalf of her mother, Canadian author Alice Munro.

Table of Contents

The full-dress attire worn by the Swedish royal family was not such a matter of national pride though. You’d think that with their extensive experience in the field of formal attire they’d know enough to avoid the amateur faux pas of long waistcoats that play peek-a-boo below the tailcoat fronts.

Jenny Munro and King Carl Gustav XVI in white tie with orders and patent leather shoes
Jenny Munro and King Carl Gustav XVI in white tie with orders and patent leather shoes

Reader Comments

  1. Not to mention the man in the background whose waistcoat extends below his tailcoat, and then whose shirt and suspenders are visible below his waistcoat.

    1. I think lots of people do think that; it’s become so common, that most people likely think so. I thought so until I read Black Tie Guide, because that was what I had always seen.

  2. I had to comment about the waistcoat situation. Beeing swedish myself and having worn white-tie at several occasions I can safely say that this is more about national tradition then anything else. The rule to never show your waistcoat below the coat is a very anglo-american one. I have always heard from swedish sources that the rule is 1 cm below the coat (or somewhere between those two). Personally though I follow the english way because I think it looks better. Anyway, I like and agree with the rest of your guide Peter but I couldn’t resist commenting when someone is bashing our king.

    1. I suppose that terrible habit, derived of the confusion of the rules of formal tailcoat with the dressage tailcoat (when waistcoat is shown bellow jacket, and is correct). I guess the reason the rule of one can not be transplanted to another is that the setting of one is the opposite of the other: one is an always open jacket with very high contrasting palette and the other is an always closed jacket with colours suitable for daylights. So the setting that is nice in one applied in the other makes it extremely hideous.

    2. Thanks for the insight Björn. I certainly agree that the English way looks better especially considering that they invented and perfected the outfit.

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