What to Wear: Black Tie

So, you’ve been invited to a fancy evening affair, and it’s going to be “Black Tie” … you’re pretty sure you know what that entails. Ah, a pun there … “tails” suggesting “White Tie and Tails”, which is an even more formal form of formal-wear, albeit one that has faded from use in all but the most ceremonial events (Embassy balls, perhaps the Nobel Prize presentations, etc.). But do you really know? Let’s take a look at the situation.

Of course, these days, we live in a very informal society. It wasn’t all that long ago that even the average day laborer wore a suit and hat to his factory job, and there were quite structured conventions for what various levels of society wore as a regular outfit, up to and including the “idle rich”, from whose dress habits much of current formal wear descends. The Tailcoat evolved from equestrian gear, and was what the gentry would change into for dinner. However, its design, being basically a cut-away long coat, was impractical (and possibly inconvenient) indoors, and by the Victorian period was being replaced by the “dinner jacket”, going with its predecessor’s waistcoat, shirt, tie, and pants.

Initially, there was some color variability in the Black Tie dinner jacket ensemble, including gray and midnight blue as options, but over the years, the black suit has become the favored formal option. Also, the waistcoat evolved to a simpler vest on one hand, and (thanks to the adjustments to the heat in British colonial India), the Cummerbund, the pleated waist sash that frequently typifies the modern Tuxedo (the American term for the outfit, named after the Hudson valley Tuxedo Park game reserve and retreat popular with New York’s wealthy at the turn of the previous century).

As anybody who has witnessed a high school prom can attest, there has evolved a great divide between a “Tuxedo” (in any number of hideous colors and variants), and proper “Black Tie”. The latter typically consists of a single-breasted (often with only one button) jacket made of black grosgrain fabric with peaked satin-faced lapels, with black grosgrain pants featuring silk bands covering the outer seams, and no belt loops (the pants are typically held up by white suspenders). The shirt should be white, with a turn-down spread collar, a pleated front, and having French cuffs and pass-throughs for studs on the upper buttons. Matched cuff link and stud sets can either be now-classic silver-and-black, or give an option for individuality. While waistcoats and vests are options, the cummerbund is most often featured, and while this is usually black, this has also become an option for individual style, matching the fabric with the bow tie. The outfit is completed with formal black patent leather shoes. As one might expect, if the event were to be “White Tie”, the tie, waistcoat/vest/cummerbund, and suspenders would all be white.

Obviously, all of the above is for what the guy is expected to wear to a Black Tie affair. What about the ladies? There is a lot more variability here. While black is always a good choice, other color options (as long as they say “formal”, no flowery sun dresses!) can work as well, with assorted fabric/design possibilities. The more formal the event, generally speaking, the longer the dress … with Gone With The Wind ball gowns being expected at White Tie events, and floor-length evening gowns at Black Tie dinner events. If the party’s just for the cocktail hour, less formal attire may be worn, that “little black dress” (assuming it comes in below the knee) in one’s closet might be the ideal, with appropriate “dress-up” jewelry accessorizing it.

As with many formal situations, staying close to the traditional is always a good choice, as formal events are celebrations of tradition, and wearing the expected outfit is simply a nod to that history.