White tie

White tie (also known as evening dress or full evening dress in the United Kingdom) is the most formal dress code that exists for civilians today in the United Kingdom.¹

There exists a less formal counterpart known as black tie and a formal day time equivalent known as morning dress. See Formal wear for a complete listing and definition of formal dress codes.

A woman must wear a formal ball gown with her best accessories and jewellery when the dress is described as white tie. Where state decorations are specified, married women wear tiaras.

Elements

Formal evening dress is more strictly regulated than other forms of dress, and properly consists of:

Black tailcoat with silk (ribbed or satin) facings, sharply cut-away at the front
Black trousers with two lines of braid
White stiff-fronted shirt
White stiff wing collar (attached to the shirt with collar studs)
White bow tie
White low-cut waistcoat
Black silk stockings
Black patent leather pumps or shoes

At some state and heraldic occasions, knee-breeches, silk stockings and black buckled pumps are worn instead of trousers. This is particularly necessary where the garter of the Order of the Garter is intended to be worn.

Shirts, waistcoats and bow ties are now usually made of cotton marcella, although plain linen shirts and white or off-white silk ties and waistcoats are sometimes worn. Shirt studs and cufflinks should be silver or white. A white handkerchief and flower may be worn. At occasions of state, and in the presence of royalty, state decorations are worn by those who have been awarded them: miniature medals plus up to four breast stars, a narrow neck riband and a broad riband (sash). If a Knight of the Garter wears breeches, he wears his garter under his left knee. Ladies of the Garter wear theirs above their left elbow.

Outdoors a black silk top hat is appropriate, with an opera cloak or overcoat, even during the summer. White gloves, scarf and cane are optional extras.

Variations

Scottish Highlands dress is often worn at white tie events, especially by a Scotsman.

The traditional white tie version of Highland dress consists of:

Black coatee - Prince Charlie, Montrose and Sheriffmuir jackets are suitable
Black waistcoat
Kilt
White pique shirt and vest with white studs and cufflinks
Black bow tie or white lace jabot
Black Ghillie brogues
Tartan or red and white, red and black or blue and white diced kilt hose
Flashes
Sporran - formal type with a silver-mounted cantle-top and fur pouch or a full fur and animal mask type

Military mess dress or hunt uniform may also be seen at a White Tie event.

See also: Scottish apparel

Appropriate occasions

Like black tie, evening dress is generally only worn after 6 p.m. (see note 1 for an exception). Occasions that require white tie are increasingly rare, but in the United Kingdom these still include:

State dinners (e.g. dinners with visiting heads of state)
Some Commemoration balls and May balls at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and the June Ball of University College Durham
Hunt balls
Some balls during the London Season
Graduation ceremonies at some universities
the Lord Mayor of London's Mansion House Banquet (though current Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown famously ignores the dress code)

The situation is similar in the United States, where "white tie" must be specified on the invitation. Occasion that may still require white tie in the US include:

State dinners
Balls and cotillions
Weddings
Artistic premiers or the opening of an art season in large cities, such as the Opera or Ballet.

In Austria and elsewhere in Continental Europe there are many balls where white tie is worn; a notable example is the Vienna Opera Ball. In Finland, Sweden as well as The Netherlands many academic traditions still require white tie. In Sweden many weddings are white tie as is the Nobel Prize ceremony and dinner occasions with the royal family.

Conductors and members of an orchestra or symphony playing classical music often are dressed in white tie.

Related forms of dress

White ties were historically worn by clerics and in the professions that formerly were filled by priests and minor clerics. In various forms they are still worn as part of:

Clerical dress (by persons in Holy Orders)
Clerical dress (by clerks etc. in Parliament)
Court dress (in courts of law)
Court dress (in the Royal court)
Academic dress (in the older universities such as Oxford, Cambridge, St Andrews and Durham)

White ties are not worn with military mess dress, where black ties are worn even with the most formal variants. In the Royal Navy, mess dress (as opposed to mess undress) requires a white waistcoat but a black tie.

Note

¹ In the United Kingdom civilian day court dress (in the Royal court) is similar to white tie, but nowadays white tie is worn in its place to the most formal state occasions, e.g. by foreign ambassadors at the State Opening of Parliament. This is the case even though such occasions occur during the day.

External links