Black tie
Black tie is a semi-formal Western dress code for evening events, originating in British and North American conventions for attire in the 19th century. In British English, the dress code is often referred to synecdochically by its principal element for men, the dinner suit or dinner jacket. In American English, the equivalent term tuxedo (or tux) is common. The dinner suit is a black, midnight blue or white two- or three-piece suit, distinguished by satin or grosgrain jacket lapels and similar stripes along the outseam of the trousers. It is worn with a white dress shirt with standing or turndown collar and link cuffs, a black bow tie, typically an evening waistcoat or a cummerbund, and black patent leather dress shoes or court pumps.[1] Accessories may include a semi-formal homburg, bowler, or boater hat. For women, an evening gown or other fashionable evening attire may be worn.
This article is about the dress code. For other uses, see Black tie (disambiguation), Tuxedo (disambiguation), and Tux (disambiguation).
The first dinner jacket is traditionally traced to 1865 on the then Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII (1841–1910). The late 19th century saw gradual introduction of the lounge jacket without tails as a less formal and more comfortable leisure alternative to the frock coat. Similarly, the shorter dinner jacket evolved as a less formal alternative to the dress coat out of the informal smoking jacket, itself derived from the banyan. Thus in many non-English languages, a dinner jacket is still known as the false friend "smoking". In American English, its synonym "tuxedo" was derived from the village of Tuxedo Park in New York State, where it was introduced in 1886 following the example of Europeans. Following the counterculture of the 1960s, black tie has increasingly replaced white tie for more formal settings in the United States, along with cultures influenced by American culture.
Traditionally worn only for events after 6 p.m., black tie is less formal than white tie but more formal than informal or business dress.[2] As semi-formal, black tie are worn for dinner parties (public, fraternities, private) and sometimes even to balls and weddings, although etiquette experts discourage wearing of black tie for weddings. Traditional semi-formal day wear equivalent is black lounge suit. Supplementary semi-formal alternatives may be accepted for black tie: mess dress uniform, religious clothing (such as cassock), folk costumes (such as highland dress), etc.
Name[edit]
Dinner jacket in the context of menswear first appeared in the United Kingdom around 1887[3] and in the United States around 1889.[4] In the 1960s it became associated in the United States with white or coloured jackets specifically.[5] In modern British English, dinner jacket may be abbreviated to simply a "DJ".[6]
Tuxedo in the context of menswear originated in the United States around 1888.[7] It was named after Tuxedo Park, a Hudson Valley enclave for New York's social elite where it was often seen in its early years. The term was capitalized until the 1930s and traditionally referred only to a white jacket.[8] When the jacket was later paired with its own unique trousers and accessories in the 1900s the term began to be associated with the entire suit. Sometimes it is shortened to "tux".[9]
In French, Italian, Portuguese, German, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Persian, Turkish, and other European languages the style is referred to with the pseudo-anglicism smoking (esmoquin). This generic colloquialism is a false friend deriving from its similarity with the 19th century smoking jacket. In French the dress code may also be called "cravate noire",[10] a term that is sometimes adopted directly into English.[11]
The suit with accompanying accessories is sometimes nicknamed a monkey suit and, since 1918, soup and fish – a term derived from the sort of food thought to be served at black tie dinners.[12][13][14]
Queen Elizabeth II, and Prince Philip together with US President John F. Kennedy, and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis at Buckingham Palace, London, United Kingdom (1961)
US President Ronald Reagan, Audrey Hepburn, and Robert Wolders at a private dinner for the Prince of Wales at the White House, Washington, D.C., United States (1981)
US Navy Admiral Mike Mullen (in optional white semi-formal mess dress uniform) congratulates former British Prime Minister Tony Blair at the Atlantic Council of the United States Distinguished Leadership Award Gala (2008).
King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia during the World Water Week at the Stockholm City Hall, Sweden (2011)
Anthony Bailey (with infrequent orders and medals) speaks at Faith in Sport Olympic Gala Dinner in London, United Kingdom (2012).
