White tie

Throughout the Early Modern period, western European male courtiers and aristocrats donned elaborate clothing at ceremonies and dinners: coats (often richly decorated), frilly and lacy shirts and breeches formed the backbone of their most formal attire.

[4] The dandy Beau Brummell adopted a minimalistic approach to evening wear—a white waistcoat, dark blue tailcoat, black pantaloons and striped stockings.

[3] By the turn of the 20th century, full evening dress consisted of a black tailcoat made of heavy fabric weighing 500 to 560 grams per metre (16 to 18 oz/yd).

[9] After World War I, the dinner jacket became more popular, especially in the US, and informal variations sprang up, like the soft, turn-down collar shirt and later the double-breasted jacket;[10] relaxing social norms in Jazz Age America meant white tie was replaced by black tie as the default evening wear for young men, especially at nightclubs.

[13] The Duke of Windsor (then Prince of Wales and later Edward VIII) wore a midnight blue tailcoat, trousers and waistcoat in the 1920s and 1930s both to "soften" the contrast between black and white and allow for photographs to depict the nuances of his tailoring.

While rare in the early 21st century, it survives as the formal dress code for royal and public ceremonies and audiences, weddings, balls, and a select group of other social events in some countries.

In London, it is still used by ambassadors attending the Christmas ball offered by King Charles III at Buckingham palace[17] as well as the Lord Mayor dinner at Mansion House.

[18] Notable international recurrent white tie events include the Nobel Prize ceremony in Sweden[19] and the Vienna Opera Ball in Austria.

[26][27] In Britain, it is worn at certain formal occasions such as state banquets,[28][29] City of London livery dinners[30][31] and certain balls at Oxford, Cambridge, Durham, Edinburgh and St Andrews universities.

In the southern United States, white tie is sometimes referred to as "costume de rigueur", adapted from French language due to the historical background of New France.

Over this is worn a black double-breasted barathea wool or ultrafine herringbone tailcoat with silk faced peak lapels.

Women wear a full-length evening dress, with the option of jewellery, a tiara, a pashmina, coat or wrap, and long white gloves.

Decorations may also be worn and, unlike Debrett's, Cambridge University's Varsity student newspaper suggests a top hat, opera cloak and silver-topped cane are acceptable accessories.