A question about white tie dress codes

[Exeson]

Well, I'm busy working out what I'm going to wear for my schools leavers ball, the equivalent of a prom for you Americans.

I have my heart set on white tie, i.e. tailcoat, top hat, waistcoat, bow tie, gloves, cane, dress shirt. The thing is I abhor white bow ties, is it acceptable to exchange it for a black bow tie?

[Hazkali]

Well, I'm busy working out what I'm going to wear for my schools leavers ball, the equivalent of a prom for you Americans.

I have my heart set on white tie, i.e. tailcoat, top hat, waistcoat, bow tie, gloves, cane, dress shirt. The thing is I abhor white bow ties, is it acceptable to exchange it for a black bow tie?

No. White tie is exceptionally rigid. Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_tie) tells you more than I can.

Personally? If black tie is the standard, you will appear overdressed in white tie. You can apply a more formal stamp onto black tie if you want, but white tie is a step beyond, and as it uses a dress-coat as opposed to a dinner-jacket you will be the odd one out.

[Exeson]

Ah, you don't know me, so I will point out now that I enjoy standing out. And I usually am the odd one out anyway. Plus this is the one opportunity I have to dress up for a reason.

[Hazkali]

I find something very ironic about your use of possibly the most rigid dress code as a source of nonconformity...

Fair enough, if you want to go for it. One of my friends bucked the trend and wore a white dinner jacket, with white-out contacts, those punk ear-stretching earrings and a red mohawk to our leaving do. He definitely stood out!

[Exeson]

I could go the emo route and wear a red tail coat, but that might be pushing it.

And yay for irony! :smallbiggrin:

[Supagoof]

I bucked the trend for my highschool prom.

Black tie - tux type event.

I wore a white long tailed tuxedo (different but acceptable)
Then had a baby blue vest over a white shirt (also acceptable)
Then wore jeans (not acceptable)
and baby blue "Chuckies" (not acceptable)

Now - get this.

My dates outfit, a white dress with a jean halter top. Same shoes.

Seperate - we wouldn't have been allowed in. But because we went together, the whole outfit matching thing worked like a charm. I was comfy, and classy.

So - for your white tie - perhaps think of changing the shirt or vest/cumberbun color and making the tie match.

[Exeson]

well my date will most likely be wearing a long purple dress, so im not sure which colour would match that.

[Roland St. Jude]

well my date will most likely be wearing a long purple dress, so im not sure which colour would match that.

Most likely, purple.

[CurlyKitGirl]

well my date will most likely be wearing a long purple dress, so im not sure which colour would match that.

Umm . . . How about purple?
Purple matches purple.
That and lilac-y mauve-y colours in the purple range.

[Exeson]

that was my first idea, but finding a purple waistcoat for hire? unlikely.

[GrlumpTheElder]

that was my first idea, but finding a purple waistcoat for hire? unlikely.

Actually, that shouldn't be as hard as it sounds.

And if worst comes to worst, you can always try a fancy dress shop...

[Gaelbert]

well my date will most likely be wearing a long purple dress, so im not sure which colour would match that.

My guess would be maroongandy. It's a mythical colour that allegedly is similar to purple but at the same time very different.
Doubts as to its existence are prevalent as no male has ever been able to independently verify its existence, but since it is so widely seen by females it may well exist.
I know this because I apparently wore maroongandy to the last dance.

[Lioness]

Someone already suggested what I was going to. If you don't like a white tie, then change the colour of it to match your partner's dress. In this case purple. There's also a shade of rather rich red that matches purple nicely.

[Coidzor]

Well, I'm busy working out what I'm going to wear for my schools leavers ball, the equivalent of a prom for you Americans.

I have my heart set on white tie, i.e. tailcoat, top hat, waistcoat, bow tie, gloves, cane, dress shirt. The thing is I abhor white bow ties, is it acceptable to exchange it for a black bow tie?

...Your.... a white tie affair... WHY!? Is some relative of the Queen attending? :smallconfused:

I can't imagine why you'd want to wear a girdle.

Or am I thinking white tie is more complicated than it really is? It's the stuff that's so formal they don't even have white tie affairs in the U.S. or Canada anymore because there's no members of the nobility there, IIRC.


Most likely, purple.

A darker purple, usually. If you look at how... wait, nevermind, Exeson's country doesn't have that phenomenon... Hmm...

Usually if the woman is in a lighter purple, a complementary darker shade is used for the man's coat.

Not sure if your skin tone's really what would work best with certain purples though.

[Amiel]

Most likely, purple.

And afterwards, go watch the Colour Purple



If you really want to buck the trend and introduce the power of confusion into the masses, wear an all-black ensemble. And then wear white shoes.


The problem with white is that it stains very easily.

Can you bring a white pet into your leavers ball?

[The Glyphstone]

Actually, a head-to-toe purple suit would be awesome. You'd also look like a pimp, but meh.

[absolmorph]

Actually, a head-to-toe purple suit would be awesome. You'd also look like a pimp, but meh.
I don't see how that's an issue.
The humor would be worth it.

[Amiel]

And then deck yourself in bling.

Who needs a mirror, no John, you're the mirror.

[Kneenibble]

I endorse all of the above suggestions leading to increased gaudiness. Which is pretty much all of them. I also endorse just white tie, though, which is pimping enough without embellishment.

I have a purple cummerbund and bowtie, you know a purple waistcoat for rent would not be a problem to find at all. Try a costume shop or even a theatre rather than an actual clothier's. - if you actually want to match.

Also, please post pictures, that I might lust.

[Thursday]

Do you want to borrow my Bottle Green Corduroy suit?

[RandomNPC]

If you've got any family at all in the military use it as an excuse to go in formal dress fatigues. If possible from pre-WWII they looked much more dress formal back then, If I do say so myself. (I just did)

[Coidzor]

Do you want to borrow my Bottle Green Corduroy suit?

I'd actually been wondering about what that color was like since I read Harry Potter...x.x

Also, corduroy suit, eh? Sweet. I've actually got a corduroy hat. May or may not be a fedora.

[ForzaFiori]

The problem with white is that it stains very easily.


This. A million times this. Last year a friend of mine wore a white dinner jacket to prom (he looked like James Bond, which was odd, because apparently I looked like a Bond Villain). No more than 10 minutes after we arrive, a guy walks into him with a full glass of punch. The entire right side of his jacket was red, and he had to borrow my black jacket (thankfully, the majority of the rest of his tux was black) for pictures. My mom managed to get the stain out for him, but it was a close call.

Despite this, I have apparently lost my mind, and let my date talk me into wearing an all white tux to prom. With my luck, I'll come back tie-dye.

[Boo]

A tie-dye tux would be amazing.

[Anuan]

Boo you are my new favourite person ever holy crap the amazing is so amazing it's blotted out all my punctuation skills ._.;;;

[KuReshtin]

I have only one word for you, Exeson:

KILT!

[Coidzor]

Ooo! Or double-kilt! Kilt on top, kilt on bottom...

Hmm...

[Incompleat]

Perhaps you could use an ascot tie?

Personally, I favor the Ruche knot (http://www.thecravatcompany.co.uk/howtotie.htm), but a good Naud Gordien also works if you can make it in the right way.

[Fifty-Eyed Fred]

Perhaps you could use an ascot tie?

In other words, a cravat (an ascot is a cravat tied with, funnily enough, an ascot knot; it's not the name of the garment as Americans would have one believe). Also, a purple waistcoat should be relatively easy for you to find.

Anyway, here's to hoping that you stand out in style, good fellow.

[Jack Squat]

I third the kilt motion. I wore a kilt, Prince Charlie jacket, and all that jazz to my Prom a few years back. They look sharp, and it distinguishes you from the crowd of people who are in rented tuxes and cowboy hats.

...maybe that was just my school though.

[skywalker]

...Your.... a white tie affair... WHY!? Is some relative of the Queen attending? :smallconfused:

I can't imagine why you'd want to wear a girdle.

Or am I thinking white tie is more complicated than it really is? It's the stuff that's so formal they don't even have white tie affairs in the U.S. or Canada anymore because there's no members of the nobility there, IIRC.

HA! (http://www.blacktieguide.com/Supplemental/Other_Formalwear/2007_May.jpg)

...

Granted, it was for the Queen, but it was held in the USA! (note the sailors)


I'd actually been wondering about what that color was like since I read Harry Potter...x.x

You know, it's a nice... bottle color. That always made since to me...


This. A million times this. Last year a friend of mine wore a white dinner jacket to prom (he looked like James Bond, which was odd, because apparently I looked like a Bond Villain). No more than 10 minutes after we arrive, a guy walks into him with a full glass of punch. The entire right side of his jacket was red, and he had to borrow my black jacket (thankfully, the majority of the rest of his tux was black) for pictures. My mom managed to get the stain out for him, but it was a close call.

Despite this, I have apparently lost my mind, and let my date talk me into wearing an all white tux to prom. With my luck, I'll come back tie-dye.

I had a friend wear a white tux all through dinner and prom. He came back spotless, even his shoes. So it's not really guaranteed you'll be multicolored by the end of the night.


...maybe that was just my school though.

Rented tuxes, no. Cowboy hats? Yeah, that's all you dude.

Doesn't a kilt make dancing a bit difficult? I am talking about... certain types of dancing popular with high schoolers...

[Zeb The Troll]

dress fatiguesThese two terms are mutually exclusive. It's like saying "formal coveralls". Fatigues are, by definition, attire for day-to-day or combat. They cannot be formal or dress.

[KuReshtin]

Doesn't a kilt make dancing a bit difficult? I am talking about... certain types of dancing popular with high schoolers...

Not really. Unless you usually do a lot of handstands when dancing.
genreally, i'd say that a kilt is less of a problem dancing than a woman's skirt would be, since the material is so much heavier than a skirt.

[Coidzor]

Doesn't a kilt make dancing a bit difficult? I am talking about... certain types of dancing popular with high schoolers...

Sporran only gets in the way of dry-humping/grinding. Not the kilt itself. Not really something that's only popular with highschoolers though.

[Thursday]

I'd actually been wondering about what that color was like since I read Harry Potter...x.x

Also, corduroy suit, eh? Sweet. I've actually got a corduroy hat. May or may not be a fedora.

Examine a bottle. ???

The Suit is cool in theory, (YMMV!) but I've never actually dared wear it outside my house.. because it is, effectively, a giant sign informing passing vagabonds that I should be roughed up forthwith.

Doesn't fit well either, but was £4 in a charity shop, how could I not?!?

[Coidzor]

Examine a bottle. ???

The Suit is cool in theory, (YMMV!) but I've never actually dared wear it outside my house.. because it is, effectively, a giant sign informing passing vagabonds that I should be roughed up forthwith.

Doesn't fit well either, but was £4 in a charity shop, how could I not?!?

Mmm. My main problem was that, well, bottle green is, in my mind, inextricably bound up with sparkly shiny refraction and reflection of the light. So it's mostly translating that into fabric that I had the trouble with. My mind's a horribly odd place though, so it's just one of those quirks, I guess.

Yeah, that's a pretty good deal, hope you can find some place to make use of it at some point though.

[skywalker]

Sporran only gets in the way of dry-humping/grinding. Not the kilt itself. Not really something that's only popular with highschoolers though.

Didn't say it was only popular with high schoolers. But it definitely is popular with that crowd.

[ForzaFiori]

...maybe that was just my school though.

Not just your school man.

Last year we had a guy come to prom in with a Mossy Oak camo vest. To match his dates Mossy Oak camo dress. Needless to say, he was also wearing his cowboy hat, and they showed up in his V10 Turbo Diesel F250

[Lioness]

HA! (http://www.blacktieguide.com/Supplemental/Other_Formalwear/2007_May.jpg)

...



Everyday wear for dancers...Men in tails = <3

[skywalker]

Last year we had a guy come to prom in with a Mossy Oak camo vest. To match his dates Mossy Oak camo dress. Needless to say, he was also wearing his cowboy hat, and they showed up in his V10 Turbo Diesel F250

While I consider cowboy hats terrible, I find the idea of a Mossy Oak couple (in the same vein as the ducttape couple) quite awesome and unique!

Also, diesel is better. :smallwink:

[RandomNPC]

These two terms are mutually exclusive. It's like saying "formal coveralls". Fatigues are, by definition, attire for day-to-day or combat. They cannot be formal or dress.

sorry. So whats the fancy formal wear? just plain ol' "Military formal" ???

[Hazkali]

sorry. So whats the fancy formal wear? just plain ol' "Military formal" ???

I believe the correct term is Mess Dress (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mess_dress).

[ForzaFiori]

While I consider cowboy hats terrible, I find the idea of a Mossy Oak couple (in the same vein as the ducttape couple) quite awesome and unique!

Also, diesel is better. :smallwink:

Cowboy hats are a way of life here. It's actually kinda scary.

Their outfit was extraordinarily awesome, just very...hick at the same time.

and of course diesel is better. If your talking trucks. I wouldn't put a diesel in my neon or anything. Although I bet it would sound awesome.

[skywalker]

Cowboy hats are a way of life here. It's actually kinda scary.

Despite the fact that your state, on the whole, possesses very few cows, relatively speaking.


Their outfit was extraordinarily awesome, just very...hick at the same time.

and of course diesel is better. If your talking trucks. I wouldn't put a diesel in my neon or anything. Although I bet it would sound awesome.

Have you ever been to Europe? They put diesels in everything. You get so many (as Jeremy Clarkson puts it) torques!!!

[Zeb The Troll]

I believe the correct term is Mess Dress (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mess_dress).That's a good all encompassing term. It should be noted that (at least in the US military) there is a distinction between a Mess uniform, which is on a level with a tuxedo, and an Evening Mess uniform, which is on a level with a white tie and tails.


and of course diesel is better. If your talking trucks. I wouldn't put a diesel in my neon or anything. Although I bet it would sound awesome.Why only in trucks? I drive a diesel VW Golf and it gets me where I need to be when I need to be there and does it getting 40+ mpg.

[Coidzor]

So have we seen hide or hair of the OP?