19th century: origins and development 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. As the 18th century drew to a close, high society began adopting more austere clothing which drew inspiration from the dark hues and simpler designs adopted by country gentlemen. By the end of the 18th century, two forms of tail coat were in common use by upper-class men in Britain and continental Europe: the more formal dress coat (cut away horizontally at the front) and the less formal
morning coat, which curved back from the front to the tails. From around 1815, a knee-length garment called the
frock coat became increasingly popular and was eventually established, along with the morning coat, as smart daywear in Victorian England. The dress coat, meanwhile, became reserved for wear in the evening. The
dandy Beau Brummell adopted a minimalistic approach to evening wear—a white waistcoat, dark blue tailcoat, black pantaloons and striped stockings. Although Brummell felt black an ugly colour for evening dress coats, it was adopted by other dandies, like
Charles Baudelaire, and black and white had become the standard colours by the 1840s. Over the course of the 19th century, the monotone colour scheme became a codified standard for evening events after 6 p.m. in upper class circles. Despite its growing popularity, the dinner jacket remained the reserve of family dinners and gentlemen's clubs during the late Victorian period. 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; 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. But it did still have a place: the American etiquette writer
Emily Post stated in 1922 that "A gentleman must always be in full dress, tail coat, white waistcoat, white tie and white gloves" when at the opera, yet she called the tuxedo "essential" for any gentleman, writing that "It is worn every evening and nearly everywhere, whereas the tail coat is necessary only at balls, formal dinners, and in a box at the opera." '', March 17, 1928) It also continued to evolve. White tie was worn with slim-cut trousers in the early 1920s; by 1926, wide-lapelled tailcoats and double-breasted waistcoats were in vogue. 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. The late 1920s and 1930s witnessed a resurgence in the dress code's popularity, but by 1953, one etiquette writer stressed that "The modern trend is to wear 'tails' only for the most formal and ceremonious functions, such as important formal dinners, balls, elaborate evening weddings, and opening night at the opera". The last president to have worn white tie at a
United States presidential inauguration was President
John F. Kennedy in 1961, who wore
morning dress for
his inauguration, and a white tie ensemble for his
inauguration ball.
21st century 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 as well as the Lord Mayor dinner at Mansion House. Notable international recurrent white tie events include the
Nobel Banquet in Sweden and the
Vienna Opera Ball in Austria. In
Scandinavia and the Netherlands, white tie is the traditional attire for
doctoral conferments and is prescribed at some Swedish and Finnish universities, where it is worn with a
top hat variant called a
doctoral hat. At the universities in
Uppsala and
Lund in Sweden, it is still common for students to wear white tie at formal events. In Sweden and Finland, a black waistcoat is worn with white tie for academic occasions in the daytime. In the Netherlands, the attendants of the graduate student, called
paranymphs, will also wear white tie. Some
fraternities such as
Freemasons and
Odd Fellows wear dress coats to their meetings.
United Kingdom In Britain, it is worn at certain formal occasions such as
state banquets, City of London livery dinners and certain balls at
Oxford,
Cambridge,
Durham,
Edinburgh and
St Andrews universities. Notable annual white-tie dinners include the
Gridiron Club Dinner in
Washington, D.C., the
Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner in
New York City. White tie is also required at a few
debutante balls such as the
Viennese Opera Ball in New York and the
International Debutante Ball in
New York City, and the
Veiled Prophet Ball in
St. Louis. Some dance-focused balls require white tie, especially for
waltz or
quadrille. 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. It is sometimes used in invitations to
masquerade balls and
Mardi Gras celebrations, such as the
Mardi Gras in Mobile,
Alabama, or
New Orleans Mardi Gras,
Louisiana, emphasising the white tie expectations for men and full-length
evening gowns for ladies. == Composition ==