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Formal dress (U.K.) and formal wear (U.S.) are the general fashion terms for clothing suitable for formal social events (wedding, débutante cotillion, dance). The Western style of formal evening dress, black and white garments, has pervaded the like styles of many countries, it is most always the standard formal social dress in countries without a formal national costume. In Western formal state ceremonies and social functions, diplomats, foreign dignitaries, and guests of honour wear Western evening dress if not wearing their equivalent national dress, i.e. the sari, the dashiki, et cetera. Unlike in most of fashion, formal evening dress styles are named for the clothes of men rather than the clothes of women. The traditional sartorial rules that govern men's formal dress are strictly observed; from them derive the evening dress variants worn to high school prom dances, formal dances, and entertainment industry award programs. Socially acceptable civilian formal evening dress is codified; since the early twentieth century, the British, Continental, and North American forms are:
- Full evening dress or white tie
- Semi-formal evening dress or black tie
- Formal day dress or morning dress
- Semi-formal day dress or stroller suit
- Informal dress or lounge suit
The continual relaxation of formal dress standards since the end of the Second World War redefined what clothes constitute formal and semi-formal dress. The original term full dress was used in the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century, followed by half dress and undress. Today, traditional etiquette and dress consultants use the original, formal dress code terms — especially for weddings, while contemporary consultants use looser, “modern” definitions, i.e. white tie: “very formal”, “ultra formal”; black tie: “formal”; and the traditionally informal lounge suit as “pseudo-formal”. Moreover, modern advisors recommend black tie for formal events, and tie-less-black-tie "alternatives" for semi-formal events. Subsequently, white tie and black tie are the categorical terms used to differentiate between the garments comprised by the ambiguous “formal” and “semi-formal” labels. In the U.K., white tie and black tie are evening dress categories; morning dress is the day time clothing, because the American-termed “day wear” is considered informal dress. In the U.S. morning dress is rare, having been replaced with the stroller suit and the lounge suit, however, morning dress remains de rigueur in the societies of the United Kingdom, Europe, Australasia, and Japan.
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Styles of formal dress
The degrees of formality of evening clothes, and the component garments, are described in the individual fashion articles:
Men's styles
Evening styles:
- Court dress (at Royal Court)
- White tie (tailcoat)
- Black tie (U.K.: dinner jacket; U.S.: tuxedo)
- Red Sea rig (tropical jacket less Black tie)
Day styles:
Grey necktie (combining tail coat and black tie styles worn by servants and waiters)
Women's styles
Unisex formal dress
- Court dress - law court dress
- Academic regalia - academic and graduate dress
- Dress uniform - formal military uniform
- Mess dress - formal military evening dress
Components of formal dress
Man's white tie:
- Tailcoat
- Formal trousers, uncuffed, with satin stripes on leg seams
- White piqué bow tie
- White vest
- White shirt with a piqué front
- Cuff links and shirt studs
- Black patent leather shoes or dress shoes
- Suspenders
Man's black tie:
- Tuxedo coat or dinner jacket
- Formal trousers, uncuffed, with satin stripes on leg seams
- Formal shirt (stiff wing or soft folded collar) with either a placketed, pleated, piqué, or ruffled front
- A black bow tie
- A black vest or a cummerbund
- Black, patent leather shoes or dress shoes
- Cuff links and shirt studs
- Suspenders
Formal wear around the world
Each culture of the world has formal evening and day dress, some examples:
- Sari - worn by women in India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka
- Shalwar Qameez - worn by women in Pakistan and India
- Dashiki - worn by men in West African countries
- Barong Tagalog - worn by men and women in the Philippines
See also
References
Article on formal dress etiquette in the UK.[1]
