Men's formal evening wear or "white tie", 1912 fashion plate.
Formal dress (U.K.) and formal wear (U.S.) are the general fashion terms for clothing suitable for formal social events, such as a wedding, formal garden party or dinner, débutante cotillion, dance, or race. The Western style of formal evening dress, characterised by black and white garments, has pervaded the corresponding styles of many countries; it is almost 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 formal dress if not wearing their equivalent national dress, i.e. the sari, the dashiki, etc.
A dress code is a set of rules governing a certain combination of clothing; examples are black tie and morning dress. Formal dress is the grouping of all the dress codes which govern clothes worn to events above a certain level of formality. The traditional sartorial rules that govern men's formal dress are strictly observed; from these derive the evening dress variants worn to high school prom dances, formal dances, and entertainment industry award programs.
In the U.K., white tie and black tie are evening dress categories; morning dress is standard formal day time clothing (a lounge suit being still considered informal dress). In the U.S. morning dress is rare, having been replaced with the stroller and then the lounge suit, however, morning dress remains de rigueur in certain settings in the United Kingdom, Europe, Australasia, and Japan.
The continual relaxation of formal dress standards since the end of the Second World War is redefining 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 is styled as “very formal” or “ultra formal”; black tie as “formal”; and the traditionally informal lounge suit as “pseudo-formal”. Moreover, modern advisors recommend black tie for "formal" events, and "alternatives" for semi-formal events.
Thus, “formal” and “semi-formal” are unambiguous only in a traditional setting, referring to 'those clothes which must be worn to a formal event' (or semi-formal respectively), however, changing fashions can make these terms ambiguous; white tie and black tie on the other hand refer solely to the combination of relevant clothes themselves, regardless of their setting, and so are much less susceptible to misinterpretation.
Particularly in America, but also around the Western world, there has also been a relaxation regarding the dress codes themselves, since full formal dress (white tie or morning dress) is almost unheard of in many places. An example of such a variant is removing the traditional, classic black bow tie with black tie in favour of a black or coloured regular tie and vest, a development which would have been unthinkable a few decades ago.
Styles of formal dress
The dress codes counted as formal dress are:
The clothes dictated by these dress codes for women include:
For many uniforms, the official clothing is unisex. Examples of this are:
Components of formal dress
We briefly summarize here the clothes required for men by some of the above dress codes.
White tie
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For more details on this topic, see White tie.
Black tie
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For more details on this topic, see Black tie.
- Tuxedo coat (BrE: dinner jacket)
- Formal trousers, uncuffed, with one stripe 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
- Qipao - A modern female variation of the Qing Dynasty silk dress, characterized by a high mandarin collar, and side open slits of varying lengths. Can be sleeveless, short, elbow or long sleeve. Adopted by most Chinese women as a traditional Chinese formal or informal wear, depending on materials and occasions.
- Tangzhuang, a long male version of the qipao, originated during the Ming-Qing Dynasty. It can be of cotton for ordinary wear, or of silk for those within aristocratic families. Beneath the tangzhuang, the male generally wears white mandarin-collar long-sleeve shirt and a pair of dark colored long pants. Like the qipao, this tangzhuang male gown has slits on both sides (at least knee level) as well. Worn nowadays either by Chinese men in the martial arts world, or as a formal attire for weddings to match the qipao the bride wears.
See also
Ceremonial dress
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