Formal, Semi-formal, and Informal Codes
The table below summarises the main codified dress codes:
| Formality (descending) | Daywear | Eveningwear |
|---|---|---|
| Ceremonial dress and Court dress | country dependent | |
| Formal (or full formal, full dress, formal attire) | Morning dress | White tie (incl. evening gown for women) |
| Semi-formal (le smoking in French, distinct from a smoking jacket) | Stroller | Black tie (incl. cocktail dress for women) |
| Informal (or cocktail, business attire) | incl. lounge suit for men | |
Note that the definitions listed above are the strict, traditional definitions, which may not be followed in common use. For example, formal is often used to mean any of the first three, and informal to indicate what is classified here as casual.
Read more about this topic: Dress Code (Western)
Famous quotes containing the words informal and/or codes:
“We are now a nation of people in daily contact with strangers. Thanks to mass transportation, school administrators and teachers often live many miles from the neighborhood schoolhouse. They are no longer in daily informal contact with parents, ministers, and other institution leaders . . . [and are] no longer a natural extension of parental authority.”
—James P. Comer (20th century)
“We must trust infinitely to the beneficent necessity which shines through all laws. Human nature expresses itself in them as characteristically as in statues, or songs, or railroads, and an abstract of the codes of nations would be an abstract of the common conscience.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)