White tie (or full dress, evening dress, full evening dress; slang top hat and tails or white tie and tails, tailsuit, tails) is the most formal evening dress code in Western fashion. It is worn to ceremonial occasions such as state dinners in some countries, as well as to very formal balls and evening weddings. The chief components for men are the black dress coat commonly known as an evening tailcoat, white bow tie, white waistcoat and starched wing collar shirt, while women wear a suitable dress for the occasion, such as an evening gown.
As evening dress, white tie is traditionally considered correct only after 6 p.m. although some etiquette authorities allow for it anytime after dark even if that means prior to 6 p.m. (though there are some exceptions.) The equivalent formal attire for daytime events is called morning dress. The semi-formal evening counterpart of white tie is black tie.
Read more about White Tie: History, Related Forms of Dress
Famous quotes containing the words white and/or tie:
“We shall walk in velvet shoes:
Wherever we go
Silence will fall like dews
On white silence below.
We shall walk in the snow.”
—Elinor Wylie (1885–1928)
“You were born into a different world that will present you with different gifts and challenges. A new vision of manhood will be called for that does not tie so closely into the more aggressive and competitive residues of our male character. You will need to search out new ways of expressing strength, showing mastery, and exhibiting courage—ways that do not depend upon confronting the world before you as an adversary.”
—Kent Nerburn (20th century)