Black Tie and White Tie for Men!

Salve pulchra populus!

If you have been following my blog then you will probably have ready my post on ties and you will know that I said I would talk about Black Tie and White Tie differences.  I will be dividing this post up into two parts.  Part one is the difference between men’s Black Tie and White Tie and part two will be about women’s dress.  That is what today’s post in going to be about.  So, put on your ties and tuxedos and let us get down to business!

First things first; what is Black Tie and White Tie and when are they worn?  White Tie is the most formal of evening dress in the States, the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth Countries, and other European countries.  Other names for this are “Full Dress”, “Tails”,  and “Full Evening Dress”.  Black Tie is slightly less formal, but still considered formal wear.  However, it is occasionally called semi-formal wear.  It is also called the “suit and tie” that people talk about.  As for when they are to be worn, both are only worn after 6 in the evening.  They are evening wear after all.  It would not make sense to wear it in the middle of the day.  White Tie is usually worn at events such as  formal weddings, balls, state dinners, some graduation ceremonies, and when requested by the host or hostess of the event.  On the other hand, Black Tie is worn at some weddings, operas, some dinner parties, and some dances for school age children.  Now that you know the differences in when to wear them we can move on to more important things.

Both are similar in that they both consist of a Black or Midnight Blue suit made from wool with silk lapels.  The collar on the shirts both wing style and the shirts themselves are made from cotton. The waistcoats are not to be seen below the cutaway on the coat. When it comes to the trousers, both have the braids made from silk.  Footwear is also the same; either a black court shoe or plain black oxfords.  However, this is basically where the similarities end.

Since Black Tie events are more common, we will start with it and go from the top to the bottom.  Obviously, as the name suggests one wears a black bow tie.  You never, ever wear a necktie to a Black Tie event.  It just looks bad and very out of place.  You will look like you have no idea what is going.  That may in fact be the case, but at least try to look like you at least know how to dress yourself.  The dress shirt that is worn with this particular dress is usually called a "dress shirt", "formal shirt", or a "tuxedo shirt".  These come in several styles, but almost always have some form of pleating.  The waistcoat that is worn with Black Tie is called an evening waistcoat and it can be switched out for a cummerbund.  Yes, it is cummerbund NOT cumberbun.  You would not believe how many people I have come across asking if I know anything about "cumberbuns".  It is ridiculous.  Anyway, back to Black Tie.  The trouser will only have one silk braid on the side, NOT two.  I see a lot of people with two, Black Tie only has one silk braid.  Here is an example of Black Tie attire.

When it comes to the accessories worn for Black Tie, if you must have colour, then it is only a single colour and is muted.  No bright colours when you are wearing Black Tie!  Absolutely not!  DO NOT WEAR A TOP HAT WITH BLACK TIE ATTIRE!!!  Just don't.  If you are going to wear at hat then follow the guide.  For warm seasons you wear a boater hat made of star and during cold seasons you wear a Homburg that is the same colour as your suit.  A handkerchief is usually worn in the pocket on the breast.  This handkerchief is either made of silk or cotton today, but the traditional one is made of linen.  As the wearing of a handkerchief is slightly out of fashion, or if you are attending a less formal form of Black Tie, a Boutonnière is worn and will usually be a rose.  You do not wear it if you are wearing a handkerchief.  That is another big fashion no-no.  Pocket watches are the desired timepiece if you must have one.  However, time pieces that are out and visible are not desired.  This is because if you are going to a formal event it is considered rude to be constantly checking the time.  If you live in ridiculously cold places you may wear a matching overcoat, scarf, and white gloves.  If you do not live in a cold climate I am not sure why you would even need these, but if you insist on having it just in case, make sure it matches! 

Now on White Tie!  White Tie events require a white bow tie in case it was not obvious enough and is made from cotton.  Once again, no neckties.  That is just trashy looking and you will probably not be allowed into the event at all if you wear one.  The coat itself is made differently.  It is called a "bodycoat" by the people that make them and will have more detail.  Also, this is where you get the tails on the coat.  The coat does not button!  Do not even try to button it.  Those six buttons are there for decorations and nothing else.  The shirt that is to be worn will have no pleats on the front at all.  It is plain and made of cotton.  Also, the collar is detachable.  No cummerbunds are to be worn at White Tie events.  Instead there are special cotton waistcoats called a low-cut waistcoat that are made for White Tie dress.  Make sure that your waistcoat covers your belt!  That is very important. The trousers that are to be worn for White Tie have two silk braids going down the side.  You can get away with only having one, but if people notice they might look at you strangely.  So, to be on the safe side, make sure that your trousers have two braids.  This is what White Tie looks like.

Accessories for White Tie are few, but the details in them are very important to get correct!  Your buttons need to match.  It does not matter if they are gold, silver, or have semi-precious or precious stones set in them.  They need to match.  That means shirt studs, cufflinks (if worn), and the buttons on the waistcoat.  All of it.  No exceptions!  Another thing with no exceptions is that you must not wear a watch on your wrist.  It does not matter what brand or how expensive it is.  The standard time piece is a pocket watch.  Yes, it is proper to wear a pocket watch to White Tie.  Boutonnières are almost never worn and the standard is to wear a white handkerchief.  If you have state decorations, those go on your pocket instead.  Top hats are the standard hat for White Tie and white gloves are to be worn when dancing and at other times except for dining.  You do not want to get your gloves dirty.  Not only are they a pain to clean because they are so delicate, but it just looks bad.  If you must wear a coat it should be a Chesterfield coat.  If you want to go for a cloak instead, you wear a opera cloak or an Inverness cloak.  Yes, an Inverness cloak.  That's right.  In the old movies and drawings Sherlock Holmes is wearing a cloak that is worn with White Tie attire.  How classy!   Scarves that are worn sometimes are made of silk and if you want to have cane, you may.

That is it.  In terms of men's Black Tie and White Tie these are the basics.  Just remember to always wear what the dress code calls for!  If it says White Tie do not wear Black Tie and vice versa. Some hosts or hostesses might want certain accent colours and some will not want accent colours to be worn by guests at all.  If you have any doubts, check with the host or hostess.  They will always be able to clear things up for you.  They know what they want and since it is their event, they make the rules.  You may go your entire life and not go to either a Black Tie or White Tie affair.  You may go to several in a year.  It just depends.  However, many of my friends that are guys have at least the attire for a Black Tie event.  They have told me that it is always good to have it on hand and to make sure that it fits because you never know when you might need it.

I hope this has helped you guys out!  Until next time!

Fashion Trend!: Ties and How to Tie Them

Hej alle! 

This weekend has been super crazy for me which ended up with me being sick for about 3 days and me somehow or another being asked to help with a Sunday School class at my church.  After having my coffee I gladly said yes to helping out with Sunday School.  I hope to do well in that!  Wish me luck!

Well, today I will be talking about a fashion trend that comes and goes so lately that it seems to be caught up in a whirlwind.  Yes!  It is time for another fashion trend post!  I have not done one of these in a while and I apologize for that.  I have been busy with so many things it is hard to keep track of my post topics that I do.  Anyways, today I will be talking about ties.  Yes, ties.  Men wear them most of the time, but lately women have as well.  Cats and dogs have as well, but we will not go into that.  Not just as part of a work uniform mind you.  I mean they wear them out and about as part of their regular everyday attire.  I love ties.  I have a vast selection of ties.  I am not entirely sure where all of my ties came from and I am pretty sure that some of them were my grandfathers.  Why have I selected this topic?  It dawned on me while I was walking through the shopping center on my way to Teavana that a lot of women are wearing ties now.  There were so many of them wearing ties!  So many of them had them tied wrong.  Now when I say wrong I mean it looked as if they had just tied a knot in the tie and went about their merry way.  It looked awful.  Today I will be talking about the different types of ties there are and different ways to tie them.  As such, this is one of the few fashion posts that I have done that could be useful to both men and women.  So enjoy it!  Ladies, share it with your man if he need to learn how to tie a tie!  This is defiantly a skill that both men and women could use.

First things first.  Have I ever worn a tie?  Yep, I sure have.  I have been wearing ties since I was a little girl.  Why?  Because that is how my parents dressed me.  My mother has always dabbled in fashion and most of the women in her ancestry have at some point in time either been the owners of a dress and clothing boutique or they have been the ones setting the fashion.  In short, my love of fashion comes from my mother’s side of the family and they, for some reason or other, have always been a couple years ahead of anything that has become fashionable in the States.  As I stated above, I have a vast collection of ties.  Most of my ties are Neckties.  I do have a couple of Bow Ties though.  My father has several ties, but not many.  He works in construction and masonry.  He does not have a job that requires a tie or even recommends the wearing of a tie.  My job, however, I could if I wanted to.   

Now, when it comes to ties there are several different types.  For today’s post I will be covering the two that are most commonly worn today.  These are the Neckties and Bow Ties.  In the past Bolo Ties, Ascot Ties, Cravats, Stock Ties, and Neckerchiefs were also worn.  However, for the sake of not having a post a mile long on all the different types we will be sticking with Neckties and Bow Ties.  So, on with learning about ties!

 

We will start off with Bow Ties because they are the easiest to talk about.  Bow Ties have been around for quite a while and are commonly worn with tuxedos at Black Tie and White Tie events.  I will talk about the difference between the two at a later time.  Bow Ties are most commonly made from silk, cotton, or polyester.  The good thing about Bow Ties is that there is really only one way to tie them.  You really cannot get this wrong.  Well, I guess you could, but it would be really hard to get it wrong.  The shape of the Bow Tie when it is not tied may look a little intimidating, but once you know how to tie it you cannot really screw it up.  Most Bow Ties are sold in what is called the Thistle Style.  There really is not any need to know why it is called this, but there you go.  Random trivia for you.  Here is a fun little graphic that I found on Pinterest about how to tie a Bow Tie.

 

See, not that hard.  In fact, they are actually easier to tie than a Necktie.  You are about to find out why.

Ah the Necktie.  Style’s way of telling men that fashion and looking good is not easy.  When you look at all the different ways to tie a Necktie and all the different ways that it can go horribly, horribly wrong looking at a the different necklines a woman’s dress can have and picking one out looks like child’s play.  Here is an example of just some of the different types of ways that one can tie this lovely staple of the men’s fashion world.

 

 

Of these, the Half-Windsor, the Four-in-Hand, and the Full Windsor are the most common to see.  That is because these are the easiest to tie when it comes to getting these suckers on.  However, the Prince Albert is pretty easy to tie as well.  How exactly do you tie these monsters?  Well, here is an easy to follow diagram that I found on Pinterest to help you along the way with ten of the simpler knots for your Neckties.
 

 

Got a handle on that?  Good.  If not keep practicing!  No worries!  You will get it eventually.  I had to practice to get them right and some of them I still have to do several times before I get them right.  If you are good with those knots I have two diagrams here for two of the most complicated tie knots that you have probably ever seen.  Yep, those two on the bottom left of the comparison picture up there.  The Eldredge and the Trinity Knots.  These two are monsters.  I still to this day have more problems with these things and I have been tying Neckties since I was five.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Complicated right?  They do look really cool though.  I admire any person, man or woman, that can tie these things right on the first try.  It is hard.  The end result is really amazing and look really classy when guys wear them.  I wish more guys would learn to do these two knots so that they were seen more often.

Well, enough with how to tie the darn things.  What is so great about ties anyways?  Well, for one thing.  Ties add a bit more class to your button down shirts.  No, polo shirts do not count.  I am talking about cotton, silk, or satin button down dress shirts.  They also look amazing with weskits.  There are pros and cons to each type of tie.  They can be worn with most everything.  However, there are a few exceptions to this.  The most important thing to remember is that Neckties are not to be worn for Black Tie or White Tie events!  Ever!  Bow Ties are to be worn during those kind of events.  Some civic clubs or churches require a jacket and tie to be worn by men who are ushers or during meetings.  In these cases the usual tie worn is a Necktie.  That is not to say that Bow Ties cannot be worn.  You just might be the only one wearing one.  Other than that, wear whatever you want.  Some jobs you might want to wear a Bow Tie over a Necktie though.  For example, if you are working in a lab you may want to wear a Bow Tie so that your tie does not catch fire or get into any of your lab work.  Neckties may also get caught in paper shredders at work.  As much as it sounds like Bow Ties would be the better choice for being worn at work there is something to remember.  When one is not wearing Black Tie or White Tie apparel Bow Ties have the tendency to look like just a cute fashion accessory.  Not that there is anything wrong with that.  However, it is something to note. 

 

What do I think of ties?  I think they are an amazing part of fashion for any man or woman!  They can be worn to work or just out and about.  Sure, they can be a pain to put on.  Once you get the hang of tying them it becomes easy as pie though.  If nothing else, it gives men a bit of a glimpse into what women go through with the pain that being fashion conscious can be.  Yes, I said it.  Being fashion conscious can be a pain.  I will not lie.  It takes work, but it is worth it.  Practice is really the key when it comes to this part of fashion.  Learning to tie a tie is something that you have to have practice to get it right.  I have been doing it since I was a little kid and you would not believe how many times I have had to tie a man’s tie for him.  Be it a Bow Tie or a Necktie.  It is a skill that everyone should have be they a man or a woman.

 

I hope you have found this post informative and helpful!  What do you think about ties?  Are they an awesome accessory for men and women or are they too much of a hassle to deal with? 

Until next time!  Stay lovely and trendy!

 

Links to Buy Ties

 

• Jesse Tyler Ferguson Ties from The Tie Bar (When you buy a tie from here part of the money goes to Tie the Knot which is a human civil rights foundation that you can read more about at their website by clicking on the link.)
• Tie Drake has a amazing selection of ties of all kinds.