Black tie definition

[beandream]

How would you dress for a black tie event please?! It's a dinner and dance

Smart but definitely glam ie not corporate

Doesn’t have to be long but has to be dressy - think cocktail. Personally, I always wear evening trousers usually with a beaded top of the same colour.

For a man, a tuxedo. For a woman, a floor length evening dress.

Definitely doesn’t need to be floor length

For a man, a tuxedo.

It is most definitely a floor-length dress for a woman.

It does. Or else it isn't considered black tie.

Can a man get away with a smart black suit rather than a tuxedo? Wing collar and bow tie needed?

This is what British Vogue says:

https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/black-tie-dress-code

Says who?

I'm really shocked at people suggesting a floor length dress isn't needed. Cocktail dresses would be cocktail attire, not black tie. At every black tie event I've been to, every single woman has been in a floor length gown.

If you think it has to be floor length

let me guess…. You think wedding guests should avoid wearing white at all costs 😂

Christmas last year - the company I work for was 100 years old and put on a black tie event.

about 50% long dress
all men tuxedos

In the militray it's floor length/tuxedo for black tie.....

Some sparkle and red lippy. Decent length dress. Heels. Hair up. Dinner jacket for the blokes.

Easy for men - dinner suit and bow tie, or alternatively Highland dress.

For women, it's generally a long dress, possibly sparkly.

I haven't worn a floor length evening dress since 31 December 1999.

At every single black tie event I've been to since then there's been a mixture of lengths.

I've been to black tie events every year since around 1990. Definitely do not have to wear full length. Full length or midi is traditional but evening trouser suits and below knee sparkly numbers tend to be the most frequently seen.
Proper jewellery and clutch bag on the whole

I wonder if it's a regional thing. I'm London and Surrey

Floor length evening dress and for men dinner jacket and suit with dress shirt and bow tie.

Me too
and also… loads of people not wearing floor length. Tends to be colleagues over 50 that adamantly stick to floor length

@AriadnehasleftNaxos I wasn't old enough to be attending black tie events in 1999 😂 perhaps it's a regional thing though?
I've genuinely never seen any women wearing anything other than full length dresses at black tie events, where the women range from 20-60s, so I doubt it's generational 🤷

Depends on the event, formal traditional would be full length whereas a more trendy occasion would mean cocktail length is fine.

@AriadnehasleftNaxos

I'm going to one Friday and states full length gowns - it's event dependent

Originally yes it was full length. Now definitely not. I go to a lot and there is a mixture of cocktail length and even some women dressy jumpsuits. The majority of women in full length tend to be older.

That said some events are definitely dressier than others.