Black tie is today worn at a wide variety of functions, and the corresponding female attire can range from a short cocktail dress to a long gown, depending on fashion, local custom and the hour at which the function takes place.

The American upper classes now generally prefer the terms "black tie" or "dinner jacket" to "tuxedo", which is considered slightly vulgar.

Early evening clothes were uniformly black. The Duke of Windsor, when Prince of Wales, introduced midnight blue as an appropriate color, and even made the double-breasted dinner jacket acceptable.

The waist sash called cummerbund (or cumberbund) was borrowed after World War I, from military dress in British India.

Other Styles

Mess dress

In the armed forces, officers normally wear mess uniforms which correspond to evening dress or black tie. These vary according to the regiment or corps, but usually involve a short Eton style jacket that comes to the waist. Some forms include white shirts and black bow ties, while others have high mandarin collars that fasten around the neck. They are usually brightly coloured and ornamented with gold lace and buttons, corresponding to the regiment or corps.

In the Royal Navy there is a distinction between "mess dress", which is worn at white tie events, and "mess undress", which is worn at black tie events. Both are worn with a black bow tie, however mess dress is worn with a white waistcoat instead of the usual blue.

Scottish dress

Scottish dress is often worn at black tie events, especially at Scottish reels and ceilidhs. While there is a more formal version which may be worn when the dress code is white tie, the black tie version is much more common, even at white tie events.

The traditional black tie version of Highland dress consists of:

• Black Prince Charlie jacket
• Black waistcoat
• Kilt
• White shirt
• Black bow tie
• Black Ghillie brogues
• White kilt hose
• Flashes

The Lowland version of black tie is a variation on normal black tie, with trews worn with a normal dinner jacket or Prince Charlie jacket. Trews are also often worn during the summer and in a warm clime.

When it is worn

In the United Kingdom black tie is only properly worn in the evening, i.e. after 6 p.m.. However, in some other places such as the United States, it has become common to wear black tie at four o'clock weddings and evening weddings. At Harvard in the 1960s, young men in dinner jackets seen during the late afternoon hastening towards an event would be hailed by ironic cries of "Check, please!"

Black tie is worn at many private and public dinners, dances, and parties, and it would be impossible to draw up a comprehensive list. At the most formal end it has taken over from white tie at many occasions where the latter would formerly have been worn, e.g. by orchestra conductors. In the United States, it commonly appears at proms and is worn by men at weddings even during the day. (see tuxedo rental).