The Journal — Dress Codes

A gala is different from a wedding and different from a regular black tie event. It exists on a spectrum from the highly theatrical — the Met Gala, major museum openings, film industry parties — to the civic and charitable: the hospital benefit, the art museum annual, the university fund drive. The dress code for each is nominally similar but the sensibility required is not. Getting it right means reading the specific event, not just the two words on the invitation.

"Creative black tie" is the dress code instruction that appears on an invitation when the host wants the formality of black tie with the visual interest of something less uniform. It is an invitation to express yourself within the framework of formal evening dress — not an excuse to abandon the framework entirely.

White tie and black tie are the two highest rungs of the Western dress code ladder, and they are frequently confused — which matters, because arriving at a white tie event in a tuxedo is as serious a violation as arriving at a black tie event in a business suit. The difference between them is specific, the occasions for each are different, and the correct response to each invitation is not interchangeable.

The summer suit is the most misunderstood garment in men's fashion. Most men either abandon tailoring entirely when temperatures rise — reverting to chinos and a sports coat — or suffer through the heat in a wool suit built for October. Neither is necessary. The correct summer suit, in the correct fabric, makes heat a non-issue.