Welcome to How & What to Wear, When.
When it comes to black-tie dressing, there’s a simple rule of thumb that has stood the test of time.
Yves Saint Laurent once said, "Dressing well is a form of good manners."
And black tie, at its heart, is about manners. Traditional etiquette authorities such as the Emily Post Institute, Debrett’s and Miss Manners all agree on this.
I’m not here to tell anyone what they must wear, I’m simply explaining what black tie traditionally means. At a black-tie event, a woman’s dress should already feel formal before you add the shoes, the jewelry, or the handbag. That’s why fabric matters more than length.
Silk, taffeta, satin, chiffon, velvet...all of these fabrics hold structure, drape with intention, and quietly signal evening. A long dress alone does not make something black tie. Elegance should be woven into the dress, not added on afterward.
So to answer the question I’m asked most often, does a dress have to be floor-length for a black-tie event? The answer is, no.
According to traditional etiquette standards, a woman may wear a floor-length gown or a formal midi-length dress (calf to ankle) as long as the fabric, finish, and overall effect are unmistakably evening.
That is black tie.
Dresses from our line that work great for black tie include:
And in our next lesson of How & What to Wear, we’ll address shoes. Stay tuned!
