White Tie is formal dress; attending opera, meeting royalty, heads of state and the like. Gentlemen wear tailcoat (with medals), shirt with winged collar and wh

White Tie is formal dress; attending opera, meeting royalty, heads of state and the like. Gentlemen wear tailcoat (with medals), shirt with winged collar and white bow tie, or military dress uniform. Black Tie ("Tuxedo" to use the Americanism) is semi-formal. A dinner jacket and a black bow tie *never* with a winged collar. Whilst White Tie events are very formal, at a Black Tie event, one may still drink, puke and shag, provided it is done with style. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_tie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_tie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_tie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_tie