wrong
white tie is only now used for court functions and one or two of the Oxford/Cambridge balls

Edit: Kroney are you American?
( Amberl was stripey and dominated Europe, Tue 25 Jan 2011, 16:09, 2 replies, latest was 15 years ago)

wrong
I've seen it outside those events
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Tue 25 Jan 2011, 16:10, Reply)

Occasional places do it I guess
but it's massively expensive even to rent and very expensive to buy, so I would hazard that it wasn't a proper white-tie event

Edit: by court occasions I mean all that stuff they get up to with coming out occasions, state dinners etc.
( Amberl was stripey and dominated Europe, Tue 25 Jan 2011, 16:14, Reply)

just because people don't do it
doesn't mean it isn't correct

most people can't fucking drive properly, doesn't mean that they are changing the highway code. and this subject is far more important
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Tue 25 Jan 2011, 16:17, Reply)

*shrugs*
I've been to quite a lot of very formal events and the only time I've ever seen white tie requested is at my college ball. Just because someone is wearing a white bowtie doesn't mean they're dressed in white tie.
( Amberl was stripey and dominated Europe, Tue 25 Jan 2011, 16:19, Reply)

I am aware that it doesn't just refer to the tie
I'm mainly being stubborn here, but if you don't want it called a tuxedo then you can't argue with me.
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Tue 25 Jan 2011, 16:23, Reply)

I don't understand
what we're arguing about :(

White tie is not a tuxedo. You said a formal event was white-tie which it isn't. Formal = black tie in common parlance.
( Amberl was stripey and dominated Europe, Tue 25 Jan 2011, 16:25, Reply)

I was saying that black tie wasn't formal when these things were more common
but now is, as you say, in common parlance.

Likewise, a tuxedo is now synonymous with black tie (correctness is irrelevant)

if you say no to tuxedo, then really you should say no to black tie being formal.

you with me?
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Tue 25 Jan 2011, 16:28, Reply)

Nope
because black tie is not synonomous with a tuxedo. It really isn't.
( Amberl was stripey and dominated Europe, Tue 25 Jan 2011, 16:31, Reply)

not with you or I
but it would be with many people. Because people are stupid.
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Tue 25 Jan 2011, 16:35, Reply)

I think I'll stick to my belief on this one
tuxedos are wrong. Plus we shouldn't argue over the formal thing. Your invitation generally requests black tie or white tie as required, and sometimes formal can simply mean suit for men, cocktail dress for women. Smart/casual is the real fucker
( Amberl was stripey and dominated Europe, Tue 25 Jan 2011, 16:39, Reply)

that is very true
we have reached an accord
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Tue 25 Jan 2011, 16:40, Reply)

piece of piss for men.
means "wear a jacket and shoes"

Jeans are fine for smart/casual as long as coupled with a shirt.

Can't women just wear anything then?
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Tue 25 Jan 2011, 16:45, Reply)

I'm afraid you are wrong, sir, for once.
Formal covers a multitude of sins. The instruction formal merely dictates that gentlemen must wear a suit and tie. Black tie is then the next stage, requiring a dinner suit and bow tie rather than, say, a lounge suit. Technically black tie doesn't dictate the colour of the tie, but only a terrible prole would wear a coloured or patterned bow tie. White tie is the highest of the high and means, well, a white tie and a jacket with tails, and as Ambrel pointed out, is really restricted to ambassadorial functions and universities with ideas above their station.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Tue 25 Jan 2011, 16:43, Reply)

I beg your pardon?
How dare you?
( Kroney, Tue 25 Jan 2011, 16:11, Reply)

then please don't call it a tuxedo :(

( Amberl was stripey and dominated Europe, Tue 25 Jan 2011, 16:12, Reply)

Stricly speaking
You are correct in that a tuxedo is merely a form of dinner suit, but it is stylistically different enough and common enough to be mentioned as a separate set of clothing for the purposes of my question.

All forms of black tie are usually a ball-ache, anyway. Most people there aren't going to be living up to the occasion.
( Kroney, Tue 25 Jan 2011, 16:24, Reply)

WHAT A BORING FUCKING CONVERSATION

(PsychoChomp, Tue 25 Jan 2011, 16:29, Reply)

You'd fit right in with the majority of the people there

( Kroney, Tue 25 Jan 2011, 16:31, Reply)