(Post) MBA Blog

My lord, I never thought a black tie event would cause so much fuss. We are all traipsing down to London (yay!) for a party at Sir Paul Judge's pad in Tower Hill. It'll really be the highlight of the season and is certain to beat getting 'thrown out' of the St John's party (see below) hands down.

But, a lot of the overseas guys are having trouble with the idea of black tie/dinner suit/dinner jacket etc. I never really thought about it, but really, it can be something of a minefield if you are not used to it. In fact, someone emailed round a list of definitions to help each other out. I was amazed that this was such a complex social ritual, but as my old supervisor used to say on the very subject of complex social rituals: "there you go".

Of course, everything about Oxbridge oozes exclusion, no matter what the rhetoric is. Is that a bad thing? I think there are pros and cons - it really isn't black and white, and this coming from an ex-philosopher who has little time for ideologies of the left or right. One day I will write about the nature of 'inside' and 'outside' in Cambridge, as the place is imbued with it. One day I'll even write about the secret society at Magdalene I'm trying to worm myself into, but that will probably be my last diary entry! (Come on Max, don't you know you're not supposed to try !)

So, here are just some of the definitions, taken from this website:

Black Tie means formal. Men wear tuxedos, women wear cocktail, long dresses or dressy evening separates.

White Tie means ultra-formal. Men wear full dress, with white tie, vest, shirt and cummerbund. Women wear long gowns.

Formal usually means the same as Black Tie, but in some trendier cities like New York or Los Angeles, it could mean a black shirt, no tie with a tux. Women wear cocktail, long dresses or dressy evening separates.

Ultra-formal means White Tie. Men wear full dress, with white tie, vest, shirt and cummerbund. Women wear long gowns.

Black Tie Optional means you have the option of wearing a tuxedo, but it should clue you into the formality of the event, meaning a dark suit and tie would be your other option. Women wear cocktail, long dresses or dressy evening separates.

etc etc

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