My Little Etiquette Shop: Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

Pajarita de un esmoquin
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Wedding attire for guests is a hot topic as people pack for their summer wedding weekend jaunts! A great question today. Without further ado…

Q: My friend’s wedding invitation says “black tie invited.” Can someone please translate? I don’t speak wedding fluently.
-Groomsbuddy

A: Groomsbuddy! We love it! Paired with, say, Bridesgal, we’ve got all new wedding party monikers. “Black-tie invited,” also frequently seen as “black tie optional.” This is basically black tie, but with an out for those who don’t own tuxedos and don’t care to wear one that just came back from a night at the Prom. Face it – after a certain age, men realize that the experience of renting clothing is best left for extravagant costume parties. After all, if you’re going to pay to rent an outfit it might as well come with a peacock feather-plumed hat as opposed to just some cheap cufflinks you don’t even get to keep. All the uncles of America, who’ve owned their tuxedos since their college barbershop quartet days, still get to strut their stuff and order cocktails “shaken, not stirred.” We’ll ask pretty bartenders across the country to hold off rolling their eyes until after the aforementioned uncles go back to their tables.

Everyone getting married this weekend – regardless of what color tie – Mazel Tov!