White Tie Kilt Dress

[JSFMACLJR]

The President was lambasted for that baggy and ill fitting White Tie outfit.

I am afraid to say that there is no equivalent Kilt outfit to Full Evening Dress which is known a White Tie and Tails. This form of Dress is proscribed more than probably any other form of dress remaining in society today.
We here would call it a uniform. I should not be changed or altered.

White Tie is only properly worn with the Tail Jacket. The Tuxedo is Black Tie only.

I made a post to the end of the "can you wear a PC in the daytime" thread explaining the difference.

The Doublets are a Military form of formal Dress but are still not suitable when the invitation says "White Tie" or "Full Evening Dress".

And of course if the Invitation dictates the form of dress then that is what should be worn.

I'm afraid that this is one time when the Kilt would be inappropriate.

I am reluctant to post in a discussion concerning proper dress because I am such a notorious snob, but actually you are quite mistaken and your "rules" just aren't correct!

Let's look at your errors one at a time.

1. "I am afraid to say that there is no equivalent Kilt outfit to Full Evening Dress which is known a White Tie and Tails."

Your opinion, but not the opinion of those who know about such matters. There certainly is a Highland equivalent to the tail coat and white tie: it is a doublet and either a lace jabot or bow tie (black, or for gentlemen from Perthshire, white!).

2. "The Doublets are a Military form of formal Dress but are still not suitable when the invitation says "White Tie" or "Full Evening Dress".

A doublet is not a military coat, not at all. The Lord Chamberlain's Dress Regulations are available for you to read in a number of previous threads. These certainly cover doublets at white tie events. MacKinnon of Dunakin writes that "formal evening wear consits of...superfine or velvet doublet, tunic, or coatee (in black, green, or various coloured velvets)." I find Dunakin readily accessible and straightforward...and always correct.

3. "I'm afraid that this is one time when the Kilt would be inappropriate."

Why? Highland gentlemen usually wear the kilt to white tie balls and such. I've been to these events; I've seen them being worn. The grand Highland balls are all "white tie." Gentlemen are denied entrance to these events if they are not properly dressed. That is a known fact. There just isn't any "wiggle room" with this one!

I have a photo in my collection of HM The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Duke of Rothesay, and HM King Carl Gustav of Sweden, at a State Dinner at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. State dinners are "white tie" events. TRH's were both in the kilt. The King of Sweden was wearing a tailcoat and white tie. I can give you many, many examples. When I used to be the Executive Assistant to the Secretary of State of Canada I personally attended several "white tie" functions in Ottawa. I usually wore the kilt, and as the Secretary of State of Canada is in charge of questions of dress and protocol in the Dominion, I had it on the highest authority that this was correct attire.

I wish I knew where you get the information to make such blanket statements about the inappropriateness of the kilt. It just is wrong, pure and simple. Call me a dreaded "traditionalist," or whatever, but you are wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy off base here.

Kind regards,
Sandford MacLean