Well I didn't mean to cause a ruckus over the use of those terms. Don't know how else to say it. What I mean is, do regular folks, not only the wealthy, but just the average middle-income family types, have occasion to go to events that require this level of dress (i.e. black tie or higher)?

What I'm getting at is that, in my experience (and it's limited to where I've lived and my social status, which is solidly middle-class), most folks here simply don't ever have a need to dress up more nicely than a suit and tie. On the very rare occasion that they need a tuxedo (which is usually a wedding), they will rent one. I don't know if this is because Americans in general tend to dress down for the same types of functions that they would dress up for in the UK, or if we just typically don't have those types of functions here like they do over there.

Judging by what I've witnessed on this board over time, though, it's obvious that Americans don't understand dress codes at those higher levels, and I was just curious as to how people in the UK end up knowing so much. It must be because normal people have occasion to use those dress codes in the UK where we do not.

But if it's a sensitive subject, I'll let it go. Don't want to create a collie-shangie!