Help with white tie

[slohairt]

I like that very much. It's too bad that basket-hilt swords are not more common these days. One would think Pirates of the Caribbean would have helped that along!

[Phil]

I like that very much. It's too bad that basket-hilt swords are not more common these days. One would think Pirates of the Caribbean would have helped that along!

The rule seems to have been if you've got it-flaunt it. You could even wear a pair of pistols and a powder horn - really. I doubt if the authorities would take kindly to someone parading around with sword etc. nowadays though.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

I have posted this elsewhere but they say a picture tells a thousand words -



This is full levee dress which is the uber formal version of highland dress.

Back in the good old days when gentlemen were gentlemen and servants tugged their forelocks, levees were held quarterly at Buckingham Palace. These were strictly stag events, and the purpose was to be "presented" formally, at court, to the Monarch. In order to attend you had to be introduced by two gentlemen previously "presented" at court. Needless to say, it took an awful lot of brown-nosing in all the right circles to be presented at a levee.

The rules of dress were excruciatingly exact down to the smallest detail. Basically three forms of attire were approved to be worn at a levee: Full Dress Uniform (either civil or military); Court Dress (velvet coat and waistcoat, cut steel buttons, knee britches, black silk hose, patent leather pumps with cut steel bows, and court sword with cut steel hilt and black patent leather scabbard); or the Highland Attire as depicted above. (Clergy had their own rules as laid down by the Lord Chamberlain's office.)

I am not totally sure of the date, however I believe the last Levee was in either 1948 or 1954-- perhaps someone with more time on their hands than I have would care to look it up?

Missing from the above illustration are the regulation pistols and powder horn-- although these may have been dispensed with post WWII. And the sharp-eyed amongst you will have no doubt noticed that the sword is sheathed in a leather scabbard.

[BoldHighlander]

I have posted this elsewhere but they say a picture tells a thousand words -



This is full levee dress which is the uber formal version of highland dress. You would only wear feathers in your headgear if you were a clan chief. Also the basket-hilted sword is unlikely nowadays. Note the waistcoat (red) but can also be black according to instructions issued by the Lord Chamberlain. The dress doublet does not have to be buttoned but if not a waistcoat of any colour (or tartan) is worn. Anything else including Montrose, Sherrifmuir etc. doublets and the PC is regarded as evening dress only, not white tie, whether or not a jabot is worn.

Very smart looking....I love the "regimental/military" look of the jacket/complete outfit.

[Jack Daw]

I have posted this elsewhere but they say a picture tells a thousand words -



This is full levee dress which is the uber formal version of highland dress. You would only wear feathers in your headgear if you were a clan chief. Also the basket-hilted sword is unlikely nowadays. Note the waistcoat (red) but can also be black according to instructions issued by the Lord Chamberlain. The dress doublet does not have to be buttoned but if not a waistcoat of any colour (or tartan) is worn. Anything else including Montrose, Sherrifmuir etc. doublets and the PC is regarded as evening dress only, not white tie, whether or not a jabot is worn.

Actually, clan chiefs get to wear 3 feathers, chieftains wear 2, and armigers get to wear 1.

BTW, I thought formal wear required the donning of white gloves. Am I off?

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Actually, clan chiefs get to wear 3 feathers, chieftains wear 2, and armigers get to wear 1.

BTW, I thought formal wear required the donning of white gloves. Am I off?

I'll dig out my 1912 copy of Dress Worn At Court and see what it says. My hunch is that gloves weren't worn because Levees were held indoors, during the day, and outside of the presence of ladies.

While I'm at it, I'll check on the status of feathers -- while you are correct about the 1-2-3 feather thing, a different rule may have applied at court.

[thescot]

OK, a few specific questions:

1) Must the waistcoat be white, as MacMillian states, or may it be black, as the Wikipedia article says?
2) Is the fly plaid permitted?
3) I don't foresee being able to afford any argyle, tartan, or diced hose anytime soon. Will black hose work?
. . ..

1. Wear only a white waistcoat. You can buy one pretty cheap at someplace like Burlington Coat Factory.
2. No fly plaid.
3. Wear black socks. They'll be fine, but I would recommend ribbon flashes. (You can buy grosgrain ribbon at a material store and sew it onto some elastic with velcro attached.)

[Coemgen]

One more thing:

2. No fly plaid.

You know, in none of these lists do I ever see the fly plaid mentioned. Now, if I want to wear a plaid, I'm going to wear one. However, it would be good to know what is "proper".

2) Normally I'd say no to the fly plaid, but as you will be on stage a bit of theatricality probably would do no harm. It's up to you.

Could I wear my fly plaid if I wanted to?

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Black silk velvet Full Dress Doublet. Silk lined.
Set of silver Celtic or Crest Buttons for Doublet.
Superfine Tartan Full Dress Kilt.
Short Trews.
Full Dress Tartan Stockings.
Full Dress long Shoulder Plaid.
Full Dress white hair Sporran--silver mounted and Tassels.
Patent leather and silver chain Strap for Sporran.
Full Dress silver mounted Dirk with Knife and Fork.
Full Dress silver mounted Skean Dhu with Knife.
Patent leather Shoulder Belt, silver mounted.
Patent leather Waist Belt, silver clasp.
Silver mounted Shoulder Brooch.
Silver Kilt Pin.
Lace Jabot.
One pair Buckles for instep of Shoes.
One pair small ankle Buckles for Shoes.
Full Dress Brogues.
Highland Claymore.
Glengarry or Balmoral. Crest or Ornament.

This is copied exactly as it appears in the 1912 edition of DRESS WORN AT COURT which was issued with the authority of the Lord Chamberlain. There are a couple of things worth commenting on (aside from the spelling of "skean dhu"):

In THE KILT, written by Loudon MacQueen Douglas and published in 1914, there is a photograph (opposite page 33) of David Hepburn in Levee Dress. Although the waistcoat is not mentioned by the Lord Chamberlain, I think it may be taken for granted that, like the doublet, it was of black silk velvet with silver buttons.

The mention of "short trews" is interesting. These generally were supplied by the tailor, and were made of superfine tartan wool, often with a chamois lining and always (on surviving examples) with a button waist and fly. They were high waisted and snug fitting, rather like modern "boxer briefs", with legs that reached to approximately mid-thigh.

Presumably, for modesty's sake, a kilt pin was also required. In THE KILT there is a group photo (opposite page 32) in which can clearly be seen the kilt pin worn by W. Sutherland M'Kay, and it is of the "blanket pin" variety. Whether more elaborate kilt pins would have been worn with Levee dress is, at this point (1912), a matter of conjecture.

Describing the required foot wear as "full dress brogues" is, in all likelihood, mis-leading. There is ample photographic evidence to prove that the shoes were almost identical to regular court shoes, with the addition of the ankle strap and small silver buckles.

There is no mention of "eagles feathers", so presumably they were not worn. Likewise there is no mention of "white kid gloves"-- whether this is an oversight on the part of Mr. Herbert A.P. Trendell, Chief Clerk of the Lord Chamberlain's Department, or a deliberate decision on the part of the Lord Chamberlain is unknown.

Interestingly, for those Scottish gentlemen being presented at court who were not armigerous the Lord Chamberlain allowed them to wear "ornamentation" on their cap. This would have taken the form of a smaller version of the brooch worn on their left shoulder.

[BoldHighlander]

There are a couple of things worth commenting on (aside from the spelling of "skean dhu"):

I have seen this spelling from time to time in books or on the internet.
I wonder when "sgian dubh" became the more common/accepted spelling that is used now?