White Tie Etiquette

[figheadair]

[QUOTE=piperalpha;1400330]

This week I had an opportunity to attend an event where the dress code was White Tie at which National costume that is the equivalent of White Tie is welcome.

It's not often that one has the opportunity to wear White Tie, certainly not in the UK. The velvet Regulation Doublet that I'm having made was not ready and my old Meyer and Mortimer one was with the tailor for use as the template. I therefore had to go for the third option, a doublet that I purchased for the 1927 hallmarked buttons. It is a little tired and I had to replace the missing lace cuffs but it worked quite well I think.[/QUOTE

Do you have photos of the buttons?

They were made by JR Gault (Birmingham) in 1927. I assume that the jacket is therefore c.1927-30.

[piperalpha]

[QUOTE=figheadair;1400336]

They were made by JR Gault (Birmingham) in 1927. I assume that the jacket is therefore c.1927-30.

lovely. Thanks so much

[OC Richard]

Richard, I curious about your take on the piper on the left. He seems to have around ten medals hanging from his doublet. Would these be piping awards, do you think?

Yes and it's something you don't see nowadays, competitors wearing medals, but it used to be common:



You see this sometimes, a wide black sash-thing with all the medals pinned on it. That way whatever outfit you're wearing you can put the sash over it. A while back one of these sashes, covered with medals, was up on Ebay. The medals were from over a century ago from numerous Highland Games in Scotland.



And not just pipers, here are Highland dancers wearing their medals while dancing:



And a very successful Highland athlete, wearing his medals on one of those sashes:



Here's a completely different thing, a military veteran wearing his medals:

[Jock Scot]

Whilst military medals are regularly worn at appropriate times by those that have earned them, however I cannot ever recall piping/dancing type medals ever being worn by those that have won them and particularly, I would not expect them to be worn outside the piping/dancing and perhaps the athletics community. Perhaps doing so, is now out of fashion?

[piperalpha]

Ive never seen photos of pipers wearing medals whilst competing. They’re always wearing them for what looks like a photo shoot. It would be difficult to play with all of those medals between you and your pipes.

[OC Richard]

I cannot ever recall piping/dancing type medals ever being worn by those that have won them and particularly, I would not expect them to be worn outside the piping/dancing and perhaps the athletics community. Perhaps doing so, is now out of fashion?

Yes, I think it was out of fashion by World War One, certainly by the 1920s.

I will say that even now one does sometimes see a piper or drummer wearing a medal or two they won in the morning later the same day as a conversation piece for chatting and toasting with friends.

They remove it for Pipe Band competition that afternoon.

(The general rule is solo piping and drumming contests in the morning, a lunchtime break, then Pipe Band contests in the afternoon, oftentimes with many of the same pipers and drummers participating in both.)