What is proper black tie etiquette?

0:00Lunchtime Live with Andrea Gilligan on News Talk. I mentioned at the start of the show today that we're after the Imro Awards. They're basically the radio Oscars in Cilcani later this evening and the whole radio industry is going to descend to County Cilcani for crack and awards and a little bit of fun later tonight. But it is a black tie event. So between marinating, the hours of prep and the cost that goes in to getting ready for a black tie ball, it's no mean feat. We want to know though, how do you dress for a black tie event? Stylus Lorna Whitman and menswear owner Louis Copeland, you're both very welcome to the show this afternoon. Is black tie still in Vogue Lorna? It is. I don't think it will ever go because that's the sense of formality I think we crave a little bit sometimes. There is, I actually love the whole process between the beauty and the fashion of getting

1:00ready for something. And I have to admit from many, many women I've styled over the years, sometimes they enjoyed that process more than the actual event, but it really does conjure up a really nice sense of excitement and it's really enjoyable. And even looking at a lot of women who come to me for personal shopping, there is still an awful lot of formal black tie weddings out there. They're coming looking for something just that little extra special. But what I try to do when I'm styling anybody and when I recommend buying anything for a particularly a black tie event is to think beyond the event, how are you going to wear this after the event? Because it is an investment, it's kind of style of fashion tends to have a higher price point. So you need to think about one of the other ways you're going to wear it. So it's not good to sit in, let's say the quote unquote, good side of your wardrobe. Yeah, that the outfit has multiple purposes. And from the men's perspective, Louis, does black tie still mean the penguins?

2:05Black tie. Well, you've no idea the amount of weddings that's happening at the moment. I say 8 out of 10 weddings are black tie. A lot of people, they get maybe the groom gets his own custom made, but it costs them either with their initials and the days of the wedding and fancy lines and then they get enough the pegman for the groom's land. But I mean, black tie is, I've never seen so many black tie. It's unbelievable. It is 8 out of 10 you reckon Louis weddings are black tie for the bridal party or for the whole congregation. But a lot of the bridal party, but then a lot of weddings are black tie. I mean, it looks great. You know, you look at the photographs in 20 years time. They're never days. They're always in fashion. I mean, it just looks right. Sometimes what happens is the groom would wear the tuxedo during the day and for the evening

3:07time, he might wear a velvet jacket, maybe a forest green or a navy or a purple jacket or a lot of the time, if it's a broad, they probably wear an ivory color jacket. Yes. So black tie for men still means the old fashion black tuxedo and has it adapted for change in any way? There's a little bit of navy, you know, dark navy from the end. It's actually lovely. Yeah, it navy is lovely as well. But you know, tradition is black. You never see James Bond in a blue tuxedo. That's so true. It's funny though, Lorna, like for the girls, I feel black tie has definitely altered over the years. Yeah. And I feel sometimes the kind of, you know, segues into cocktail wear sometimes, but it doesn't necessarily, I think, dictate the length of a dress anymore. I think there's a lot of flexibility for women in how they interpret black tie when they want to choose something, you know, to wear.

4:08And I also think that's down to them having a more considered approach to what they buy, because a shorter dress might be easier to wear in the longer term than something that is very, very formal and quite long. But I have to absolutely agree with Louie that the nearly eight out of ten also for me of the women who come to me for styling for weddings. It is a black tie dress code. And it's still absolutely as popular. I think definitely with women, there is more flexibility as to what they can wear to a black tie event as opposed to the men perhaps. And but certainly what I'm seeing is also a request for things that maybe, you know, are a little bit more paired back. Definitely navy has become a more popular color as well. It's just that little bit softer and easier to wear than black sometimes. But also I'm seeing a lot of requests for things that have maybe a texture in them. So organza or tall or something that just have a little bit of point of difference. But definitely agree with Louie and say that in 20 years time it does look lovely and cohesive

5:13and clean and photographed. It's kind of easier though Louie isn't that on the boys. Like I always feel, you know, like every year we head off to these awards and it's so handy for the boys. You can go out, you can buy the one-tox, you can have it hanging in the suit, you can use it for the weddings, awards ceremonies, whatever you might need it for. It's an investment piece of fabric kind of, you know, especially with so many weddings being black tie now. And a lot of the functions now coming back to black tie. And you know, it's, you know, I mean, it's an investment to have a black tuxedo in your warden. How do you feel about the kind of the more funky suits that we definitely some lads here tonight now, Louie, that live no socks on and ankles on show and there's no jacket that's only a waistcoat and decubal. How do you feel about that? Yeah, but you know what? They look at that photograph for 10 years, Tony, and they say to himself, what was I doing? But you see, Lord, the boys are probably roaring at the radio now that are in the car and the way it can be for the awards tonight. And they're probably saying the girls are going to do the same between the slits, the low

6:14backs, the low front, you know, the plunge neckline. Like are we going to look back in two decades and say, mother of God, what was I wearing? I don't think so because I also see fashion as fun, you know, in a bit of an experiment too, you know, and it has to kind of remain that way because it is a very empowering thing and it can make you feel grace, you know, when you look at yourself in the mirror and you go, I love what I'm wearing and it has that empowering effect. And whether it has a low back or a slits in this, you know, that's kind of irrelevant as long as you feel grace in your outfit. And I think sometimes, yes, I certainly look back at some of my own choices, look back to eye and go, not so sure about that. But really it's kind of more to do with, let's say, color choice, you know, I think structure is something that women really want to focus on because that is the thing that I think we feel the most in. I think color certainly is something that is maybe secondary. But I would hope now that there'll be no regrets after this evening and everybody will be posted pictures and social media and loving what they will.

7:17And I think that there's a lot of people who are looking at the pictures tonight saying my, Andrea, what am I doing here? I actually got a dress made as obnoxious as that sounds now because I did that kind of as Lauren said in mind with the fact that it's a black tie night. I have a black tie wedding on New Year's Eve. And I definitely have another two events coming up in the next 12 months that'll also be black tie. And I thought, if even if I was to quote in higher four dresses, I'm not going to buy you four new dresses, but if I was to hire four dresses next year, I'll have this dress paid for. So I just thought at least I'll have it. So it's a, it's an Emerald Green satin full length dress. And I can't not have a signature sliss. I can't wait to see the four. Lauren is probably going, Emerald Green is so I'm Andrea. I'm going to find the amazing, no very automino, very trendy. That sounds gorgeous. Oh, well, hopefully we'll, we'll, there are certain colours that suit the Irish complexion

8:18and Emerald Green is, is one of those. Well, I tell you, Louis, I'm marinating in, I don't know, her many shades of fake tan here while I'm talking to you on the show this afternoon. So I, there's, I don't know what complexion I am today or what I'm going to look like later on. I'm still cooking here. So we'll, we'll see him. The picture is later this evening. Thanks a million to you both for joining us on the programme today. Stylist, Lorna Whitman and of course, men's wear owner, Louis Copeland. Thanks a million folks for your time on the programme. Lunchtime Live with Andrea Gilligan. Weekdays at midday on News Talk. Conversation that counts.