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The state of white tie

Persephone

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Are you sure it’s been two years? I thought it was 3 years. The last in 2020 right?

I was at Philharmoic and TC ball last month.

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I was at the Musikverein for the Philharmonikerball as well followed by the Officers' Ball the next night. It was a bit of a marathon with only a few hours of sleep as we arrived at our hotel around 3:30 in the morning and emerged around half past eleven to partake in brunch at a nearby cafe.

My daughter debuted at the Opera Ball in 2016. She is now studying in Vienna, and we visit her quite frequently. The group picture was taken at 5 o'clock in the morning, and we were all a bit disheveled after having been on our feet for hours. I did wear gloves earlier in the evening and for dancing, just not for the photo. The third picture was taken at the Officers' Ball this January with our daughter (in green) and her friend.

P.S. I should add that my husband does own proper white tie, but chose his uniform for the 2016 Opera Ball and of course for the Officers' Ball. I shall have to dig up some photos of him/us in his tailcoat.
 

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Persephone

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Alas, I found a picture of us from 2022 with him in proper white tie. Speaking of accessories, where do you gentlemen get your detachable collars laundered and starched, please? Any suggestions for a reliable laundry service? I simply don't have the time and patience to do it myself. I usually post them to Barker Collars in my native Dorset, but postal services are experiencing delays worldwide, and I am worried that the collars shan't arrive in time for our next trip to Vienna in mid-January.
 

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poorsod

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I’ve been to the officers ball once. I recall there was a lot of marching and the British army are still the redcoats. A friend brought me along with the general from the base in Stuttgart.

Are you asking for a laundry service in vienna? I once used a laundry service in Landstrasse but it took a few days.
 

Persephone

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I’ve been to the officers ball once. I recall there was a lot of marching and the British army are still the redcoats. A friend brought me along with the general from the base in Stuttgart.

Are you asking for a laundry service in vienna? I once used a laundry service in Landstrasse but it took a few days.
Yes, a service in Vienna would be nice! I am familiar with a few cleaning services, and have used Putzerei Gottschalk in the city centre on more than one occasion and they performed a small miracle after I had a perfume leak in my suitcase, which unfortunately affected my silk ball gown. However, other than the Barker Group, I know of no place that still launders and starches detachable collars.

Regarding the British Army, many officers are still wearing red uniform coats, although it depends very much on the regiment. The Royal Hussars and the Dragoons Guards wear dark coats, and the Intelligence Corps wears green. The best looking mess dress belongs to the Household Cavalry though.
 

Zerase

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After seeing pictures from the Nobel dinner yesterday, I can confidently say that the state of white tie is bad... Politicians who are pretty much regulars at that party, come in pre tied bow ties, ill fitting trousers and wrong shoes. God give me strength...
 

Persephone

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Ball season in Vienna has officially kicked off, and our first ball will be 18 January at the Musikverein. Dress code is white tie, and I shall report on the state of affairs...
The next one is 19 January at the Wiener Hofburg, then 25 January, and finally 27 January. Next year, I am hoping to attend the Opernball again, but I have to check my availability.
 

St1X

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After seeing pictures from the Nobel dinner yesterday, I can confidently say that the state of white tie is bad... Politicians who are pretty much regulars at that party, come in pre tied bow ties, ill fitting trousers and wrong shoes. God give me strength...
White tie is a joke with roots in classism. Most, if not all of our politicians are a regular folks from working class families, so no wonder they are not an experts on white tie.
Frankly speaking we should just leave this dress code in the past, where it belongs and stick to a black tie for Nobel prize dinner.
 

Zerase

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White tie is a joke with roots in classism. Most, if not all of our politicians are a regular folks from working class families, so no wonder they are not an experts on white tie.
Frankly speaking we should just leave this dress code in the past, where it belongs and stick to a black tie for Nobel prize dinner.
Oh tempora, o mores...
More white tie dinners for the people! :)
 

am55

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White tie is a joke with roots in classism. Most, if not all of our politicians are a regular folks from working class families, so no wonder they are not an experts on white tie.
Frankly speaking we should just leave this dress code in the past, where it belongs and stick to a black tie for Nobel prize dinner.
It's probably fair to say most enlisted men are not born with knowledge of how to wear their uniforms up to and including mess dress but they pick it up quickly since it's *part of the job*. The main reason politicians look sloppy is because they want to project that image to their electorate in the current zeitgeist of "approachability" to the "common man". Chirac famously lost his neat tailoring as he matured from a sociopathic polished wolf to the man of the people branding that got him elected (and out of court). Or in fiction:

"Il regardait Clérences et avait l'air de lui dire : « C'est votre beau-frère, mais nous savons que vous n'êtes pas du bord des Morel, pas plus que nous. Vous êtes un homme de gauche. » Il vérifiait sur le costume de M. Clérences qu'il était un homme de gauche. Clérences avait prévu cela depuis quelque temps : il s'était fait un costume merveilleux de frime. « La démocratie a remplacé le bon Dieu, mais Tartufe est toujours costumé en noir », s'était exclamé à un congrès radical un vieux journaliste. En effet, à cinquante mètres, Clérences paraissait habillé comme le bedeau d'une paroisse pauvre, gros croquenots, complet noir de coupe mesquine, chemise blanche à col mou, minuscule petite cravate noire réduisant le faste à sa plus simple expression, cheveux coupés en brosse. De plus près, on voyait que l'étoffe noire était une profonde cheviote anglaise, la chemise du shantung le plus rare et le croquenot taillé et cousu par un cordonnier de milliardaires. Enfin, Gilles avait découvert dans un transport d'amusement que le modèle de la cravate avait été fourni par un des Fratellini. "
Gilles (Drieu la Rochelle)
 

poorsod

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Ball season in Vienna has officially kicked off, and our first ball will be 18 January at the Musikverein. Dress code is white tie, and I shall report on the state of affairs...
The next one is 19 January at the Wiener Hofburg, then 25 January, and finally 27 January. Next year, I am hoping to attend the Opernball again, but I have to check my availability.

Plan this year is for the Operaball but trying to get tickets via a service. Hopefully it works out. Next year we will have to put in for tickets much earlier. I think they sell out by the summer
 

Persephone

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Plan this year is for the Operaball but trying to get tickets via a service. Hopefully it works out. Next year we will have to put in for tickets much earlier. I think they sell out by the summer
Did you get tickets for 2024? Last I heard was that it was all sold out. We plan on going next year, too, but we'll be back in Vienna this spring to help our daughter vacate her current place and move into a new flat. The building is undergoing renovation, and her lease expires on 31 May. I just purchased tickets for Concordia at the Rathaus. Mein erster Sommerball seit 15 Jahren...

White tie is alive in Vienna, but few men do it well. My husband and I sat next to a lovely couple and their adult children at the Officers' Ball, and they were very well attired. The father's tailcoat was custom tailored by Knize, and it showed. Apart from my husband, and two British officers, he was the only one I spotted wearing a detachable collar. The son, a young man in his mid-20s, was also in a well-fitting tailcoat. He and his sister had debuted at the Opera Ball, but not in the same year as my daughter. For a young man in Vienna, it pays to own a tailcoat as there are at least three balls that are strictly white tie, and many more where white tie is absolutely proper.
 

poorsod

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I got tickets via a service. There’s quite a fee compared to getting it directly from the ball office.

I know that TC and Opernball are white tie. Which is the 3rd?
 

Persephone

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The Philharmonikerball also at the Musikverein.
Viel Spaß beim Opernball kommenden Donnerstag. I will be watching via ORF.
 

poorsod

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Oh that’s right! I forgot about the philharmonic ball.
 

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