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Before World War II, stiff shirts with winged detachable collars were common, just as worn with white tie. However, such shirts are no longer common, and an imitation of this type, a semi-stiff shirt with an attached wing collar, has become very common, particularly in the U.S. and Australia, although traditionalists reject the use of these new attached wing collars[11] and argue that a shirt with a classic fold-down collar (as is found on a normal shirt) has become de rigueur.[12] So, many traditional shirt makers, particularly British ones such as Turnbull & Asser (except by special request), do not sell shirts with an attached wing collar. Indeed, the use of wing collars at all varies nationally, so for example in Britain the standard collar is a turn-down collar, as advocated by the Duke of Windsor.
In dining out formally, the armed forces officer and non-commissioned officer normally wear a mess uniform equivalent to the civilian black tie and evening dress. Stylistically, the mess uniform varies according to the wearer's regiment or corps, but usually comprises a short Eton-style coat reaching to the waist. Some include white shirts, black bow ties, and low-cut waistcoats, while others feature high collars that fasten around the neck and corresponding high-gorge waistcoats. Usually, mess uniforms are brightly-coloured (in the British Army scarlet is most common) and ornamented with gold and lace and gilt buttons, all corresponding to the colours of the regiment or corps of the wearer. In contrast, Royal Air Force mess dress is largely blue-grey in colour.
In the Royal Navy there is a distinction between mess dress , which is worn at white tie events, and mess undress , which is worn at black tie events. Both are worn with a black bow tie, however mess dress is worn with a white waistcoat instead of the usual colour, and may be worn with a stiff shirt and wing collar. The stiff shirt and wing collar were abolished for mess undress in the 1960s, and were made optional for mess dress in the 1990s.
The bow tie is a type of men's necktie. It consists of a ribbon of fabric tied around the collar in a symmetrical manner such that the two opposite ends form loops. Ready-tied bow ties are available, in which the distinctive bow is sewn into shape and the band around the neck incorporates a clip. Some clip-ons dispense with the band altogether, instead clipping to the collar. The traditional bow tie, consisting of a strip of cloth which the wearer has to tie by hand, may be known as a self-tie, tie-to-tie, or freestyle bow tie to distinguish it from these.
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