white halter neck backless dress Shona Joy - La Lune Low Back Midi Day Dresses Linen Halter Dress | Backless

In general, however, black-tie doesn't mean black, and colour is usually welcome as long as the silhouette feels formal enough (floor-length dresses would be a safe bet)

With black jeans, I like boots nothing too shiny or pointy I have a pair of pebble-grained, matte finish black calf wingtip boots from Rancourt that avoid looking too flashy, and then an interesting side-zip style from Soloviere (the Pierrot in black calf) that evokes a toned-down Chelsea

Events that impose a black tie dress code might seem a little daunting to the uninitiated

The design mixes up a wide array of influences: from Japan to 16th-century East-Europe to Ancient Egypt