Decoding the dress code: How to do black tie

Confused by 'black tie'? We asked the experts for their tips to nail the tricky dress code

The words 'black tie' strike equal amounts of excitement and fear within me. Excitement that I have the opportunity to dress up, fear that I have nothing to wear, and I'm going to get it completely wrong and stick out like a sore and inappropriately-dressed thumb.

The problem is that 'black tie' is quite broad. As Debretts puts it: 'For ladies, a smart dress (such as a cocktail dress) is appropriate. It can be long or short, as long as it's not too short. It need not be black.'