Didn’t Jared get the memo? How Ivanka’s husband turned up at white tie Gridiron dinner in black tie (but managed to get it right last year)
- White House counselor Jared Kushner flouted the white tie rule at the Gridiron
- He wore a Navy blue tuxedo to the annual dinner instead
- It’s a mystery why Kushner dressed down a level when he wore white tie to the same dinner last year
- The exclusive, invitation-only event, specifically calls for white tie on the invite
- President Donald Trump wore white tie when he attended last year’s dinner
White House counselor Jared Kushner flouted the white tie rule on the invitation for the annual Gridiron dinner on Saturday night and wore a tuxedo instead.
Ivanka Trump posted a photo of herself and her husband headed out for the evening with the caption ‘hot date.’
But it’s a mystery why Kushner dressed down a level and donned a tuxedo – and a navy one at that – to one of the most formal events on Washington D.C.’s social calendar.
Especially since he wore white tie to last year’s Gridiron dinner.
Jared Kushner, in a Navy blue tux, and Ivanka Trump in a ballgown headed to Saturday’s Gridiron dinner
![Ivanka Trump shared the photo to Twitter with the caption: 'Hot date!'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/03/03/16/10509262-6766317-She_shared_the_photo_to_Twitter_with_the_caption_Hot_date_-a-12_1551629235733.jpg)
Ivanka Trump shared the photo to Twitter with the caption: ‘Hot date!’
![For the event in 2018, Jared wore into a white-tie tuxedo while Ivanka wore a black-and-white ballgown](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/03/03/13/10519450-6765503-image-a-22_1551620199503.jpg)
![The annual Gridiron Club and Foundation dinner calls for good-natured roasting as a break from the daily battles between journalists and government officials](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/03/03/13/10519454-6765503-image-m-23_1551620640901.jpg)
For the event in 2018, Jared wore a white-tie tuxedo while Ivanka wore a black-and-white ballgown
Some men at Saturday’s Gridiron dinner were heard giving some good natured grumbling that they were in tails and a cummerbund while Kushner was in the relative comfort of a tux.
Kushner stood out in his tuxedo in a sea of men all in white tie.
The exclusive, invitation-only event, specifically calls for white tie on the invite.
President Donald Trump wore white tie when he attended last year’s dinner.
He was not present on Saturday night. Ivanka Trump, wearing a $2,750 Markarian dress, spoke in his stead.
The Gridiron dinner is one of the few Washington events that keeps its white tie requirement.
In comparison the popular White House Correspondents’ Association dinner is a black tie event as are most state dinners – notably President George W. Bush hosted a white tie state dinner for Queen Elizabeth II in 2007.
White tie for men includes a strict dress code of tails, white tie pants, a white tie shirt, waistcoat and cummerbund.
The etiquette web site the Gentleman’s Gazette notes: ‘A regular tuxedo should never be worn for white tie events. And if that’s the only option you have, either wear a waistcoat or cummerbund. Never expose your waistband and never wear belts with evening wear.’
Kushner was not wearing a waistcoat or a cummerbund Saturday evening.
![President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump attended last year's dinner but did not come to Saturday night's event](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/03/03/14/10520188-6765503-Instagram_users_spotted_President_Donald_Trump_and_first_lady_Me-a-1_1551622945576.jpg)
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump attended last year’s dinner; the president wore white tie
![Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump at the 2014 Met Gala, where the invitation was white tie and Kushner wore a tuxedo](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/03/03/15/10522112-6766317-image-a-2_1551628550014.jpg)
Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump at the 2014 Met Gala, where the invitation was white tie and Kushner wore a tuxedo
In 2014, when Anna Wintour reinstated the white tie requirement for men at the annual Met Gala, The New York Times reported on the difficulty American men find in meeting such stringent dress requirements.
Jared Kushner wore black tie to that event too.
The annual Gridiron dinner features 700 journalists, politicians and members of Washington D.C.’s elite. The white-tie dinner takes place at the Renaissance Washington Hotel, with skits, songs and self-deprecation on the menu.
Speeches are expected to be full of wit and mockery with a side of repartee. Bipartisanship is on the menu and cameras are not allowed inside.
Also in attendance was White House senior adviser Jared Kushner; presidential press secretary Sarah Sanders; Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway; acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney; Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin; Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson; Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen; Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos; Sen. Ted Cruz; Sen. Jerry Moran; and Sen. Pat Roberts.