The Protocol

Knowing how to get in is not enough. The radar tells you where to go and how to enter; the Wardrobe tells you what to wear; the Protocol tells you how to conduct yourself.

Every world has its rules, and the great institutions publish them: dress codes precise to the centimetre, immutable timetables, telephones banned. The Protocol gathers them, verified at the source, then adds custom: what is written nowhere yet noticed everywhere.

• The gala
  Black tie, white tie, replying to the invitation, timings: the protocol of galas and charity dinners, verified against the sources.
• The auction
  Registering, raising the paddle, never cancelling a bid: auction protocol according to Christie's, Sotheby's and Phillips.
• The opera and the ball
  Tailcoat compulsory, gown to the floor, latecomers seated at the interval: the protocol of the opera house and the great Viennese balls.
• The races
  Hats compulsory, hemlines below the knee, telephones outside the enclosure: the protocol of Royal Ascot, Henley and ParisLongchamp.
• The private members' club
  No photographs, no calls, no tipping: the published rules of private members' clubs, from Mayfair to New York.
• The vernissage and the fair
  Invitation-only preview, photographs without flash, bags carried by hand: the protocol of art fairs and vernissages.