The scene is truly a dreamscape—you are surrounded by a sea so white it is nearly blinding, a sea of elegant partygoers, each one of them dressed in crisp white haute couture in a picturesque outdoor dinner space. Everyone is mingling, reveling in the French tradition of the Dîner en Blanc, or White Dinner.

The concept began as a small-scale occurrence at Paris' Bois de Boulogne, where in 1988, a man named Francois Pasquier invited a group of friends to meet up for dinner, and advised them to dress in white in order to find each other. Almost immediately, the trend caught fire, and over the course of a mere 30 years, meetings such as Pasquier’s have taken place all over the globe, only on a much, much larger scale. The only continent not to celebrate the Dîner en Blanc is Antarctica.

Just last month, Paris celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Dîner en Blanc tradition, which drew a total of 13,000 guests, all in chic white ensembles, all ready for dinner. Customarily, attendees are required to bring their own chairs, food, table accents, cutlery, et cetera, and the location is kept entirely secret right up until the day of the event.

The Dîner en Blanc has received its fair share of criticism over the years. Some say the event is pretentious, others may call it, in the original French, bourgeois. Traditionally, only those elite and in-the-know are privy to the somewhat pricey tickets for the revelry in white. Not to mention that wearing white has historically been seen as a symbol of status and sanctity; it was the royal color worn by kings of the French monarchy for a period of time.

That being said, who doesn’t like to act a little bougie from time to time? It’s a special day when one can put on their fanciest white clothes, feel elegant and sharp, and enjoy time spent with friends and family in a unique, fun environment.

Luckily, the Dîner en Blanc of the Twin Cities is not nearly as elitist as the traditional French fête. If you want to go to a dinner in white this summer, all you have to do is pick up a ticket online for the Polo en Blanc, hosted by Polo for Philanthropy, and you’re good to go. No lugging around a heavy basket full of food and cutlery, no anxious waiting to find out where the event is actually going to take place. Just don your best white outfit and show up for a good time.