Show a little cuff, stuff a handkerchief in your breast pocket, tie your own bow tie, cover your waist. There really is nothing to black tie.
In my opinion, where stylists, those men and women who dress celebrities for their public appearances, go wrong these days is in their search for something different to justify their existence. It is a search that is totally unnecessary. For, at every event, the men who stand out are the handful that dress the way Mr. Grant dressed in Notorious. And he did it for himself.
It is difficult of course for men who need the stuff but rarely to justify the investment in a dinner jacket and proper shoes. To them I say, do not do things half way. Either spend what is necessary or eschew evening dress altogether. There is no shame in a navy suit, black oxfords, white shirt and a satin four in hand; indeed when done well that combination looks better than the clothing seen on most men at the typical black tie optional event in North America. But placing one foot on either side of the line demarking black tie and the lounge suit is a recipe for failure. Besides, doing it right is easy.
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7 comments:
It is interesting to wonder where some of these stylists were trained. They seem to have no idea. Billy Crystal appears in white tie as host of one of the most watched tv shows of the year wearing an outfit that looked as if it came off the rack at Joe's Rentatux. There are women wearing designer dresses costing thousands and dripping with borrowed diamonds worth tens of thousands and then there are schmucks in suits from Joe's Rentatux. Finally to cap it all some guy who is chief of the Academy of Motion Pictures on THE big AMP night of year steps on the stage wearing a lounge suit.
Will,
Excellent timing. I will be resorting to the navy suit, black oxfords, white shirt and a satin four in hand for an opera I will be attending. While I would like to wear black tie to the event the constraints of time and budget will not allow for this. My question to you is what color of tie do you recommend or recommend avoiding?
Rob, dark blue satin or black satin.
Will,
Even though it is unlikely that I would need even the navy suit version, if I ever do, is a dk blue satin four in hand superior to a self-tied bow? Or is the reverse better?
I would call that a push, as they say at the blackjack tables.
Heck, last weekend was a 'cool' day in Coral Gables so I took the wife and daughter to the 'Street Fair'. Now you all know I am a 'Tweed' guy but I forgot a pocket square so I took a clean serviette from a vendor, opened it up, pulled the center through my fingers, folded the bottom and just stuck it in the old pocket; I got one complement!
Not to mention the fact that Billy Crystal seems to have gone to Wayne Newton's plastic surgeon and hair colorist, too.
I guess "growing old gracefully" is passé.
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