Late day dress as Hardy Amies called it is what a man should wear into the evening when the ladies will be wearing black cocktail dresses. And in the photograph from 1952 the three classic late day ensembles are illustrated perfectly. From left to right:
-The actor Alfred Lunt, in a solid navy suit, white shirt and silver necktie.
-His wife, actress Lynn Fontanne in, of course, a black cocktail dress.
-Photographer Cecil Beaton in a solid gray suit, white shirt and silver necktie.
-Noël Coward in navy blazer, gray trousers, white shirt and a bow tie.
Perfection.
Posts
9 comments:
Nice picture indeed. But I'm definately counting some stripes on Lunt's suit. Thanks.
How do you know that Alfred Lunt and Noël Coward are wearing navy, do you have the picture in colour? Apart from that, Alfred Lunt is definitely wearing a striped suit and not a solid, his necktie seems to have a pattern as well, so I cannot see how his outfit can be described as 'Late Day'.
My error, zoomed to 400% Lunt is definitely wearing chalk stripes. The pattern in his necktie however is perfectly acceptable for evening.
Questioning whether one suit or another is really blue completely misses the point of the post.
So can anyone name any contemporary doyens
of "correct" style, other than the author of this blog?
Seriously, up to the 70s perhaps, there was some
consensus on "correct" (elite) style. It's exemplars
were usually distinguished in areas outside of the
style industry, such as the theater, the Arts,
business and even goverment. Also prominent
were members of the Aristocracy in Europe,
and "old money" in the New World. Today, there
are no such standard-bearers.
From the fact that they are drinking tea, it is, presumably, about 4 pm so Lunt´s stripes are surely OK. It seems extreme for Comrade to say that today there are no standard bearers when, plainly, there are.
I'm happy to know that my intended outfit for the "cocktail party" dress code wedding I shall soon attend conforms to classic guidelines (I'll be attired similarly to Mr. Coward, sans boutonniere).
Will,
excellent post! As I am in my last year of graduate school, and being invited to more evening events, yet not to the level of formal dress, this post provided wonderful guidance. I few follow up questions.
First, how light gray do you think a suit can be and still be acceptable for evening?
Second, does the tie have to be silver, and does it need to be silk. For example, what about a traditional silver hued glen plaid tie rendered in wool? Also, what about a muted madder tie? Thanks
The tie does not have to be silver but should definitely be silk for evening. The gray can be charcoal to the mid gray of formal day wear.
Would you wear a blue odd jacket with brown buttons as informal evening wear? Or would a traditional blazer with metal buttons be preferable?
Post a Comment