The State of Black Tie: Your Observations - Page 44

Is the cut for link front much different, or could you convert a DJ to be link front?

 

I should think it's possible. I wore my DJ the standard way a couple of times before I realised.

Might get some pictures up later.

Went to a wedding this weekend... The groomsmen were instructed to get basic black tuxes with cummerbunds. Some rented tuxes, some owned. A few observations:

1) I was the only person in a peak lapel jacket (including the groom). Everyone else had a notch lapel, and most jackets had two buttons (I had one). Various vents (single, side, etc)
2) Most of the guys had patent leather shoes. I was unhappy with the sate of my pair, so I actually wore shined up black cordovan captoe shoes. I should have gone patent leather. The groom bought a great pair of italian patent leather slipons.
3) All the men wore studs with their shirts.
4) All the men wore "real bow ties" (we spent an hour getting them on everyone).
5) All the men wore suspenders, as requested by the bride (so we did the suspender/cummerbund combo - it was my first time doing that, and i now recognize it is the way to go)
6) At dinner, we all went jacketless for a while before hitting the dance floor (again, mostly jacketless)... This is probably the biggest rule violation, but all the women seemed to like it

Overall I think we all did a decent job. Even though I prefer them on tuxes, peak lapels seem to be going extinct.

Yeah the function of the cummerbund is to hide the transition from shirt to trouser. The function of suspenders is to hold your pants up. So it's not an either/or. It's either suspenders or side-tabs, and either cummerbund or vest (although on this latter "neither" is getting more votes in light of Daniel Craig's "neither" look in "Casino Royale"; I'd say "neither" should be reserved for events where you know your jacket will stay on and buttoned and even then you must make sure that no shirt shows below the jacket button).

The overriding rule is to follow the groom's lead. If his jacket stays on, yours should too. If he loses his, it's your option to remove yours. I don't buy the "suspenders are underwear" meme.

We shall go on to the end. We shall wear peaks in France, we shall wear peaks on the seas and oceans, we shall wear peaks with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our sartorial honor, whatever the cost may be. We shall wear peaks on the beaches, we shall wear peaks on the landing grounds, we shall wear peaks in the fields and in the streets, we shall wear peaks in the hills; we shall never surrender to the notch.

 Shawl collar is a perfectly acceptable option as well, if slightly less formal than peak. I think the formality is irrelevant though, given that most people aren't wearing tuxedos, and those that do are wearing notch lapels.

I saw something the other day that I hadn't seen before - which was a DB shawl collar tuxedo, I guess from the 50s or 60s. I am really not that sure that it looked very good. Was this an oddball one-off or once more common than I would have thought?

so, I know that a wing collar is the prefered collar for black tie, but I'm not too fond of it.

What's the next best collar? Point? I don't think a spread collar would look good with a bowtie.

Any input would be great.

A wing collar is not necessarily the preferred for black tie, and, depending on where you are located, not really acceptable (UK). A turndown collar is equally acceptable, and generally found in spread or semi-spread.

 

Edit: for more reading on the subject: http://www.blacktieguide.com/Classic/Classic_Shirts.htm

Accepting that DB tuxedos are uncommon to begin with, DB shawl is not that uncommon - probably a third of all DBs are shawl collared, though that is just a guess. My DB has peak lapels, though.

Ah-ha, knew I'd seen one somewhere before. Still not sure I like it, even on Bogie.

Foo has one, he posted it back a few pages.
Here, I found it.

 

Wow, my memory is not what it was, clearly... I gave that a thumbs up. I much prefer the cut of Moo's to Bogie's - something about the lapel shape is more harmonious.

One need only look to Tom Hanks' Oscar ensemble from last year...

I'm totally fine with the "neither" approach, but in my opinion one must be wearing a covered placket shirt and preferably one without a "bib". In those circumstances I don't think it's really a problem.