Tuxedo Q

PearlJamFan · Mar 18, 2005

Im 17 and my prom is in a few weeks

I dont want to have a plain tuxedo like everyone else. I want to jazz it up a little.

Any ideas as to what I should do you make me stand out?

Matt · Mar 18, 2005

powder blue. powder blue.

Phil · Mar 18, 2005

You would stand out simply by being well dressed and wearing a tuxedo that fit properly:

1. Peak lapels, 1 or 2 button single breasted
2. learn how to tie a bow tie, if for no other reason than at the end of the night you can untie it and wear it around your neck like Frank Sinatra and look infinitely cooler than your friends.
3. Wear good shoes, either the patent leather variety, or even better, a well shined pair of black calfskin oxfords
4. Black bow tie, they shouldnt even make them in other colors.
5. Some might disagree, but cumberbunds are optional. They were made originally for fat people, basically as a fancy girdle. There is no need for them anymore.
6. White linen pocket square
7. sheer black socks, over the calf style.

Matt · Mar 18, 2005

Agree with all of that, although another option could be to match the pocket square with your date's dress.

same for cufflinks if your shirt has french cuffs.

Phil · Mar 18, 2005

I dont think they make formal shirts without french (or double) cuffs, as the Brits like to call them. If they are made, they would look terribly out of place.

I agree about the pocket square, maybe. It seems harmless, and a nice thing to do, but for me, its white linen.

oscarthewild · Mar 18, 2005

I dont think they make formal shirts without french (or double) cuffs, as the Brits like to call them. Â If they are made, they would look terribly out of place. Â

I agree about the pocket square, maybe. Â It seems harmless, and a nice thing to do, but for me, its white linen.

Am I going to beat Manton to this??

The cuffs of the most formal of shirts, for a "formal" i.e. white tie, are not double. They are single but still put together with a link.

-

Manton · Mar 18, 2005

If I am going to be taunted for not butting in, then I may as well butt in. Fold collar black tie shirt = double or French cuffs. Wing collar white tie shirt = single or link cuffs. Of course, the white tie shirt is also correct with black tie, but the fold collar shirt cannot be worn with white tie. But come on, guys. Â PearlJamFan is 17. Â We don't want to dress him up like the duke of Windsor, do we? Â I mean, of course I do, but I thought I would give him a break and stay out of it. Â Where is LAGuy when we need him?

Phil · Mar 18, 2005

ah yes, I stand corrected. I have never had the occasion to wear white tie, but you are both most certainly correct.

Manton · Mar 18, 2005

5. Some might disagree, but cumberbunds are optional. They were made originally for fat people, basically as a fancy girdle. Â There is no need for them anymore. Â

I do in fact disagree. The purpose of the cummerbund is not to encase fat; and in any case, fat dudes look better in a vest. It is to cover the trouser wasteband and suspender ends. Either a cummerbund or a vest is required with an SB dinner jacket. The DB takes neither, because it should always be buttoned, thus the trouser waistband and suspenders never show.

Phil · Mar 18, 2005

I dont entirely agree with you. I have my tuxedo set up as such - my trousers have no belt loops, no suspender buttons, nothing. They are fitted to my waist, simple as that. A cumberbund is extraneous. I dont think a trouser waistband is unslightly, I see no need to cover it with a cumberbund, which looks rather absurd to me.

Matt · Mar 18, 2005

i think for a 17 year old a vest is a better look than a cummerbund anyhow...

Manton · Mar 18, 2005

It's more to cover suspender ends, which were considered bascially underwear and therefore shocking. Suits would always have vests, so it was not an issue with them. The cummerbund is a British import from India, better than the vest in hot weather because there is much less of it.

Beyond that, it's just tradition. See disclaimer, below ...

Phil · Mar 18, 2005

I love tradition as much as the next guy, I really do. But sometimes traditions dont apply to modern times. I just dont find them flattering on my body. And thats what it comes down to for me. I wear a 1 button peak lapel tuxedo, with flat front pants, and no waist adjustment whatsover. I do it becuase I like the minimalist look of it all. Im sure I am breaking any number of rules or traditions, but its what I look best in.

Oh, and I never wear patent leather shoes, way too high school marching band for my taste.

Matt · Mar 18, 2005

which of course poses the question...why on earth would the British be importing anything suitable for hot weather?

*disclaimer...author is Australian and feels compelled to make British weather jokes at every turn*

Manton · Mar 18, 2005

Probably because it's easier and more comfortable. Old formal vests didn't have buttons but studs. They were sometimes made stiff, in starched pique. Harder to put on, more constricting to wear.

That and the first guys who brought it over probably thought that since it was new, it would help them stand out and look more dashing than all the other vested drones. How do any fashions get started after all ...?

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