Black Suits - Dressing up

[thepsychicruskie]

Have recently purchased a slim-fit black suit to double for use at my prom and other more formal occasions - I have been looking around style blogs for a while and have yet to find something that answers my questions just yet, so here I am

The suit itself is slim fitting, 38' chest, double vented, two-buttoned and has a slight sheen to the material.
It looks a bit like this http://www.moss.co.uk/images/ac_prod...00:700/1290514
I dont want to go with the classic black on white shirt with a black tie because I think it looks boring, and in an event like this wont stand out at all. Any contributions to helping me (or anyone new to such things who reads this thread) develop an understanding on how best to match an interesting shirt to a tie and a pocket square would be helpful

preferably I would like to incorporate some red into the outfit as my date is wearing a strawberry red dress, but anything helpful is welcomed!

 

[VelvetGreen]

1. There are about a million threads about prom/pocketsquares/shirt+tie combos. This is the first time on any forum I have ever said this, but use the search function b/c this has been covered many times. 2. You've perhaps answered your own question in posting that pic. If you want to look like that, just get the appropriate coloured items? 3. You could wear a white shirt and a red cravate. Nobody else will, and you'll look like a Hungarian gent (or, perhaps, a Russian...?) Good luck

 

[ajmanouk]

Originally Posted by VelvetGreen

1. There are about a million threads about prom/pocketsquares/shirt+tie combos. This is the first time on any forum I have ever said this, but use the search function. 2. You've answered your own question in posting that pic. If you want to look like that, just get the appropriate coloured items. 3. Why do you want to stand out? 4. You could wear a white shirt and a red cravate. Nobody else will, and you'll look like a Hungarian gent (or, perhaps, a Russian...?)
+1 OP, you may want to stand out now, but when you look back at your pictures you will realize that you STICK out, not stand out. I suppose it's a matter of personal taste, but I think that the look you're going for looks like absolute ****, no offense at all intended. There are plenty of ways to incorporate red into your outfit without using a red shirt...red pocket square, red tie are two that come to mind immediately. Personally I would do a solid white shirt, red striped tie, and a red or white pocket square. Since I don't own a grenadine tie I can't comment on how it might look, but I am curious as to whether or not it would look good. Perhaps another SF member could comment on that. If nothing else, can I recommend at least losing the skinny tie? Edit: Maybe another way to do red is via a tux (you might not get many chances to dress up in a tux...take advantage of this one! http://prommafia.com/wp-content/uplo...d-prom-tux.jpg)

 

[Sanguis Mortuum]

Black suit, white shirt, black tie (not too narrow), white linen pocketsquare in TV fold. Red carnation boutonnière.

 

[Mac]

Tom Ford:

This (the suit looks black on my screen, apparently it's not though):

And what I wore to my prom on Wednesday:

 

[Chris Waffles]

Originally Posted by Sanguis Mortuum

Black suit, white shirt, black tie (not too narrow), white linen pocketsquare in TV fold. Red carnation boutonnière.

+1 The pocket square and the boutonnière will add color and style to an otherwise boring white on black combination, and at a high school event, the pocket square alone should be enough to make yourself stand out in the crowd.

 

[thepsychicruskie]

Yeah, I think i should have had more of a thorough search through the existing threads before posting so apologies on that front. I have had more luck in searching through aforementioned threads than in any style blog I have read insofar so it goes to show

The look in the picture I posted wasn't the one I wanted to go for though, I posted that only to show the way my suit looked. I'm leaning more and more towards a white shirt now (french-cuffed), though would you suggest a solid white shirt, or a white shirt with a very subtle pattern to accent the red? Based on advice here and advice given to similar queries on other parts of the forum my revised outfit is:
the black suit (similar to the one in the picture - I already have this)
white french-cuffed dress shirt
black slim tie (would you suggest plain black or black with a subtle pattern?)
white pocket square
red boutonniere
I am new to both this forum and to the world of style, so please forgive my beginners mistakes - thats why I am here

 

[CruzAzul]

I think straight-up black and white is sufficiently boring that you can feel free to defy convention on this one. When I go to formal events that call for a black suit, I usually go with a very faint grey-and-white stripe shirt or a very pale blue. Then you can pretty much do whatever you want with the pocket square in terms of colour and pattern. Have fun.