"Black Tie Casual"

[HansderHund]



Thanks for posting this, Hansderhund.  You're right, the clothes in this film were fascinating.  It looks like my recollection of the San Remo outfit was quite far off but I still think it's incredible in its simple elegance.  Could you tell what buttons the SC had?  No PS from the looks of it, fairly strange.

Another outfit I've seen that I feel has some relevance to this thread is a black suit that definitely had polished silver buttons, worn by Colin Firth in A Single Man to a dinner at his friend's home.  It was typically Tom Ford monochrome style but due to the night setting it looked fantastic.  Although too formal for OP's needs, the use of black tie colours in a more casual outfit provided useful inspiration.  Brilliant film too.

You were pretty close, I always remembered the blazer in the second pictures. You may have been thinking of those buttons? I can't tell if they're silver or a grey shell.

I haven't seen that movie, so I'll hit imdb right now

 

[msulinski]



Jeans I'm sure would be fine although ask somebody who actually wears jeans, as I don't. Black is too severe for that jacket I think. Maybe something like a navy or really rich brown lightweight corduroy? I think corduroy is usually considered kind of a daywear fabric, but it's not unheard of in the evening:
http://asuitablewardrobe.dynend.com/2012/06/under-hammer-again.html
Its cousin velvet is more traditional for evening, but velvet pants are a good deal more adventurous than cords.
Also the jacket I linked earlier is lighter/brighter than ideal. You'd prefer something darker like this:
http://www.suitsupply.com/blue-jacket/C472,en_US,pd.html?start=2&cgid=Jackets
except still with some of the silk in there. This all linen though looks like a nice color for evening. Patch pockets not ideal, but whatever.
I think in general the pants are the hard part if you're not going to wear jeans, because you've likely got a dark jacket, and you don't want to wear a suit, and lighter pants are not evening-wear-friendly (although it's definitely a possibility - I wear the velvet jacket with lighter pants too - maybe it's not optimal for the evening). So you're left with a dark/dark jacket/trouser, which is tough. The textures then have to contrast a lot.

What about worsted navy pants with a black jacket? Or do you think the texture needs to be different?

 

[unbelragazzo]

Whoops I didn't answer this earlier...texture definitely needs to be different. There can be no confusion over the idea that you're wearing anything from a suit, much less that you're trying to put together a suit out of mismatched items that are "close enough"

 

[unbelragazzo]



I think the open-necked spread collar with the black jacket just looks a bit nouveau-riche but I can also understand your point about a BD being inappropriate here.  The only suggestion that I can think of now, taking into account your restriction on neckties, would be a roll neck sweater underneath the jacket, which seems an appropriate level of formality yet solves the untidy collar problem.

As a point of clarification, the jacket is midnight blue, not black. And not the "blacker than black" kind of midnight blue - it's clearly blue, not black. Not sure about the roll-neck...are you suggesting a white one?

 

[unbelragazzo]



Thanks for posting this, Hansderhund.  You're right, the clothes in this film were fascinating.  It looks like my recollection of the San Remo outfit was quite far off but I still think it's incredible in its simple elegance.  Could you tell what buttons the SC had?  No PS from the looks of it, fairly strange.

Another outfit I've seen that I feel has some relevance to this thread is a black suit that definitely had polished silver buttons, worn by Colin Firth in A Single Man to a dinner at his friend's home.  It was typically Tom Ford monochrome style but due to the night setting it looked fantastic.  Although too formal for OP's needs, the use of black tie colours in a more casual outfit provided useful inspiration.  Brilliant film too.

I'll try to check this out, thanks.

 

[msulinski]

I found this at Century 21. Any thoughts on applicability to black tie casual? It is 100% cotton.

 

[unbelragazzo]

Is it cotton velvet? I could see it being worn similar to Fuuma's pics - but you can't really "hide" it as a black tie piece because of the lapels. Not necessarily a bad thing though.

 

[Parker]



Never wear a spread collar without a tie, uuughghghghghg!.

what do you consider a spread? i really don't like cutaway collars, but I don't mind a moderate spread. mine are mostly like this.

which could probably pass as 'black tie casual' look if the jacket had a peak lapel or some other night time feature -- fancy cloth, grosgrain trim, etc.. I also like to do Fuuma's t-shirt + fancy jacket + jeans + chelsea/sidezip boots combo. but imo this kinda thing looks best with a really slim silhouette and some interesting grooming, hair, accessory, etc..

 

[msulinski]

Is it cotton velvet? I could see it being worn similar to Fuuma's pics - but you can't really "hide" it as a black tie piece because of the lapels. Not necessarily a bad thing though.

It is cotton velvet. Not as luxurious as silk, but it still felt nice.

I'm not sure what you mean by "hide" it as a black tie piece. I would not be wearing this to work or anything, and I would not be wearing it as black tie, just "black tie casual."

 

[unbelragazzo]



It is cotton velvet. Not as luxurious as silk, but it still felt nice.

I'm not sure what you mean by "hide" it as a black tie piece. I would not be wearing this to work or anything, and I would not be wearing it as black tie, just "black tie casual."

I meant it is obviously from a tuxedo and intended for black tie. Not that you can't wear it as full black tie. But it's a little bit different from jackets that COULD be a part of black tie, but NEED not be, like the velvet jacket with self-faced lapels (this is a stretch for real black tie, since in that case lapels should be grosgrain or satin faced) or the cream DB.

 

[msulinski]

I meant it is obviously from a tuxedo and intended for black tie. Not that you can't wear it as full black tie. But it's a little bit different from jackets that COULD be a part of black tie, but NEED not be, like the velvet jacket with self-faced lapels (this is a stretch for real black tie, since in that case lapels should be grosgrain or satin faced) or the cream DB.

I didn't see any matching trousers, as it was in the sport coat section. However, this is Century 21, so they could be trying to pass off tuxedo jackets as odd jackets.

 

[landshark]

I like it. How much is it, and do they have a 36R?

 

[msulinski]

Not sure if they have a 36r, but they did have multiple sizes, so possibly. It is $250

 

[unbelragazzo]

Sorry I meant to say that it's obviously for black tie not that it's obviously from a tux.

 

[msulinski]



Sorry I meant to say that it's obviously for black tie not that it's obviously from a tux.

I see. So how do you wear this with black tie? Just wear it with tux pants instead of the matching dinner jacket? Would it work best with a cummerbund? Also, is this the kind of thing you only wear with black tie events thrown in someone's home as opposed to an event at a venue like a catering hall or cruise ship dining room?

They did have a nice black self-faced velvet jacket as well, but the sleeves were very long and it had working button cuffs.