Faking a black suit as Tuxedo

[mbrokerny]

I have an upcoming formal event and don't own a tuxedo but own a very nice Dolce all black suit. Will anybody notice that I'm not wearing a tuxedo? What can i do to try and make it less suit-like?

I'm planning on wearing a custom tuxedo shirt and some sort of bow tie(not yet purchased) .

Also, what material tie should i get since there is not silk on the suit to match to?

 

[fuji]

Yes because the lapels wont be satin or grosgrain.

 

[ysc]

A black suit is not a DJ, and you can't magically change it into one. I bought a dj from marks and spencer for ~£100 and it served me faithfully for several years, and is not really any worse than many more expensive djs, it dosn't have to be expensive.
You could get a velvet jacket (I always seem to see them pretty cheaply) and wear that with your suit trousers? I doubt anyone would notice your trousers were missing the stripe. A velvet jacket is kind of "casual" black tie, but maybe better than a black suit.

The bow tie should be black silk self tie, although I think a bow tie would look pretty silly with your suit, maybe just do "Hollywood black tie" and get yourself a plain black silk tie and white shirt, most people on this forum I suspect would think that is a pretty grim option, but if you don't want to buy a dj you don't have much choice.

 

[mbrokerny]

Young, If i try to match the DJ from marks and spencer to my dolce pants, wont it looks silly if the fabrics do not match up and i have 2 different blacks on? They have one for £30.00 thats looks perfect. How is the quality/ feel?

 

[vitaminc]

Originally Posted by youngscientist

The bow tie should be black silk self tie, although I think a bow tie would look pretty silly with your suit, maybe just do "Hollywood black tie" and get yourself a plain black silk tie and white shirt, most people on this forum I suspect would think that is a pretty grim option, but if you don't want to buy a dj you don't have much choice.

IMO that is the best option.

 

[ysc]

I wasn't suggesting matching a odd dj jacket to your current trousers, you would have to buy the whole lot, the only odd jacket you could do would be velvet, because yes the blacks wouldn't match.
I can't comment on the quality of the current M&S DJs I bought mine years ago and they don't seem to make it any more, the fabric was fine, not as soft as a nice wool suit (I think it was a wool poly mix) but for the price it was good, felt fine, looked fine, didn't get sweaty as some poly mix clothes will do. I just meant that one can get them fairly inexpensively, if you are in the UK you could try Moss I should imagine they still have stuff on sale.

I would go and try one on in store if you want to buy one, not order on line, when buying a DJ if you want it to be a really proper one it should:

be vent less (no arse flap of any kind)
with a single button and either peaked or shawl lapel, double breasted is fine but more casual, again it should be peaked lapel
buttons should be covered in the same material as the lapels
the whole of the lapel should be silk covered (not the collar) not just its outer edge.

All that said, if this is the only black tie event you are going to be likely to go to, and the other people are not regular black tie wearers you wouldn't be the only guy in a black suit, I really like black tie and wear it often so I have ended up buying several, but if you don't need one, and its just one event you could rent or just wear your suit.

 

[lightsaber]

Faking a black suit as Tuxedo

There's a special place in style Purgatory for those who even contemplate it (and in style Hell for those who do it).

 

[mbrokerny]

I know Light it's horrible idea!

Young- i misunderstood, unfortunately, im in the US and the cheap Tux's here are from Mens warehouse and they all are monkey suits.

Im just the type of person who will get a MTM tux instead of paying a few hundred for a cheap-o one, but i really dont want to spend the money on one right now.

 

[LaoHu]

Originally Posted by lightsaber

There's a special place in style Purgatory for those who even contemplate it (and in style Hell for those who do it).

Hardy Amies wrote that he travelled with a dark suit and a black bow tie so that he didn't have to pack evening clothes. Hard to imagine him roasting in style hell.

 

[ysc]

Sorry, well just wear the suit and don't tell anyone on SF. Although you could try a velvet jacket, I have one I use for both smarter casual and more casual black tie, and so long as its not black itself it would be fine with your suit trousers and a black bow tie, but I understand velvet is not for everyone.
Never been to or seen a Mens warehouse, but I have seen cheap DJs in the states and yeah, mostly horrible, a lot in really odd colours also, I thought Ben Stiller's in something about Mary (dark brown) was for comic effect till I tried to find a cheap DJ in California last year.

 

[ysc]

Originally Posted by LaoHu

Hardy Amies wrote that he travelled with a dark suit and a black bow tie so that he didn't have to pack evening clothes. Hard to imagine him roasting in style hell.
don't get me wrong, Hardie Amies was a legend, but my copy of his A to Z of mens fashion has a prominent picture of someone (him?) on the front in a horrible square 4 bottoned suit, so he may not be in sartorial hell, but he wasn't always right.

 

[lightsaber]

Hey, if you want a negligible price tag and aren't very picky about quality (I'm assuming you won't wear this much) it would be interesting to try buying from these people:
http://adongsilk.todoor.org/modules....=showcat&cid=6

It's cheaper than cheap.

I don't want to guess what a $50 made-to-measure evening suit from Vietnam will get you, but it would interesting to try it and report back to us on it.

Just don't buy the ones with notch lapels.

 

[james_timothy]

Originally Posted by lightsaber

There's a special place in style Purgatory for those who even contemplate it (and in style Hell for those who do it).

Here's jefferyd's version- I imagine wearing a suit in place of a dinner jacket places you further down than "purveyors of ready to wear". Probably 3 layers down in "Falsifiers".

 

[chorse123]

It's better than a blue pinstripe suit, I guess. I have seen that at a few black tie events.

 

[Bradford]

I think you can certainly wear your black suit to the event, but I wouldn't pair it with a bow tie and tuxedo shirt - that just draws attention to what you are doing.

If you wear it with it a solid black or even silver tie and a very nice spread collar, white shirt with french cuffs and a white silk pocket square, you will come off as better dressed than the majority of men in the room who are sporting the rent-a-tux from Men's Wearhouse.