The State of Black Tie: Your Observations

[Andy57]

About what I was thinking. The "sloppy" nature of the linen (and the color) seems well suited to it.

It's a hot weather jacket and that's the reason I had it made: Florence this June, Umbria in the Fall, and Egypt next year. This yellow linen and my ivory jacket will probably be the ones I travel with.

 

[The Dirty Pigeon]

Get it in black silk to match your facings or black jacquard

I picked up a vintage Henry Poole & Co. classic silk waistcoat to try this out. I am still going to try to modify my existing matching barathea one as well. I guess it doesn’t hurt to have some options.

 

[archie824]

Je ne sais quoi, but the contemporary one is better. Tuxes aren't supposed to be super slim, and a bit of tailoring should get the contemporary one to be just about right, I think.

TBH, I'd still bring both to your favorite tailor for their opinion.

Took it to a highly rated tailor near LA. Guy said to keep the 38R slim. The 38L contemporary makes me look really boxy and long. He started putting pins in and said he will make it slimmer around the side of my chest, slimmer on my arm (he said this was hard), get rid of the wrinkle on my back, taper around my quad, taper around my calves, and give me a medium break on my pants. $289, costs a bit more than I thought but hope it goes well.

There's a few things he said though which I had no idea how to respond. He wanted to glue a white handkerchief to my jacket pocket and also said that the length of my sleeve is fine on the shirt which I thought it was too short. He said the French cuff will always ride up, so just ask people taking pictures or something to pull it down prior to taking the photo. I said no to the hankerchief thing which was supposed to be an extra $30. and said I'm going to get my shirt re-made at proper to get a longer sleeve to check out. I have 1 extra remake after this anyways.

Does this sound right?

This is the tailor: https://www.yelp.com/biz/armens-tailoring-los-angeles

I think it's funny that in some pictures one looks better than the other and vice-versa in other pictures. Can see why you're having trouble deciding. Sometimes, I wish people could post videos of them in their tuxes so we could more easily appraise. I would follow gimpwiz's suggestion and get your tailor's opinion.

 

[dougc33]

Glue? Like, real glue?

 

[ericgereghty]

Took it to a highly rated tailor near LA. Guy said to keep the 38R slim. The 38L contemporary makes me look really boxy and long. He started putting pins in and said he will make it slimmer around the side of my chest, slimmer on my arm (he said this was hard), get rid of the wrinkle on my back, taper around my quad, taper around my calves, and give me a medium break on my pants. $289, costs a bit more than I thought but hope it goes well.

There's a few things he said though which I had no idea how to respond. He wanted to glue a white handkerchief to my jacket pocket and also said that the length of my sleeve is fine on the shirt which I thought it was too short. He said the French cuff will always ride up, so just ask people taking pictures or something to pull it down prior to taking the photo. I said no to the hankerchief thing which was supposed to be an extra $30. and said I'm going to get my shirt re-made at proper to get a longer sleeve to check out. I have 1 extra remake after this anyways.

Does this sound right?

This is the tailor: https://www.yelp.com/biz/armens-tailoring-los-angeles

That pocket square suggestion would have me immediately going elsewhere

 

[blewnote1]

Took it to a highly rated tailor near LA. Guy said to keep the 38R slim. The 38L contemporary makes me look really boxy and long. He started putting pins in and said he will make it slimmer around the side of my chest, slimmer on my arm (he said this was hard), get rid of the wrinkle on my back, taper around my quad, taper around my calves, and give me a medium break on my pants. $289, costs a bit more than I thought but hope it goes well.

There's a few things he said though which I had no idea how to respond. He wanted to glue a white handkerchief to my jacket pocket and also said that the length of my sleeve is fine on the shirt which I thought it was too short. He said the French cuff will always ride up, so just ask people taking pictures or something to pull it down prior to taking the photo. I said no to the hankerchief thing which was supposed to be an extra $30. and said I'm going to get my shirt re-made at proper to get a longer sleeve to check out. I have 1 extra remake after this anyways.

Does this sound right?

This is the tailor: https://www.yelp.com/biz/armens-tailoring-los-angeles

I'd like to hear what the more knowledgeable folk here have to say, but if it was me I'd be looking for a different tailor.

Glue a pocket square in?!?!?!?!?!

For the other stuff, I can't say for sure but I agree with everyone that the length of the 38L is better for your body. I also think that skin tight clothes, especially on a tuxedo, are both ugly and off trend... so all this talk of slimming the chest on the already slim jacket and tapering the legs on already slim pants is also a turn off for me. If he'd been talking about adding a little more shape to the contemporary it would have made sense.

Also, I'm assuming you don't have suspender buttons put in either of these pants yet because you haven't had them tailored, but be aware that they will fall much cleaner once you're wearing suspenders (which you definitely should be).

My two cents would be to find a better tailor, stick with the contempory and maybe nip the waist a little, clean up the back a little (although to be honest even a well fitting suit may have a little wrinkling on the back at times, as you need extra fabric to be able to move in it since you're not a mannequin), maybe maybe add a little taper to the legs, and shorten the sleeves enough so that you can see the cufflinks that you're rocking on your shirt.

 

[JohnMRobie]

He wanted to glue a white handkerchief to my jacket pocket

 

[archie824]

I'd like to hear what the more knowledgeable folk here have to say, but if it was me I'd be looking for a different tailor.

Glue a pocket square in?!?!?!?!?!

For the other stuff, I can't say for sure but I agree with everyone that the length of the 38L is better for your body. I also think that skin tight clothes, especially on a tuxedo, are both ugly and off trend... so all this talk of slimming the chest on the already slim jacket and tapering the legs on already slim pants is also a turn off for me. If he'd been talking about adding a little more shape to the contemporary it would have made sense.

Also, I'm assuming you don't have suspender buttons put in either of these pants yet because you haven't had them tailored, but be aware that they will fall much cleaner once you're wearing suspenders (which you definitely should be).

My two cents would be to find a better tailor, stick with the contempory and maybe nip the waist a little, clean up the back a little (although to be honest even a well fitting suit may have a little wrinkling on the back at times, as you need extra fabric to be able to move in it since you're not a mannequin), maybe maybe add a little taper to the legs, and shorten the sleeves enough so that you can see the cufflinks that you're rocking on your shirt.

Damn, too late. I already left my tuxedo with the guy a few hours ago.

 

[JohnMRobie]

Damn, too late. I already left my tuxedo with the guy a few hours ago.

I assume he didn’t start working on it already. I’d call first thing and tell him to hold off.

 

[The Dirty Pigeon]

Damn, too late. I already left my tuxedo with the guy a few hours ago.

I looked at the tailor's Yelp page and it looks like he caters to a particular mall-fashion cropped slim style that a lot of local tailors seem to be stuck on these days. I happen to think that this style is somewhat outdated and never really looked good in the first place but I think it appeals to people who want to look stylish and are concerned about looking too boxy and fuddy duddy. If you like this style and think it's something you'll look back in photos down the road and be happy about, by all means go for it. However, you are asking for advice in a forum where people enjoy some version of classic, elegant and somewhat timeless style (not stodgy or old-fashioned, mind you). If you look at the photos in this thread and like the way some of the tuxedos look on the men wearing them, you might consider calling that tailor, cancelling the work, and taking the contemporary fit tuxedo to someone else. I am confident that plenty of people in this thread can recommend a competent tailor in your area.

 

[archie824]

I looked at the tailor's Yelp page and it looks like he caters to a particular mall-fashion cropped slim style that a lot of local tailors seem to be stuck on these days. I happen to think that this style is somewhat outdated and never really looked good in the first place but I think it appeals to people who want to look stylish and are concerned about looking too boxy and fuddy duddy. If you like this style and think it's something you'll look back in photos down the road and be happy about, by all means go for it. However, you are asking for advice in a forum where people enjoy some version of classic, elegant and somewhat timeless style (not stodgy or old-fashioned, mind you). If you look at the photos in this thread and like the way some of the tuxedos look on the men wearing them, you might consider calling that tailor, cancelling the work, and taking the contemporary fit tuxedo to someone else. I am confident that plenty of people in this thread can recommend a competent tailor in your area.

Honestly I have no idea what the right look is on a tuxedo. If you look at some of the celebrities example in this thread, like the guy from Kingsman, Daniel Craig, Beckham, are they wearing the timeless fashion or are they wearing the mall fashion cropped slim style? Looking through the pictures, I don't know what would even look good on me.

Like, what kind of fit are these?

 

[archie824]

I assume he didn’t start working on it already. I’d call first thing and tell him to hold off.

Gave him a call and he said he hasn't started yet. I told him to hold off. I will go back to pick up on Thursday.

 

[gimpwiz]

I'm glad the advice here and on reddit has been unanimous, archie. Let us know how it goes calling some of the tailors in LA listed, on styleforum, as the ones to go to.

 

[1up]

I'm wearing a somewhat unconventional black shawl lapel dinner jacket (2x1 Double Breast) for my wedding reception, with black pants (no piping).

What type of shirt do I need? I don't think a traditional tuxedo shirt with bib, loops, etc is needed. Can I just do with a simple white shirt of my choice with French cuffs? Would studs elevate it?

 

[gimpwiz]

2x1 shawl sounds lovely, congrats on upcoming nuptials.

You're the second person in two days I see mentioning wearing black dress pants rather than black formal pants. I'd say the same thing: Few will notice, because few even know the difference (and of those, some won't notice regardless.) As long as it's adequately high rise to not look awkwardly bisected... you do you.

Would I do it? No.

Do I understand why some might want to avoid the expense of a pair of trousers usable only for one dress? Yes. Is a tux supposed to be practical? Not really, sort of in terms of comfort, but obviously it's not all about the practicality, or we'd show up in tees and shorts. Is there an element of "I own these pants [and this jacket] just for black tie events, because I can afford to?" A point that has been debated back and forth in the almost 700 pages of this thread

But okay, take that shortcut, but don't take the others. White french cuff shirt, yes. Studs, yes, though you could go with a fly front. If you want no obvious thick bib, sure, you can do a plain bib, with studs, just fine. And get a waist covering too. And a black bowtie, self-tie. And good black shoes, no brogueing, clean and shined if not patent.