The State of Black Tie: Your Observations

[WhereNext]

Great pictures! I'm thinking about getting one or two shawl lapel dinner jackets, and some of the pictures got me thinking:
For dinner jackets with a shawl lapel, is there general guidance (I hesitate to say "rules") for when to get the lapel done self faced vs. silk covered? I'm asking more about dinner jackets in non-standard colors and patterns; for me, with a black "tuxedo" with shawl lapels, I would get silk facings, but I'm currently thinking about some more casual options (lighter colors, patterns, velvet, etc.) with a shawl lapel.
Or is this firmly in the "do what makes you feel good" camp (which, of course, I'll do anyway, I'm just curious if there's more to think about than I've currently considered!).

 

[Concordia]

Lots of basically correct DJs in the photo spread. Which isn’t to comment on all the others...

 

[Concordia]

Great pictures! I'm thinking about getting one or two shawl lapel dinner jackets, and some of the pictures got me thinking:
For dinner jackets with a shawl lapel, is there general guidance (I hesitate to say "rules") for when to get the lapel done self faced vs. silk covered? I'm asking more about dinner jackets in non-standard colors and patterns; for me, with a black "tuxedo" with shawl lapels, I would get silk facings, but I'm currently thinking about some more casual options (lighter colors, patterns, velvet, etc.) with a shawl lapel.
Or is this firmly in the "do what makes you feel good" camp (which, of course, I'll do anyway, I'm just curious if there's more to think about than I've currently considered!).

White summer DJ with shawl is self-faced. The closer to that you get, the more you should consider the same.

 

[WhereNext]

White summer DJ with shawl is self-faced. The closer to that you get, the more you should consider the same.

Ha! That's exactly what I have in my head, but there's no way I could have stated it as succinctly as that....

 

[The Chai]

I have been playing around with the idea of a midnight/navy mohair self faced shawl after seeing one on an infamous Australian style forum member...

 

[UrbanComposition]

I have a ("younger") friend who attended that. I believe he wore a velvet DJ with what looked like the correct accoutrements, including a nice set of MOP studs. (I take that back... I don't think he wore a cummerbund, which is unfortunately out of style with millennials and younger). He'd probably get shredded on SF though, knowing this place. (He did not make your retrospective.)

Did he go to the red carpet cocktail reception and afterparty? I pretty much stayed there since I was asked to take pics there. Too bad, it sounds like he dressed well and I would’ve loved to snap his pic. Side note - I have never been at a place, not even Pitti, where people straight up asked me to take a picture of them. Not with their cellphone. With my camera. And then give me their card to email it to them.

 

[Van Veen]

Did he go to the red carpet cocktail reception and afterparty? I pretty much stayed there since I was asked to take pics there. Too bad, it sounds like he dressed well and I would’ve loved to snap his pic. Side note - I have never been at a place, not even Pitti, where people straight up asked me to take a picture of them. Not with their cellphone. With my camera. And then give me their card to email it to them.

I believe he did, but at some point he ditched the bow tie and went open collar.

I remember having this conversation with the head of a national youth orchestra, who wanted to clothe the players in T-shirts in bright colours with primary school patterns. He thought it'd make the whole thing more approachable, popular, and ultimately impressive. The players were against the idea as concerts were very special occasions for them and to wear street clothes took away from the spirit. From later talking with the very audience targeted by such moves, they also considered going to "the symphony" a special occasion worth dressing up for.

The real way to make classical music accessible is to make it affordable. I used to go to the ROH as a broke student thanks to the 10 GBP tickets (couple of times in black tie), the Proms were even cheaper, but the cheap seats were not necessarily less well dressed. Here in Asia, a Vienna Philharmonic visit will be milked thoroughly with tickets starting at $250, sometimes $400, and I remember seeing Mehta conducting them in the Rite of Spring for almost a hundredth of that...

Nowadays a few ensembles (most prominently the Seattle Symphony) have started wearing all black, which I don't like in most contexts, but I think it works on stage. (I also think it works better in a modern concert hall, vs. Musikverein or Concertgebouw where the architecture is ornate and traditional.) There was a recent post in MC General Chat where @dieworkwear mentioned a study where musicians dressed more formally were perceived as better, even if it was the same group of musicians. Wish I could find that study.

Where I work, we run $20 tickets, and have a decent "younger" turnout. (And FWIW often the younger crowd is more formally dressed than the older crowd, maybe because going to the symphony is still an "event" for them.)

Ultimately, though, I think the biggest factor is marketing.

But I'm getting way off topic here.

 

[Texasmade]

Speaking of classical music, I just saw an ad on my Facebook feed for the Houston Symphony. Pick any 3 concerts for $100. I have no idea on how good the seats are but it looks like they’re trying to do something to get more people access.

 

[bdavro23]

Speaking of classical music, I just saw an ad on my Facebook feed for the Houston Symphony. Pick any 3 concerts for $100. I have no idea on how good the seats are but it looks like they’re trying to do something to get more people access.

There is a similar initiative in my city with the same details, 3 for $100. The Pops here is a group adjacent to the symphony, and they play ""popular" music. Unfortunately, popular means Glenn Miller and Elvis songs. I have to imagine someone has told them they'll bring in more young people if they actually played some modern music, but they're reluctant to give up that old white money, I guess.

 

[bdavro23]

Thanks for posting all of those pictures, and there were a lot of great looks. I do wonder why this guy was wearing a helmet though...

 

[smittycl]

Thanks for posting all of those pictures, and there were a lot of great looks. I do wonder why this guy was wearing a helmet though...

View attachment 1319808

You'll get to that age eventually and develop your own set of idiosyncrasies...

 

[Concordia]

Not just a helmet-- serious face mask on it.

 

[UrbanComposition]

Remind me to take pics of you guys when you’re 80.

 

[Van Veen]

There is a similar initiative in my city with the same details, 3 for $100. The Pops here is a group adjacent to the symphony, and they play ""popular" music. Unfortunately, popular means Glenn Miller and Elvis songs. I have to imagine someone has told them they'll bring in more young people if they actually played some modern music, but they're reluctant to give up that old white money, I guess.

Unfortunately the audiences who come in for rock shows don’t really cross over to classical shows. But the rock shows are quick, easy, and rake in $$$. But some orchestras are introducing smaller, curated series that are more targeted towards the indie pop audience.

 

[Contango]

Remind me to take pics of you guys when you’re 80.

Not about age, but how gracefully one accepts it!