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The State of Black Tie: Your Observations

Butler

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That illustration is very interesting, particularly the Burma shade, but also the background grey. Never seen it either.

I was fishing for ideas. There is always so much to discover. I think light variation from a shade which is basically the fibre when nothing has been applied to it might still fit the spirit of classicism, and work better in certain conditions.

Found this off a quick Google: http://www.bondsuits.com/valentin-zukovsky-the-warm-grey-dinner-jacket/ although it has a "street tailor" feel, perhaps due to the facings, perhaps due to the size of the man. The original is somewhat better. Perhaps execution is key with these things.

The 'Burma' shade is traditonaly worn as an atempt to avoid being taken for staff!
:bigstar:
 

am55

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The 'Burma' shade is traditonaly worn as an atempt to avoid being taken for staff!
:bigstar:
You have done it? If so I would love to see a photo! You always do these things so well.
 

am55

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Thanks - in my youth in the Får East I had one like that - long gone I'm afraid! :bigstar:
I would not have thought being distinct from staff was an issue as a 老外 regardless of attire... maybe in another 20 years?

As an enthusiastic if inexperienced fresh graduate, I once introduced myself to a waiter at a networking reception. He was very good about it.
 

Bounder

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As an enthusiastic if inexperienced fresh graduate, I once introduced myself to a waiter at a networking reception. He was very good about it.

Always make it a point to get to know waiters and secretaries. This has a far higher rate of return than sucking up to the rich and powerful.
 

benjamin831

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The other night

blacktie.jpg
 

supern0va

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I'm thinking of introducing some black watch to break up the monotony of black tie.

2 possibilities:

1. black watch dinner jacket with black waistcoat and pants

2. Black dinner jacket with blackwatch waistcoat and pants

Which do you recommend? Or is black watch a no go? Thanks.
 

Lensmaster

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I'm thinking of introducing some black watch to break up the monotony of black tie.

2 possibilities:

1. black watch dinner jacket with black waistcoat and pants

2. Black dinner jacket with blackwatch waistcoat and pants

Which do you recommend? Or is black watch a no go? Thanks.

I vote for the first choice.
 

jonathanS

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I'm thinking of introducing some black watch to break up the monotony of black tie.

2 possibilities:

1. black watch dinner jacket with black waistcoat and pants

2. Black dinner jacket with blackwatch waistcoat and pants

Which do you recommend? Or is black watch a no go? Thanks.


I'd go with door number 1 if those are your options. Dinner jacket; blackwatch trousers & black cummerbund is also okay. I suppose door number 2 is okay...... if you're going to your high school prom & even then it's probably not okay.
 

Andy57

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First of all, there's nothing monotonous about black tie. Second, go with a black watch jacket and black everything else. There is no option 2.
 

archibaldleach

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I may not go to many formal events, but then I don't need anyone else's permission to wear my dinner jackets when I so desire.

I saw an Instagram post recently that featured a tan-colored dinner jacket. I thought it looked pretty good, if not quite to my taste. Dove grey, on the other hand, would be excellent and could easily transition into Fall. I may think hard about that.

I'm also thinking that if one cannot actually be Bond, perhaps it's as well to be a man that Bond could not quite put his trust in. I mean, look what happened to Felix Leiter.

As much as I do enjoy your occasional black tie rule breaking, I think it's a bit disingenuous to talk about whether you need other people's permission to wear a particular jacket. No stranger on the internet is going to stop you from wearing what you want, but there are some rules and tradition that matter to some folks and to those who care about keeping black tie alive. Otherwise, why not show up with jeans, a t-shirt, and a backwards baseball cap because nobody needs your permission to wear what you want? I know that's not what you're advocating and I respect your generally well-done coloring within (and even slightly outside) the lines of the rules, but there must be some standards and we need to talk about them coherently. Digressions into "permission" in modern culture seems a recipe for disaster.
 

jonathanS

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I am in agreement. There is nothing wrong with straight black tie. But if you must change it up, you can wear a double breasted 4 (6) x2 peak or 4x1 shawl or a midnight blue tuxedo. Regarding blackwatch I can see a dinner jacket (not tuxedo jacket & blackwatch trousers).

I'd post a photo of myself, but it was with friends, & its not my place to post photos on a forum with them without their consent, so I'll attach my instagram link photo (but really, the girls make the photo, haha). https://www.instagram.com/p/BVNjh-kg1nk/?taken-by=jonathansoohoo

That is a 4x1 shawl, almost a blue tuxedo from RLPL. Love everything about it.
 

am55

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As much as I do enjoy your occasional black tie rule breaking, I think it's a bit disingenuous to talk about whether you need other people's permission to wear a particular jacket. No stranger on the internet is going to stop you from wearing what you want, but there are some rules and tradition that matter to some folks and to those who care about keeping black tie alive. Otherwise, why not show up with jeans, a t-shirt, and a backwards baseball cap because nobody needs your permission to wear what you want? I know that's not what you're advocating and I respect your generally well-done coloring within (and even slightly outside) the lines of the rules, but there must be some standards and we need to talk about them coherently. Digressions into "permission" in modern culture seems a recipe for disaster.

Then, in a still lower voice, he said, “I have broken off with Hortense.”
“Heavens!” I said. “Why?”
“A small thing. I visited her for Monday tea, as is my wont, and I was wearing Sunday’s shoes, a simple oversight. I had not noticed that I had done so, but lately I have had difficulty noticing other such things, too. It worries me a little, George, but, fortunately, not much.”
“I take it Hortense noticed.”
“Instantly, for her sense of the correct is as keen as mine, or, at least, as keen as mine used to be. She said, ‘Winthrop, you are improperly shod.’ For some reason, her voice seemed to grate on me.
I said, ‘Hortense, if I want to be improperly shod, I can be, and you can go to New Haven if you don’t like it.”‘
“New Haven? Why New Haven?”
“It’s a miserable place. I understand they have some sort of Institute of Lower Learning there called Yell or Jale or something like that. Hortense, as a Radcliffe woman of the most intense variety, chose to take my remark as in insult merely because that was what I intended it to be. She promptly gave me back the faded rose I had given her last year and declared our engagement at an end. She kept the ring, however, for, as she correctly pointed out, it was valuable. So here I am.” (from Asimov's short story Cal)
 

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