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white tie with DJ

landshark

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I'm only sort of serious. I understand not wanting to spend big money on tails. On the other hand I think tails are probably the most elegant thing a man can wear.
 

gdl203

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Originally Posted by landshark
On the other hand I think tails are probably the most elegant thing a man will never wear.
FTFY
 

Manton

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Originally Posted by gdl203
Why not






I'm going to a Gatsby theme party and this is something I can piece together easily from my wardrobe without buying anything new (I don't own tails). So that's my outfit for the night

the-great-gatsby-3d.jpg


That's a pretty good reason, actually.
 

gdl203

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Originally Posted by Manton
That's a pretty good reason, actually.

Not to derail the thread too much but what would you wear if you received that invitation ?

I initally wanted to go with the day/driving outfit (cream cotton suit, newsboy cap, white brogues) but it's an evening affair and it seems like this would be better.
 

Harold falcon

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Manton

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Originally Posted by gdl203
Not to derail the thread too much but what would you wear if you received that invitation ?

I initally wanted to go with the day/driving outfit (cream cotton suit, newsboy cap, white brogues) but it's an evening affair and it seems like this would be better.


What about the famous pink suit scene? "An Oxford man!" He was incredulous. "Like hell he is! He wears a pink suit."
 

gdl203

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Originally Posted by Manton
What about the famous pink suit scene? "An Oxford man!" He was incredulous. "Like hell he is! He wears a pink suit."

I think you mistook me with RJman for a moment


Let's see if that brings him out.... : )
 

Bounder

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Originally Posted by gdl203
I'm going to a Gatsby theme party and this is something I can piece together easily from my wardrobe without buying anything new (I don't own tails). So that's my outfit for the night.
Well, Mr. 203, if you don't own tails, how is it that you come to own a white bow tie? And is it single-ended? Because I hate that little adjuster thing. It looks terrible with a winged collar.
 

pvrhye

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Originally Posted by Manton
Well, I was not aware that the DJ was commonly worn at all in the pre-WWI era. That was a time when tails ruled.

However, the real question here is what rules prevail at a given time. Originally tails were worn with black waistcoats. Every picture and illustration you see from the Gilded Age shows this. By the Edwardian Era, a white waistcoat was the rule.

So, you can say that, essentially, since it happened once however long ago, it's correct forever. But that's clearly wrong, it seems to me. Styles evolve. Otherwise (say) the blue coat with gold buttons and buff leggings of the Regency would still be "correct" for evening, which would be absurd.

The style of correct formal wear has changed little since the 1930s. One change in the UK would be that it's considered incorrect there now to wear a wing collar with black tie (it wasn't in the '30s) but it's still OK here.

However, I don't expect the styles to change any further simply because there is no longer any interest in them. Rather than evolve more, men's formal wear will simply die.

And if you think Obama wore what he wore out of conviction rather than ignorance, all I can say is
rolleyes.gif


If the prevailing norms of the time determine legitimacy, then I think the most appropriate choice of the moment is a 2 button with matching bowtie cummerbund and pocketsquare with a tiny wing collar and a big fat square pair of aldos.
 

Kent Wang

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Originally Posted by gdl203
Can't tell if you're serious. It's just some buddy's costume party - I'm not buying tails for this. Actually, I'm not buying anything for this.
Is this the same buddy that had the tux and sneakers party?
Originally Posted by Bounder
Well, Mr. 203, if you don't own tails, how is it that you come to own a white bow tie?
And the white waistcoat?
 

Manton

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I actually have all the gear for white tie except an actual tailcoat. I have had occasion to wear it about half a dozen times over more than 20 years. Rented the tails each time. Felt like a scrounge but I knew that buying was a waste of money.
 

TimelesStyle

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Originally Posted by Kent Wang
And the white waistcoat?

Technically, a white waistcoat isn't incorrect with a dinner jacket.

Also, regarding the comments about a white tie/DJ combo, and when that was most in vogue, look at evening scenes from HBO's Boardwalk Empire; Buscemi is always seen in a DJ (though a somewhat different style than we see today) not tails, but always wears a white/ivory bow tie. This does not seem like an oversight on the part of his character or the producers.
 

lureynol

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Originally Posted by Manton
One change in the UK would be that it's considered incorrect there now to wear a wing collar with black tie (it wasn't in the '30s) but it's still OK here.

When did that change occur? I did my undergraduate in Ireland a few years ago (graduated 2005) and an evening wear wing collar was still fine then. And before you immediately jump on the "young people don't know how to dress" excuse (which I agree with), I'm talking about that small minority of faculty and students who actually do know how to dress.
 

TimelesStyle

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Originally Posted by Manton
The style of correct formal wear has changed little since the 1930s. One change in the UK would be that it's considered incorrect there now to wear a wing collar with black tie (it wasn't in the '30s) but it's still OK here.


I think that particular change is due to the fact that, particularly in the UK (but maybe elsewhere) a wing collar was acceptable for a variety of levels of formality prior to the 20th century. It then became less and less common, and only for more and more formal occasions. Seems it's now reserved for white tie, which it seems is the style that has changed least in the last hundred years or so (couldn't wear a suit cut for 1920s fashion today, for example).
 

ter1413

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Originally Posted by Allen
I saw the Thomas Crown affair remake(1999) again last night and I noticed that Thomas Crown(Pierce Brosnan) was wearing a white bow tie with a tuxedo. As I generally think of Brosnan as a very well-dressed man, I had to ask myself "What the hell?" Is a black and white ball an exception or how else can the combination be explained?

you realize that was a MOVIE right???
 

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