Urban Hip = Black Suit + ... what?

Originally Posted by apolishedman

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i'd go with white shirt and slim black tie. can't go wrong with that look.

Barring the Blues Brothers, I hate that look. Skinny ties are for the kind of people who want to wear a tie with hightops...

White or light blue dress shirt and a tie that matches your hair and/or eyes.

Originally Posted by ykurtz

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White or light blue dress shirt and a tie that matches your hair and/or eyes.

For the majority, the tie will be brown, black, or gold.

Originally Posted by J. Cogburn

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But what shirt to wear when in, say, a night club?

What kind of night club? If there's House or hip hop music being played, I guarantee you will end up looking like part of the security staff in a suit.

when i said textured shirt i meant maybe a herringbone or something. on no account do any of that coloured placket nonsense.

I have a shirt with a semi-hidden placket. A little gray peeks out.

Originally Posted by apolishedman

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i'd go with white shirt and slim black tie. can't go wrong with that look.
Too movie Reservoir Dogs. A lot of earlier suggestions are fine.

Originally Posted by Ianiceman

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So you don't want to look like you came staright from the office, but you're considering a contrast collar and cuffs 'bank manager' shirt? Interesting!

Yeah, that just occurred to me. Good point.

Originally Posted by Ianiceman

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IMO there's really no such thing as a tonic black suit so it may work well. Anything but the bank manager suit.

"Tonik" is a classic mohair fabric offered by Dormeuil; been around since the 60s I think, although it has reduced weight a bit over the years. I assure you there is a black in that line. Search this site for periodic discussions of "tonik". Will Field tells me it is his all-time favorite fabric for suits. I made his day by ordering it.

Originally Posted by jrd617

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What kind of night club? If there's House or hip hop music being played, I guarantee you will end up looking like part of the security staff in a suit.

Crowded, upscale, trendy cocktail bars are my preferred scene. As is a classic, old-style martini (3-to-1 ratio of gin (Plymouth) to French dry vermouth, stirred of course).

Originally Posted by apolishedman

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i'd go with white shirt and slim black tie. can't go wrong with that look.

I would probably go for a light blue, or ivory shirt, no tie, something clearly nightlife rather than office. Perhaps something very minimalist like a Jil Sander shirt? I don't really like the tall-collar-and french-cuff 'italian' shirts but they might be suitable here.

I am struggling to think of a patterned/coloured shirt that would be appropriate without being douchey. You could maybe get away with a microfloral or pindot pattern (paul smith should have examples of these).

If the places you are going and it is hot and you plan on taking your jacket off... a white shirt might not be such a good idea

1. This is a member of Style Forum (Name escapes me at the moment) rocking a Thick as Theives suit 2. Not sure if this is black or blue 3. It. Looks. Killer. So again, I say congrats to whomever this gentlemen is. And great job TaT

Originally Posted by changy

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For the majority, the tie will be brown, black, or gold.

Dark or light:

Dark = black, navy, etc.
Light = Silver, dove grey, pale blue, etc.

A blonde haired guy doesn't typically look that good in a black suit/white shirt/black tie. (Dark haired guys always look better in a tux than their 'muted' counterparts). But a silver/pale blue/pink/salmon tends to work well.

Originally Posted by raiderbuck

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1. This is a member of Style Forum (Name escapes me at the moment) rocking a Thick as Theives suit 2. Not sure if this is black or blue 3. It. Looks. Killer. So again, I say congrats to whomever this gentlemen is. And great job TaT
Jumping out of his bedroom window so his mom doesn't catch him going out?

Originally Posted by J. Cogburn

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"Tonik" is a classic mohair fabric offered by Dormeuil; been around since the 60s I think, although it has reduced weight a bit over the years. I assure you there is a black in that line. Search this site for periodic discussions of "tonik". Will Field tells me it is his all-time favorite fabric for suits. I made his day by ordering it.
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I don't want to get into a semantic disagreement with you, so just for the sake of discussion ...

I didn't know 'Tonik' was a Dormeuil trademark. You will often read the phrase 'two-tone tonic' in mod idiom which IMO is tautology as I always believed 'tonic/tonik' (sic?) to mean two-tone anyway. This explains what I mean when I say no such thing as a black 'tonic' suit as it is black on black (warp and weft) as opposed to burgundy/green, sky blue/gold or other well known two-tone combinations.

Anyway, what you probably have is a lightweight mohair/sharkskin black suit of which I look forward to seeing pics as despite the hate for black suits on SF I like that look for a non business night time event, as long as it has a bit of sheen but not too oily looking. These fabrics used to be very popular for dinner suits back in the sixties too. My grail suit right now is a silver gray mohair/sharkskin - plenty out there come close to what I'm searching for but haven't found the righ tone yet.

Originally Posted by Ianiceman

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I don't want to get into a semantic disagreement with you, so just for the sake of discussion ... I didn't know 'Tonik' was a Dormeuil trademark. You will often read the phrase 'two-tone tonic' in mod idiom which IMO is tautology as I always believed 'tonic/tonik' (sic?) to mean two-tone anyway. This explains what I mean when I say no such thing as a black 'tonic' suit as it is black on black (warp and weft) as opposed to burgundy/green, sky blue/gold or other well known two-tone combinations.
Tonik= Dormueil. It's their trademark. (I have a dark green in the 90%) "Tonik/Tonic" used in "mod" circles is the name for shiny poly blend crap that looks really pimptastic. Looks totally different from real mohairs. The two tone look doesn't show on the black as you need different warp and weft color yarns to get the effect with mohairs.

Originally Posted by yachtie

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Tonik= Dormueil. It's their trademark. (I have a dark green in the 90%) "Tonik/Tonic" used in "mod" circles is the name for shiny poly blend crap that looks really pimptastic. Looks totally different from real mohairs. The two tone look doesn't show on the black as you need different warp and weft color yarns to get the effect with mohairs.

OK then we are largely in agreement, except I would argue that while some two-tone mod suits are 'poly blend crap' (I see a lot of polyester-viscose which can look horribly shiny/oily) there are some nice mohair/wool blend two tones but you have to dig deep for them.

Out of interest what weight is the Dormeuil Tonik? I saw a nice silver gray mohair in the Holland and Sherry swatch book which was 8 oz. Perfect for the Texas summer heat!