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Formal Wear Primer

shindeco

A-List Customer
Messages
377
Location
Vancouver (the one north of M.K.)
Marc Chevalier said:
I've worn both front-buttoning and back-buttoning stiff-bosom shirts, and I swear by the latter.

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I totally agree.

It reminds me of a short scene in "Gaudy Night" by Dorothy L. Sayers (1935 mystery novel) where an Oxford don is having dinner at a ladies' college and his shirt front -- front closing kind-- is too long. Every time he leans forward, the two halves snap together making a lound pop. This will never happen with a back closing shirt!!

Oh, and they often only have one or two buttons on the back anyway.
 

Fletch

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,865
Location
Iowa - The Land That Stuff Forgot
A formal icon...

...for those of us who aren't as wiry as Fred or as princely as Edward. A man so stylish he could weigh up to 250 at 6' and be tailored so you didn't notice. Oh, yes, and then there was the whole music thing. I commend to you Duke Ellington.

0209_Jazz_Ellington2.jpg
Ellington.jpg


00sc_dukeorchestra_lg.jpg
 

Marc Chevalier

Gone Home
Messages
18,192
Location
Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California
Duke Ellington was a fashion prince. He could, and did, take risks -- wore shirts with very long collars, and sportcoats with very bold houndstooth patterns. (See the 1939 long-collared shirt below.) Nonetheless, all that frippery never got to his head. Music, not clothing, was Duke's number one priority. In that sense, he was very much like Louis Armstrong.



Peterson001.jpg



.
 

Mr. Rover

One Too Many
Messages
1,875
Location
The Center of the Universe
Yes- it's that time of year again...Winter Formal!
I just won another tuxedo off of eBay. SB grosgrain lapels (main reason I wanted it) by Richman Bros.
e1_1_sbl.JPG

29_1_sbl.JPG

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And I won this waistcoat to wear with it:
93c5_1.JPG


The jacket is dated 1939- Marc Chevalier's favorite year, correct?

ADDED: Just won this dinner jacket for Prom...it gets so hot here in May.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=012&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=220052584509&rd=1&rd=1

It looks like the jacket straight out of Casablanca! Shawl lapel, DB, 4x1 button stance! Perfect Bogartine Dinner Jacket! (The Palm Beach fabric doesn't hurt either...)
 

Mr. Rover

One Too Many
Messages
1,875
Location
The Center of the Universe
....

Thank thee- although I'm not usually this lucky. Every other piece in my size I've seen in the last 3 months has gone between $150 to $300. I even saw one go for $600+. It's quite sick. My 3-piece pin stripe is getting threadbare (the lining is getting ratty at the hem) and needs replacing...
 

Tomasso

Incurably Addicted
Messages
13,719
Location
USA
Marc Chevalier said:
Duke Ellington was a fashion prince. He could, and did, take risks - In that sense, he was very much like Louis Armstrong.

.
I wonder if they were gold safety pins.

Peterson005.jpg
 

David V

A-List Customer
Messages
305
Location
Downers Grove, IL
likavik said:
when are these appropriate? i have yet to find a use for these. i've always chickened out and worn the patent brogues.
75962_PICT0023_122_361lo.JPG

NEED! NEED!
Few of us NEED to wear a suit! What has Need to do with it. It is about STYLE.
If I had them I'd wear them.
 

Marc Chevalier

Gone Home
Messages
18,192
Location
Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California
Fletch said:
Point taken. Though there's nothing particularly unstylish about patent brogues with a tux.

Are you sure you mean brogues? A brogue is a heavy leather shoe with a thick leather sole. I've never even seen one in patent leather. The closest to it is the Marine Corps dress shoe, which is in fact a patent leather blucher. (Not as heavy as a brogue.)


Correct me if I'm wrong, Fletch, but I think you meant to say patent leather oxfords. These are lighter weight shoes with thinner leather soles.


.
 

Fletch

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,865
Location
Iowa - The Land That Stuff Forgot
Marc Chevalier said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, Fletch, but I think you meant to say patent leather oxfords. These are lighter weight shoes with thinner leather soles.
Absolutely. Oxfords they should be. They only ones I've ever seen were plain-toed. You wouldn't wear brogues with a tux unless they were your only black shoes.
 

likavik

New in Town
Messages
5
Location
massachusetts
Pardon my colloquial and affectionate use of the word "brogue". The exact terms are of course, necessary. I was referring to a suitable oxford, in my case a pair of plain-toe patent lace ups.

Though I believe a pump, patent or calf, to be an entirely appropriate choice with black-tie. I would think that they are de riguer for dancing in tails, in spite of the heart-stopping looseness in the heel. That said, I've been to many black-tie events, and rarely do I spot pumps. Needless to say, these were at ball dances. Therefore, idle pumps in the wings.

At one time, I had a pair of red Doc Marten 8-eyes in patent, now those were a pair of "brogues"!
 

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