What do you think of this idea? (Summer wedding attire)

[David Conwill]

I’m attending an afternoon wedding on the 18th of July, with an evening reception to follow at a beach resort. Wedding party is black tie, no dress was specified for guests like me, so I’m defaulting to business wear.

I know I’m going to wear my tan cotton suit, and a white oxford shirt. My question is on neckwear - I promised my doctor friend I’d wear a bowtie, as he’s evidently never seen anything but the clip-on kind, and I was thinking about purchasing a maroon silk model with an eye toward eventually building a 1950s summer eveningwear ensemble:

Do you think a solid colored tie would be too formal with my chosen suit? Also, is maroon going to work with tan? It looks good in my mind’s eye, but I’d appreciate a second opinion.

Thanks,

Dave

 

[djhatman]

I think you should go for it. Post some pics so we can see how great it looks.

 

[Torpedo]

Hi,

Burgundy/maroon works well with tan. This said, I understand the suit is solid (no pattern), so I would suggest a patterned bowtie: maroon ground colour, with some other motive (stripes, dots, paisley, etc) in colours that coordinate with the tan.

My 2 cents.

 

[David Conwill]

I had an idea over lunch - how about a striped shirt (white and blue or gray) to offset the solid suit and tie?

-Dave

 

[shindeco]

I had an idea over lunch - how about a striped shirt (white and blue or gray) to offset the solid suit and tie?

-Dave

That was my thought, too! A patterned shirt would spice things up just a bit (and perhaps a pocket square with a pattern)

 

[Bugsy]

!!

Get the tie. You will look very sharp.

 

[Schofields]

a gold/maroon repp bowtie would look swell.

 

[J.L. Picard]

I had an idea over lunch - how about a striped shirt (white and blue or gray) to offset the solid suit and tie?

-Dave

I would stick with the first idea. You will look very sharp. Nothing like a plain white shirt to enhance your watch, your tie, your shoes...My 3 cents.

 

[ladybrettashley]

I would stick with the first idea. You will look very sharp. Nothing like a plain white shirt to enhance your watch, your tie, your shoes...My 3 cents.

I'm with this. With a plain shirt, you'll look a bit more dressed up, so you won't risk looking/feeling underdressed (as you don't know, without guidelines, how the other guests will be dressed). And it's a wedding, so overdressed seems unlikely to be a problem =)

Anyhow, that sounds like an amazing outfit!

 

[David Conwill]

a gold/maroon repp bowtie would look swell.

That would look great. It would also be my (undergraduate) school colors. Unfortunately, it would not fulfill my desired role of doing double-duty as a summer formalwear piece.

A maroon-gold repp stripe tie, however, is definitely a must-have in my collection. Which is due for a purge, as I have a lot of late-nineties looking ties that I never seem to wear.

-Dave

 

[Torpedo]

That would look great. It would also be my (undergraduate) school colors. Unfortunately, it would not fulfill my desired role of doing double-duty as a summer formalwear piece.

A maroon-gold repp stripe tie, however, is definitely a must-have in my collection. Which is due for a purge, as I have a lot of late-nineties looking ties that I never seem to wear.

-Dave

Well, I respectfully disagree. A repp stripe bowtie is formal enough. We are not talking of white or black tie or that kind of really formal occassions. It is not the same thing as, say, a novelty bowtie with sailing ships or butterflies or such. I believe, and so I said, that solid jacket, solid shirt and solid bowtie is too much solid. A patterned bowtie, in a classic pattern, like dots or stripes (repp) or similar would be fine. Yes, you could also use a patterned shirt and a solid bowtie, but personally I prefer the former alternative. In fact, if adequately combined, a patterned shirt (say a subtle stripe or check) and a patterned bowtie could still be correct, too.

Of course, some of the above is purely personal preference, which may be at divergence with other people's preferences.

Regards!

 

[J.L. Picard]

Hello Torpedo,

I can see your point. Yes, a classic patterned bowtie would be fine. I also would prefer this alternative to the solid bowtie with a patterned shirt.

 

[David Conwill]

Torpedo, I think you misunderstand. When I say that I want this tie for later use with "formal wear" I mean just that - I want a maroon bowtie (and cummerbund) that I can wear with a white dinner jacket and black tuxedo trousers when I obtain those items. However, in the short term, I was hoping to use just the tie with business attire at this non-formal event.

In any event, I've decided that I'm going to be going with a patterned fabric for my tie, which sort of eliminates the possibility of wearing it with formal wear.

-Dave

 

[Torpedo]

Sorry Dave, now I get your idea.

 

[Schofields]

That would look great. It would also be my (undergraduate) school colors. Unfortunately, it would not fulfill my desired role of doing double-duty as a summer formalwear piece.

A maroon-gold repp stripe tie, however, is definitely a must-have in my collection. Which is due for a purge, as I have a lot of late-nineties looking ties that I never seem to wear.

-Dave

now all you need is a great looking boater and youre on the trolley.

 

[Edward]

Torpedo, I think you misunderstand. When I say that I want this tie for later use with "formal wear" I mean just that - I want a maroon bowtie (and cummerbund) that I can wear with a white dinner jacket and black tuxedo trousers when I obtain those items.

Nay, nay and thrice nay! There's a reason they call it black tie!

For the wedding outfit, though, it sounds good.

 

[David Conwill]

Nay, nay and thrice nay! There's a reason they call it black tie!

For the wedding outfit, though, it sounds good.

Hmm, I’m beginning to share that opinion. I based my selection on the Black Tie Guide’s explanation of the 1940s-1950s summer look, which stated that a maroon cummerbund and bowtie had gained acceptance in formalwear at that time. But the more I think about it, the more I think I’d rather just stick with basic black in those instances.

In any case, the local men’s shop has two or three bowties coming for me in the morning, from which I’ll probably make my selection. If not, there’s a Brooks Brothers’ outlet nearby that has a goodly selection of maroons and yellows.

Currently I’m leaning toward a maroon paisley, as I think that will go well with the striped shirt.

-Dave

 

[Edward]

My understanding was that, per 30s standards, the cummerbund should be burgundy (or similar dark colour), the pocket square should also be dark, and may match, but the tie should always bed black, with the sole exception of South Seas dress. I must look at that site again, I may have read it differently.

 

[Max Flash]

With the tan suit, I would either go for a plain white or a light blue shirt, paired with a maroon/gold stripe tie (the bowties in Brooks Brothers are, in my view, excellent in their choice of colours) or a maroon tie with white polka dots (this would probably look best with a white shirt).

Definitely do not (ever) wear a plain suit, plain shirt and plain tie together. It is all too...plain! I try and wear a patterned shirt with a plain suit, and vice versa, although there are no hard and fast rules about it. You might experiment with a butcher's stripe (i.e. wide stripe) shirt in white and light blue with a plain tan suit - its hard to say what it would look like without photos (hey, there's an idea - post some photos!) but could look good.

As with teaming a maroon bowtie with a white or black DJ: I agree with those who say stick to a black bowtie and, if you are wearing one, cummerbund. It looks so much better!