Formal Wear Primer

[Marc Chevalier]

No, you still use studs for this shirtfront. The thing is, your studs will only serve a decorative purpose here: they don't actually keep the front buttoned up, since the front is fused shut.


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[scotrace]

Thanks

I don't have said shirt in hand just yet. Thanks for the tutorage, as usual.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Always a pleasure.

When the shirt arrives, you'll see the buttonholes on the front. (There might be just one buttonhole, or perhaps two; rarely three.) Just pop the stud(s) in there, and you're set.


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[shindeco]

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]

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.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

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.

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[Mr. Rover]

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.

And I won this waistcoat to wear with it:

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...)

 

[Orgetorix]

Ray, you are so lucky to be small...

 

[Mr. Rover]

....

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]

Duke Ellington was a fashion prince. He could, and did, take risks - In that sense, he was very much like Louis Armstrong.

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I wonder if they were gold safety pins.

 

[Fletch]

Talking of musicians...but keeping it formal...the most elegant looking outfit of the era wore entirely white tie. Big pic here

 

[Marc Chevalier]

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

:eusa_clap One of three favorite years of mine for suits. The others are 1937 and '38.


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[Mr. Rover]

Yup! Can't wait to see it in person! I am sure to bomb the lounge with pictures once they get here.

 

[likavik]

pumps?

when are these appropriate? i have yet to find a use for these. i've always chickened out and worn the patent brogues.

 

[Fletch]

Perfectly correct. The pumps aren't ever a necessity - maybe with white tie if you're opening Parliament or something. Few of us will ever need them.

 

[David V]

when are these appropriate? i have yet to find a use for these. i've always chickened out and worn the patent brogues.

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.

 

[Fletch]

Point taken. Though there's nothing particularly unstylish about patent brogues with a tux.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

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.


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[Fletch]

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]

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"!