Lid for a Tux; Advice?

[Not-Bogart13]

OK, I have only worn one tux in my life, and that was a horrible pewter silk monstrosity at my senior prom! :eusa_doh:

Anyway, I will be wearing a very specific tux and would like some advice on hat color and style. The tux will be a single breasted white jacket with the satiny lapels, white shirt, black vest and pants. I plan on a traditional red flower in the lapel and, if I can find something formal-but-not-completely-black, I'll have a touch of color in my bow tie.

Thoughts?

 

[Dinerman]

Black homburg or black fedora. I just found the shots of Douglas doing the fedora/tux.

 

[bolthead]

Black homburg or black fedora. I seem to remember pics of Douglas in a black fedora and tux that looked very good.

if I can find something formal-but-not-completely-black,

[huh] :eusa_doh:

 

[macfly]

from the Wiki:

"Hat: The standard hat is a black (or midnight blue) Homburg; in summer, a straw boater is optional. Top hats may only be worn with white tie and morning dress."

but im sure a nice black fedora would suffice....on second thought...maybe not.
although people kill the black tie effect these days with horrible colored cummerbunds/vests and ties, i like the idea of a midnight blue or black with black tie/cummerbund. the hat that i think matches that same level of distinction would be the Homburg. If i did not have one I would just skip the hat altogether.
since most people out there dont really care about such degrees of dress rules the nice black fedora probably won't raise any eyebrows....

 

[scotrace]

(He was referring to color in the tie, not the hat)

The right hat is a black homburg.

 

[David V]

I'll be wearin my homburg this New Year's eve.Go with a black bow tie too. You have the touch of color in the boutoniere. And 1 touch is all you want.

 

[johnnycanuck]

One Word FEZ!

 

[metropd]

I've seen men wearing gray fedoras with black tie in many classic movies from the 30's and 40's.

Fred Astaire wore a top hat in the movie "Top Hat" with "Black Tie" as well as "White Tie" and "Morning Dress".

 

[David V]

Top Hat was still early enough in the thities that the topper was still considered the proper lid. By the mid thirties the semi formal homburg was the hat of choice for semi-formal wear.

The homburg is also correct for semi-formal day wear.

 

[dhermann1]

Cary Grant wore a fedora!

If you look in the opening scenes of the original "Topper" movie, when Cary Grant is tooling around in his highly customized Buick convertible, he's wearing a tux and a black fedora! I suspect this was to emphasize the raciness of his character. (He subsequently plows his car into a tree, thus converting himself, his wife and his dog into ghosts.)
I personally wear a black homburg (the one where the famous Feb 27, 1940 theater tickets were found). Wearing a homburg takes a little getting used to, but only a little.
Isn't there a scene in one of the Godfather flicks where Michael Corleone is wearing a tux with a homburg???

 

[David V]

Isn't there a scene in one of the Godfather flicks where Michael Corleone is wearing a tux with a homburg???

Doesn't he wear one with everything?

 

[Tomasso]

The tux will be a single breasted white jacket.

Boater, since that's a Summer Semi-Formal outfit.

 

[dhermann1]

White jacket!

Geez. I can't believe how many people, including me, missed that detail. Sounds like somebody's going on a CRUISE! We will require pics!
The subject of skimmer with white dinner jacket was brought up recently, and somebody posted a great 30's men's fashion illustration of a dude in white jacket, burgundy cummerbund (the only proper color,BTW) and boater. Tres cool.
Look through the formal wear primer thread, you might find it there.
I wore a nice PanamaBob Panama last summer with a white dinner jacket, and I thought the effect was pretty effective. (Yeah, I know, sleeves are a little short.)

 

[Not-Bogart13]

Thank you, folks. I see a trend, but keep it coming.

David V, you may be right. I just don't know if I want to buy a plain black tie. What about a black jacquard?
I found one tie that is supposed to be very dark gray with a touch of deep magenta and black. Must see it in person, first, though.

I simply must wear a hat. I'm naked without one. I can't do the boater thing because they would not look right on me at all. I have one all black fedora, but I wasn't sure if it would work with the white jacket. I'm willing to consider a homburg. That panama looks pretty good, which prompts the question; would this felt be OK, or would the black ribbon be a must?

It won't be a cruise, but there will be pictures when the time comes. I won't let you guys down.

 

[Imahomer]

I like the black homburg look, but I was watching an old movie recently and there was a portion where there was a formal event. More than one guy showed up wearing one of those flat top straw hats. They looked pretty good too.

 

[JohnnyB53]

• Akubra open crown Homburg
• Homburgs and derbies from Miller Hats
• Knudsen vintage style dress hats--lots of derbies, bowlers, and a Homburg. You may also want to consider this or even this. His backlog may not work for your requirements, however.
• Dobbs Steve Harvey Homburg available in black
• Biltmore Imperial Homburg in black

 

[Edward]

On a wet Summer night, I've worn a black Homberg with an ivory dj, and I was pleased with the look. I suppose you might find a homberg that matched the jacket, but somehow that would look a bit, well, hip hop to my eyes. Not a look I'd be happy with, though your mileage may vary. In dry weather, and espcially when it is still light late into the evening, I have sported a panama with a ite jacket, which I really like as a look. The ultimate for me would be one of those straw hombergs as worn by Poirot, but I've yet to find one when the requisite scratch is available.

 

[daizawaguy]

Same hat that I wear with Jeans...my midnight blue VS

 

[David V]

Thank you, folks. I see a trend, but keep it coming.

David V, you may be right. I just don't know if I want to buy a plain black tie. What about a black jacquard?
I found one tie that is supposed to be very dark gray with a touch of deep magenta and black. Must see it in person, first, though.

I simply must wear a hat. I'm naked without one. I can't do the boater thing because they would not look right on me at all. I have one all black fedora, but I wasn't sure if it would work with the white jacket. I'm willing to consider a homburg. That panama looks pretty good, which prompts the question; would this felt be OK, or would the black ribbon be a must?

It won't be a cruise, but there will be pictures when the time comes. I won't let you guys down.

Black tie means black in satin grosgrain or faille. I'm not budging from that

Back to the hat. I getting confused. I assumed (bad David.) this is for an event coming soon. I didn't want to mention that a white DJ is a warm weather item. If it is for a warm climate then a boater or even a panama with a black ribbon would work. OR! A panama homburg.

 

[Kifaru]

I didn't want to mention that a white DJ is a warm weather item. If it is for a warm climate then a boater or even a panama with a black ribbon would work. OR! A panama homburg.

Thats why the Navy has Dress Whites and Dress Blues. We call out stand-up collar Dress Whites our "Chick Magnets" for obvious reasons (anybody here NOT see An Officer and a Gentleman?). That being said, have you ever tried to stay clean in a white suit with white shoes?? Not easy...