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Fred Astaire would not have approved. He, as the old classic
tune of his said, "he put my top hat on me, tied my white tie, brushed my
tail." He would have taken a look at the formal dress standards on the red
carpet now (black shirts, standard black suits, no tie, cowboy boots, even sequins)
and winced in his heels. Today, the black tie or evening dress (only Americans
call them tuxedos, and they are wrong) are increasingly subject to fashion,
designers give the ensemble a makeover, and aspiring jackets of X Factor. With
the sleeves rolled up.
But for any discerning gentleman, or monkey for that
matter, a gala event should be as easy as putting on your pajamas.
Unsurprisingly, there is little purpose or room for creativity.
The suit must be without ventilation and made of black wool
or, better yet, midnight blue with a satin lining on the lapels and with a
braid on the trouser seams. Said pants must be suspended by suspenders - in
smooth silk - and not bent by a belt. Shoes should also be smooth, black, and
highly polished; the shirt a bright white marcela, with a turned-down collar
and no wings. Cufflinks must be worn. The tie must be black - where the
invitation says "black tie" which is not a phrase open to
interpretation - in the style of the bow and requires a tie. It should not be trimmed.
The tuxedo belt, if worn, yes and, you know, maybe not, it has to match your
bow tie, that is, it has to be black.
There is no place for novelty in the black tie, there is
no place for "personality".
Edward VIII in a black tie dress
Edward VIII with black tie
Why? Because the point of the black tie, in addition to
showing respect for your host by dressing as requested, is to put on the
uniform of anonymity, to allow the black tie to be, like 'she is the backdrop
to a more glamorous fare: the ladies present, perhaps.
In fact, correctly understood, the tuxedo has hardly changed
since 1860, when Queen Victoria's eldest son, the future Edward VII, helped
abolish the white tie and tailcoats, then worn by the upper classes. For
dinner, all dinners, adopting a black ballroom suit, which he had tailored by
Savile Row tailor Henry Poole. The story goes that a guest of the prince, James
Brown Potter, a millionaire coffee broker, took a look at America. There he
used it to impress his colleagues at the Tuxedo Park Country Club, from which
he derives the less formal (and avoidable) name for him.
Fred Astaire with black tie
Humphrey Bogart with black tie
It was another royal, the future Edward VIII, who during the
1920s added his own twists and turns, including the fact that his suits were
made in midnight blue fabric instead of black, because, he said, it looked more
dark than black in the evening light. Edward defined pretty well what would
become the archetype of the black tie we envision from old movies starring Cary
Grant or Humphrey Bogart. Let these be his role models.
Cary Grant's got a black tie
Of course, there have been black label fashion trends,
albeit subtle, that change over the decades rather than from season to season.
But, if you buy a tux, and you cannot rent anything less than a classic style,
if you really have to rent one, fashion must be treated with great care.
The thing is, usually a tuxedo is rarely worn, but is worn
for many years. You might be feeling chilly right now in this slim fit hem
shorts evening outfit. Next time you will look like an idiot. Peut-être, plutôt
que d'abandonner le code de la tenue de soirée, n'a-t-il qu'une petite marge de
manœuvre pour jouer avec, avec juste une touche de paon: a carré de soie coloré
dans la poche , for instance.
Barack Obama is wrong with a white bow tie
Barack Obama learns from his mistake and achieves it with a
black bow tie
Still, he walks carefully, as it is easy to be wrong. Even
President Obama, a man surely not short of advisers, has slipped between the
two tribes: traditional for his first gala dinner at the White House, but not
before experiencing the "president as a waiter" (a suit black with a
standard black silk tie), "President as Prom Date" (the same, but
this time with the faux pas of a white bow tie) and "President as
Gangster" (the same, but with a white silk tie standard). Those mistakes
are remembered. Make sure yours are not.
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