Head wear for formal wear.

[LolitaHaze]

My friend and I were discussing this today and I wanted some expert opinion. Neither her or I can recall a time where even the fanciest fedora was ever successfully paired with a tuxedo of either white tie or black tie. This also includes black or white tuxedos or dinner jackets. So I suppose what I am looking for here is opinions on...

~Can/should a fedora of any style be paired with formal or semi-formal wear (as often seen nowadays with guys trying to capture that "vintage" style)?

~What is the appropriate headwear to accompany the formal or semi formal wear? Tophats being the most recognizable.

Thanks!

 

[Flitcraft]

"Homburg" is the generally accepted hat for formal wear.

Having said that, I was surprised to see a very elegantly turned out older gentleman at Sunrise Easter Service wearing a bowler with an overcoat and was struck by how sharp he looked- so you might consider that- but personally, I'd stick with a dark charcoal gray, black or midnight blue homburg.

 

[metropd]

Since Black tie semi-formal has existed through the changes in formality many hats have been worn with Dinner suit(Tuxedo). From the 1800's to the early-mid 30's the top hat was the standard. Then the homburg became the standard with black tie. Eventually depending on what part of the country you were in and what the formality of the person was, a gray, navy, charcoal, or black fedora was worn with the the Dinner suit sometime in the 40's to 50's.


I would recommend a black homburg. With that being said, In any formal or semi formal event I will wear my silk or beaver top hat.

 

[Goose.]

I would wear a Homburg.

 

[jpbales]

worthlesswithoutpics

 

[Tomasso]

Semi-Formal + Summer = Boater.

 

[chanteuseCarey]

Are you talking white tie or black tie??

When we were at the Yosemite Heritage Holidays event put on in partnership with our local Art Deco Society- I was talking about how our son wanted a silk collapsible top hat (like Mom has!) to wear with his tails. At the white tie Grand Ball, most did not have that, they had the beaver opera hat. Even though Fred Astaire wore one with tails (where Daniel saw it), they said the silk collapsible is more used with black tie.

Anybody got old pics or print ads from the Golden Era of the homburg shown with a tux??

 

[Charlie Huang]

Formal = White Tie / morning dress = opera hat (WT only) or silk/fur top hat
Semi-formal = Black Tie / black lounge (i.e. stroller) = homburg / boater (American summer BT only) / bowler (BL only)
Informal = suit = semi-formal head wear or fedora, trilby, etc...

 

[avedwards]

Please don't burn me for saying this, but hatless is acceptable with a dinner jacket, even in the Golden Era. However, I would personally go with a fedora which goes with black (i.e. not brown) as I don't have a homburg and I have too few occaisions to wear one on so it doesn't make sense for me to get one.

 

[Red]

Does anyone know where I can get a fascinator with a veil which will stand up to a bit of wear and tear? Ideally that'llnship to the UK... I've had a few but they all seem to fall to bits after a while. Maybe I'm just too heavy handed!

 

[metropd]

I buying a new 1920's dinner suit(black tie) and a new 1900's silk plush bell curve top hat to go with it. Even though it is semi-formal, since the dinner suit is from 1920's the only real appropriate hat to wear with is the silk plush top hat.

 

[Not-Bogart13]

I made a similar inquiry some months ago. The overwhelming advice was to skip the fedora and go with a homburg. I've got one, and I'm itching to wear it!

 

[Feraud]

Now that the traditional options have been expressed let me state another opinion.
Seeing has how most men go to so few formal events and the hat will be worn only to and from the event, any dark hat fedora will work in a pinch.
This may read like heresy. Sometimes you have to go with common sense. If a fellow doesn't have a black homburg or a boater I don't recommend he buy one for the rare formal night.

 

[JMB]

Hats For Evening Wear

While top hats and Homburgs may have once been the norm for formal wear, both styles are outdated today, not only because they're pretentious but also because there are so few white tie events extant. For black tie, a black fedora makes the best sense. Whether you wear a single- or double-breasted Chesterfield, it's up to you. Velvet collar is optional; it was usually added later, as a replacement for a worn cloth collar. Watch any Warner Bros. gangster movie from the late 1930s and you'll see how smart-looking
a fedora and Chesterfield are with black tie. Add a white silk scarf with tassels, a white silk pocket square, and you're good to go. Leave the pistol or tommy at home.

A final thought. Whatever idiot dreamed up the idea of wearing a black business tie with a dinner suit should be strangled with the damn thing. A bow tie is the only proper tie to wear with formalwear. Whether made of silk satin or faille, it always matches the facing of the lapels.

JMB

 

[Charlie Huang]

Personally, if it is a warm dry night, I would do without the homburg or any hat. It is only when it is windy or cold that a hat should be used.

I suppose you do not really have to worry about a hat when in semi-formal wear but it is more important in formal wear.

Dunno about abroad but if you wore a top hat with black tie (or, dare I say, with black lounge/stroller) in the UK, you run the risk of being spat at by your fellow gentlemen of the realm; and if you wore it with informal wear (i.e. a suit), you risk being spat at by passers-by on the street. lol It would look so out of place; with morning dress, even the layman would think you are off to a wedding and let you pass; with white tie, they would think you are off to a ball or gala and let you pass; with anything else and they would think you're a doorman or part of some performance troupe or just being plain rude (especially if it is an invitation event with dress code).

 

[avedwards]

Slightly fftopic: but talking of bow ties for black tie, how big a faux pas would wearing a bow tie which is not black be? I have a black bow tie, but my friends are trying to encourage me to wear a more colourful one to the prom, despite my explaining that black is the correct colour. I do have a dark red self tying (obviously) bow tie with subtle white dots. Would it be a crime to wear such a bow tie with a black dinner jacket? (NB by cummerbund is a similar shade of dark red so it would sort of match.)

 

[Lensmaster]

I am working on putting together a good set of formalwear, though I'm not sure yet where I might wear it. I've quickly realized it will be easier to find a good tailcoat and accessories than to find a good quality tophat that fits me. But I am confused by the few posts in this thread directed specifically at formalwear. Is a tophat the only appropriate hat to wear with tails or can a black homburg substitute? Picturing it in my mind the homburg doesn't seem formal enough and I don't remember ever seeing pictures of any other hat being worn with tails.

 

[Charlie Huang]

avedwards: Black is the ONLY colour, though some schools say a white marcella one is also appropriate (I would advise against unless you have the gravitas to pull it off and a white marcella waistcoat must be worn with it). Any other colour and it will look like, erm, prom wear! The only other colour should come from the pocket square or the buttonhole (a red carnation is appropriate).

Lensmaster: for white tie, only a top hat will do, or an opera hat which is a top hat but collapsible (both can be obtained for mere pennies). A homburg is too informal for white tie (and morning wear for that matter). Just watch Top Hat / Fred Astaire movies and it will show you more or less the look to aim for.

 

[avedwards]

I'll tell my friends to leave by black bow tie choice alone then. Is a coloured cummerbund allowed or does that have to be black too?

 

[Fletch]

A bowler with any evening wear is a grave error - as formal as a black one looks to us today, it's meant for daytime and daytime only.

I suppose you might bring it off if you were known for wearing a bowler all the time - ie, if it was your trademark. And no fair bashing in the top and trying to pass it off as a homburg.

Formal wear, more than any other clothing, is about socially determined good taste. Personally, I'm more of a stickler about it than any other area of dress.

(A colored cummerbund is okay in certain settings, BTW. Prom should be fine.)