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Tuxedo Coordination

Mr_Misanthropy

Practically Family
Messages
618
Location
Chicago, Illinois
Hello everyone. I've got a big party in August i'm attending which is considered "formal". I have a gray herringbone patter tuxedo, as seen here

100_1214.jpg


I'm going to get a basic white tuxedo shirt (not sure if I want laydown or wing collar) to go with it for sure. I've always heard it's apppropriate to have a bowtie that is the same and fabric as your lapels. On this tux, the lapels are dark gray satin. So do I need a gray bowtie/cummerbind, or would black be forgiveable? Maybe if I had black shoes it'd be OK. And what sort of hat do I wear with a tuxedo? Any?

This is my first time wearing this tux since I had it tailored, so, I have no idea what to wear it with. Any suggestions are welcome! This event isn't until August, so, no rush!! I just want to have time to order things if I need to. Thanks!!
 

Tomasso

Incurably Addicted
Messages
13,719
Location
USA
Sharp rig Mr.M. I would vote for a turn-down collared shirt and black satin bow tie/cummerbund(self-tie bow tie). Black shoes with grey(?) socks. Add a white linen pocket square. As for headwear, I do recall reading that proper Summer headwear for formal (semi-formal in this case, white tie being formal) dress would include a boater and a Panama but I would defer to others at the lounge on this matter.
 

Art Fawcett

Sponsoring Affiliate
Messages
3,717
Location
Central Point, Or.
Better yet Mr_M...a homburg Panama!! MK is correct, the Homburg is acceptable for this. It will be pretty tough to get the matching accessories with grey so by all means follow Tomasso's advise as he is correct. Most of all, have fun!!
 

Zach R.

Practically Family
Some people can pull off a cummerbund, some can't. Myself, I like them.

I'm wearing one Saturday for prom, in which I am in the running for Prom King. Honestly, everyone thinks I've got it in the bag, which surprises the heck out of me, I didn't know people actually liked me these days. :p
 

Marc Chevalier

Gone Home
Messages
18,192
Location
Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California
Art Fawcett said:
Better yet Mr_M...a homburg Panama!!

As usual, Art is right: a homburg panama would be a great summer compromise. Unfortunately, they're quite difficult to find.

What, you might ask, does a homburg panama look like? Below is one that Art himself sold to me, back when he had his vintage clothing business. It's from the 1920s:



evenmorehats002.jpg
 

shindeco

A-List Customer
Messages
377
Location
Vancouver (the one north of M.K.)
Zach R. said:
BTW, is there a set way to fold your pocket square in a formal-setting or is it totally up to the wearer? I was going to use a diagonal-shell fold for mine.

Go with whatever you like!

Mr. M: Definitely black accessories. If it were me, I'd actually put black suede pumps on my wish list. You've got slightly more informal evening clothes and the suede pumps would be just the right level of informality while still being perfectly correct (and just a little bit different). Now finding them is another story...
 

3PieceSuitGuy

One of the Regulars
Messages
177
Location
Sydney, NSW, Australia
Wear the cummerbund

Technically with formal wear you should never see the waistband of your trousers. With a DB tux the jacket should stay on and buttoned so you will not see your trouser waistband. With the nature of a SB tux jacket the trouser waistband can be seen sometimes even if the jacket is buttoned so a waistcoat or cummerbund is essential

If you are going to wear a db and take your jacket off then you should have a cummerbund on.
 

Will

One of the Regulars
Messages
100
Location
San Francisco Bay area
Only buy a wing collar shirt if it's detachable (good luck finding one unless you're handy to Jermyn Street in London). The attached collar shirts have too-small wings.

If you do go for a hat, I also recommend a dark straw homburg.
 

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