Men's evening attire: inspiration

Good morning Salacia.

 

When I published that photograph I just knew who'd be first to comment and you didn't disappoint.

 

I'm always happy to impart knowledge and you'll be pleased to hear that they aren't actually 'spats' though they do give that effect.

 

They are in fact a pair of dance shoes and were purchased, as most of my dance shoes are, in New York.

 

Indeed, on the subject of New York, two of my favourite jackets also came from there, Bergdorf Goodman.

 

Have a nice day.

Thanks for that info. Now I can identify at least one kind of men's dancing shoes:)

You mentioned Bergdof's - one of my favorite stores. BTW, if Mrs.SR isn't already aware, the view from the 7th floor ladies room has one of the best views of Central Park.

Salacia

Please don't shoot me down for asking this question, but my husband likes wearing a fine knit (no collar) under a suit or jacket/pants combo - a bit like the old Miami Vice TV show. He sees this as casual - for an evening BBQ party.

 

Would that be appropriate for an informal night or would we be banned to the buffet? Yikes!!!!!

I am almost certain you will be eating in the Kings Court:*

Ok, that's out. Thanks for the heads up. Hubby is under threat that he will be dining in the Buffet alone if he is not dressed appropriately because I am going to the MDR. So we are going shopping this Saturday.

John Watson - no not a Harrington jacket, but a proper suit jacket. But now, after luckymal's comment, he won't be wearing the knit.

For some reason I seem to have hit a brick wall with his attitude towards dressing for the cruise.

Ok, that's out. Thanks for the heads up. Hubby is under threat that he will be dining in the Buffet alone if he is not dressed appropriately because I am going to the MDR. So we are going shopping this Saturday.

 

John Watson - no not a Harrington jacket, but a proper suit jacket. But now, after luckymal's comment, he won't be wearing the knit.

 

For some reason I seem to have hit a brick wall with his attitude towards dressing for the cruise.

aussiebossyboots, no worries. Casual dress works in the MDR for breakfast and lunch. For those who don't wish to dress for Formal nights, Kings Court is an attractive alternative - especially if you arrive there around 9pm when things have quieted down considerably. Table by the window often available at that time. No one wants you and your husband to have anything less than a really enjoyable cruise , so don't sweat the load about dressing please :)

Bon voyage,

Salacia

Oh dear, I just re-read my post and it sounds like my poor hubby is under the thumb. That's not the case. He used to wear suits/ties etc over his career but now has a more casual wardrobe.

Not to worry, he will shape up, he always comes through for me and looks really fantastic. Thanks everyone for your comments.

Good morning Salacia.

 

When I published that photograph I just knew who'd be first to comment and you didn't disappoint.

 

I'm always happy to impart knowledge and you'll be pleased to hear that they aren't actually 'spats' though they do give that effect.

 

They are in fact a pair of dance shoes and were purchased, as most of my dance shoes are, in New York.

 

Indeed, on the subject of New York, two of my favourite jackets also came from there, Bergdorf Goodman.

 

Have a nice day.

We live in Canada but are in NYC from time to time visiting family. As we love to dance we are often on the hunt for interesting dance shoes. Can you please tell us the best dance shoe shops in NYC?

And for those in the UK if you have any dance shoe recommendations for London they will be greatly appreciated ( we will have a little time there prior to our cruise so can shop).

Thx!

Ok, that's out. Thanks for the heads up. Hubby is under threat that he will be dining in the Buffet alone if he is not dressed appropriately because I am going to the MDR. So we are going shopping this Saturday.,,,

 

John Watson - no not a Harrington jacket, but a proper suit jacket. But now, after luckymal's comment, he won't be wearing the knit.:D

 

For some reason I seem to have hit a brick wall with his attitude towards dressing for the cruise.

Look on the bright side, if you are on second sitting and the weather is good, you can sit outside, have a drink and relax till it's time to get ready for dinner and when Hubby arrives at dinner and seeing all other diners dress appropriately he will feel more comfortable.

Thanks John Watson for your input. May I just confirm the following:

Formal: Tux or Black Suit with tie - hubby is opting for the black suit!

In formal: Shirt with Jacket & proper Pants no tie - hubby is opting for no tie

If correct for informal, does the shirt need to be a business shirt or can a very good quality casual shirt with collar be OK?

Your input would be really appreciated.

We live in Canada but are in NYC from time to time visiting family. As we love to dance we are often on the hunt for interesting dance shoes. Can you please tell us the best dance shoe shops in NYC?

 

And for those in the UK if you have any dance shoe recommendations for London they will be greatly appreciated ( we will have a little time there prior to our cruise so can shop).

 

Thx!

I've bought several pairs of Dance shoes when I've visited New York in the past. I find the best place to shop for dance shoes and dance wear is 'Capezio' 1650 Broadway NYC ( I believe it's their flagship store)

In the UK I use, 'DSI' Croydon London. (Dance sport International) who provide all the dance wear for the TV programs 'Strictly dancing' ( Dancing with the stars in the US)

Hope this is of some help. :)

I've bought several pairs of Dance shoes when I've visited New York in the past. I find the best place to shop for dance shoes and dance wear is 'Capezio' 1650 Broadway NYC ( I believe it's their flagship store)

 

In the UK I use, 'DSI' Croydon London. (Dance sport International) who provide all the dance wear for the TV programs 'Strictly dancing' ( Dancing with the stars in the US)

 

 

Hope this is of some help. :)

Very helpful - thanks Bell Boy. I will check both of them out and hope to find some great dance shoes! These CC boards are such a wonderful resource.

Thanks John Watson for your input. May I just confirm the following:

 

 

 

If correct for informal, does the shirt need to be a business shirt or can a very good quality casual shirt with collar be OK?

 

Your input would be really appreciated.

He will be absolutely fine with this. I was on a transatlantic last year and was very surprised at how casual 'informal night' was to some pax and they did not get refused entry to both restaurant or theatre. Dont worry - just enjoy yourself.

My formal will be a Tux and my informal will be good chinos, shirt and jacket. Wear suits Monday to Friday (even though casual is becoming the norm) so I guess I will be on the more casual side of informal but do not intend on letting the side down.

Hi CambsCruiser82 … you asked, here's my take … Over many years I've refined my Cunard dress to black tie/tuxedo for all formal nights; to me their informal nights only mean not black tie, so I like to wear a suit at dinner, usually blue or gray, sometimes in pin-stripes. These less-than nights stressed lately, the jacket and no tie thing, well, not for me. What are we, a bunch of farmers at a hoedown? However … I'm big on the look of a navy-blue blazer, medium gray trousers, crisp white shirt, traditional English-rep silk ties. Regimental stripes for color, loafers rather than lace-up shoes. Same look but perhaps a bit toward more casual, is a navy blazer worn with khakis, a blue/white striped shirt. If you do that, keep shirt stripes thin and tight, so it will take a broader striped tie, or use a navy/white polka-dot tie, the dots small. That's it for my case for evening wear, one tux, one suit, one blazer, several white shirts, neckties. If you pack more, blazer-wise, I like blazers in color, camel, red, maroon, dark green. Depending how you look in colors, they look good with oxford-cloth button-down shirts and neckties, keeping color of shirts, striped or not, but always collared shirts, and color of ties in agreement. Bow ties are fun here. For all formal nights I like the traditional black silk cummerbund sets, but don't mind a bit of color, cummerbund & tie, maybe a pocket square, in colors or patterns. One favorite is simple solid dark maroon, another is ivory ground with musical treble clef motif in black, one if navy with embroidered Boxer dogs; for summer and/or warm waters, a madras plaid is fun. Remember, cummerbunds are worn with the pleats facing upward. Huh, straying from my one tux, one blazer, one trouser packing, a seersucker suit or jacket always works well in summer and warm waters. Other cooler months, if you look good in brown, so many men forget it as a color, a good Harris Tweed brown herringbone is sensational, patch pockets, 1/4" welted seams. If you only pack one item, on formal nights you've a suit, on informal nights a jacket. And remember men, and you women who control them, let's have none of this "look" of white dress shirt worn w/o tie and shirt-tails hanging out, under a jacket. For me, s.s. France and Solent Richard here have ship dress down pat! "Fair winds and following seas" to all!

My formal will be a Tux and my informal will be good chinos, shirt and jacket. Wear suits Monday to Friday (even though casual is becoming the norm) so I guess I will be on the more casual side of informal but do not intend on letting the side down.

Thanks Pavovsky and Cool Cruiser for your comments. Glad to know that chinos would also be acceptable. But I will keep this bit of information to myself, as I would prefer hubby wear proper pants for dinner.

To be fair, after the cruise we are going to Copenhagen and then to Iceland (glacial hike & ice caving) and back home via South Korea.

This is in December/January (very cold) so we both need to have a totally different wardrobe for the second part of the holiday (6 weeks in total).

But, there is no way I can get him into a tux! A black suit is as far as he will go with proper dress shirts and ties. Add to this two extra of proper pants that match the black jacket, say dark grey and? With some extra prodding, I am hoping he will also carry an extra jacket.

We have time to shop so starting this weekend to check out what is available. We are quite casual in Australia and to be honest I have never seen anyone wear a tux and I go to a lot of formal dinners/events for work. Have seen one groom in a tux though.

Thank you again, everyone has been very helpful.

Hi CambsCruiser82 … you asked, here's my take … Over many years I've refined my Cunard dress to black tie/tuxedo for all formal nights; to me their informal nights only mean not black tie, so I like to wear a suit at dinner, usually blue or gray, sometimes in pin-stripes. These less-than nights stressed lately, the jacket and no tie thing, well, not for me. What are we, a bunch of farmers at a hoedown? However … I'm big on the look of a navy-blue blazer, medium gray trousers, crisp white shirt, traditional English-rep silk ties. Regimental stripes for color, loafers rather than lace-up shoes. Same look but perhaps a bit toward more casual, is a navy blazer worn with khakis, a blue/white striped shirt. If you do that, keep shirt stripes thin and tight, so it will take a broader striped tie, or use a navy/white polka-dot tie, the dots small. That's it for my case for evening wear, one tux, one suit, one blazer, several white shirts, neckties. If you pack more, blazer-wise, I like blazers in color, camel, red, maroon, dark green. Depending how you look in colors, they look good with oxford-cloth button-down shirts and neckties, keeping color of shirts, striped or not, but always collared shirts, and color of ties in agreement. Bow ties are fun here. For all formal nights I like the traditional black silk cummerbund sets, but don't mind a bit of color, cummerbund & tie, maybe a pocket square, in colors or patterns. One favorite is simple solid dark maroon, another is ivory ground with musical treble clef motif in black, one if navy with embroidered Boxer dogs; for summer and/or warm waters, a madras plaid is fun. Remember, cummerbunds are worn with the pleats facing upward. Huh, straying from my one tux, one blazer, one trouser packing, a seersucker suit or jacket always works well in summer and warm waters. Other cooler months, if you look good in brown, so many men forget it as a color, a good Harris Tweed brown herringbone is sensational, patch pockets, 1/4" welted seams. If you only pack one item, on formal nights you've a suit, on informal nights a jacket. And remember men, and you women who control them, let's have none of this "look" of white dress shirt worn w/o tie and shirt-tails hanging out, under a jacket. For me, s.s. France and Solent Richard here have ship dress down pat! "Fair winds and following seas" to all!

I agree with everything you say about the dress code, we are going to dinner, not a fast food bar.;)

Sport coats:

Blue and green gingham:

[

Green herringbone with purple shirt and gray pants:

Basic Navy with white shirt, but a colorful tie:

Other alternatives....

The dark suit:

The dreaded jeans at dinner:

Dress shirt, no coat:

Thanks for the photos, will show hubby tonight. You and your wife look great. I particularly like the coordinating colours. Cheers.

Shopping all done. We spent Friday night (late shopping) All day Saturday and Sunday and hubby came through for me.

We now have:

1 Black suit for formal nights

1 Dark navy suit for informal nights

1 Grey wool pants that go with the black and navy suits for informal

6 Shirts all can be worn with either the black or navy suits, some with both

4 Ties

1 Caramel Chinos

2 tactical pants black & caramel - day wear

3 good casual shirts informal

Plus, jeans, other tops and casual shirts etc. which he already has.

Thanks exbiologist for all your suggestions especially the tactical pants, hubby was over the moon when we entered the shop here in Canberra. The pants are amazing and I am thinking of buying a female version for shore excursions. Their casual shirts are also excellent, especially for our Iceland part of the holiday.

Did I say thanks enough.

You're welcome! Enjoy ;)

Thanks for the photos and suggestions gentlemen, you all look splendid.

If gentlemen wear a black suit I think a black necktie tends to make it look as though you are attending a funeral. Two ways to avoid this are; black bow tie or navy blue necktie.

Regards John

A black suit and somber necktie at a funeral is de rigueur; any other occasion a black suit and colorful regimental striped necktie is smart:

https://www.mycollectors.co.uk/content/ties/ties-Military-Regimental.aspx

Hubby wore the black suit to daughter #3's wedding with a red, self-patterned tie. The red matched exactly the colour of her red roses thanks to the florist.

For daughter #1's wedding, he wore the same black suit with a pale pink paisley tie as she had a cream/pink colour theme.

Both daughters were delighted with his selection.

Personally I adore him in the black suit, black shirt and black embossed skinny tie. Very Goth! His silver ponytail adds to the drama. Each to their own as long as we meet the dress code.

Oh Dear, Oh Dear, all this brouhaha about mens' dress. I do long for the days when gentlemen instinctively knew what to wear and when without all this striving to be different. Bow ties with dogs on forsooth! Black and white for formal nights is an easy enough aide memoir. Black shirts, absolutely not, unless you are aiming for the used car salesman look or carrying a Thompson sub machine gun. As for other occasions a slightly more libertarian approach to colour may be entertained as long as you don't frighten the seahorses. You are not meant to stand out. All else is mere foppery.

Gentlemen, behave yourselves, Ladies, restrain them, it is your bounden duty.

MM