Do you own a tuxedo?

[PDH]

My family bought million dollar yachts, lived in the Berkeley hills behind the Claremont Hotel, and owned businesses or were bankers.  My grandfather wore slacks and a comfortable coat with a tie - he didn't have to impress anyone, he wanted to be at ease.

When you can go into the Yacht Club and have members greet you as a past president while you wear dirty slacks, a short sleeved shirt, and boating shoes...then you don't need to show off with pretend stuff.

[Valdemar]

My family bought million dollar yachts, lived in the Berkeley hills behind the Claremont Hotel, and owned businesses or were bankers.  My grandfather wore slacks and a comfortable coat with a tie - he didn't have to impress anyone, he wanted to be at ease.

When you can go into the Yacht Club and have members greet you as a past president while you wear dirty slacks, a short sleeved shirt, and boating shoes...then you don't need to show off with pretend stuff.

Indeed, old money and good manners does that, my grand parents were like that.

BUT, I bet your family, like mine, knew just when to don their finest, and had the clothes ready in the closet should the wedding invite saying "formal" arrive they'd pull them out and not arrive in lazy clothes even if they could.

V

[Darth Wagtaros]

I would like a really nice suit, and a tuxedo for those occasions as warrant one.  Had I the cash I'd spend it for a quality suit that would last a decade or so.

[Warspite]

$1,000 for a suit made in Asia is quite a lot. I get mine done in Thailand for £350 a pop (including two pairs of trousers). Ok the material is not Italy's best, but the fit is the most essential part of a suit, and they get that exactly right. As I wear suits to work every day, it's good to have a rotation.

You can go even cheaper with some places in Hong Kong and Cambodia, I believe.

[Martinus]

$1,000 for a suit made in Asia is quite a lot. I get mine done in Thailand for £350 a pop (including two pairs of trousers). Ok the material is not Italy's best, but the fit is the most essential part of a suit, and they get that exactly right. As I wear suits to work every day, it's good to have a rotation.

You can go even cheaper with some places in Hong Kong and Cambodia, I believe.

Hmm. It's made in Hungary, though, and their fabric was allegedly Italian. Maybe I am overpaying then. 

[Warspite]

I don't mind formal dressing to an extent - you showcase a level of respect for the occassion which can be important. But there is a thing as bringing it too far and becoming the mockery of yourself and the event. Like bow ties and tuxedos in this day and age.

Black tie, at least in this country, is more than affordable for most people on a middle income. The real issue is the reverse-snobbery about wearing it.

There is no mockery about it; black tie, done properly, lends a tasteful elegance to an event. And it's actually a great equaliser: worn properly, there is no ostentatiousness about it. Nothing you wear will scream "I cost more than the other guy's clothes". There are no labels, no branding. A £90 dinner jacket from Marks and Spencer looks just as good as a £900 dinner jacket by Armani (provided, of course, it fits properly).

I can accept that it's not for everyone. Which is why I would always put "black tie preferred" on my invites. But if I'm invited to a black tie event, I'll respect the host's wish for everyone to look a bit special, and I'll enjoy a fine whisky as I do up my bow tie and slip on the cufflinks and dress studs.

[Brazen]

How can you be such a snob on this thread then admit to not tying your own bow tie, Mart? How are you ever going to seduce the fellas with your James Bond stylings without an untied bow tie slung nonchalantly round your neck?

[Warspite]

How can you be such a snob on this thread then admit to not tying your own bow tie, Mart? How are you ever going to seduce the fellas with your James Bond stylings without an untied bow tie slung nonchalantly round your neck?

Pre-made bow ties also look naff - once you've learnt how to do a bow-tie (the same as a shoelace knot), you can instantly spot a pre-made one. They look too perfect.

[crazy canuck]

My family bought million dollar yachts, lived in the Berkeley hills behind the Claremont Hotel, and owned businesses or were bankers.  My grandfather wore slacks and a comfortable coat with a tie - he didn't have to impress anyone, he wanted to be at ease.

When you can go into the Yacht Club and have members greet you as a past president while you wear dirty slacks, a short sleeved shirt, and boating shoes...then you don't need to show off with pretend stuff.

I like your grandfather's style!

[PDH]

Indeed, old money and good manners does that, my grand parents were like that.

BUT, I bet your family, like mine, knew just when to don their finest, and had the clothes ready in the closet should the wedding invite saying "formal" arrive they'd pull them out and not arrive in lazy clothes even if they could.

V

Well, at the end my grandfather would show up to weddings in a Hawaiian shirt, but that was his way.  Wait, he did wear pants too.

[Warspite]

When you can go into the Yacht Club and have members greet you as a past president while you wear dirty slacks, a short sleeved shirt, and boating shoes...then you don't need to show off with pretend stuff.

Only the independently wealthy can be truly eccentric.

[PDH]

I like your grandfather's style!

He was a tough old bird, but he always realized that the money (old for California, dating from the 1860s) wasn't that important.  He taught me a good deal about living life.  He was probably the best swearer at the St Francis Yacht Club.

[PDH]

The funny thing was that he was not REALLY wealthy, just wealthy - but he had enough money to not care.  The family money came from his father's side (the largest plumbing supply business in Northern CA and inheriting property my great grandfather bought in San Francisco after the 1905 quake - a couple of downtown blocks...) and his mother's side (a candy operation that was incorporated into See's Candies).

Other branches of the family had it better, like his uncle who helped found/build up the Clorox company.

[Eddie Teach]

You DO know how to tie a tie right? And shoe laces?

Shoe laces are useful.

[Richard Hakluyt]

The funny thing was that he was not REALLY wealthy, just wealthy - but he had enough money to not care.  The family money came from his father's side (the largest plumbing supply business in Northern CA and inheriting property my great grandfather bought in San Francisco after the 1905 quake - a couple of downtown blocks...) and his mother's side (a candy operation that was incorporated into See's Candies).

Other branches of the family had it better, like his uncle who helped found/build up the Clorox company.

I've always thought that was the best position to be in; to be financially independent and know one's own mind, great wealth does not bring much more (if anything) to the table.