Happy New Year

Photo by Martin Schoeller

"How can your evening be special if your clothes aren't."

What's Right At Night - And What Ain't

M Magazine 12 / 87 (click on images to enlarge)



Watches with evening wear are okay in my book. So is this tie. The look is bound by white, black and stainless steel. Clean, understated and effortless. Not an ounce of foppery. Of course, it helps to look like this guy, but we're looking at what we can change.



I've mentioned my fondness of the double breasted dinner jacket before. I think they look swell on short men who like croissants with butter and gave up running 10 years ago. Most flattering... as long as we leave our clothes on. Consider replacing fabric covered buttons for something more Savile Row -- Black and shiny as opposed to matte.



A Ferrell Reed (whatever happened to them?) advert speaks to unmatching through sophisticated double links on pique shirt with elegant studs, a cotton pocket square and a most unusual but intelligent bow tie. The Glenurquhart plaid with forest green accent is perfect for the holidays.




I love a shawl lapel but this is a stark contrast to the bearded fella above. The matchy-match tie and cummerbund look to have been picked out by his wife. It speaks to the kind of California that considers itself ultra tasteful. You know...San Francisco. Instead, he looks like he trying to be the Red Baron or he's just a Georgia fan.



Notch lapel, matching black onyx with gold trim studs and cuff links. Pre-tied bow. I'm not saying you can't. I'm just saying -- with everything you've seen here -- you don't have to. It helps to have some fun with your evening. Who knows? This New Years, a woman may see something and in her mind wonder, "He's unusual. I wonder why?" Have a blast. I'm going to pizza party. But the pizza is amazing.

Formal Week: Accessories

Formal Week: The Tartan Dinner Jacket

Tartan Dinner Jacket from 1944

Altered by Chris Despos of Chicago

Pattern matching at pocket

I have to admit this wasn't the tartan I went looking for. I really wanted a subtle Black Watch but they're hard to find and this appeared on eBay just when I needed it. It was listed as a 44 Long so I had bespoke tailor Chris Despos of Chicago take a look at it. Chris doesn't do alterations anymore but he did me a favor and shortened it.

The wool is whisper light and perfect for a hot and crowded charity auction. I did get a lot of ribbing at the auction. I thought I might. It was Chicago after all but I had this sense of wearing history. Chris had found a tag putting the jacket's manufacture at 1944. I can't find it now but I know it's in there somewhere. It really doesn't matter. I know and that's enough. Tomorrow we'll wrap this up with formal accessories.

Formal Week: The Belted Smoking Jacket

I was told many years ago that life's luxuries quickly become necessities. Never was that more true than when I went through a discounted case of La Conseillante in less than a month. I had plenty of other wine but I just couldn't see the point. Not with a Pomerol staring at me. "Hey!" I would think to myself, "I could be dead tomorrow."

But times have changed. We have two wars going and the economy is... I don't have to tell you what it is. Nick Sullivan wrote in Esquire's Fall Black Book that the sale of pocket squares plummeted in the last year and I'm doing a week of smoking and dinner jackets. Impeccable timing.

This is a belted smoking jacket from Italy. They're a common site in the better haberdashery and they're not cheap. Around $900 to a $1,000. So who is gonna plop down a grand for something they may never wear more than a handful of times? That's a good question. Better than that, it's what we call in sales a buyer's objection. I'll try to over come it:

1. The Tuxedo Option:
It takes some stones to wear this out of one's home but it can be done. Unless Bruce Boyer is at the party who's gonna call you on it? The bow tie is a gift from Pierrepont Hicks. The cuff links were not a gift and were purchased at an auction in Chicago. All the accessory stuff for Formal Week will be covered Sunday after tomorrow's Tartan dinner jacket.

2. Home Entertaining:
A little luxe in the privacy of your own home is not a bad thing. The at-home holiday party in black tie is elegant and fun. The wine is better. The food is better and the cost is better. Plus, it's always interesting to see your neighbors in something other than cargo shorts and hair curlers. This is the jacket you wear as host.

3. The Robe:
With this option you can wear it every day. Over pajamas or over nothing.

4. The Girl Friend's Robe
Nothing looks better on a woman than a smoking jacket and only a smoking jacket.

Lastly, I ask you to consider 18th century clothing. Very little of what people wore daily 200 years ago is still around. What is around are the ceremonial coats, vests and dresses that were worn once and put away. A smoking jacket may not help your bottom line today but it could mean a new house addition for your great- great - grandson.

The Friday Belt: Velvet Port & Tongue

Sandeman's Vintage Port With Velvet Belt

That's the belt from today's smoking jacket. I'm cheating but I think velvet pairs well with Port. Eight years ago I secured a 1966 vintage that was not too dear and simply delightful. Those days are long gone with the '66 pushing it's way upwards of $400. This delightful '77 is just a smidge north of $100 and it amazes me.

I was first introduced to Port whilst working in London. Lunch for two back then consisted of a couple pints of bitter each before eating. A shared bottle of wine with lunch and port with cheese afterwards. Then it was back to Lloyd's of London where the common practice amongst brokers was to pitch their risks to underwriters who were pissed from lunch. Of course, almost everyone was pissed from lunch.

I returned home, somewhere in the Midwest, and my Midwest wife told me if I didn't stop talking like an affected asshole she was going to knock the crap out of me. You may desire to do the same just about now.

I decant Port and instead of a candle I use a torch. Makes the process a little less charming but far safer. Ports have a lot of sediment. More so than a claret but it doesn't have to be wasted. I was taught by a budget minded Scot to eat it on a bikkie. The aroma of Port sediment reminds me of Cusson's Imperial Leather hand soap. Distinctive and comforting but how that little decal stays on the soap is nothing short of magical.

Port with Stilton cheese and some walnuts after dinner beat the bloody trousers off a pudding any day. A creamy Stilton cut with the velvet sweetness of Sandemans whilst munching on walnuts is something in life to cherish. It's... civilized. Like that velvet smoking jacket. Two luxuries that have become necessities.

Another luxury I enjoy in the states is catching up on the London social scene via Tatler magazine. My English friend Mutley and I were on the train in that Midwest place and discussing his insurance retention on a recent mishap where a stone kicked up by a lorrie cracked his windscreen.

Once that was settled, I pulled out the latest issue of Tatler and pointed to the page with the party photographs. "Oh, if we were only back in London, Mutley" I said, admiring a photo of Alice Beer's cleavage wrapped tight in some gauzy fabric resembling a cummerbund. Mutley took a sip of his Old Style, looked at me disapprovingly and said, "Tintin, those people would never talk to you." And rightly so.

The Opera Cape

W.T.F.W.I.T.

It's for sale. One size fits all. Never worn (no sh*t) with tags. Quick, make an offer before my dad sees it.

Formal Week: Double Breasted

The Double-Breasted Dinner Jacket

The Contrast of B&W

I've always had a thing for the double breasted dinner jacket. I first saw it at a New Year's Eve party held at my college during freshman Winter break. There was no rule against students attending but pricey tickets and the fact that most students were home for the holidays certainly helped keep many away. My date, president of the SGA, and I got the distinct feeling many of the faculty (who were there gratis) wished we were someplace else.

My art professor was a little kooky and consequently he and his beautiful German wife hung out with us. In a sea of single breasted dinner jackets -- he alone-- was elegantly clad in the most beautiful double breasted dinner jacket matched only by a tartan dinner coat worn by a very preppy architect. It was a vintage double breasted dinner jacket he found from the 30's and it looked it. Rather than the cloth covered buttons so common on American evening wear - - his were larger and plain black with a beautiful shine. It looked bespoke and I didn't know what bespoke was.

This double breasted coat is far from bespoke. I bought it some place off the Edens north of Chicago for $99 and am proud to say it still fits. Made in the USA and I'm pretty sure in Chicago. It has pocket flaps which are a big no-no so I tuck the flap in the pocket and voila, double bessom. My only regret is it's ventless but what do want for a hundred bucks.

Here's a tip that took me a while to figure out. Studs, especially those with the annoying push in stalks, are best placed in the shirt before you put it on. Leave the top stud near the neck out and pull the shirt on over your head. Then you only have to deal with the one by your neck. And one other thing. Get dressed early. You'll need an extra hour at least. Most of it will be spent on the studs.

I've mentioned my disdain for pocket squares before. And I continue to buy them. Why, I don't know. But this Hermes pocket square works. The studs pair nicely with the bow tie and for the most part it's a simple and inexpensive approach. Although, now that I think of it...the pocket square did cost more than the tuxedo.

Formal Week: The Velvet Dinner Jacket

A Black Velvet Jacket

A Purple Label Purple Tie

Let me just say that shooting black velvet is a mother. It sucks up light like a sponge, my meter is all over the place and the ISO... Trust me. You don't wanna know. So why am I telling you?

This is a black velvet (did you get that?) dinner jacket with side vents. The cloth or the goods as I was taught by the old guys working in suits at Brook's Brothers, "Feel those goods, Tintin? Those are niiiccceeee goods...." are like butter. It's amazingly light and also very warm. The cut is English but it's made in Italy. The hacking pockets and ticket pocket are cut to an extreme but I like it like that.

It's a casual option to black tie (Tux for the folks in Philadelphia) and you can wear this on the street...even in Philadelphia without fear. This jacket and yesterday's Smoking Jacket pair nicely with grey flannels. An ascot kicks up the Alpha Hotel factor by a country mile but a simple tie brings it back to an acceptable level. Also looks great with a black cashmere turtleneck or just an open collar shirt with jeans. Very flexible.

And when every other guy is standing around in a rented tuxedo or worse - the black suit from The Men's Wearhouse - this velvet dinner jacket will keep you in elegant tall timber. Just keep some tape in your pocket to keep the lint off and pray no one takes a picture.

A Week of Formal Options: The Smoking Jacket

The Herzfeld Smoking Jacket



Paul Stuart emamel studs

You're having a holiday party at home and everything is ready...but you. Unless you have a butler I assume you're going to answer the door. In what? Cargo pants and a Moto Guzzi T shirt? By the way, I have a Moto Guzzi T shirt. It's the coolest T shirt ever but we're not here to discuss Moto Guzzi.

The Smoking Jacket may be something like a buggy whip or a typewriter repairman and I guess that's why I like them so much. Up there is that little number I picked up at Herzfeld. It's Austrian and consequently a little unique with most Smoking Jackets coming from England or Italy. I have worn it on the street as a jacket with double cuff shirt, silk knots and jeans. But I'd only do that in New York. Certainly not Jackassville, FL where this outfit is banging 12 on the "Get Your Butt Kicked" meter.

It's really for home. And for entertaining. Speaking of which, I miss the reel to reel tape player. I had one in the Army and college and it had the auto reverse option where it automatically played the other side by reversing itself. Made a big impression while entertaining girls in college. I also put gin and tonic in a cocktail shaker and after it blew up...Well, I don't know if it made an impression but the girl still remembers it.

If you're entertaining - - at home - - don't shake gin and tonic in a cocktail shaker and give the Smoking Jacket a chance. Paul Stuart carries them. That's where I found those enamel studs. Turnbull & Asser has some beautiful jackets and they even offer a smoking fez to match. Herzfeld, of course, still carries them.

Ira, who works at Herzfeld, was telling me about a smashing Smoking Jacket he saw on Turner Classic Movies showing of the 1944 film, Gaslight with Charles Boyer. That's the great thing about anachronistic clothing. You may not see much of it on the street anymore but there's always the movies. Tomorrow- The Velvet Dinner Jacket.