A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO EVENING WEAR (SECOND EDITION)

Recent Updates

January 15, 2012

I have added the history of formal hats to the Vintage section.

October 31, 2011

I've been dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century and finally bought an iPhone. Of course the first thing I used it for was to see how my web site looked and sure enough there were numerous formatting errors. These have been corrected and the Guide is iPhone friendly (and hopefully compatible with other touch screen smart phones as well).

October 27, 2011

In addition to writing monthly blogs for MyTuxedoCatalog.com, writing a cover story on formal wear for the June issue of Scabal's Bespoken magazine, being profiled in my alma mater's alumni magazine and organizing my recent 10th wedding anniversary party (black tie of course), I also managed to find time for the following:

•

•

launched my Black Tie Blog to keep information flowing between official editions of the Guide

added a "short answer" definition of black tie to assist readers who like to quote the Guide when explaining the term to others

March 16, 2011: Launch of the Second Edition

After over a year of work the second edition has finally been launched! Notable changes in the 85-page new edition include:

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•
•
•
•
•

•

completion of the White Tie components section which previously featured only garments sometimes worn with black tie

extension of the History section back to the turn of the nineteenth century to chronicle the origin of those white-tie components (posted as a sneak preview in January 2011)

augmentation of the pre-existing History pages to cover white tie's twentieth century evolution (posted as a sneak preview in January 2011)

addition of a Millennial Era history page to cover the first decade of the current century (posted as a sneak preview in January 2011)

update of the definition of black tie based on twenty different contemporary resources

corresponding update of new developments in modern black-tie trends and reorganization of Contemporary Black Tie section to clearly separate legitimate black-tie alternatives from less appropriate alternatives

addition of formal wardrobe basic shopping list and "buying versus renting" discussion to the Buying Guide

expansion of Formal Evening Wedding etiquette into a dedicated page for the topic

addition of Anglican traditions to the Clerical Formal Attire page

addition of 2010 inductees to the Hall of Shame

addition of Sean Combs to the Red Carpet Black Tie hall of fame

more precise definitions of Scottish Formal Attire

more precise illustrations of Morning Dress along with a link to a recently created third-party "Morning Dress Guide"

addition of a plethora of new illustrations to the other pages and well as links to some entertaining audio and video archive materials

Also, the Classic and Contemporary Black Tie sections have eased up on the stringent tone I had (subconsciously) inherited from the authors of some of my original research. It was clear from reader mail that anxious novices were inferring that the slightest deviation from the rules would spell sartorial humiliation. Consequently I have tried to emphasize that this couldn’t be farther from the truth. Many men attending black-tie events today are oblivious to its most fundamental principles so just having a rudimentary grasp of those principles will automatically promote readers to the ranks of the the best dressed.

Finally, I have added a feature that allows readers to make a donation towards the research and operating costs of the site in order to help keep advertising clutter to a minimum.

UPDATES · GLOSSARY · SEARCH · ADVERTISE · DONATE · BLOG · CONTACT