grey suit to black tie event

[maunakea]

Do you think I can get away with a Gray suit with black velvet peaked lapels and a white dress shirt, black bow tie?

It is a big black tie event but I will know almost everyone there, so am not afraid of doing something a little different.

 

[aravenel]

Grey suit with black velvet peak lapels? Are you trying to dress up as a high schooler going to prom?

If it's black tie, wear black tie.

 

[TM79]

You'd look like you're trying to replace the lead singer The Killers.

I don't know if that's what you're going for, though.

 

[archibaldleach]

No. If black tie is requested, wear black tie. If you cannot acquire (via purchase or rental) something appropriate for black tie, wear your most conservative navy or dark grey suit with a white shirt and conservative solid colored tie and hope for the best (or consider whether it would be more appropriate to politely decline the invitation). People put dress codes on invitations for a reason. The fact that you know a lot of people there does not change anything or give you a free pass to ignore the requested dress code.

 

[maunakea]

It's not that I dont have a normal dinner suit. I have a couple, i'm just bored of wearing the same thing to every black tie event I go to and was in the mood for trying something a little different.

 

[archibaldleach]

It's a free country. You can wear what you want. As for being bored, if you go to enough black tie events to actually get bored with wearing black tie (no, what you described in the OP is not black tie), that seems like a good problem to have (imagine the days when gentlemen wore black tie to dinner out almost every night and were in white tie when they were not in black tie during the evening). If you really want to change things up and stay within the bounds of propriety, consider investing in a tasteful smoking jacket rather than some weird grey pseudo-tuxedo (if you are in a tropical climate, a cream dinner jacket may work in the summer). Much, much better.

 

[EriQ009]

Might I suggest alleviating the boredom with some fun, snazzy cufflinks?

Anything but the "black tie" outfit you described.