Dinner Jacket Question and Poll

Mark from Plano · Jun 18, 2009

OK. Here's the situation:

You're attending a formal dinner. It's a business/professional thing associated with a conference and is held at a local hotel. You live in a large Southern City and the event is in the middle of the summer. Temperatures, even in the evening are likely to be 90+ degrees outside, though not in the hall, which will be adequately air conditioned.

In your closet, you have both a regular black dinner jacket and a white dinner jacket.

Some people take the position that odd dinner jackets should only be reserved for resorts, clubs or home wear*. Others, that any warm weather event is fair game**. What say you?

If you hate white dinner jackets and would never wear one, assume for a second that you don't. This question is meant to get at propriety and not preference.

* From Blacktieguide.com Emphasis mine

The white dinner jacket's origin on cruises and at tropical resorts speaks to its specific role as a casual alternative to traditional black tie. This less formal status limits its appropriateness to celebratory events and hot weather climes. Such occasions traditionally include vacations in the tropics year round (see sidebar) as well as country club and yacht club dances in America during the summer season.

While summer in the southern United States at least qualifies as being subtropical, the same cannot be said for the more temperate northern states and Canada. It is for this reason that numerous experts advise using discretion north of the Mason-Dixon line in order to avoid dressing for effect rather than for the occasion. Indeed, black-tie guests in these regions would be wise to heed the example of their British cousins who do not consider the United Kingdom's temperate climate to be appropriate for white formal wear at any time of the year.

And if a man is particularly serious about formal convention, a white jacket should never be worn in the city “unless one has a napkin over his arm or a saxophone up to his lips” in the words of Esquire magazine.

**From AAAC Emphasis Mine

EVENING SEMI-FORMAL: (weddings, theatre opening nights) Black dinner jacket or white in summer (tuxedo), black trousers with one satin seam on the outside leg, black vest or cummerbund, black bow tie, white silk scarf, black or gold cufflinks and studs.

Bhowie · Jun 18, 2009

IBP

In all honesty I would wear the white jacket. It isn't the most proper thing to do, but I think it is acceptable.

LaoHu · Jun 18, 2009

This is the key for me:

Originally Posted by Mark from Plano

You're attending a formal dinner. It's a business/professional thing associated with a conference

I like them, just bought a new one, but would not wear it in this case.

blackbowtie · Jun 19, 2009

I don't have a white dinner jacket and would love to have/wear one. But I've always thought of a white dinner jacket as something that belongs in some function in the open air, rather than inside a hall. However, this impression could be completely baseless.

But then again, doesn't the South have its own rules?

r... · Jun 19, 2009

Its more of a matter of attracting attention to yourself for standing out. I say go for it.

SkinnyGoomba · Jun 19, 2009

wear the white one, someone is bound to **** up much much worse, and at least you'll look nice.

Mark from Plano · Jun 19, 2009

More research from my bookshelf: Flusser's Dressing the Man doesn't address the issue directly, but seems to imply that it is resort wear. Sig. Antongiovanni also doesn't specifically address this issue. He mentions alternatives like blackwatch tartan (for home and club) and off-white ("for summers and tropical climes") that I could find, but warns "these alternatives should be approached with caution, for they do not command universal respect." Letitia Baldridge's Complete Guide to Executive Manners (1985) says this:

Summer Black Tie For a summer black-tie event in town, an executive should wear his black dinner suit. For a summer black-tie event in the country or at a resort, he has these options: -His black dinner suit (black tie, white shirt)--always right -A white dinner jacket with black evening trousers--not as elegant as the black dinner suit -A bright solid-colored or patterned jacket with black trousers -A black jacket worn with bright solid-colored or patterned trousers

But some of her other black tie advice is suspect...so...

rnoldh · Jun 19, 2009

If it's Dallas Mark, don't worry. You know how much more casual things are in Dallas than in NYC or even Chicago perhaps.

No one will mistake you for a waiter! As formal as the affair may be, there will probably be guys dressed in Charcoal suits.

I'm in Houston, which is decidedly more casual than Dallas. But I used to spend a lot of time in Dallas with some true big timers. Guys that lived on the 50 yard line part of Preston Ave., and had downtown buildings with their names on it. And even they were much more casual than their NYC counterparts.

LaoHu · Jun 19, 2009

Originally Posted by rnoldh

No one will mistake you for a waiter!

Depends on what the wait staff are wearing, how close the observer is, and whether or not the observer wishes to have a little fun at your expense.

tsherry · Jun 19, 2009

I am currently having one made, so my vote is biased. I'd wear it, because I know I'll be looking for the opportunity to bring it out and start amortizing the cost. Seriously, I see lots of them in the summer and I'm in the Philly area. These have not been professional occasions, however.

furo · Jun 19, 2009

Originally Posted by rnoldh

If it's Dallas Mark, don't worry. You know how much more casual things are in Dallas than in NYC or even Chicago perhaps.

No one will mistake you for a waiter! As formal as the affair may be, there will probably be guys dressed in Charcoal suits.

I'm in Houston, which is decidedly more casual than Dallas. But I used to spend a lot of time in Dallas with some true big timers. Guys that lived on the 50 yard line part of Preston Ave., and had downtown buildings with their names on it. And even they were much more casual than their NYC counterparts.

I think this is the key: knowing your surroundings

I'm also curious... when you speak of "much more casual than their NYC counterparts," can you be specific? Because I'm pondering a move to Dallas soon and want to be buying the right stuff.

kleuzinger · Jun 19, 2009

Originally Posted by furo

I think this is the key: knowing your surroundings

I'm also curious... when you speak of "much more casual than their NYC counterparts," can you be specific? Because I'm pondering a move to Dallas soon and want to be buying the right stuff.

+1 on the recon statement.

I live here and work in Plano, and generally it tends to be more casual (Our symphony even has a 'Casual Friday" where you even see a few people in jeans.) Here though, the casual wear dress code can be more dogmatic than alot of more formalwear rules...

1. No sandals indoors in the winter unless you are from a town that has the word "Lake" in it.
2. Seesucker suits and pants are mainly worn in the summer by "Parkies" - people from the Highland Park , University Park or Park cities.
3. Vintage Rockstar T's are only allowed in malls and in bars/coffee houses in Deep Ellum -
Duckies - people in artsy lofts from the downtown area that have to "duck" because of gunshots
4. Nugies (like Ted Nugent) - You will see alot of dudes (especially in the outer suburbs if you choose to go antiquing) with cameraman style vests on them at all times. These are guys that are licensed to carry and are probably carrying a concealed firearm.

Mark from Plano · Jun 19, 2009

Originally Posted by rnoldh

If it's Dallas Mark, don't worry. You know how much more casual things are in Dallas than in NYC or even Chicago perhaps.

No one will mistake you for a waiter! As formal as the affair may be, there will probably be guys dressed in Charcoal suits.

I'm in Houston, which is decidedly more casual than Dallas. But I used to spend a lot of time in Dallas with some true big timers. Guys that lived on the 50 yard line part of Preston Ave., and had downtown buildings with their names on it. And even they were much more casual than their NYC counterparts.

I actually never said that this was Dallas...or that it was me, for that matter. I could be just a hypothetical question.

-Q- · Jun 19, 2009

Oddly enough, I had an older Italian man in Rome tell me that it was more traditional to wear a white DJ during the summer months. I had always regarded this as the gospel, now hearing these other opinions I am not so sure. That being said, I would still wear the white one.

voxsartoria · Jun 19, 2009

Originally Posted by Mark from Plano

I actually never said that this was Dallas...or that it was me, for that matter. I could be just a hypothetical question.

Wearing a white or cream dinner jacket to a business or professional event--popular choice though it is in this poll--must be ranked as one of the saddest choices for evening wear. A failure of the imagination made physical.

- B

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