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TV Tuxedos: Suits

May 1, 2014

Alright, I’m a little late to the party on this one. Although Suits debuted in 2011 I wasn’t interested in watching yet another legal drama. However, at the recent urging of my sister I finally checked it out and was quickly hooked not just for the exquisite menswear the show has become famous for, but […]

Full-Dress Fright

October 31, 2013

Next to Fred Astaire, Bela Lugosi’s Count Dracula is arguably history’s most recognizable embodiment of White Tie. The legendary vampire’s association with formal evening wear arose not from the original 1897 novel but from a 1920s London stage adaptation by Hamilton Deane. The evolution is described in Bram Stoker’s Dracula: A Reader’s Guide: Another major […]

Celebrity Tuxedo Brands

July 19, 2013

Although many celebrities have endorsed formalwear brands over the years, only a few can lay claim to their own lines of tuxedos and formal accessories. Here’s a rundown of this eclectic group. In 1950 After Six debuted the formalwear industry’s first celebrity endorsement with the launch of a tuxedo line named after singer, actor and […]

Not-So-Great Gatsby Tuxedos

June 10, 2013

I finally got a chance to see The Great Gatsby and while I loved the movie I was disappointed by the inaccuracy of the men’s evening wear. Normally I would chalk this up to sloppy research but that doesn’t seem likely considering that the film’s double Academy Award-winning costumer designer Catherine Martin based her creations on […]

Return of the Downton DJ

January 9, 2013

The third season of Downton Abbey premiered on PBS last Sunday with a record audience of nearly eight million viewers. While there was much talk about changing times at the dawn of the 1920s it was evident that life at Downton is still firmly rooted in the past. Two amusing examples are the negative reactions […]

50 Years of Bond Tuxedos

January 3, 2013

While writing recently about the James Bond design exhibit and the unorthodox notched lapels featured in Goldfinger I started wondering about Bond tuxedos as a whole. Curious to see how they evolved over time I rented the entire series on DVD and have produced a timeline that highlights key developments. For those who are interested […]

Bond’s Goldfinger Notched Lapel

December 30, 2012

Inspired by an exhibit I attended with my 17-year-old nephew that showcased the design of the James Bond films, I recently rented Goldfinger to show him what the original Bond was all about. Many notched-lapel dinner jacket apologists point to the appearance of the model in this 1964 movie as a validation of its legitimacy […]

Review: “Designing 007” Exhibit

December 29, 2012

I recently visited a traveling museum exhibit of James Bond design and it was black tie heaven. The exhibit is called “Designing 007: Fifty Years of James Bond Style” and was produced in collaboration with the film franchise’s production company which provided unprecedented access to their archives. One room is devoted solely to the evening […]

Daniel Craig at Skyfall Premiere

November 7, 2012

A number of comments have been made in recent postings about the tuxedo worn by Daniel Craig to the British premiere of Skyfall so I thought I should post a picture for everyone to see what the chatter is about. Mr. Craig is wearing a midnight (navy?) blue evening jacket in place of the usual […]

Skyfall DJ Preview II

September 5, 2012

A recently released set of posters for Skyfall provides a closer look at Bond’s next dinner suit. According to GQ.com it is a Tom Ford “O’Connor” tuxedo, the same one Craig wore as Bond in the Olympics opening ceremony (and which Bradley Cooper wore to the most recent Oscars). It will no doubt be a […]