Formal Dress Forum

[exnihilo]

I know how to do it, I have done it, and I would rather just buy a new one. They're always better.

And they're sustainable, collars are cotton, the starch is vegetable in nature - they're both entirely sustainable. And fully bio-degradable.

[Tom Plant]

Gentlemen (I'm not excluding ladies, but imagine that reading this thread probably interests them as much as a thread on maquillage or knitting patterns would interest me),

Although wary of introducing elements of the personal into a debate, I speak with some authority as a Latin teacher who wears corduroy jackets. Not green ones, though | the only men who should wear green are those in the service of Her Majesty. I must maintain that the distinguishing token of a kiddy-fiddler is neither his penchant for long extinuguished tongues (surely more likely to lend itself to necrophilia), nor to dress in the King's cord cloth. This leaves only one thing: the bowtie. I must confess that I occasionally slip one on to see what it would look like, but change my mind just before leaving the flat and stick a straight tie on instead, largely because there are works going on outside, and one doesn't want to look effete in front of men who do real work. I could hardly grunt 'alright' in a suitably masculine fashion with my neck wrapped up like a competitor at Crufts. It's bad enough with the tweed.

So, I fear that, in the word of Karl Barth to Emil Brunner, the answer to Dr Wilson's question must be a hearty 'nein!' A bow tie with a suit looks dreadful on any man below tha age of 60, unless it is a white tie in academic dress. Give it another 30 years.

Yours aye,

Tom

[Tom Plant]

Sorry - that last post was in reference to Wilson's post on page 1 about Latin teachers in corduroy jackets and the propriety of wearing a bow tie informally.

[exnihilo]

It's a query he's made umpteen times. My suspicion is that Wilson secretly thinks he would look good in a suit and bowtie but fears the world's opprobium. So my advice is - try it, see what happens.

Plant, do you still use iChat?

[Dave the Explosive Newt]

I must confess that in my line of work, a bowtie generally indicates an anaesthetist.

The crazy bunch.

[hr]

It has been brought to my attention that certain people refer to me as a legend. Should you meet one of these people, maintain a safe distance and telephone the police. Under no circumstances attempt to deal with them by yourself.

[bdw]

On ties:

Bloke on the no. 76 bus to Waterloo this morning was suited/booted, apparently going to work. Couldn't help but notice he was wearing a graduate's tie. Now it undeniably looked very smart but struck me as being perhaps a little too formal for a day at the desk. Personally, I would shy away from wearing a graduate tie unless it was (a) a bow tie and, with the above advice in mind, (b) being worn in the context of a black tie event.

So am I myopic in the ways of fashion - would you wear a graduate tie to work or should it only be unleashed on special occasions?

PS from scanning BESS online, what the hell is this board game about?
http://www.yourunionshop.net/acatalog/G ... _misc.html

[Jos Dad]

Quoting bdw from 11:07, 29th Mar 2006
On ties:


So am I myopic in the ways of fashion - would you wear a graduate tie to work or should it only be unleashed on special occasions?

I am afraid I usually do. Asked by a colleague and fellow graduate why, years ago, I answered that it held my collar together. It still does.
It can also act as an introduction: when I matriculated the University undergraduate population was less than 1500 so graduates from the 60s are a rare breed.
Today however I am in "rustic" mood and wearing a tie in the university tartan.

[Mr Comedy]

I've been known to wear the graduate tie at work, and also the United College tie. I see no reason why I shouldn't.

[hr]

"I am in no way interested in immortality, but only in the taste of tea. " -Lu Tung

[Mr Comedy]

That game has been invented by a German lad I know. Infernally complicated. Still, what ever rocks your boat...

I would also like to see a game of that played between Mr Joss, Dr Wilson and Dr Covino, as it tests one's knowledge of University history. Sadly requests for a game based on 'minutes of the UDS' has fallen on deaf ears.

[hr]

"I am in no way interested in immortality, but only in the taste of tea. " -Lu Tung

[RJ Covino]

I really don't have much interest in playing a game which, in addition to being overpriced, is largely centered around somebody else's experience of this University, I'm afraid.

I'm curious as to why people think of the graduate tie as being a "more formal" neckwear option. I think it's quite a jolly tie, really. The United College tie*, of course, is so dark that it's more of a "I'll save this one for a funeral" kind of tie.

(* if your United College tie is of Passmore manufacture, of course, it is not suitable for funeral-wear, being so wide as to only be appropriate for appearances during the 1970's...)

[hr]

http://www.ralphcovino.com

[bdw]

I suppose the tie has always seemed somewhat formal to me because of the contrast of the rich, dark blues and reds (especially in that "old school tie" diagonal stripe design), the golden threadwork and, of course, the preponderance of boxing lions.

I have always strived to follow the golden mean between wearing heraldry and the Carphone Warehouse look. Not always terribly successfully.

However the testimony of Jo's Dad, Mr Comedy and Dr Covino is much appreciated and shall be taken into consideration for future neckware purchases.

[Eliot Wilson]

As far as I'm concerned, the only problem with wearing the graduate tie is that the silk versions are ludicrously skinny and therefore look like graduate string. But otherwise I find it a very versatile item.

[hr]

Bill and Ted beat the Grim Reaper at Twister

Bill: "You played very well, Death, especially with your totally heavy Death robes."

Death: "Don't patronise me."

[exnihilo]

I see no problem with wearing it anywhere else one would wear a tie - barring only that it goes best with plain dark colours and, as pointed out, the silk ones are like bits of damp string.

Not that I'd know - as a certain somebody has appropriated mine!

[Eliot Wilson]

Have you still not got it back? Does he have the bow as well?

[hr]

Bill and Ted beat the Grim Reaper at Twister

Bill: "You played very well, Death, especially with your totally heavy Death robes."

Death: "Don't patronise me."

[BasilSeal]

I wear mine frequently. It does serve rather well as a introduction tool at academic conferences, helping me to find others who wouldn't mind propping up the bar rather than listen to dull papers delivered in a monotone by people wearing polyester.

[Dickie]

Quoting bdw from 11:07, 29th Mar 2006
(a) a bow tie and, with the above advice in mind,
(b) being worn in the context of a black tie event.

Some events require a black tie when they say black tie.

[hr]

http://facebook.com/p.php?id=37106107&l=217e435e0a

[Jamie potton]

On starch:
what are you chaps using? For stiff collars, the best option is to use cold water starch, rather than the hot water method.
I have an old recipe:1 tbsp starch; a few drops of turpentine; 1/2 tsp borax, and 1/2 pint cold water. This is rubbed into the fabric, and then ironed.
The difference here is that the raw starch grains are cooked when ironed, bursting upon contact with heat, with the result that the fabric is far stiffer than when using pre-cooked starch.
In my (little) experience, it is usually better to iron the fabric twice in either case, giving the starch a little time to "cure" in between.

Or you could just buy new collars.

[Dave the Explosive Newt]

That solves the problem of where the smell of turps in LPH was coming from then...

[hr]

Mmmm, cake.

[RJ Covino]

Quoting Dickie from 15:08, 6th Apr 2006

Some events require a black tie when they say black tie.

So blue velvet is out of the question?

[hr]

http://www.ralphcovino.com

[Al]

Quoting Dave the Explosive Newt from 21:13, 6th Apr 2006
That solves the problem of where the smell of turps in LPH was coming from then...

Not necessarily. Someone may have been drinking it.