Formal Dress Forum

[Anon.]

Quoting RJ Covino from 21:16, 6th Apr 2006
So blue velvet is out of the question?

In sharp contradistinction, Black Velvet is never out of place. Yummy.

[Dickie]

Quoting RJ Covino from 21:16, 6th Apr 2006
So blue velvet is out of the question?

Always, even if you're a Grandpa

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[Dickie]

Quoting Jamie Potton from 20:47, 6th Apr 2006
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.

A nice recipe I have is:
For general laundry purposes, cooked starch is the customary standby. Following is a general recipe for cooked starch, which may be varied to suit one's needs.

1 to 4 tablespoonfuls starch
1 quart boiling water
1 cupful cold water
1/4 teaspoonful paraffin or lard
Blend the starch and cold water to a smooth paste, and then gradually pour in the boiling water. Add the paraffin or lard next. Boil the mixture until clear, stirring constantly, generally for 5 to 10 minutes. Strain while hot. If 1/2 teaspoonful of borax is added with the paraffin or lard, it will help to whiten the clothes and also make the starch smoother.

For a stiff dressing, the starch should be made very heavy; that is, more starch should be used in the mixture. When cooled enough to handle, such starch should be like a very soft jelly.


I would not add lard to my starch but that is just me!!!

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[Guest]

Any reason why you shouldn't wear a double brested suit when graduating?

[Anon.]

Horrors! The new academic dress page http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/registry/gr ... dress.htm/ specifies only a dark lounge suit or Highland dress for men - no morning coat any more! SHAME...

So that looks like double-breasted would be fine, then. It would look much better with the white tie than a two-piece single-breasted suit, too.

[Jason Dunn]

Quoting Anon. from 17:01, 7th Apr 2006
... It would look much better with the white tie than a two-piece single-breasted suit, too.

I quite agree.

Would it be wrong to wear a wing collar with academic dress? My uncertainty arises in that such is usually sported with evening wear, or indeed morning wear, but as a morning coat is now verboten perhaps it would be inappropriate.

[Eliot Wilson]

Morning dress is by no means disallowed, simply not mentioned. I have every intention of wearing morning dress under my gown to the Chancellor's installation in a fortnight; what was good enough for Principal Watson is good enough for me.

[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."

[Anon.]

Quoting Jason Dunn from 16:53, 9th Apr 2006
Would it be wrong to wear a wing collar with academic dress?

No, but I don't think you should unless you're wearing a waistcoat.

[exnihilo]

I always wear a wing collar with academic dress. But, as has been pointed out several times on here, it must NOT be a marcella or other evening shirt, it should be a plain white shirt with a detatchable, stiff, wing collar.

[Eliot Wilson]

In fairness, it would be harsh to censure someone for wearing a plain white shirt with an attached wing collar - but a detachable collar is easier to starch and will likely be smarter. I take a relatively (uncharacteristically?) relaxed view on this matter; I think both wing and turn-down collars are acceptable, provided it looks smart.

[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."

[Lid]

Interesting that I saw Dr Lang wearing a marcella bow tie (Edit: with all the other regalia, it sounded wrong without this edit) as academic dress at the rectorial.

I was also wearing marcella and thought I would stand out like a sore thumb that couldn't find a silk one.

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We are not drunks, we are multi-millionaires

[Eliot Wilson]

This is a hotly-debated subject. There are a number of issues to consider. 1) Marcella white bow ties are the most common sort in the shops. 2) Silk can look a bit Liberace if you're not careful. 3) I believe (though Deacon Brodie, inter alia, will correct me if I'm wrong) that advocates wear marcella bow ties in court, so it's not like it's a terrible crime. Besides, Principal Lang is a man with firm views on these matters.

[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."

[Sid]

Do you think I would get in trouble if I wore normal tan tights? It states that women should wear "dark hose". If I wore black tights my shoes wouldn't have the full effect, in fact it would look positively ridiculous! And I can't wear those 10 denier tights, that's what whores wear or people who can't afford M&S opaque 60 denier.

(sorry, i know you guys are talking suits)

[Eliot Wilson]

What is it about your shoes that would not be shown off to full effect by black tights?

[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."

[Lid]

I would have gone for a silk variety, had I had time to get to Edinburgh, but twas only at last minute that I decided to go in academic dress.

If one is fortunate enough to be invited to the Chancorial (?) installation, I may have to have a trip to Edinburgh. However I doubt I will be invited. Have invitations already been issued?

Incidentally, I'm thinking of buying a trencher. I would probably only have cause to carry it once in a blue moon, but it's the novelty value, I guess. What's a ballpark figure for one?

[hr]

We are not drunks, we are multi-millionaires

[RJ Covino]

Quoting Lid from 02:06, 10th Apr 2006
Have invitations already been issued?

The deadline for applications for tickets from the General Council's members as well as those interested members of the public was last Friday. It is expected that there will be a large degree of interest in the ceremony and that a lottery will be required to apportion the tickets - said lottery is due to take place today. As they say, you've got to be in it to win it.

What's a ballpark figure for one?

A new hard skulled trencher will set you back somewhere in the region of £120 if you buy it direct from E&R. They will, of course, fight you every step of the way by telling you that you don't need one, ever, but you must be firm in your resolve. You might, during your fight, point out to E&R the irony of them telling you what your own formal dress needs might be when they are a company which still has a full mock up of the official garb of the Order of St Patrick in a prominent display case marked as available for sale. Compared to the "market" for said garb, the St Andrews trencher market must be enormous.

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http://www.ralphcovino.com

[Lid]

I'll give E&R a ring tomorrow regarding it. I take it Edinburgh will be sufficient (though this is the same Edinburgh that told me "No, sorry, we don't make St Andrian undergraduate gowns").
Edit: Regarding them telling me I'll never need one, ever, they're probably right. I can count the times I'd have needed it this semester on one finger, but it's the novelty value, I suppose!

I had no idea that the applications were even open for tickets, let alone had been, and were now closed. Alas, I guess I shall not be in attendance.

[hr]

We are not drunks, we are multi-millionaires

[Al]

I am not sure why members of the general public are afforded the same rights as members of the University. The Chancellorial Installation is a university event in a university building. All tickets should be reserved for members of the General Council. If there's any left over, they should be made available to students. And if there are still any left, to the general public.

That aside, the University bigwigs do love their impossibly tight deadlines for all things Chancellorial.

[Dave the Explosive Newt]

As far as I'm aware, the only students invited are the senate reps and those who sit on university court. Unless you can convince one of them to take you as an 'and partner' of course...

[hr]

Mmmm, cake.

[Dickie]

Quoting Al from 08:58, 10th Apr 2006
That aside, the University bigwigs do love their impossibly tight deadlines for all things Chancellorial.

I got my invitation on 17th March which only gave me three weeks to draft a letter of acceptance. How great should the time allowance be?

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