derek guy Profile picture
Dec 11, 2023 14 tweets 7 min read Read on X
Let's talk about this because you may get invited to a party this holiday season that calls for "cocktail attire." What is cocktail attire? And how can you do it well? 🧵 Image
The term "cocktail attire" comes from a time when people went out and mingled at cocktail bars. In these physical spaces, there were two groups:

1) People just getting off of work
2) People on their way to another evening event, such as seeing a show Image
As such, cocktail attire refers to the things that people naturally wore during this period, given where they had just come from or where they were heading.

Office workers wore suits.

People on their way to an evening show, such as the opera, wore black tie.
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We don't really live in that world anymore, but if the invite says "cocktail attire," you will never be wrong showing up in a dark business suit or black tie.
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However, in doing so, you should aim to dress elegantly. That means wearing dress shoes instead of sneakers, black calfskin instead of brown suede, dark worsteds instead of rustic materials like brown corduroy. Maybe a bit of velvet. Think: fancy evening attire. Image
Many in these situations will feel tempted to ditch the tie, fearing that they'll look overdressed. If you are wearing a dark business suit, I encourage you to not do this. A dark business suit without a tie is like the night sky without stars. It looks sad and defeated. Image
If you're not going to wear a tie, I encourage you to put more thought into the rest of your outfit. Don't just ditch the tie and assume you look like George Clooney. One solution is to wear a thin merino turtleneck. This looks more thoughtful and stylish.
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Another easy solution is to wear a long-sleeve polo, but not like the ones you see at Lacoste or Fred Perry. You want a polo with a collar band, so that the collar stands up better. This will make it behave more like a dress shirt. @ProperCloth sells some nice MTM ones
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If a suit feels too formal, then try a sport coat. To me, sport coats lack the elegance of a suit, but they're still a great option for evening events. They are also easier to wear without a tie, as the whole ensemble now looks more casual. Image
Since this is an evening affair, consider how to make this look elegant. Something like this black/ white houndstooth from Besnard will look better at night than a brown sporting tweed (which, while wonderful, is better for the afternoon).
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If you have room in your wardrobe, you can also get a wool-mohair suit (60/40 blend is my preference). Mohair is a stiff, slippery fiber that has a slight sheen. I think it looks amazing under artificial light (dim bars and restaurants). Outfit can be conservative or wild
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An easy way to make an outfit look more chic in the evening is to rely on the same color and get your contrast from fiber, texture, or sheen. For example, a navy merino turtleneck can look amazing with a navy suit in hopsack or twill. Again, black shoes in the evening. Image
If you have the personality for it, you can also pull off something a little more colorful. My friend @toneloki73 here is wearing tartan trousers with a velvet jacket and red turtleneck. The whole outfit feels very celebratory, perfect for drinking cocktails. Image
The point here is to use history as a guide. Once you know the origins of cocktail attire, you can get a sense of how you should dress. Then use the parameters to express yourself. Aim to create an elegant party outfit. Make the night feel special.
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More from @dieworkwear

Mar 27
I don't think this is exactly right. My guess is that a lot of AI art will be similar to what has happened in the clothing industry: technology speeds up production, benefitting consumers. Only enthusiasts will care if something is made by hand or not. Will give examples. 🧵
I should note this thread doesn't get into ethical issues about copying another person's work. I'm only talking about how I think it will impact the market.

As I've mentioned before, tailoring is about creating shape. For a jacket, a lot of this is done through pad stitching. Image
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Pad stitching is when you pick up multiple layers of material, stitching them together in such a way that you transform 2D cloth into 3D forms. This is done to the jacket's collar, chest, and lapels. You see it demonstrated here.

YT bernadettebanner
Read 14 tweets
Mar 26
Spring has started and soon you'll see a bunch of posts like this, extolling the virtues of linen. Once people learn about linen through short, simple blurbs, they think it possess magical properties. But the truth is more complicated.

Let me tell you about linen. 🧵 Image
Clothing production is often opaque, especially for consumers. If you're lucky, a brand might tell you that they use Irish or Italian linen, such these J. Crew shirts that hit shelves every summer, carrying the Baird McNutt label (also, "McNutt" is objectively funny). Image
Both Irish and Italian mills today source most of their raw materials from outside their own countries, typically from France or the Netherlands. Even the prestigious “Irish Linen” label only requires that the fabric be woven in Ireland, not flax to be grown there. Image
Read 17 tweets
Mar 24
Do you know why luxury brands put logos all over their clothes? I'll tell you. 🧵
The most obvs reason is that luxury and streetwear have been merging for the last 20 years. Cristóbal Balenciaga was known for these incredible dresses (pic 1). But in more recent history, creative director Demna Gvasalia, who just left the company, borrows from streetwear. Image
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I actually like streetwear, although I'm not crazy about the top-down, corporate-led version of it in recent years (more about that for another time). A lot of streetwear is heavily logo driven. Look up the history of Dapper Dan, who made these incredible couture creations. Image
Read 14 tweets
Mar 22
People who have followed me for a while may already know the answer to this. But I will explain again why steam is ruinous for tailoring, and how you can pack a suit. 🧵 Image
To understand why steam is ruinous for tailoring, you have to first understand that suits and sport coats are not like other things in your wardrobe. They are built from many layers of haircloth, canvas, and padding, and then shaped through pad stitching and ironwork. Image
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This is what makes tailoring so special: it's the unique ability to transform 2D cloth into 3D forms. You can read this thread about the difference between low- and high-end tailoring. Hopefully, you will walk away with an appreciation for *shape*

Read 19 tweets
Mar 12
Meghan McCain's husband blocked me, so I can't retweet (also my mom got really excited once when I told her that Meghan McCain's husband tweeted about me). But this sort of attitude is why some people will never be stylish. Let's talk about Bernie Sanders's style. 🧵 Image
When most people think of Bernie Sanders, they think of images like this: a grumpy looking man with uncombed silver hair wearing a suit that looks like it might be a size too large. He looks like a fledgling that has somehow climbed into dark worsted suit. Image
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To them, it's absurd to suggest Bernie is stylish because they only think of style as the language of respectability: put together, middle class, successful, and so forth. As Ben put it, Bernie looks "homeless" (he does not, but the term is reveals Ben's myopia and ignorance). Image
Read 21 tweets
Mar 10
I'm not a historian, but I don't think the United States is based on European values. I think it's about American values. I will give my view on this video through the lens of ... [drum roll] ... menswear. 🧵
In 1893, a newly minted John Hopkins graduate named Frederick Jackson Turner presented "The Frontier in American History" to an audience at the Chicago World's Fair. He argued against the Germ Theory, an idea that political habits are innate racial characteristics. Image
Germ theorists believed that Americans formed their democratic institutions because they descended from Anglo Saxons, who came from ancient Teutons. Thus, the origins of US democracy can be genetically traced back to a Germanic forest, like Continental seeds blowing in the wind. Image
Read 23 tweets

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