Written by Walter Grio.
When I was invited by American Ballet Theatre to go to their Spring Gala in New York, I never once thought about wearing a tuxedo to the event. For some reason, my inspiration was how Mr. Valentino Garavani dressed when he went to Diane Von Furstenberg’s show in New York. So I thought about a light gray Burberry suit, cuir color Gucci cap toe shoes, perhaps a woven silk Charvet tie, and a pocket square. Sartorial, but not black tie.
For almost 3 months, since I knew about the gala, this was my wardrobe strategy. Then, one week before the event, my mind changed. I did not want to be that guy who wore a regular suit to a gala. And not just any gala. This was the American Ballet Theatre Spring Gala, complete with dinner and an opening night performance at the Metropolitan Opera by the crème de la crème of ballet companies. Michelle Obama, Anna Wintour, and Carolina Herrera are regular attendees. Valentino is the main sponsor. What was I thinking?
So I looked online and found something that I liked – the “Cary Grant” from HUGO BOSS. I ordered it and had it shipped overnight. But all of a sudden, I realized that I did not want to wear a bow tie and wondered about the tux I just ordered. Read GQ’s 10 Commandments of Style about ties and tuxes.
Later that day, I went to a HUGO BOSS store and found another tuxedo I liked. The jacket fit extremely well, but the pants were too small. This is my problem with “slim fit” suits. I don’t have huge legs and yet I could not fit in those pants. The line that goes on the side of the tuxedo was completely crooked around the pocket and I thought for sure that I was going to rip it. Luckily, there was another style that I liked and they assured me they could custom tailor it in time (2 days). The shirt, shoes, and tie were pretty easy after that. The icing on the cake was randomly finding the Thomas Pink skull cameo cufflinks. Ridiculous.
The last time I wore a tuxedo was at my high school prom. And I’ve never bought a tuxedo until now. Then again, I never once thought I’d be invited to the American Ballet Theatre Spring Gala.
TUXEDO
HUGO BOSS Modern Fit Notch Lapel “Stars/Glamour” Tuxedo by BOSS BLACK
SHIRT
Banana Republic slim fit non-iron French cuff royal oxford
TIE
HUGO BOSS slim silk tie by BOSS Black
CUFFLINKS
Skull Cameo Cufflinks by Thomas Pink. Featuring a white skull on a contrasting black background, the links are silver plated and have a PINK logo engraved on the linking bone.
SHOES
Salvatore Ferragamo “Andrea”. Polished shine patent leather shoes. Plain toe two-eye blucher on stacked leather sole.
RIGHT BEFORE THE GALA
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