So, Huntsman invited me to host a dinner in their Savile Row shop in January.
And rather than invite people from the industry (as we did last time in our Gathering dinner) I thought it would be nice to have readers along. As a nice celebration of our 10th anniversary year, and a way to chat to everyone.
But there's only room for 10 people, so how could we select them?
The plan
Here's my idea: we'll hold a dinner for readers themed around 'evening wear'. Not necessarily black tie, not necessarily super-formal, but the kind of tailoring you might wear to a nice dinner.
Readers can email me between now and January 9th with the outfit they would wear. I will select the 10 I think are the most stylish (the most Permanent Style-ish) and to a certain extent the most interesting and original.
Those 10 winners will come to the dinner; we'll have a photographer to take portraits of everybody; and then the photographs will be published on Permanent Style alongside a brief description of the outfit and what the readers like about them.
The details
- Outfits can be sent to me in any way: on a hanger, laid out on a bed, as a selfie, anything. Just include a couple of sentences about why you like the style as an evening combination.
- They should be sent to [email protected]
- The clothing does not have to be bespoke. It doesn't even necessarily need to be high quality. The focus is on style.
- Submissions will be closed at 5pm on January 9th. Everyone will be informed whether they have won or not on January 10th.
- The dinner itself will take place on Thursday, January 19th. Those submitting must be free for dinner that evening.
- Winners must be willing to have their portrait taken.
That's it. I really look forward to seeing what people come up with.
I emphasise again: it doesn't have to be black tie, or that formal. It is what you would wear to a dinner where you wanted to celebrate the occasion by dressing more smartly than normal.
Inevitably this means that the dinner as a whole will not be very homogenous, but I think we can live with that. It's a celebration, an exploration of eveningwear. Something made for the low light of the night.
Any questions do let me know - in the comments below or by email.
Simon
I would love to enter but I live in Canada.
Maybe you could choose a selection of outfits submitted by readers who can’t attend as well Simon.
Not so much a “What I wore today” as a “What I wish I could have worn today”.
Hi,
Will you be wearing your Huntsman shooting attire?
Ha! No, I think not
Great idea Simon, a competition!
I would obviously wear a dinner jacket, but as you could not have made it more clear, this is not what you are looking for. A slight suggestion though: is it not controversial to ask for a ‘permanent style’ outfit, as well as for a ‘stylish’ outfit?
Laurent
Well, not necessarily. You can have your own personal style within a canon of thought on taste and stylishness. And on the dinner, it would be nice to have at least one person in black tie! My point was you don’t have to wear black tie
Cool idea!
Sounds an interesting dinner and a nice way to select attendees but unfortunately what I can think up and what I’ve invested my limited budget on don’t match. I’d love a dinner jacket, smoking jacket or other dinner wear but my world is business wear and smart casual so it’ll be many years before my wardrobe is sufficient to invest in something with such rare wear.
I am curious if Luca has/would make your dinner jacket or white tie shirt? Do you revert to English for these more formal dress?
I tend to, yes.
I’d say again that this doesn’t have to be black tie or anything close to it – merely your vision of something formal and smarter. Which might be that navy business suit, just with a white shirt and grey houndstooth or oxford-weave tie, for instance. Or satin. Many things make an outfit smarter and more monotone or darker things tend to be better suited to the evening.
But it is an outfit that you can turn up in rather than being unconstrained by what your wallet allows you to think up?
Yes, you certainly can.
Sorry to post on an unconnected thread but was wondering what you can say about Buchanan & Wilmot that advertise on your site?
Search turns up every page, I guess as the adverts on every page. Their website looks good but odd to need a search feature when you only have 3 products. Slightly surprised that later in the background info they say they’re using CNC to reproduce craftsman produced prototypes. They’ve also been going less than a year based on their incorporation date
I haven’t tried or met them myself yet, so can’t comment much
Thanks for the honesty.
I fully buy into the fact your articles aren’t influenced by sponsorship unlike the majority of your peers, but I am a little surprised you accept advertisement from companies you know little about. I had assumed you’d filtered them to some degree hence why we don’t see Hermes, Mr Porter etc who may sell some products you review/approve of but also potentially jar with the principles of Permanent Style
Thanks John. I do filter them to a certain extent, in that they will all be menswear-related and of a certain style – if nothing else, there is no point any other type of brand advertising, given the readership. But I don’t try everyone before allowing them to take an ad
An excellent idea.
Dear Simon,
what a great idea! I would love to be part of it, but I am living in Germany. My outfit would be an uncommon black tie, consists of midnight velvet jacket, light blue shirt, grey flannel trousers and my black oxford shoes with black Böe tie. I have seen this outfit inspiration in the window of Huntsman during my last London visit. It was a little unusual to see the black bow tie with a velvet midnight dinner jacket…I stepped in, on the one Hand to see the rooms of Huntsman’s and to ask why a black bow tie was chosen. It was only why there was no midnight one. I guess it gives the outfit a twist…formal, but not as formal as traditional evening attire.
Hi Simon, apologies if this is the wrong place but it was the most festive recent post I could find.
My question is this: I recently purchased a smoking/tuxedo. I did so on a whim, the day before new years eve; probably because I disliked the one already in my closet. The new smoking is from one of the better Italian makers, black, single breasted, peaked lapels, some cachemire in it and a bit more slim, but generally looking very archetypical. On New Years Eve I wore it with a black bow tie and might I say to great success.
Not having too many (any really, living in a very laid back country) formal events coming up, I am wondering when to wear it again and if/how to incorporate the jacket into my general wardrobe. A tux jacket with jeans, a tie instead a bow tie etc etc. is that something I could be doing in good consciousness in 2017? Or would you advise otherwise?
Many thanks and a, quite belated, happy new year!
-Arne
Hi Arne,
Unfortunately, I would advise against using it in any other way. It will pretty much always look contrived.
Just have to find (or organise) other black tie events I guess.
Simon