Midnight blue dinner jacket

What you always wanted to know about Elegance, but were afraid to ask!
Post Reply
andy57
Posts: 663
Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2015 7:39 pm
Location: Silicon Valley
Contact:

Tue Jul 11, 2017 2:20 pm

I have never regarded a dinner jacket as a suit, but rather a collection of separates which may or may not all be cut from the same (black) cloth. As such, I wear my ivory dinner jackets with the same black trousers as I do with my black dinner jackets.

Now that a midnight blue mohair is in the offing, I am wondering about using it for a dinner jacket. Does one need to pair a midnight blue dinner jacket with midnight blue trousers? I know one can, but is it required? Is it ever done to wear a midnight blue jacket with black waistcoat and trousers?
alden
Posts: 8200
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2005 11:58 am
Contact:

Tue Jul 11, 2017 2:46 pm

Andy,

I would suggest going with midnight blue for the trousers as well....blues and blacks can clash.
Concordia
Posts: 2622
Joined: Mon Feb 07, 2005 3:58 am
Contact:

Tue Jul 11, 2017 5:38 pm

They may have started as separates, but that was when everything was black-- at least in civilian wear. There are the military exceptions. Throw an informal thing over your dress trousers and you're good to go for a private dinner. Midnight blue supposedly enhanced the look under artificial light for press photographers-- when you were more likely to be all put together with a suit.
raykalendek
Posts: 155
Joined: Fri Feb 11, 2005 10:20 pm
Location: Upstate NY
Contact:

Tue Jul 11, 2017 9:27 pm

I agree with Michael that mixing a midnight blue dinner jacket with black trousers might produce a jarring effect. I would stick to blue; however, for a summer or tropical soirée, this Esquire photo demonstrates the combination of a midnight blue DB dinner jacket with white or cream formal trousers. A bit too unconventional for some, perhaps, but I think it quite appealing.
[img][IMG=http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/150x10 ... 2NmMVq.jpg][/img][/img]
hectorm
Posts: 1667
Joined: Sun Jul 10, 2011 2:12 pm
Location: Washington DC
Contact:

Tue Jul 11, 2017 10:00 pm

andy57 wrote: Is it ever done to wear a midnight blue jacket with black waistcoat and trousers?
My work-horse dinner suit is midnight blue (SB, peak lapel with a vest). I also own another more relaxed dinner suit (DB, shawl collar) in a black wool/mohair blend. They are too different in color, weight and texture for mixing up. Also the side braids of the trousers would be a mismatch in relation to the buttons and lapels of the opposite jacket.
Never really looked at my dinner suits as a collection of separates. Perhaps because I only own those two, although I have occassionaly worn the dress trousers as odd pants with a velvet jacket.
In my experience I've seen that not only may blue and black clash, two different blacks might clash as well.
andy57
Posts: 663
Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2015 7:39 pm
Location: Silicon Valley
Contact:

Thu Jul 13, 2017 3:53 am

Well, okay. Thank you for those replies. In that case, I shall forgo a midnight blue jacket, as going the whole midnight blue suit is, for me, verging too close to prom tux territory. Just my personal bias, but there it is.
Melcombe
Posts: 317
Joined: Tue May 03, 2011 9:30 am
Location: Dorset, UK
Contact:

Fri Jul 14, 2017 1:19 pm

andy57 wrote:Well, okay. Thank you for those replies. In that case, I shall forgo a midnight blue jacket, as going the whole midnight blue suit is, for me, verging too close to prom tux territory. Just my personal bias, but there it is.
Good thinking.

(A prejudice shared is a prejudice vindicated !)
HristoStefanov
Posts: 145
Joined: Tue Jul 22, 2014 9:38 am
Contact:

Thu Jul 20, 2017 4:27 pm

alden wrote:Andy,
I would suggest going with midnight blue for the trousers as well....blues and blacks can clash.
I could not agree more. Blues and blacks can sometimes acchieve an absolutely awful look.
Noble Savage
Posts: 239
Joined: Sat Dec 18, 2010 8:36 am
Location: State of Nature
Contact:

Wed Apr 28, 2021 10:52 pm

If you can get the same fabric in a very dark blue and black for the trousers, however, I'd think it could work. There is a school of thought that says that the trousers should either be black regardless of the jacket's color, and the trim and jacket facings also black.
andy57
Posts: 663
Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2015 7:39 pm
Location: Silicon Valley
Contact:

Thu Apr 29, 2021 3:34 pm

Noble Savage wrote:
Wed Apr 28, 2021 10:52 pm
If you can get the same fabric in a very dark blue and black for the trousers, however, I'd think it could work. There is a school of thought that says that the trousers should either be black regardless of the jacket's color, and the trim and jacket facings also black.
Well, in the intervening four-ish years, I had jacket, trousers, and a waistcoat made from the LL midnight-blue mohair. I had the trim and facings done also in a midnight blue satin silk. I think it was the right decision. I've worn the trousers with every one of my dinner jackets except my black one and my green one.. The midnight blue is an especially good compliment to my ivory jacket. I'm currently commissioning a velvet DB dinner jacket from H&S mustard velvet that I think will also work with the midnight blue.

I did not attend the school that says the trousers should always be black, clearly. Indeed, I'm also in the process of commissioning a pair of ivory formal trousers, with ivory grosgrain seam covering. The mustard jacket is intended as a pair for the trousers, but every jacket will probably work, including the black one. I'm sure I would have been expelled from this school long ago.
aston
Posts: 245
Joined: Mon Oct 10, 2011 10:50 am
Contact:

Thu Apr 29, 2021 8:10 pm

My experience of a true midnight blue is that it is impossible to tell it is "blue" unless held very close to a true black.
Noble Savage
Posts: 239
Joined: Sat Dec 18, 2010 8:36 am
Location: State of Nature
Contact:

Sun May 02, 2021 11:27 pm

andy57 wrote:
Thu Apr 29, 2021 3:34 pm
I did not attend the school that says the trousers should always be black, clearly. Indeed, I'm also in the process of commissioning a pair of ivory formal trousers, with ivory grosgrain seam covering. The mustard jacket is intended as a pair for the trousers, but every jacket will probably work, including the black one. I'm sure I would have been expelled from this school long ago.
I've seen this white trousers with dark formal jackets sometime in the 1920s-1930s. There is a precedent for this in court dress, which included white trousers or breeches for the most celebratory occasions. Design books say that having a dark top part of the body and a lighter lower half makes one look younger.

You deserve an award for taking black tie to the next level beyond the conventional.

Image
Ottmar von Mohl (17 January 1846 – 23 March 1922) was a German diplomat and government advisor in Meiji period Japan.



Image
https://media.gq-magazine.co.uk/photos/ ... 3_pr_b.jpg

Ralph Lauren Purple Label mens lookbook spring summer 2014 | British GQ
Noble Savage
Posts: 239
Joined: Sat Dec 18, 2010 8:36 am
Location: State of Nature
Contact:

Sun May 09, 2021 1:56 am

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmJvYqXHVyU

Huntsman reports that some customers have been requesting black facings with blue dinner jackets.
davidhuh
Posts: 2028
Joined: Sat Jan 23, 2010 9:47 am
Contact:

Sun May 09, 2021 9:15 am

Noble Savage wrote:
Sun May 09, 2021 1:56 am


Huntsman reports that some customers have been requesting black facings with blue dinner jackets.
Dear Noble,

this can be done vice-versa. The result should be subtle though.

Cheers, David
Post Reply
  • Information
  • Who is online

    Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 4 guests