What I Wore
What I Wore: All Black, And Not A Dinner Jacket In Sight
5 min read
The invitation said black tie. I obeyed the colour and ignored the tuxedo — a black kaftan and a beaded long coat, all in one tone.
The invitation said black tie, and I took the colour seriously and the tuxedo less so.
Every other man arriving that evening was in a dinner jacket. I wore black too, but not Western: a black kaftan and trousers with a beaded, hand-embellished long coat over the top, all in a single tone. No contrast, no bow tie, no white shirt to break it up. Black loafers with gold bits, gold cufflinks, and sunglasses I should probably have taken off sooner than I did.
Black on black is harder than it looks. With no colour to carry the outfit, everything falls to cloth and handwork — the jacquard in the trousers, the beading across the coat panels, the tonal embroidery at the placket. In daylight it reads almost plain. Under chandeliers it moves.
The rule I have settled on: obey the colour the dress code asks for, then let the cut and the craft do the talking.