black tie, reconsidered
David in his new dinner suit, captured at the Dugdale Towers in Huddersfield by Arran Cross.
when a black-tie invitation coincided with the need for new photography for his brand, brown in town, david minns found himself facing an uncomfortable prospect: replacing a much-loved brown velvet dinner jacket with something a little more traditional.
by david minns
"You need a new Dinner Jacket."
"Why? My brown velvet tux is perfectly serviceable and has stood me in good stead…"
"Yes, for twelve years or more! And besides — it's time to update the website."
"Fair enough. Any suggestions?"
"Classic."
"Classic?! Really?!"
"Yes. Think Sean Connery…"
So went a conversation earlier this year between me and my wife and business partner, Saffron. She is rarely wrong about these things.
But deciding on a new dinner jacket is quite the challenge for a man whose maxim is ‘never say never’ and whose style, while absolutely inspired by tradition, is decidedly unhindered by it.
My trusty brown velvet tux is twelve years old. I remain enormously proud of the shots Remco Merbis took of me in that jacket at Bristol UWE Botanical Gardens. I can still look at them objectively, chiefly because Remco possesses the rare skill of making you look like anyone but yourself — which is rather a gift when you are no David Gandy.
But an occasion occasionally arises where an entirely fresh look is in order. For me, that was when I received an invitation to join Dugdale Bros. & Co. at the BTBA Merchant Tailors Ball. An occasion which is, you guessed it, Black Tie.
David’s leopard-spotted loafers by August Special.
David’s ‘extra wide’ lapels in grosgrain silk.
the cloth
There are really two main cloths people think of when it comes to formalwear: barathea and mohair.
Barathea is a tightly woven cloth with a distinctive broken-rib texture. It’s been the cloth of choice for formal wear since the Edwardian era, and the fabric that gave Connery's Bond his quiet authority. It drapes with weight, resists creasing, and holds a silhouette as though it means it.
Mohair, on the other hand, has long been the choice of the romantics and the rogues — from the Duke of Windsor to Daniel Craig's Bond. Often cut in midnight blue, its sheen catches candlelight rather than flashbulbs.
In earlier discussions around what my new dinner suit would be cut from, various cloths had floated (by me) - corduroy, seersucker, even ikat! - but these were roundly dismissed (by my wife) in favour of the more traditional options.
On reflection, she was right.
And rather fortuitously, Dugdale Bros. & Co. had recently launched a new formalwear collection. Among black tie delights including mohair and midnight wools, there at the back of the bunch sat two heavyweight Baratheas — one white (next time) and one black. If I were going to luxuriate for an evening and possibly stagger home in something, this 18oz heavyweight would be battledress enough.
“The subtlest of style tweaks speak volumes when the goal is a dinner suit built not just to last, but to endure.”
the details
Cut double-breasted by our atelier in Italy, the lapels needed to be extra wide and faced in a subtle contrast of grosgrain silk. The perfect companion to the textural wool. The buttons, covered; and for the Brown in Town touch, the pockets would be patch. We even went all out and added the iconic, albeit slim, side stripe on the trouser. Some traditions are hard to escape.
the shoes
Velvet slippers are all well and good if your cocktail party is at your home — or your hotel — but they are not designed for commuting (certainly not from Bristol to the Merchant Tailors' Hall in London). Our Cheaney tassel loafers had stood in their stead for years but this time were not going to cut the mustard.
Thankfully, a few weeks earlier while walking the streets of Florence, I had spied a pair of leopard-spotted loafers from August Special. I promptly ordered a pair in my size.
The only problem was that they were due to arrive the very day we were leaving Bristol to embark on a tour of the north of England - a trip that would include a visit to Dugdale Bros. HQ in Huddersfield. Realising the historic Dugdale towers would be the perfect backdrop to capture new photographs of the suit, the cloth, the shoes and, well, the man, we promptly had said loafers redirected to our hotel in Yorkshire.
Needless to say, they did not disappoint.
the verdict
And so, I believe this is the dinner suit to see me through the next twelve years and beyond. Perhaps it will even outlast me entirely (that is, if I do not possess the constitution of my paternal grandmother, who lived to 102).
Because sometimes - and only sometimes - you need to do justice to a classic; the subtlest of style tweaks speak volumes when the goal is a dinner suit built not just to last, but to endure.
David Minns is co-founder of Brown in Town Atelier and hospitality attire label Mise Supply. He lives in Bristol with his wife, Saffron, their two children, a small dog, and an ever-growing collection of jackets.
All featured photography by Arran Cross.
