如今的标志性事件莫过于看到成群结队身系黑领结、衣冠楚楚的男士们在赴宴高峰时段招手打出租车。黑领结过去是参加贵族晚宴与国宴时专用，如今在各种邀请会上已经司空见惯。你或许觉得这是件好事，因为燕尾服(tuxedo)现在人人都能穿，也是男士最不费事的正装——但一旦穿得个性十足，反而会弄巧成拙，看上去不似衣冠楚楚的《007》中詹姆斯•邦德(James Bond)的形象，而更似《王牌大贱谍》中的邪恶博士奥斯汀•鲍沃斯(Austin Powers)。
"即便收到邀请函已经有好几周时间，但能系着黑领结出席正式宴会毕竟是件惊喜事，"伦敦金融城(City of London)的分析师罗伯特•肖(Robert Shaw)说。"到头来我往往还是采取最稳妥的着装方式，谁都不希望自己系着花哨腰带与蝶形领结(dickie bow)，成为众目睽睽的对象——看到别人穿着老爸在萨维尔街定做的晚礼服（已穿过）与仿古式衬衣饰纽(shirt studs)，无论怎么比都是落于下风——所以嘛，中规中矩地着装看来最为妥当。"
据玛莎百货(Marks and Spencer)西服部主管乔纳森•斯沃特兰(Jonathan Swartland)说，如今身着体面装束又开始盛行。他说："我不知道如今正式场合是否越来越多，但很明显，男士们参加这种宴会时，肯定千方百计让自己穿得像模像样。"
时装精品店Matches男装部主管斯特茜•史密斯(Stacey Smith)也赞同这种说法："我们的成衣销售出现了大幅飚升，其中晚礼服就占了相当部分，"她说。但对专家进行的快速问卷调查表明：现代社会系黑领结到底代表什么，却是众说纷纭。
"我认为系黑领结的唯一目的是想温文尔雅，"时装设计师汤姆•福特(Tom Ford)说。"我喜欢系黑领结，到头来每个月通常要参加好几次（系黑领结的）正式宴会。这种场合男士着装优雅至关重要。虽说我常常以不同的黑领结扮相（穿天鹅绒西服上衣(velvet evening jacket)，再配以诸如钻石饰纽与袖扣之类的东西）示人，但常用经典款晚装用衬衣与蝴蝶领结来搭配我的礼服。本人总是确保着装得体，感觉就会游刃有余。我还觉得必须要穿与礼服搭配的专用牌子鞋。"
但所谓"温文尔雅"在福特的用语中颇有回旋余地。"我喜欢尝试各种面料的服装，"他补充说。"我有各种颜色的天鹅绒晚装西服。我最近穿了一件浅桃红色晚装西服，出席在洛杉矶举行的一场宴会，结果门店里的那款衣服随后被抢购一空。"
这个秋冬季，福特再接再厉，接连推出了紫红色、紫色、翠鸟蓝、虹彩海军蓝、铅灰色以及咖啡色等颜色的天鹅绒夹克装（售价2050英镑）。
在法律顾问斯图尔•特朗斯代尔(Stuart Lonsdale)看来，这样亮丽的颜色完全是不可想象的："我们这一行还是相当保守的，所以太艳丽的衣服（即便是黑颜色的天鹅绒西服）让人看了会直皱眉，"他说。
好在有些男装设计师显得更为传统。"黑领结归根到底是回归本原，" 埃德和拉芬斯克洛夫(Ede & Ravenscroft)零售部主管克莱尔•利特尔(Clare Little)说，它是伦敦历史最为悠久的裁缝行，专为王室贵胄定做礼服。"通行的款式是单排扣、尖角翻领(peak lapel)的晚装，再配以凸纹布传统衣领衬衣(Marcella shirt)、黑色丝质蝴蝶结、丝质黑色波纹裤背带、缟玛瑙饰扣与袖扣、黑色名牌鞋，若是再搭配上一条白色丝质流苏围巾效果会更棒。"
登喜路(Dunhill)男装部主管马克斯•萨默斯基尔(Ben Summerskill)也同意这种看法："如今开始抛弃好莱坞系细长领带的装扮，回归传统的无尾礼服、衬衣以及黑色丝质蝴蝶结领结。这是现在最流行的男装款式，这个秋冬季，我们的关注焦点是黑色丝绸面翻领(silk-faced lapels)搭配的深蓝色礼服(midnight blue tuxedos)。"
介于这两大流行风格之间的品牌其中就包括崭露头角的成衣品牌Rake，它最近刚刚推出了名为Rake Lounge的高端晚礼服系列。就是"把多数男士惴惴不安的衣服尖角部分钝化"，克莱夫•达比(Clive Darby)说，他是Rake品牌的创建者，也是萨维尔街的名裁缝。"在正规宴会（必须系黑领结），男士们该如何着装，必须独辟蹊径，所以我们就采取了较为灵活的应对之策，决定把所有的东西分开销售，"他说。"这种通用型搭配意味着男士的着装有更多的回旋余地，也有了更多的乐趣。黑领结给人的印象是自大又不合时宜，但这并非必须如此。"
那他的建议是什么？"一如既往的简约。一切尽在细节中。务必要让西服合体；这听起来很简单，但不可思议的是就有那么多人都搞错了。裤子不系皮带，事实上是压根就没有腰带环。衬衣应该是纽扣遮盖以及半展开领，而不是硬翻领；袖扣应该是与手表颜色相同的金属料，而且黑色皮鞋就必须配黑色袜。"
所有的行家都异口同声表示细节很重要。正如萨默斯基尔所言，"男士最常犯的错误是忽视细节：太多男士觉得着礼服时，穿双旧的黑色工作鞋去赴宴没啥大不了的。这不能马虎。而且，要学会如何自己系黑领结，这是每个男人着装的必修课。"
《花钱买服装的学问——衣冠楚楚还是拙劣别扭：不系黑领结如何穿得象模象样》
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译者：常和
http://www.ftchinese.com/story/001042254
Few things mark this time of year as much as hordes of black tie-clad men hailing cabs at cocktail hour. Once reserved for aristocratic dinners and state banquets, black tie now appears on invitations everywhere. A good thing, you might think, since the tuxedo can be a great leveller, the easiest way for men to dress up – but try to individualise it, and you run the risk of looking less James Bond, more Austin Powers.
"Even though you've had the invitation for weeks, a black-tie event always catches you by surprise somehow," says City of London analyst Robert Shaw. "I usually end up going for the safest option at the last minute. You don't want to stand out like the guys in the jazzy cummerbund and dickie bow sets – and you are never going to compete with the guy in his father's second-hand Savile Row tux and antique shirt studs – so straight down the middle always seems best."
According to Jonathan Swartland, suit buyer at Marks and Spencer, there's a new mood of smart dressing. He says: "I don't know whether there are more formal functions now but men are certainly making more of an effort to dress up when they do go to such events."
Stacey Smith, men's wear buyer at Matches, agrees: "We have definitely had a surge in tailoring sales, and the evening suit has been a big part of this," she notes. However, a quick poll of experts reveals a surprising lack of consensus about what modern black tie really means.
"I think that classic is the only way to wear black tie," says designer Tom Ford. "I love wearing black tie and usually end up attending a black-tie event several times a month. It's the perfect occasion for a man to look elegant. While I often vary my black-tie looks by wearing a velvet evening jacket, accessorising with diamond studs and cufflinks and the like, I always wear a classic evening shirt and a bow tie with my tuxedo. Make sure that the fit is perfect and you will feel comfortable. I also think that you must always wear patent evening shoes with a tuxedo."
But "classic" has a relatively elastic definition in Ford's lexicon. "I love experimenting with different fabrics," he adds. "I have velvet evening jackets in almost every colour. I wore a pale pink evening jacket to an event in Los Angeles recently, and that style sold out of our stores."
This season Ford has gone further, offering velvet jackets in fuchsia, purple, kingfisher blue, iridescent navy, lead grey and chocolate (£2,050).
For legal adviser Stuart Lonsdale, such a flamboyant look would be out of the question: "I work in a pretty conservative business so anything too showy, like a velvet jacket, even in black, would be frowned upon," he says.
Happily, some men's wear specialists are more traditional. "Black tie comes down to getting the basics right," says Clare Little, head of retail at Ede & Ravenscroft, London's oldest tailor and maker of ceremonial robes for royalty and members of the peerage. "What you need is a single-breasted, peak lapel evening suit, a traditional collar Marcella shirt, a plain black silk bow tie, black moiré silk braces, onyx studs and cufflinks, black patent shoes and perhaps a white silk fringed evening scarf."
Max Summerskill, men's wear director at Dunhill (evening suits from £995), agrees: "There's a move back to the traditional dinner jacket, shirt and black silk bow tie, and away from the Hollywood slim tie look. It is the most iconic style of dress for men. This season we're focusing on midnight blue tuxedos with black silk-faced lapels."
Those falling somewhere between these two camps include up-and-coming label Rake, which has just launched a premium evening wear line, Rake Lounge. This was "to take the edge off an area of clothing that most men panic about", says Clive Darby, the label's founder and a Savile Row stalwart. "There had to be a different way to how men address the question of dressing for black-tie events, so we took a more flexible approach and decided to sell everything as separates," he says. "That versatility means that men have more to play with, more fun. Black tie can come across as pompous and outdated, but this does not have to be the case."
His advice? "Keep it simple. It's all in the details. Make sure the suit fits; it sounds simple but it is amazing how many people get it wrong. No belts on trousers. In fact, no belt loops. The shirt should be fly-fronted and with a semi-spread collar rather than a wing collar. Cufflinks should be the same colour metal as your watch. And black shoes mean plain black socks."
The importance of detail is something all experts agree on. As Summerskill says, "The most common mistake men make is cutting corners on the details: far too many men think wearing their scuffed and worn black work shoes with a tux is all right. It's not. Also, learn how to tie your own bow tie. It's a sartorial rite of passage."
In How To Spend It – Penguins and peacocks: colourful alternatives to black tie
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