What We Wear Wednesdays, 4: puttin' on my...

White tie is the uniform of choice for men conductors.

Before I start ranting, I refer you to Fred Astair singing "White Tie and Tails" in Top Hat:
EDIT: embedding has been disabled since I wrote this, but do go have a look at the first couple of minutes.  Totally worth it.

The outfit does good things for a man's silhouette... broad shoulders, narrow middle, long legs... Sometimes I think men are smart about fashion: they find something that works and they keep it.  A man could be wearing this any time in the past two centuries and not look too anachronistic.  Women's formalwear in that time has gone wild six times over.

So, as you can tell, I'm a big fan of white tie.  But, as with all things, I think if you're gonna do it, you should do it right.

Technically, a white-colored tie should only be worn with a formal tails jacket, along with a white, pique-front shirt and a white vest.  Same satin stripe pants as in a tuxedo.  Very few occasions call for white tie anymore.  I think the Presidential Inauguration Ball is one of them, but our President didn't quite do it.

Have you spotted the errors?  He's wearing a white tie and vest, but a dinner jacket!  A DINNER jacket!!!  I mean, after watching Fred above, don't you wish the President were in tails?  It looks a little like he's doing the cheesy match-my-tie-to-my-prom-date thing, and the first lady happens to be wearing white.  However, our national leaders are the makers of manners, so I suppose this is appropriate now.  I certainly see grooms doing it all the time, but I always assumed it was a variation on black-tie with a "colored" tie where the "color" happens to be white.  This certainly seems to be an occasion where he should have been in white tie, which makes this a variation on white tie where the jacket is the wrong shape.  I know I can't complain because the President did it, but... I like rules!  Adherence to esoteric rules like these feels like a nod to heritage, to history, to tradition.  It's classy to wear classic attire.  The man is a class act, and this doofy outfit comes off far less swanky than he deserves.

By the way, though, her gown is exactly appropriate.  The white threatens to look weddingy, but the texture in it prevents that, plus her hair and make-up aren't over-done.  Also, the slight train carries just the suggestion of royalty.  I love it.

Would a woman conductor ever wear a gown like that?  I don't think so.  As I've said before, sleeveless is both less professional (because more feminine?) and has the potential to obfuscate gesture.  Also, I don't think a conductor can get away with a train.  It's not practical.  Finally, I don't think a conductor would wear solid white for a performance in a dark space.  A white linen suit for a summer outdoor matinee, possibly.  But as we've already discussed, one wears a formal gown like this only in the evening.  And I think stage lights would really make this dress look awful and distracting in front of a sea of performers.

Coming, as I am, from the perspective that performers should dress for performances not in costumes, but in actual clothing, I heartily support white tie and tails for performances after dark.  I wish conductors would re-think attire for matinees so that real evening wear doesn't get relegated to the world of costumes and uniforms worn only by a small number of men in an esoteric profession.