Advice on what to wear

[SDesai]

Hey guys, got a bit of a quandry on what to wear at an event that I hope I can leverage your expertise on. I have a family friend's granddaughters sweet sixteen to go to tomorrow and just found out the dress code says black or white. I didn't expect it to be formal and don't have a tux to wear. I would normally just wear a dark suit, however I have lost some weight recently and I'm swimming in my suits now. I was originally going to wear a dress shirt, slacks, and a gray blazer that fits my new frame.With the dress code, I'm guessing that's off the table. Should I just go with a white shirt and black slacks? I have an old charcoal vest that might be passable in fit, but not sure if that works either. I don't want to rent anything and I just order a new suit with the Indochino deal last week so buying something is off as well. Any suggestions? The majority of the people will be half my age, but I still got to look sharp in case the kiddies have some older single sisters or cousins.


Thanks in advance!

[tomservo]

If you want to look sharp don't pay attention to the dress code (It's a sweet sixteen for pete's sake!) and just wear what fits. I think slacks well fitting shirt and blazer with a tie will do you well.

[SDesai]

Good point. I normally didn't think or care about what I wore but thanks to Dappered I make an effort now. Though I probably overanalyze. Thanks for the advice and the shot in the arm!

[TommyTheCat]

As someone with a 16 year old sister, the main question I had after reading your post is just how you interpreted "black or white". Most of the time I'd think this meant black TIE, but the fact that it's a sweet sixteen is giving me flashbacks to episodes of My Super Sweet Sixteen from MTV. (You can lie all you want, but we all know you watched it too!) The (still?) popular idea was that simply no one wore color. I have distinct memories of homecoming dances with this exact theme. With that said, I think you should wear...


Black stitching on black flat brimmed Monster/DC/Metal Mulisha hat

White Affliction shirt with rhinestones and black angel's wings

Black Buckle jeans

Black duck bill loafers OR black/white striped Adidas

[zerostyle]

How about something like a white buttondown and charcoal blazer that's almost black? Not exactly sure what pants you'd wear with that though.

[Jeremy B.]

A family friends granddaughter? How old are you? If you are 18+ focus on looking like an adult in a sea of teenagers dancing to katy perry songs. If you are sub 18, slap on a white supreme snap-back and watch the ladies flock. Teenagers have no taste and will just focus on whatever was cool in last week's US magazine.

[thmage]

I wouldn't expect "Black and White" to mean black tie for a sweet sixteen. That probably literally means the color palette of decorations is black and white.