Black Tie Watches

Go with what makes you smile. Your sense of happiness and comfort may rub off on those around you.

I've worn Vans slip-ons with a shawl collar tuxedo ensemble before, specifically because the shoes were the exception piece. Everything else was legit.

I'm no expert, but attire/fashion rules can be bent or outright broken sometimes......

TL:DR wear what you want, how you want..previous points about cufflinks stand, bigger pieces will get caught.

And for me a pocket watch only works with some sort of vest, if you are renting, does the rental have a vest?

My word...A gentleman would never rent a tuxedo! But also, a thifted tux cost less than a rental. Lol.

And totally agree, my favorite thrift find is a Brooks Brothers Corduroy Tux..👌🏻🤙🏻🤘🏻.

Clowns wear pants too...

On this side of the pond, the only time a bow tie is absolutely required is for black or white tie. On other occasions they're barely worn. Whereas in the USA you still see people wearing them with jackets and suits.

I'm of the old school that says no watch for formal events, but really a pocket watch or this Cartier are both fine. I'm biased against hunter cases though.

I trust you to choose an elegant black band and not something that looks like a razor strop with blunt raw edges and crude stitching.

A Tank is always a good idea 👌🏻

The Piaget in the pictur would be amazing as well 😉

Yup. Seersucker and a bowtie is very classy in summer, especially in the south. Otherwise you will look gross and sweaty at outdoor events.

I always go actual hand tied vs premade, adds that subtle je ne sais quoi, YMMV.

Indeed. I had to ask what seersucker was when friends in Texas mentioned it.

I have to admit I didn't identify correlation between bow ties and outdoor summer events. Tended to be more slightly eccentric lawyers and academics who wore them year round in my experience. 100% agreed on hand tied being fun. It's ultimately exactly the same knot as a shoelace I think. Still, no shade on those who go with pre-tied for convenience.

By far the most valuable contribution to this thread, including mine! 007 opened the floodgates on watches with formal wear and life would be dreadfully boring if no-one ever broke "rules".

After all, black tie was originally developed as a less formal alternative to previous conventions.

Have two seersucker ensembles now, precisely because I run hot, and anything more formal outside almost has to be linen or seersucker to keep me from looking like I'm either running a Murph WOD or looking like I just stepped out of the pool.

Plus playing with textures and colors is fun.

I wish I owned that Piaget! Plus there's a clue in the pic...

Being from Texas, I own seersucker and linen suits. But this is late Fall and the weather should be nice and cool.

That Piaget was made for black tie affairs, beautiful watch. I didn’t want to wear my Orient watches (my only dress watches” to the last black tie affair so I put my GMT on leather strap and I think it looked great.