Dressing-up for a black-tie event is oftentimes fraught with anxiety for many men, who find the old-fashioned tuxedo a bit dated or confining...
In response to this dilemma, the online men’s fashion retailer Mr Porter has created a comprehensive iPad app dedicated to the art of formal wear. The first edition of the annual issue was unveiled last month for the holiday season, and it provides numerous dressing options and advice to help men of any age find a comfortable and individual style for a black-tie affair. It comprises four chapters on fashion and etiquette, featuring interviews with menswear insiders—including Simon Cundy, the managing director of the Savile Row tailors Henry Poole & Co.—on how to wear the tuxedo, and interactive programs that allow users to wind a Junghans Max Bill watch, for instance, or learn to tie a bow tie.
Users can purchase products directly through the app, including evening-wear pieces from a range of designers and a limited-edition midnight-blue tuxedo ensemble by Brioni, exclusively for Mr Porter, that features a one-button jacket with grosgrain peak lapels, a pale-blue evening shirt, and a silk grosgrain bow tie and cummerbund.
Aside from fashion guidance and shopping, the app provides an element of entertainment with a behind-the-scenes look at the planning behind some of the society world’s most epic events, including Baron Guy de Rothschild’s Proust Ball in France in 1971 and Truman Capote’s Black and White Ball in New York in 1966; and provides humorous tutorials on blending cocktails, dancing well, and mastering pickup lines.
