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Formal wear/attire

E

Exinor

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 9, 2010
87
14
I was looking at the history and know there have been a few threads like this, but nothing fairly recent so I hope you guys don't mind.

I'll be going to a formal event in a couple of weeks and thus, was thinking about buying a band to make my Apple Watch more elegant to match my attire. I plan to wear a black suit (still undecided on shirt and tie colors), along with the standard black leather shoes and belt. From what I hear, it's good to have a watch that has a leather band, to match the leather of shoes/belt.

I have a space black AW Stainless steel, currently with sports bands of black, white, and red. I thought maybe the black sports band would look too tacky for a formal event, but that's also part of my question.

I'm mainly debating on classic buckle black and leather loop black. I was leaning on the second because it's currently in-stock by my favorite vendor (Best Buy), however I will purchase the classic elsewhere if the difference in class/formality is that much more striking. I'm a total n00b in general when it comes to Men's fashion, haha.

In your experience or opinion, what would go best with my suit?
 
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All options are considered. I was wondering what you guys recommend, and what has worked best for you. Does the black Milanese look good with a suit?
 
Yeah, get a black Milanese loop band. The moko ones on Amazon are cheap and really nice.
 
Exinor said:
All options are considered. I was wondering what you guys recommend, and what has worked best for you. Does the black Milanese look good with a suit?
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I have the regular stainless steel watch and Milanese loop. I think it's the classiest looking one out of all the bands. I like it more than the link bracelet.

I'd imagine the black one would be more understated looking but definitely sharp.
 
I used a knock off black Milanese loop and think it goes well. I wear it with a lot of different stuff, but it looks great with formal wear imo.
 
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So the black Milanese will definitely look better with a suit than the leather counterparts? Thanks for all of your input so far.
 
bwoodruff said:
Just my opinion, but I'd say so, yes.
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It seems many agree with you, so looks like I'm going with black Milanese!

Although I'm a bit somber about it because now I wish I purchased the watch with the milanese instead of the sport band, lol. Oh well.
 
Exinor said:
It seems many agree with you, so looks like I'm going with black Milanese!

Although I'm a bit somber about it because now I wish I purchased the watch with the milanese instead of the sport band, lol. Oh well.
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I've got to cast a vote in favor of the black leather band, personally. In my opinion, the modern metal bands are suitable for work dress attire. But for more formal, social occasions, nothing dresses up better than classic leather. It'll correspond perfectly to your belt and shoes and look very classy.
Just my own 2cents!
 
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Theophil1971 said:
I've got to cast a vote in favor of the black leather band, personally. In my opinion, the modern metal bands are suitable for work dress attire. But for more formal, social occasions, nothing dresses up better than classic leather. It'll correspond perfectly to your belt and shoes and look very classy.
Just my own 2cents!
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Maybe with the stainless steel watch but I personally don't like the SS connectors with the sbss watch. Just doesn't look right.
 
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The last time I wore my tux, I wore my SS watch with its black sport band. It's still the only band I own for it, and I used the watch to give me directions to the concert.

I toyed with the idea of carrying a nicer watch in my pocket, but I was in the back of the band with my tuba. The watch still looked sharp, though—it's why I bought the polished SS model.

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I have a Space Black Stainless Steel. This band I have sounds like what you're looking for. If you are interested, I will post the link. I also recommend it myself.


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IphoneIssues said:
I have a Space Black Stainless Steel. This band I have sounds like what you're looking for. If you are interested, I will post the link. I also recommend it myself.


BbGFyGG.jpg




s0qIQdL.jpg
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We're all interested. Can you post a link?
 
I guess I'm confused.

First, the OP says he's going to a "formal event". "Formal" (or Black Tie) usually means that men wear tuxedos, not suits. Will you be wearing a tuxedo or a suit?

When I attend a formal event (e.g., a charity fundraiser or gallery opening where I wear a tuxedo), I don't wear my Apple Watch because I don't think it's formal enough. Instead, I wear my gold Ebel with black alligator strap. It matches my gold and onyx shirt studs and cufflinks. :)

But that may not be an option for you.... I would say that if you wear your Apple Watch with either a dark suit or a tux, I would not wear the black fluoroelastomer sport band, but rather some type of black leather band (your choice) or the black Milanese. IMHO, those are the two most elegant options to dress up the watch to best match your attire.
 
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tgara said:
I guess I'm confused.

First, the OP says he's going to a "formal event". "Formal" (or Black Tie) usually means that men wear tuxedos, not suits. Will you be wearing a tuxedo or a suit?

When I attend a formal event (e.g., a charity fundraiser or gallery opening where I wear a tuxedo), I don't wear my Apple Watch because I don't think it's formal enough. Instead, I wear my gold Ebel with black alligator strap. It matches my gold and onyx shirt studs and cufflinks. :)

But that may not be an option for you.... I would say that if you wear your Apple Watch with either a dark suit or a tux, I would not wear the black fluoroelastomer sport band, but rather some type of black leather band (your choice) or the black Milanese. IMHO, those are the two most elegant options to dress up the watch to best match your attire.
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Sorry for the confusion, as I'm not the classiest apple of the bunch, so my semantics may have been all wrong, haha. It's not so much formal as it requires me to wear at least a suit, meaning jacket with suit/dress pants, etc.

Thanks for the suggestions. Do you think the classic leather buckle and leather loop are equally classy for a band?
 
Exinor said:
Do you think the classic leather buckle and leather loop are equally classy for a band?
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I don't think they look equally nice. The difference is the wire lugs of the classic buckle, which add a little bit of sparkle and old-world charm.

The strictest rules of black-tie (and, even more formal, white-tie) suggest not wearing a timepiece at all, as you have no better place to be other than the event itself, and therefore have no need to fit it into a schedule.

In your case, "Formal-ish", I'll call it, a watch can certainly help set off the rest of your attire. The black body of your SB model makes it a little difficult to dress up, but I think the milanese mesh idea is a pretty good one, probably on par with a classic leather buckle.

Apart from the watch: Since you say your suit will be black, I'll only suggest not wearing a white shirt and black tie. Unless the event has been designated as black-tie for guests, black-on-white-on-black is pretty much reserved for the wait staff, bartenders, and musicians. ;)
 
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Exinor said:
Sorry for the confusion, as I'm not the classiest apple of the bunch, so my semantics may have been all wrong, haha. It's not so much formal as it requires me to wear at least a suit, meaning jacket with suit/dress pants, etc.

Thanks for the suggestions. Do you think the classic leather buckle and leather loop are equally classy for a band?
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OK. Just so you are clear, a suit by definition, means your jacket and your pants match. Whatever you choose to wear, make sure your jacket and pants match exactly (same fabric, pattern, and color). When you buy a suit, you purchase the jacket and pants together so it's easy and you can't screw it up.

As for the watch band, I think either the classic buckle or leather loop would be fine.
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BarracksSi said:
Apart from the watch: Since you say your suit will be black, I'll only suggest not wearing a white shirt and black tie. Unless the event has been designated as black-tie for guests, black-on-white-on-black is pretty much reserved for the wait staff, bartenders, and musicians. ;)
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I'd agree with that. Unless you're going to a funeral, a black suit needs a bit of color. One good look IMHO is a black suit, white shirt, and a steel blue tie.
 
tgara said:
OK. Just so you are clear, a suit by definition, means your jacket and your pants match. Whatever you choose to wear, make sure your jacket and pants match exactly (same fabric, pattern, and color). When you buy a suit, you purchase the jacket and pants together so it's easy and you can't screw it up.

As for the watch band, I think either the classic buckle or leather loop would be fine.
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Cool, I think I'll visit an Apple store this weekend and select something based on responses here.

Slightly off-topic, I have two full suits but neither pants fit me anymore. Was playing with the idea of using dress pants of the same color instead of buying a brand new suit, as the jackets still fit me perfectly--I do have dress pants that match the color, although not necessarily the fabric. But I guess that might be a completely different conversation altogether... I've already asked tons of people about it.
 
Exinor said:
Cool, I think I'll visit an Apple store this weekend and select something based on responses here.

Slightly off-topic, I have two full suits but neither pants fit me anymore. Was playing with the idea of using dress pants of the same color instead of buying a brand new suit, as the jackets still fit me perfectly--I do have dress pants that match the color, although not necessarily the fabric. But I guess that might be a completely different conversation altogether... I've already asked tons of people about it.
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umm go to a tailor?
 
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Exinor said:
Slightly off-topic, I have two full suits but neither pants fit me anymore. Was playing with the idea of using dress pants of the same color instead of buying a brand new suit, as the jackets still fit me perfectly--I do have dress pants that match the color, although not necessarily the fabric. But I guess that might be a completely different conversation altogether... I've already asked tons of people about it.
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The pants should either match exactly,, like tgara said,...

... or they should contrast, although having a dark jacket and gray trousers (as an example) is more of a European style than American. You'd see Germans in business attire with a dark blue or dark gray jacket and light gray pants.

But we're really starting to get into the weeds of proper dress attire here. Not everyone uses a pocket square, not everyone matches their metals, and some even wear Casio G-Shocks with their suits.

What's the event? I keep thinking you're talking about a wedding for some reason, but you haven't mentioned yet.
 
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