March 02, 2014

Oscar night - the preshow

Everyone knows the biggest night of the year in Hollywood – if not the date, then at least the name. It’s the ‘Oscars’ or, if you want to get formal about it, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Awards. It’s the template other industries use to compare with their own flagship nights: ‘Tonight is the Oscars of the banking world/the IT world/ the garden gnome industry’. The Oscars are the gold standard by which all other office parties are judged.

In the fashion and design world, it’s arguable which night is our Oscars. There’s certainly an argument that it’s the Oscars. The red carpet outside the Dolby theatre on Hollywood boulevard may as well be a catwalk, just with a little more smiling and a lot more schmoozing. As every other presenter says on the night on Oscar night, ‘the stars come out to shine!’

Once they’ve run the press gauntlet, the nominees will float inside to await the opening of the envelope containing their (literally) sealed fate. For designers, on the other hand, depending on whether or not they’ve been asked to make an outfit for an A-lister, they already know if they’ve won or not. They’re just waiting for the moment (or moments) Brad, Angelina, Tom, Meryl, Halle or George is asked that strangely phrased but all important question: ‘…and who are you wearing tonight?’

Unlike actual fashion shows or weeks, there’s only one Oscar night a year and, with the occasional exception, the outfits are all very wearable. While the women’s outfits are bespoke, bejewelled and bedazzling, the men’s are largely be…side the point. We have it easy in this regard. A nice tux (a very, very nice tux), bow tie, well-fitted shirt and shiny black shoes are what are required. Anything else is a bold and rebellious statement. As it happens that suits me just fine. I look forward to an early March evening in the near future when I’ll be happy to hear Matt Damon reply that he’s ‘wearing Carl Thompson’.

Now, without any further ado, let’s run through this year’s nominees for Pin Collar Shirts’ best dressed man in a Pin Collar Shirt:

Charlie Sims; The Only Way is Essex