The London Lounge

I have written a blog post on my experiences with obtaining opera pumps which may be of interest to those wishing to go down the RTW/MTO route:

http://charlesrupertdomeki.wordpress.co ... era-pumps/

The more ancient form of court shoes had buckles and this kind is still used today for court dress.

It is my understanding that the cut steel buckles presently used are actually an austerity measure of Puritan influence, while bows and rosettes of extraordinary fanciness date to an earlier time. The bows, of course, could be fixed with a buckle, or clasped with a jewel.

We of the London Lounge tend to be traditionalists,I as much as anyone. We long for aesthetic and social order and thus we cultivate these as best we can in style and manner. Yet, I wonder if there are some items of dress,very few admittedly (and God forbid the stroller not one of them),that are best consigned to bygone eras. Could the opera pump be one? Yes, I know that it is "correct". However,in attending numerous black tie affairs,I have never seen even one man wear them.

But whenever we do see them worn, they look admirably well, don't they?
I suppose the issue is that modern men get scared at the ballerina shoe appearance and the silk bow, but that is because they judge the shoe out of context. I have noticed something similar with ties: some look excellent in the shop but they never seem to go with anything in your wardrobe, while others that may look pretty plain on the shelf are actually great complements to many shirts and coats. I believe that when you put the opera pumps in the sober context of evening dress, all anxiety and worries melt away. Just the way a pinch of salt makes a cup of milk taste sweeter, rather than salty, some items need to be judged in their context - but we never go buy opera pumps wearing a dinner suit, so we take a look at this antique shoe with its precious silk bow and shiny luster, low cut and stringless, perhaps try it on under a pair of flannel trousers we happen to be wearing and decide it's "too much". But we forget that even a white linen pocket square can be "too much" in the wrong context.

Costi, Perhaps you are right. I'm willing to concede that my taste in this matter is colored. If I saw black tie and pumps on a fellow Lounger surely I would amire the total presentation and the shoes as part of the whole.

rodes wrote:If I saw black tie and pumps on a fellow Lounger surely I would amire the total presentation and the shoes as part of the whole.

Phew!... So I can post this:

Phew!... So I can post this

Not only this but you can post it any time you wish, spontaneously, on a whim or just for the heck of it.

A superb look.

I think your remarks above about "context" open up many avenues of thought about what embodies true style. So many men overlook the context of their dress and by extension the "atmosphere" in which they will wear the clothes. Presence is the ability, as M. Chekov said, to "mold" ,to impact and to create atmosphere like a great actor does on stage. A stylish presence has very much the same effect.

Cheers

Michael

Noble Savage wrote:

The more ancient form of court shoes had buckles and this kind is still used today for court dress.

The bows, of course, could be fixed with a buckle, or clasped with a jewel.

Actually, if you want to wear buckles you need another pair as the bow cannot be detached unless you cut the thing off. Also, there are two mechanism for attaching the buckle. The more ancient way is a real buckle with prongs and forks that attach to two flaps on the shoe. The modern buckle simply has a clip at the back that slips onto the piece if leather attached across the front.

rodes wrote:We of the London Lounge tend to be traditionalists,I as much as anyone. We long for aesthetic and social order and thus we cultivate these as best we can in style and manner. Yet, I wonder if there are some items of dress,very few admittedly (and God forbid the stroller not one of them),that are best consigned to bygone eras. Could the opera pump be one? Yes, I know that it is "correct". However,in attending numerous black tie affairs,I have never seen even one man wear them.

I wouldn't wear pumps with black tie myself but I would with white tie. And of course, if you wear breeches with white tie (at very formal events and balls) then it must be pumps.

I wear my OP's as often as possible.

I'm impressed that anyone would feel able to carry off wearing court dress at a serious event - if you have, then well done. For what it's worth, I think that if you are going to do so agan, you might consider getting a tailcoat specifically for that purpose. In my view, people in breeches have always looked better with rather shorter tails, ending above the knee. A survey of old prints shows, I think, that such was the turn of the 19th/20th century understanding of a good fit. I think yours would be much improved if those tails were shorter, ended about an inch above the knee, and if you didn't see too much of the tail from either side of your legs. Where the tails are too full, it makes one's legs appear very thin. If you can't see breeches from behind - it looks Very Odd Indeed. My tails were that length that you have at an intermediate fitting - I think it works well with full trousers, but not with slim trousers, and certainly not with breeches and hose. If you agree, the good news is that having the shape of the tails altered isn't such an expensive job. A also think that if the tails are going to be that long, they benefit from having more of a 'point' to them. Very 'square cut tails' work well only, in my view, if they are very short, perhaps 2" above the knee. A good film of all variations is the Russian version of "War and Peace", in the ballroom scene.
Only my $0.02.

Back on topic - do you think these people make for New and Lingwood?

Yes, one of my friends told me the tails were a tad too long. I am going to get another one that has shorter tails but at a later date (I'm currently skint at the moment).