Burns Night is coming. Formal on the cheap.

[Alan H]

I absolutely ADORE what you've written here

My only objection is that the Uniformalwearhouse jacket is polyester, which tends not to breath and looks extra "waiter-ish". For the same price, one can find a (used?) wool Spencer or Eton jacket, which IMHO would look and feel better.

I dunno, Colin. monkey@arms ... who doesn't post here much any more, had one of these Eton jackets and from 6 feet away I sure couldn't tell. I thought he looked great. He did say that it was only partially lined... but hey, that's why it's $39.

I have to say though, if the Spencer Jacket that usonian gave us the link to is A.) wool and B.) only $20 more than the Uniformalwearhouse jacket, I'd be hard pressed to justify the polyester jacket.

[CMcG]

I dunno, Colin. monkey@arms ... who doesn't post here much any more, had one of these Eton jackets and from 6 feet away I sure couldn't tell. I thought he looked great. He did say that it was only partially lined... but hey, that's why it's $39.

I have to say though, if the Spencer Jacket that usonian gave us the link to is A.) wool and B.) only $20 more than the Uniformalwearhouse jacket, I'd be hard pressed to justify the polyester jacket.

I'm sure monkey@arms looked smashing and I'm not saying that polyester is categorically wrong or bad. My point is merely that one can get a short-waisted formal jacket, in wool, for LESS money than the Uniformalwearhouse jacket. Friday's link showed just one example, for $35. I'd agree that even for an extra $20 at the link usonian provided, it would still be worth it.

I've also seen Spencer/Eton jackets on eBay and my local thrift shops for $25-$40, assuming a typical bargain hunter doesn't have a problem with used clothing...

[Alan H]

I'm sure monkey@arms looked smashing and I'm not saying that polyester is categorically wrong or bad. My point is merely that one can get a short-waisted formal jacket, in wool, for LESS money than the Uniformalwearhouse jacket. Friday's link showed just one example, for $35. I'd agree that even for an extra $20 at the link usonian provided, it would still be worth it.

I've also seen Spencer/Eton jackets on eBay and my local thrift shops for $25-$40, assuming a typical bargain hunter doesn't have a problem with used clothing...

Wow...I've scanned our local Goodwill shops for years and never found anything! You're lucky! I wish I WOULD find something!

[CMcG]

Wow...I've scanned our local Goodwill shops for years and never found anything! You're lucky! I wish I WOULD find something!

I guess we are lucky in Toronto If you're ever in the neighbourhood, you should check out Kensington Market. There are a ton of vintage/consignment/thrift shops with all kinds of goodies, sometimes even including kilts! I'm pretty sure the people that run these shops comb the Goodwills and get everything good before we ever find them Granted, you would pay $25-$40 for a short tux jacket in Kensington Market, rather than $7-14 at the Goodwill but they have a pretty good, curated selection, which means less garbage to sift through than the donation-stocked Goodwill or Salvation Army.

[Tobus]

Alan, those are great options for those looking to dress up on a budget.

I'd also recommend looking on eBay for "mess jackets" or "mess dress". I just did a quick check, and there are tons of them on there, in lots of sizes, at prices from $10 to $50. A simple removal of accents that make them look military would clean them up for civilian use without having to do any real tailor-style alterations.

[tundramanq]

XMarks evil influence strikes again. I just bought a black Spenser Jacket from worldwidetuxedos.com - $69 including shipping. They had my size and price. Like the little birdy - Cheep, cheep, cheep.

I love the look of the PC but choke on the price for an item I may never use as full formal.

Will this jacket work in less formal mode sans waistcoat (vest)?

Also am not a jewelry person so I will be swapping the buttons to probably smaller less flashy Celtic ( I did see a neat Viking set) pewter buttons. Possibly leaving the sleeves and "tail" buttonless. Are there rules on size, design, material and color of the buttons.

When I get it I will model it as is as am unsure of the tail designs PC-ness.

I want this jacket usable by me without, bending any noses.

[CMcG]

...
Will this jacket work in less formal mode sans waistcoat (vest)?

Also am not a jewelry person so I will be swapping the buttons to probably smaller less flashy Celtic ( I did see a neat Viking set) pewter buttons. Possibly leaving the sleeves and "tail" buttonless. Are there rules on size, design, material and color of the buttons.

...

You can definitely wear it without a waistcoat and replace it with a waist plate belt or go with neither. I don't think, however, that does much to reduce the formality... it is basically a short tuxedo jacket.

As far as I know, Spencer jackets don't have tails, so you needn't worry about what to do with them. Nor does it have fancy cuffs (gauntlet, mariner, etc), so you would only need to think about the buttons on the front and the regular cuff. Traditionally, formal buttons are silver and tend to be diamond shaped, like the ones seen on a typical PC, but pewter would definitely tone down the bling.