Cheap formal wear?

[toneinedin]

As I read this thread I must start by questioning the title. As many have suggested cheap formal wear does not look good no matter what. However, cheap does not have anything to do with price. Cheap is poor fitting, poor material, poor color selection etc. even if the price tag is high.
Dress to impress not to dazzle. Dress with style and wear with pride.

So very well put.

It isnt what you wear but how you wear it that matters.

When you have been in Moscow and seen the Nouveau riche dropping $2000 on dinner in their armani suits and gucci shoes but still looking like lottery winners and then you remember the 80 year old italian gentleman you met in Florence as he was going to the shops to buy bread but he was dressed as if he was getting married and on his way to church you know style is not something you can buy off the rack.

[JakobT]

I've read this thread with some interest, and it seems to me that what is being discussed is etiquette on one hand, and manners on the other, and sometimes the two are confused. In this connection, I'd like to share with you all a quote from Quentin Crisp's excellent book "Manners From Heaven":

"Etiquette...is a form of exclusion, a system designed to make people (especially those not of one's "class") feel ill at ease and out of place. Manners, on the other hand...are a technique of inclusion, a way of ensuring that in our company no one will ever be made to feel that he is a outcast by reason of his birth, education or occupation. To drink from your fingerbowl may be a breach of etiquette, but if a host, seeing his guest make this mistake, did the same, it would be a sign of good manners."

[kiltedcarpenter]

I've read this thread with some interest, and it seems to me that what is being discussed is etiquette on one hand, and manners on the other, and sometimes the two are confused. In this connection, I'd like to share with you all a quote from Quentin Crisp's excellent book "Manners From Heaven":

"Etiquette...is a form of exclusion, a system designed to make people (especially those not of one's "class") feel ill at ease and out of place. Manners, on the other hand...are a technique of inclusion, a way of ensuring that in our company no one will ever be made to feel that he is a outcast by reason of his birth, education or occupation. To drink from your fingerbowl may be a breach of etiquette, but if a host, seeing his guest make this mistake, did the same, it would be a sign of good manners."

Thank you for your comments! I found this after I wrote my previous post.Again I say,forgive me if I sound angry, but I have had my fill of "people" judging me because I dont have manicured fingernails.....

JakobT Thank you for this clarification and I hope others will take it to heart before they judge!