According to the tacit protocols of gala dressing, women, and not men, are meant to shine. Thus — whether by instinct or because that is what their Svengali stylists taught them — the best-dressed men at the 88th annual Academy Awards ceremony evinced faith in the simplicity of proper evening clothes, with the result that this was among the most stylish Oscars ceremonies in recent years.
Asked on the red carpet if he was going to any of the post-Oscars parties, Liev Schreiber said, “I’m so exhausted from tying my own bow tie, I’m not sure we’ll make it out,” underscoring an unvarying truth about the tuxedo and all that goes with it: Guys fear and despise the thing.
That is a pity because, as a uniform for formal dressing, it is hard to improve on a centuries-old formula constituted of four essential elements. While women confront a daunting array of choices when embarking on such an evening, men have it easy.
Imagine having to worry about whether to bare one’s shoulders or arms or back, or submit to torso waxing in order to allow for diamond peekaboo abdominal cutouts or décolletage. Think about how much can be concealed by a garment that leaves only head and hands unconcealed. Even the Spanx worn by a surprising number of men are easy to hide beneath a suit.
Largely absent were the satin ruffles and Santa fur trim of previous awards shows (Isaac Hayes, Oscars 1971); the widespread deployment of inappropriate four-in-hand ties; the open-collar shirts (Tom Cruise, 2001) better suited to the opening of an insurance policy than a winner’s envelope.
Gone were the awful frock coats (Russell Crowe, 2001); the hog caller get-ups (Billy Bob Thornton, 1997); the tone-on-tone blunders that are a John Travolta specialty.
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