Question from my colleague (a very macho New Zealand dude): 'I feel I may be lacking style and panache. I see capes are back for women this season. Is it a possibility for men or am I stuck with a trenchcoat?'
Mr Dandy: I love these, 'I have a friend ...' questions. Be fashionable and be proud: you want a cape for autumn-winter! Initial (Queensway Plaza, Admiralty, tel: 2442 1373) has cloaks in lightweight grey wool or black cotton for HK$2,990. Japanese designers seem to be into this look this season, too. Yoshio Kubo has done a bunch of comfy knit ponchos (HK$9,900; Joyce, Pacific Place, Admiralty, tel: 2523 5944). Reinventing the classics, Mihara Yasuhiro has styled his cape after an old-school duffle coat, buttons and all (HK$11,500; Joyce), while South Korea's Juun.J made his to look like a beige macintosh (HK$17,000; Joyce). Christopher Bailey has made Burberry's old trenchcoat look new with a 'transparent weather shield', basically a clear plastic cape with black tape along the seams (HK$13,000; Pacific Place, tel: 2918 9802). For boys who are into high fashion, there's Alexander Wang's amazing cloak, which starts as a grey knit hoodie at the top then graduates down into black leather (HK$36,900; Joyce).
I'm going to a 'white tie' ball soon. What's the correct way to dress for this? My budget (wife) and time frame says I'm not going to have anything made. I have my dad's old tuxedo. Should I just buy a white tie to go with it?
Mr Dandy: Ignore him, reader. In a world where few men still follow the rules of traditional tuxedos, how can a guy be expected to know what White Tie is? Most actors don't even bother with a bow tie for the Oscars any more, and you usually see them wearing normal ties in black with slim-fitting tuxes. It's called freedom, Dapper. And I'm all for it. At tux rental place Tuxe Top (1/F, Wing Cheong Building, 18 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai, tel: 2529 2179), a one-day rental of black tailcoat and trousers will set you back HK$750, with an additional HK$200 to rent a white waistcoat. You'll also need to pay a deposit of HK$4,500, which will be refunded upon return, plus HK$150 per extra day. You'll have to buy all the other things that go with it. Tuxedo by E-Rave (Sino Plaza, 255 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay, tel: 2577 1141) offers four-day rentals starting from HK$1,880. Then again, you could make a tongue-in-cheek statement and just wear a white tie with, well, anything from your dad's old tuxedo, or jeans and a T-shirt.