It’s in the invitation
Invitations indicate the proper attire for an event. This designated look is intended for photo opportunities that define what kind of gathering is being recorded, and what socioeconomic types are in attendance. The requested look is the costume that provides a theme for later coverage in lifestyle magazines and postings of selfies for social media. (It was a fab party.)
While special people, like government officials, celebrities still in the limelight, and zillionaires with nothing to prove, are seldom bound by rules of proper attire and can walk into the most formal ballroom dancing scene in torn jeans, peasants like most of us have to observe the rules of requested attire if we are not to look like detritus the cat dragged in or be rejected at the registration area — Sir, the children’s party is at another floor.
Few heed the invitation, even the request to state whether one is coming, only noting the venue, date, and time. (You must be seated and have your phone on mute by 4:45 p.m.) Invitations now use a more exact term — business attire stands for semi-formal, totally dismissing such occupations as advertising copywriter, karaoke GRO, and gym trainer.
Informal evening wear is now called “Smart Casual,” which is the same as casual but using shinier material and lower necklines for ladies, and shirts for men with sleeves folded thrice — denims are allowed, preferably bespoke.
“Plain casual” (come as you are) allows more leeway as long as clothes selected are not too ratty and retrieved from the donation bin. Sleep wear like tank tops and boxer shorts are not acceptable. New categories are always coming up:
• Filipino Formal — Jusi barong or piña and black pants for men and long gowns with butterfly sleeves or Mindanao prints for women. This classic attire is favored in weddings and national awards.
• Ballroom Formal — this note signals the following: Those who don’t tango or swing need not show up. Ballroom attire includes availability of
dance instructors (ratio of 1 buck to 10 matrons) with three changes of underwear and generous sprinkling of industrial strength cologne. Castanets for the flamenco numbers are optional. • Sixties Retro — Flared pants, paisley shirts,
and beads for people who feel secure about their gender. Retro should not exude a mothball aura. • Formal glam — this new category includes
tuxedoes, suits, barong, and long gowns again for ladies.
The matter of attire as status symbol has always been part of the social rules. With a horde of newly minted millionaires who are deposited in driveways of hotel lobbies in Benzes (was
it an Uber?), it is more difficult to tell the haves from the wannabes in a social setting.
In the office, female attire is undergoing major changes. The corporate female prefers a suit to a dress ( heaven forbid with large prints of gazelles being chased by a goddess). Colors are muted like charcoal gray, beige, and navy blue with striped or plain blouses underneath, and no tie. Mannish attire and subdued colors indicate a female hyena disposition. Even alpha males let these women on top (a hierarchical position only in this case) into the elevator first. They may even call them “ma’am” and compliment their e-mail on rightsizing the organization.
Street attire is an indicator of a country’s economic progress.
Tokyo streets show men in dark suits talking on their cell phones and rushing off in a horde to cross the street or board the train. In the heart of Makati City and BGC, men and women in
casual attire and in a hurry probably work for call centers. Walking with them ready to cross the same street are others in undershirts and shorts selling boiled peanuts or a young woman in a tee shirt two sizes too large, carrying an infant.
To look like a hot emerging economy on Bloomberg, we need to dress up the man on the
street in the commercial centers. He should at least be attired in Filipino Informal — khaki slacks and a plain white shirt with pockets rushing purposefully to an escalator.
Still, the invitation for an event is easier to stage. Those in improper garb are simply not photographed or cropped if they rush uninvited in front of the photo wall. Improperly attired intruders are called photo bombers.
With a horde of newly minted millionaires, it is more difficult to tell the haves from the wannabes in a social setting.