MALE CALL

Everyday Joes should dress as status and context dictate

Q. While watching the Grammy Awards, I saw John Legend, John Corden, Jay Z, and even one singer with green hair, who were dressed appropriately for a gala, but nearly no one else was. Is casual dress really considered acceptable now in these settings?

A. The people who attend the Grammy Awards -- presenters and award winners -- are not your typical human beings. What many of them wore went way beyond what the rest of us would call "casual." Perhaps "wild" describes it better.

I always welcome questions about popular culture because it's something most of us have seen, and because the questions usually have parallels beyond the celebrity world. What artists wear to dress up but still stay "hip" is similar, in many ways, to what the rest of us might wear out on a special Saturday night (except 10 to 100 times the price). By the same token, when readers ask about a certain outfit they own or certain work situations they encounter, there are definite parallels for other men as well.

In this case, given my preference for traditional dress, I was happy to see a reasonable number of the male stars handsomely dressed in "correct" (or nearly correct) black-tie attire (including orthodox tuxedos and black bow ties). Of course, some of them did feel the need to introduce offbeat accessories, such as white sneakers, and too many wore out-of-season white jackets and/or black shirts.

Still, the first question about what is acceptable would be what kind of "setting" one considers the Grammy Awards to be. It is the awards ceremony for songs and performances across the gamut of the musical arts, so it is not surprising that the clothing follows that same wide range. This is an event where clothing makes statements. For "metal" rockers and hip-hop artists, there are styles that many wanted to continue in an upscale event, much as a chief executive officer might continue to wear a blazer at an entirely casual event.

Even those who sported jackets and ties tended to take them in a direction related to their type of music. Neal Diamond is old guard, but he wore a metallic jacket, much as you might expect at one of his performances. Chance the Rapper wore a suit and tie, but combined it with his trademark "3" baseball cap.

Others dressed to match the performing looks of those they were memorializing (particularly Prince, George Michael and the Bee Gees). This was basically a glittery collection of musical performers who dressed for the flamboyant roles they play on stage, as opposed to the more elegant way that most actors "dress up" for the more staid awards shows, such as the Golden Globes, the Emmys and the Academy Awards.

Oddly enough, this is one of those rare events where the conventional and the outlandish both seem to fit. But most of the world is not like that. Since most of us are not known by one name and the persona it includes, such as Legend or Adele, our clothes should not resemble costumes.

We don't need to be total conformists, and we can occasionally tweak a traditional rule or two. But how casual you can go really depends on who you are and what you do for a living. The world of professionals and businessmen has not yet become so casual that "anything goes." As I have said before, it still helps to know the rules and to be logical about how far you stray from them. Wise clothing choices are items that are age-appropriate, suitable to the occasion, flattering and that bring us compliments. The positive results: fitting in and feeling confident.

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High Profile on 02/26/2017

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