European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 2, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse America s fancy for the Tuxedo bylis Belkin new York times r Obert Beaty thinks it is lha Griswold Lorillard invented the Tuxedo whence did ii has been 100 years since Lon lard a tobacco heir Horn Tuxedo Park. N.y., shocked proper society by wearing a Lawless jacket to i Lorenl dinner belly. President of the american formal War association intends to commemorate that act of rebellion which started a s600 million Industry. Had to Centennial fallen us a Tew years agn. He says. The festivities would have been subdued the Luodo had fallen out of favor. But this year is Orie of the Best that la Edo renters und retailers have seen and they Are in the mood Lor a parly the timing is perfect or the said Dealy. Chairman of Mitchell s formal Wear based in Allan la. Which plans to open its 100th store this year to commemorate the Tuxedo s birthday we could t have planned it Tuxedo rentals usually at about $40 to s100 a weekend depending on accessories Ware $500 million last year up 10 percent from the year before and 50 percent in live years. Sales of the suits most in the $300 to $700 Range increased at the same Rale to More than $ 100 million. Business is so Strong that alter six. One of the nation s largest luxe do manufacturers will be moving to a bigger la Clory later this year increasing its space of 400.000 Square feet Tom 100.000 like much of the fashion Industry the Tuxedo business is a reflection at a nation s mood. What we re seeing is a return to elegance said Antoinetle Fitapelli. A spokesman for the formal Wear association. A Tuxedo does something to a Man. He puts one on and he glows and he lady he s with glows 1oo. Today that s whal people Are looking it was t always. The Tuxedo virtually disappeared in ins tale 1960s and Early 70s, according to Harvey Weinstein. President of lord West another big formal Wear manufacturer. Students rejected the prom As archaic weddings were held Barefoot in open Fields and social events were More Likely to be informal. The Industry gave a collective cringe when Jimmy Carlef brought informality to the White House and a Sulla of Relief when Ronald and Nancy Reagan brought an emphasis on elegance or. Reagan has helped Beaty said we Are forever grateful to i Don t know thai Reagan sets the trend so much As Lyp fios said Joel gingiss of gingiss formal Wear which with 229 stores is the largest Tuxedo renter in the country. Everywhere things Are More forma not just the White thai formality is a Akinfa some unlikely forms. There Are. For example dynasty and Miami vice collections of format Wear inspired by the television series. And in a series of television ads Lor his chickens Frank Perdue dons a Tuxedo for a formal dinner party the new interest in tuxedos is most apparent at the Erma Bombeck i Yor Tift Phi Llyl fining a 7-year-Otd ring bearer of gingiss formal Eor with 229 Loiet the nation t target Ivy to Rintar. Altar Between 75 and 80 percent of All rentals Are for weddings. Winstein said and " 10 years ago wow a Lucky if 50 percent of Lisl tire grooms wore one " today 85 percent of first Lime grooms to in tuxedos As do the 6.5 Ushers in the average wedding parly the Weinstein is Root will he Wear a Tuxedo but which one will he Wear " the next largest rental category is proms which have also made a comeback. Ii was Ane Lype of party and the tilds totally rejected it Wein Ilein said of the lean years of the 1960s it s still an establishment party. But now they Povl it " More social and business events Aro Black tie As Well. Charities love Fitapelli said if you put Breitk lie on the invitation it creates a special Aura and you can jus Lily $200 or the the jump in the number of Normal events Ueall a a spiral that is Good for business Weinstein said because they use a Tuxedo so often they buy instead of rent he added. Once he owns one. He welcomes the Opportunity to Wear one. So there Are Moie formal events and More men go Oul and just As the attitude toward formal Wear has changed Over the last decade so has the nature of the formal Wear itself. A Tuxedo is different from an everyday Sun by dint of the Salin Collar and Satin Stripe Dawn the Pant leg and the formal accessories such As 1�e pleated shirt but that formula still leaves Toom Lor experimentation. We have gone through the lad periods responding to consumer demand said. He remembers the Nehru Tuxedo Styli of the mid-1960s, and the formal Lurl Leneck look. There were the Days of the red Tuxedo Jack Hyde who teaches men s Wear design and marketing Ai the fashion Institute of technology recalls thinking. I have to have he bought one wore in at a convention in the catskills and someone tried to Dray to up on the podium they thought i was the emcee Lor the he said. And there were the years when those grooms who did Wear tuxedos wore pastel shades of Blue Green and yellow. I think Hal when the people who were married in those outfits look Al the pictures they gingiss said. Fortunately Good taste prevailed As it always Weinstein said. We re into a very restrained traditional c habitation parents of Young adults have Learned to live with the idea missing Church on sunday hey. There Are some things you can t orce. Dropping out of College the rationale is you can t live your children s lives Lor them. But if there is one thing parents stand firm on. It s a wedding. They want to see their child join hands with a steady Job at the altar of employment and Promise to love and to cherish from this Day Forward for retirement benefits or for mergers. Lor pay raises of layoffs. In slumps and in Stock splits till death do them part. You re seeing a clash these Days Between a generation who believes a Job is like an arranged marriage in Lime you la learn 10 love it and their children who feel employment is a stepping Stone to lunch. Each generation brings to the work ethic an important ingredient memory. Parents remember when jobs were non existent when education opened doors for the privileged. When Compromise was a Way of life and Pride was a luxury no one could Allord. A Man or woman never forgets whal it is like of be out of work. Ever. Their children also have memories. They remember a Good Standard of living As much education As they would tolerate and a father who was never Home to enjoy the spoils and counted the Days until he retired. Sometimes i gel the feeling Young people Wisn they could Leel the same things their parents feel about a Job. That it would bring them Lul Willment. Make them feel productive a part of things so Why do they resist being Woven into the fabric of the american dream maybe it s because most of them do look upon a Job As a Bride. A lifetime commitment to what. To Settle Down amass five rooms of materialism and spend the rest of their lives making payments on months two weeks longer than the Money. What if the Job is great Are they trapped for a lifetime in a web of ambition and corporate climbing do they lose a part of themselves while they re marked to a Job do they miss Oul on other exciting adventures and possibilities is fooling around out of the picture Are their dreams a part of the Price ii the future is filled with apprehension about the stale of the world what have they missed by being traditional and doing what is expected of them. Meanwhile. I he voices of experience Challenge them to grow up Lake your place in society Settle Down and Lay 1he groundwork for your this is the season when every graduate in the world is being asked what Are you going to do with the rest of your life they Are often accused of being insecure when they answer they Don t know. Who is More insecure the Man or woman who is afraid to let go. Or the Man or woman who is afraid to hang on when you know that you la know whal you re going to do with the rest of your life. 1914. 1.01 ant Al Tymn sad Scalt monday. June 2, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 17
