Silk Suit, Black Tie, I Don't Need a Reason Why

March 15, 2007 10:41 AM

On April 1, after the Ritualistic Burning of the Civilian Clothes, two fellows will spend four months and ten days travelling from Hong Kong to London, wearing tuxedos the entire time.
posted by fandango_matt (30 comments total)

While I think those two guys are going to have fun and I envy them... at this stage this is not very interesting to world at large.
posted by tkchrist at 10:49 AM on March 15, 2007

They seem unusually fixated on the possibility of unwelcome anal sex. Huh. I'm also a bit disappointed to see that they aren't committing to making the whole journey without ever changing tuxedoes. Cheap, gents.
posted by cortex at 10:52 AM on March 15, 2007

They seem rather preoccupied with being buggered. I'd suggest tails as a preventative measure.
posted by joseph_elmhurst at 10:53 AM on March 15, 2007 [1 favorite]

It seems that for a certain slice of humanity, it's no longer enough to just go out and travel, you have to make it into an event and add a pseudo "charity" aspect to it. We can't all be special snowflakes.

Actually, I'm just jealous I'm stuck in front of a computer today.
posted by Staggering Jack at 10:55 AM on March 15, 2007

Reminds of a sketch from The State.
posted by Sticherbeast at 10:56 AM on March 15, 2007

Person in HK / India / Kazaakhstan / Russia: "What are you guys doing?"

Guys: "Travelling from HK to the UK wearing tuxedos."

Person: "Oh, right, I see."

I'll keep an open mind for the time being but somehow I can't see this turning out interesting.
posted by rhymer at 11:01 AM on March 15, 2007

Zany. Or possibly madcap. But not both.
posted by hal9k at 11:03 AM on March 15, 2007

on April 1
posted by matteo at 11:06 AM on March 15, 2007

Meh tuxedos. I'd be impressed if it was in floor length gowns and high heels.
posted by gomichild at 11:06 AM on March 15, 2007

I think they should travel from Seattle to Miami in tuxedos. We Americans have become despicably slovenly over the last couple decades.
posted by Terminal Verbosity at 11:09 AM on March 15, 2007 [1 favorite]

Back in the day, gentlemen always wore tuxedoes for traveling.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 11:19 AM on March 15, 2007

I like stupid things for stupid things sake but this just isn't stupid enough.
posted by josher71 at 12:26 PM on March 15, 2007

I agree, I think it would be a better experiment if a bunch of men decided to adopt formal attire for a month or two... going to work every day dressed like William Powell or something. And I'll bet those guys would get more dates.

Since I'm a travel fiend I find this idea fun. But I find ANY idea involving traveling the world fun. Attire-wise, I'm just looking forward to see how the tuxedoes are going to LOOK by the end of the trip. I had 4 or so outfits packed for a 7 week holiday last year and I wanted to burn every piece by the time I was home. I even had a few things being held together with safety pins due to wear & tear.

And also... uh... there's not much dry cleaning going on in many of the places they'll be going, so I don't even want to think about how nasty that's going to be.
posted by miss lynnster at 12:50 PM on March 15, 2007

I suppose you're just some harmless beachcomber who happens to wear a TUXEDO!

\\didn't RTA
posted by Lord Kinbote at 12:53 PM on March 15, 2007

Didn't they already make a movie about this?
posted by jonmc at 12:56 PM on March 15, 2007

That is so punk.
posted by LordSludge at 12:58 PM on March 15, 2007

I was in Vegas this weekend for a wedding. I'd have thought that the folks there would be jaded to seeing brides, grooms and men in tuxes all the time.

I was wrong, everywhere we went there were picture requests, shouts of "congrats" and smiles.

I can't imagine what these guys will encounter on their trip. I hope they solve a couple crimes or recover stolen art work along the way.
posted by bottlebrushtree at 2:24 PM on March 15, 2007

In some of the more remote places they'll no doubt be trekking, many locals may have never seen/heard of a tuxedo before. So they may have no understanding of the fancy fun that one represents to western people. Too bad the first/last tuxedoes they ever see will probably be smelling like ass.
posted by miss lynnster at 2:45 PM on March 15, 2007

I like stupid things for stupid things sake but this just isn't stupid enough.

They could always lop off that detour around Afghanistan.
posted by dhartung at 2:50 PM on March 15, 2007

As an addendum, I believe they should carry a suit-case bar and have martinis (with olive) any time they cross a border.
posted by Parannoyed at 2:51 PM on March 15, 2007

I love to travel. But I think this is really stupid. Traveling should be about the places you are visiting, not about you.

It's also a little offensive because they'll be traveling through some of the poorer places in Asia, wearing ostentatiously expensive and upper-class clothing that probably cost about the annual income in many of these countries.
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 3:03 PM on March 15, 2007

Ah, for those blessed days when a man did not have to think about what to wear.
posted by chrismear at 3:06 PM on March 15, 2007

Alternate title: "How We Made Ewen MacGregor and Charlie Boorman Look Like Hell's Angels"
posted by Optamystic at 3:39 PM on March 15, 2007 [2 favorites]

Looks like they had the tuxedoes made while they were in Asia, so I can guarantee you they weren't NEARLY as expensive as you think.
posted by miss lynnster at 3:54 PM on March 15, 2007

Hah, good point, those Hong Kong suits and formal wear are famously good values...

Still, it sounds creepy to me! "Glorifying privilege" and all.
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 4:01 PM on March 15, 2007

Traveling should be about the places you are visiting, not about you.

Yep, I agree although I think this is a concept a lot of people either don't get or would argue that they can have it both ways. Maybe the can - I enjoyed the new dancing outtakes video by that where the hell is matt guy. So far, though, these guys don't seem to get it.
posted by Staggering Jack at 4:02 PM on March 15, 2007

They had those tuxes made on Khao San Road in Bangkok, so they could have gotten them for as cheap as US$250 pop.

And while it doesn't sound like the most fun one could ever have, it should make for some interesting reactions (positive and negative) and if it wasn't a couple of guys who apparently got drunk and started this on a dare, it would fall into the performance art category for me.

Which in my opinion is all about the reaction.

Some of the people they encounter might find it refreshing to see travellers dressed a little less slovenly than is the norm. Also, I love Parannoyed's idea.
posted by squasha at 5:21 PM on March 15, 2007

When I was in HS, my drama dept. bought me a $5 Goodwill tux for a part in a show. After the run, it wasn't worth getting cleaned, and it wouldn't fit anybody else, either, so they gave it to me. I wore it to two proms and and two senior balls. Then I took it to college with me.

I wore that tux on every possible occasion for my first couple years of college, until I really outgrew it. Dinners, dates. I think I wore it once or twice to chem lab.

The great thing is, no matter how preposterous, a tux really does add some 'tone' to any occasion.

For its finale, the very last time I wore it was when I changed the oil on my car.
posted by AsYouKnow Bob at 9:37 PM on March 15, 2007 [2 favorites]

Crazy Linux people and their Tux fetishes.
posted by fidelity at 5:53 AM on March 16, 2007

Back in the day, gentlemen always wore tuxedoes for traveling.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 7:19 PM GMT on March 15 [+]
[!]

That's not a tuxedo/dinner jacket. It's hard to tell, but it looks more like a morning or a day suit. Gentlemen wear morning suits during the day, and formal wear in the evening.
posted by jb at 10:13 AM on March 16, 2007