Do We Need Tailcoats???

I think i've got the Sub-fusc covered...but do we need tailcoats as a fresher? If we do, when exactly do we need one?

Cheers

Reply 1

Coth

Tailcoats?

Nope. Any black suit is fine for sub-fusc.

I'd also reccomend a pretty cheap one, 'cause flour/eggs/silly string/carva/etc. is a right pain when it gets all over a decent suit.

Reply 2

Helenia

And unless Oxford has a significantly higher proportion of white-tie events than Cambridge, I'd doubt you'd need one at all, and would hire for any occasions you did need it. A dinner suit might be more use though.

Reply 3

john.cassidy

I'm coming up to my second year and so I like to think of myself as knowledgeable on this subject.

Subfusc is used for matriculation and prelims only.

You will need a dinner suit depending on how many balls you plan on going to, there are loads of college balls in trinity and there are a few in hilary and michaelmas so I'd say its worth just buying it all yourself.

P.S. Cambridge sucks

Reply 4

JHutcher

Yes... thats why all us tabs have such a smile on our face

Reply 5

Crazy Mongoose

So (for men, evidently), Sub Fusc simply requires a simple dinner jacket and a white bow tie? Must we use the shirts with the funny collars (sorry, from Yorkshire) or will any plain white shirt do?

Reply 6

Cirsium

Any plain white shirt will do and no you won't need a tail coat unless you plan on going to a lot of white tie events or conducting an orchestra any time soon...

Reply 7

Coth

Crazy Mongoose

So (for men, evidently), Sub Fusc simply requires a simple dinner jacket and a white bow tie? Must we use the shirts with the funny collars (sorry, from Yorkshire) or will any plain white shirt do?

Sub-fusc for men includes a dark suit (NOT a dinner jacket) and a normal shirt with collar, not one of the things you wear with a dinner jacket with the funny collars. You'd get away with wearing a dinner jacket (probably) to matriculation, but you might feel abit silly. Better to get a normal suit.

Bringing a dinner jacket is a good idea, since there will be the occasionaly black-tie do (the only ones I've been to were eights dinner and our college ball), but alot of events will say 'smart' on the dress code, so a normal suit would be best for them too.

This is the sort of thing you should be thinking along the lines of.

Reply 8

Sinuhe

As far as I know, your shirt can have either the wing or the 'normal' collar. Lots of people have the wing collar (as you have to wear a bow tie, and wing collars are meant to be worn with bow ties), but lots have the normal one (as it is not a dinner jacket you're wearing, you're not meant to have a wing collar). I think it's roughly an even split between the two, so get whichever you want. :smile: