Advice for dressing

[saltypete]

I am attending an end of year presentation dinner for my university's mentoring program on Friday and am wondering how to dress.
I live in rural Australia and the dinner is being held in the nearest town (which is a large regional town), at a restaurant attached to a sporting club.
I am not sure how to dress. I went last year and wore a pair of dress pants, a button down shirt and a sports jacket and I felt overdressed. More specifically I thought the other males were underdressed. There were only 4 other guys there (partners of mentors mostly) and they had jeans and T shirts on and sat swilling the free grog and generally making dicks of themselves.
I feel for a presentation dinner that shirt and tie should be appropriate but given how overdressed I felt last year I am frightened of looking like a cad if I show up dressed smartly. It has to be remembered that this is Australia and people are very laid back especially in the country. Also at 30 I am older than the average student.
I like to dress well when I go to official functions, I think it shows professionalism and style but among the current crop of young men I risk being labelled something unsavoury.
Any thoughts or advice?


Pete

 

[Mad Weiland]

More specifically I thought the other males were underdressed.

Pete

I have a feeling that this happens to you quite often.

Of course, what I mean by saying that is, you sound as if you have a certain poignant respect for not only your appearance, but a respect for a gentlemanly demeanor.

Am I right?

Well, in any case, I know how you feel and I echo your thoughts in the sentence above.

I sometimes feel that if I were to speak, dress and carry myself in the way that I wished without consideration for my surroundings or concession for the people I was dealing with, I would appear pretentious or, socially overdressed.

But regardless of the situation or even the ridicule sustained, I believe a person should hold his/her self to standard of his/her choosing.

Again;

I feel for a presentation dinner that shirt and tie should be appropriate...

I agree with you. So do what makes you happy.

 

[Jwolf24601]

Try for somewhere in between. Maybe business casual attire. Polo and Khaki's might work well. You want to separate yourself from the uncouth there but not appear uptight.

 

[Jim]

Carry the flag lad! Who knows? Perhaps last year you set the bar and everyones wife will make them get cleaned up this year.

I certainly sounds like you were correctly dressed for the occasion.

 

[ouch]

When in doubt, it's always better to be dressed a little bit better than a little bit worse. It's probably easier to explain that you're not a professor than to have someone ask you to refill their drink.

 

[Doc4]

I thought the other males were underdressed. There were only 4 other guys there (partners of mentors mostly) and they had jeans and T shirts on and sat swilling the free grog and generally making dicks of themselves.

Do you want to emulate this sort of person, in word, deed or attire?

I thought not. Be yourself ... that is, be better than those guys. It seems like a fairly relaxed sort of formal function, so dress how you (a gentleman) would dress for such an occasion in laid back Oz.

When in doubt, it's always better to be dressed a little bit better than a little bit worse. It's probably easier to explain that you're not a professor than to have someone ask you to refill their drink.

 

[saltypete]

When in doubt, it's always better to be dressed a little bit better than a little bit worse. It's probably easier to explain that you're not a professor than to have someone ask you to refill their drink.

Thanks for the advice, it is nice to get validation from a bunch of like minded gents. Cheers!

Pete

 

[mdevine]

I agree that you dress how you feel would be most appropriate. When I am in a situation like this, I will often wear business casual clothing. If I am unsure, often I will dress as mentioned earlier; polos and khakis and bring a jacket.

 

[Plano]

I say dress like you did last year. Sounds to me like you dressed as most people would for that type of function. Like someone else said its better to be a little over dressed then under.

 

[Shave Cave Dweller]

Do you want to emulate this sort of person, in word, deed or attire?

I thought not. Be yourself ... that is, be better than those guys. It seems like a fairly relaxed sort of formal function, so dress how you (a gentleman) would dress for such an occasion in laid back Oz.

Good advice. Establish your style and stick with it regardless of what the heard is wearing. I view a 'CAD' as a well dressed narcissistic bore.

You don't seem like that at all, based on your post. (Cad's never ask for advice, they know it all).

 

[johnmrson]

Pete, I'm not sure which regional centre it will be held in but if it's anything like some of the Queensland one's I've been through then you're over dressed if you're wearing anything other than a very old blue singlet, Stubbies shorts and either thongs or work boots.

My advise would be to wear a suit and a business shirt without a tie. I think the look covers a wide spectrum of occassions.

 

[saltypete]

Pete, I'm not sure which regional centre it will be held in but if it's anything like some of the Queensland one's I've been through then you're over dressed if you're wearing anything other than a very old blue singlet, Stubbies shorts and either thongs or work boots.
.

Very true John. Bundaberg has a reputation as bogan central.

Pete

 

[professorchaos]

Put your pants on before your shoes.

 

[bradyarz]

i usually prefer a good ranch or creamy italian

 

[Danuhoh]

Be yourself, dress the way you want/think you should. Though.....maybe wear something that allows you to "dress down". If you get there and are wearing a tie for example and no one else is; you can take it off and just have a nice collared shirt on. Same thing with a sportcoat, roll up the sleeves, etc.

 

[Doc4]

i usually prefer a good ranch or creamy italian

It takes a lot of balsamic vinegar to make a post like that.

 

[Go West Young Man]

Good advice from all, but I think it's important to dress for the occasion, not for what you wish the occasion was. If the accepted dress is jeans and t-shirts, then you shouldn't try to hard to style yourself up.

Erring on the classier side is OK, but you don't want to stick out too much either. Sounds like this a casual, relaxed atmosphere, so just run with it and wear whatever feels comfortable.

 

[saltypete]

I went with a nice pair of trousers, a button down shirt and a sports jacket. Again this year the dress standards among males was pretty poor. Some of the women really dressed up and looked stunning.
The bloke I sat next to had torn jeans and a t shirt on and proceeded to quaff all of the free booze he was entitled to, and then moved on to Long Island Ice Teas which he consumed at an incredible rate. By the end of the evening he was positively obnoxious, but sitting next to him made me look good I was limited to a single glass of wine as I had a 50km drive home on dark roads with a good chance of roos and emus randomly running out in front of my vehicle.
I had a reasonable time and even picked up an award for being an 'outstanding mentor'.

Pete

 

[Jim]

I went with a nice pair of trousers, a button down shirt and a sports jacket. Again this year the dress standards among males was pretty poor. Some of the women really dressed up and looked stunning.
The bloke I sat next to had torn jeans and a t shirt on and proceeded to quaff all of the free booze he was entitled to, and then moved on to Long Island Ice Teas which he consumed at an incredible rate. By the end of the evening he was positively obnoxious, but sitting next to him made me look good I was limited to a single glass of wine as I had a 50km drive home on dark roads with a good chance of roos and emus randomly running out in front of my vehicle.
I had a reasonable time and even picked up an award for being an 'outstanding mentor'.

Pete

Well played!

 

[Go West Young Man]

Ah, yes - if the ladies were dressed up, the men should have taken that as their cue to smarten themselves up too. You did the right thing!