參加聚會，男士如何穿得出彩而不出格？

Appropriately Inappropriate for 『Festive Dress』

Even in a world where nothing should be taken for granted — banks, climate, Miley Cyrus — one may persuasively argue that most people are pleased to receive a party invitation. The old joke still holds: What are the two saddest words in the English language? 「What party?」

雖然如今好多事情都不值一提——銀行、氣候、麥莉·塞勒斯(Miley Cyrus)——但還是可以肯定地說，被邀請參加聚會對大多數人來說都是一件愉快的事。有一個老笑話今天仍然好笑：英語里最悲哀的兩個單詞是什麼？「什麼聚會(What party)？」

But while most people may enjoy festivities, a party invitation can turn a mood ring to black with the inclusion of just one little modern-day directive: festive dress.

但是，儘管或許大多數人都很享受歡慶的氛圍，聚會邀請中的一項附加要求，卻可能讓人們的「情緒戒指」變成黑色，那就是：請穿節慶服裝。

Perhaps you, too, are familiar with the stab of anxiety this edict produces? That little voice that cries out, 「What do I wear that won』t make me look like the Joker, the Penguin or some other gleeful archenemy?」 What, exactly, does festive dress mean?

你也曾為這樣的要求焦慮過吧？心中有個聲音在咆哮，「我該穿什麼才不像撲克牌里的小丑、企鵝人或者滿臉陰笑的大反派？」不過，節慶服裝，到底是什麼意思？

「I agree, it』s pretty confusing,」 said Zachary Sacks, an investment analyst in Manhattan. 「I』ve read that it could mean black tie, or it could mean a tweed sport coat.」

曼哈頓的投資分析師扎卡里·薩克斯(Zachary Sacks)說，「我同意，這的確讓人困惑。我從哪裡讀到過，它指的可能是黑領結，也可能是花呢休閑外套。」

The fashion designer Michael Bastian is more acerbic. 「You need new friends, that』s what it means,」 he said, laughing. 「It』s so vague and confusing.」

時尚設計師邁克爾·巴斯蒂安(Michael Bastian)則更加犀利，他大笑著說，「它的意思是，你需要交些新朋友了。這話太模糊，太讓人困惑了。」

Keep one thing in mind: Your potential host is not trying to torture you. A mood-killer for any party is bad décor, and like it or not, you are part of it. Nothing kills the fun faster than a bunch of guys who look as if they just finished moving stuff into storage, or just punched out at Dewey, Cheatem & Howe. There isn』t enough bourbon in the world to cut that ice. A good party requires a festive atmosphere, which requires guests who, however festive they really are, appear to have made an effort to look it.

記住一件事：聚會的主人並不想要折磨你。對於任何聚會來說，糟糕的著裝都令人掃興，不管你喜不喜歡，你都是聚會的一部分。最讓人掃興的莫過於聚會上的有些人看起來好像剛剛在倉庫幹完苦力，或者剛剛從「坑人騙錢律師行」打卡下班。再多的波旁威士忌也無法打破這種堅冰般的尷尬氣氛。一個好派對需要歡慶的氛圍，需要客人們努力表現得喜悅歡快，無論內心是不是這樣。

One of the merits of a black-tie affair is that it offers a simple set of instructions — all you need worry about is whether your tux shirt is clean and pressed and the pants still fit. Festive dress, on the other hand, incites its own brand of fashion panic, its innocent-sounding premise being simply that you wear something special you wouldn』t ordinarily wear.

那些需要打黑領結的正式活動的一個好處是，它提供了一套簡單易行的指南——你只需要考慮你的禮服襯衫是否乾淨、是否挺括、褲子還合不合身。而節慶服裝會引發一種獨特的時尚恐慌，它的前提聽起來十分無辜，就是你只需要穿一些你普通場合不穿的特別衣服就可以了。

The advanced calculus required to gauge the appropriate degree of inappropriateness vexes even style veterans, though most have developed personal workarounds.

衡量多大程度的不合適才是合適的，這種複雜的思考甚至會讓穿衣達人傷透腦筋，不過大多數人還是想出了自己的變通辦法。

「I kind of have a uniform for office parties and Christmas parties,」 Mr. Bastian said. 「What I do is put on a basic tuxedo shirt with a solid navy or black tie, a tweed jacket, a red pocket square and some sort of fancy shoe or velvet slipper. I think a tuxedo shirt worn without a tuxedo is a great way to do it. It says, 『I got the assignment, I made a little effort, but I』m still cool.』 I』ve been to parties where I』ve seen guys mess up. They』ve been dying to bust out those crazy embroidered corduroys all year long, and it doesn』t always fly. There』s still an expectation that you don』t abandon every shred of your regular style just because it』s a holiday. It』s not Halloween.」

巴斯蒂安說，「我有一套專門在公司聚會和聖誕聚會上穿的衣服。我的做法是，穿一件基本款的禮服襯衣，打深藍色或黑色領帶，一件花呢外套，一個紅色的裝飾手帕，再來一雙花哨的鞋子，甚至絲絨的拖鞋。我認為不穿禮服只穿襯衫是一個好辦法。它表達的意思是，『我知道我的任務是什麼，我打理了一下，但是我仍然很酷。』我去過一些聚會，在那裡看到過衣著非常糟糕的傢伙。他們一年到頭都穿著綉著圖案的燈芯絨傻帽褲子，但那不是什麼時候都能穿的。還有一個常識是，你不能因為是過節就完全拋棄你平時的風格。這又不是萬聖節。」

Indeed, according to experts in such matters, part of what festive dress seems to suggest is that you steer away from anything that smacks of costume. (That includes the ugly Christmas sweater cherished by irony-loving merrymakers.)

這方面的專家們說，的確，節慶服裝的部分含義是，千萬別穿那些像是戲裝的東西。（包括喜歡諷刺的耍寶人士的最愛——醜陋的聖誕毛衣。）

In other words, leave the tinsel for the tree. 「I see guys with gold vests and funky bow ties,」 said Ralph Auriemma, design director for Paul Stuart』s Phineas Cole line, which seems made for festivity, with old-fashioned dandyish features, like colorful tweeds, peak lapels and three-piece suits. 「Personally, I』m still an old-school advocate of elegant men』s wear, something with a point of view from another period of time. I』m not talking about Sherlock Holmes, though that would be festive.」

換句話說，還是把帶金屬箔的飾品留在聖誕樹上吧。保羅·斯圖爾特(Paul Stuart)旗下Phineas Cole系列的設計總監拉爾夫·奧列馬(Ralph Auriemma)說，「我看到有些人會穿金色的馬甲和很酷的領結」，這樣穿似乎是為了營造節日氣氛，具有一些老派的花哨元素，比如色彩豐富的花呢、尖翻領，以及三件套西裝。「我個人還是偏愛優雅風格的男性服飾，它們帶著另一個時期的印記。我說的不是夏洛克·福爾摩斯(Sherlock Holmes)，儘管那個的確很有節日氣氛。」

Men who overdo it are easy to spot and wince at, but there is no excuse for the many, many more who err on the side of safe. There are plenty of easy options, like a casually dressy sport coat or an elegant cardigan or pullover that』s a little too la-di-da for walking the dog. The velvet sport jacket that has come into fashion of late is perhaps the simplest and best example.

打扮過火的男性雖然很容易遭到鄙視，但是更多的人因為過於保守而出錯，也是不應該的。簡單的選擇有很多，比如休閑外套，或是優雅的開衫或套頭衫，這兩種衣服要是遛狗的時候穿會顯得做作。最近開始流行的絲絨休閑外套也許是最簡單也是最好的例子。

「Provided it』s well tailored,」 said Madeline Weeks, fashion director for GQ, explaining that the soft, thick pile of velvet can make precise tailoring a challenge. All a man really needs, she said, is one item that shows you tried: a sharply cut silk sport coat with a dull sheen, silver leather tie or black-and-white spectator wingtips.

GQ的時尚總監瑪德琳·威克斯(Madeline Weeks)說，「不過要剪裁得很好才行。」她解釋說，由於絲絨的柔軟和厚度，精確的剪裁是一個挑戰。她說，一個男人真正需要的，是一件能夠顯示出你儘力了的衣服：一件剪裁精細泛著灰色光澤的絲綢休閑外套，配上銀色的皮領帶，或是黑白尖頭休閑皮鞋。

But make a plan, she advised: 「Sometimes guys don』t think about it till it』s too late, and then run out the door in a T-shirt and a leather jacket. You don』t want to be the guy who didn』t make an effort.」

但是，她建議還是應該提前計劃好：「有些人開始思考該穿什麼的時候已經太晚了，於是穿件T恤衫和皮夾克就出門了。你肯定不想做一個不用心打理儀錶的男人。」