The social scene really heats up in Baltimore com September. New seasons for symphony and stage and lots of black-tie benefits and balls attract those who choose to schmooze stylishly.
Paula Brauer, a salesperson at Gingiss Formal Wear in White Marsh Mall, says business certainly does increase around this time of year, with the majority of Baltimore men still opting for traditional black-tie garb -- basic black tuxedos or cutaways, worn with black ties and cummerbunds -- practical, chic, sure-fire dressing.
Some men do venture beyond the pale, though. There are those who go a little flashier, with a "red cummerbund or bow or something with a design," she says. Customers who cruise have been known to opt for Hawaiian designs, and holiday shoppers have gone away with cummerbunds and bow ties dotted with tiny Santa Clauses.
The photographs here are from Lord West, available at Gingiss, which carries black-tie dressing from traditional to trendy in its Lord West and Pierre Cardin divisions. Those two lines and La Valiere are carried at Hiken Formal Wear.