# I've been invited to a 1920's Speakeasy Cabaret event, what should I wear?



## Alligator (Sep 17, 2009)

The invitation specifies "Gangster/Flapper Attire." My wife will be making her own flapper style dress, and I would like to purchase something better than the usual Halloween costume, something I will keep for future party use. This cabaret is a more formal affair, put on by our opera company. 

If you were dressing for this period, what would you wear and where would you purchase it from?

UPDATE: I'm now looking at classic silk suits from the 1920's.


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## CuffDaddy (Feb 26, 2009)

First, the population of the 1920's did not consist entirely, predominantly, or even in significant part, of gangsters. If you want to dress like one, that's fine - but do a google image search of actual 20's gangsters. I think you'll find that their clothing was actually not anything like the image in your post. That's a broadway costume designer's concept of 20's gangsters, and 20's clothing in general.

As for appearing to be from the 20's, most of the items of clothing that are core to men's clothing were in place by the 20's. All you need to do is pare out the things that wouldn't have been around in the 20's, and toss in one or two things that have slid from use. Get a fairly simple tie. A DB or 3-piece suit would have been more common than a SB 2-piece. No low rise trousers. Every piece of tailored clothing in the 20's was handmade, so to authentically evoke it, you'd almost certainly need to get a _better_ suit than your usual wear (unless you're buying bespoke or spending $4k+ on OTR suits), but assuming you don't want to do that...

Now, at an actual cabaret, a good many of the men - particularly those with dates - might have worn black tie, but I assume that this would be taken at your party as a misunderstanding of the dress code (even though it would be quite authentic).

Throw in a fedora, derby, homburg, or other proper man's hat. Consider spats. Done.


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## Alligator (Sep 17, 2009)

Well, the invitation did suggest "gangster" attire. I figured I should follow their request.


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## helo-flyer (Nov 22, 2008)

but does gangster necessarily mean tacky?


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## Alligator (Sep 17, 2009)

No, and I'm staying away from the costume style gangster - which is why I'm asking here. I would prefer to choose something more authentic and with a little class.


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## Orsini (Apr 24, 2007)

https://askandyaboutclothes.com/community/showthread.php?t=90460


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## dfloyd (May 7, 2006)

*A 38 special with ....*

a spiffy shoulder holster.


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## nehpets99 (Jan 22, 2010)

dfloyd said:


> a spiffy shoulder holster.


No no, a .38 would most likely be in a pocket or on the hip. I'd recommend a 1911 in a shoulder holster.


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## nosajwols (Jan 27, 2010)

*Blue Pinstipe???*

You might try a dark blue pinstripe suit, DB if you have one. Of course a fedora...


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## JerseyJohn (Oct 26, 2007)

Based on their mug shots and news photos, the 20's gangsters were pretty well dressed - mostly dark three piece suits and, usually, a homburg rather than a fedora, with a broad contrasting hat band - pretty much the same thing a well-to-do banker would have worn back in the day. Hair style would have been the slicked-back "Brylcreem" look. You probably want to stay away from ...


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## Kingstonian (Dec 23, 2007)

If you are buying the outfit I would go as a clergyman - the Pat O'Brien 'Angels with Dirty Faces' priest.

All you need is a black shirt and Roman collar. Nobody will look at the suit cut. It is just a standard clergyman's suit. Get the shirt at a clerical supplier. Black suit from anywhere. Black shoes of course.

It will also double up if you need an outfit to go to any 'Vicars and Tarts' events.


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## Earl of Ormonde (Sep 5, 2008)

A Flapper dress, feather boa, headband, and low heels. :icon_smile_wink:


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## CuffDaddy (Feb 26, 2009)

Kingstonian said:


> It will also double up if you need an outfit to go to any 'Vicars and Tarts' events.


WTH is a "Vicars and Tarts" event? I can guess, based on the name, but I have never even heard of such a thing. Sort of a minister-and-prostitue theme? Incidentally, the term "vicar" is almost entirely absent from American English, and the term "tart," used as a derrogatory term towards a woman of loose morals, is rarely used in American English.


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## Grayson (Feb 29, 2008)

Since the idea is a cabaret/night out atmosphere, I suggest classing up the joint by dressing as one of these guys...



The best part about these outfits is, as true classic black or white-tie, they never went out of style. Just sayin'.

PS - If you want to make the look period, I suggest some hair pomade, a pencil-thin moustache (grown or fake), and a well-arched eyebrow.


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## Sean1982 (Sep 7, 2009)

If it's a fun 'gangster' party, and not a serious recreation of the time, the rather over the top central casting gangster suit should do. It would not quite be in the spirit of the invitation to wear proper 20s clothing (or evening wear), would it? However, if you have it and fancy it, then go for it.


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## budrichard (Apr 3, 2008)

My wife recently had a Cabaret 1930's Fund Raiser and had a period red dress made for the event. I found a very dark green mute plaid Hickey Freeman cashmere shawl collar tux to go with. I would look for something in that vein, classy and elegant.-Dick


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## android (Dec 8, 2004)

If you want to win any of the costume contests or dance contests go with the over the top gangster look. I've gone to prohibition era parties wearing appropriate era shawl lapel dinner jacket and such. Pretty much like Paul Newman in the photo above. I'm told I look nice, but that's about it.


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## nicksull (Sep 1, 2005)

White tie and tails. Pencil moustache and a cigar...And a machine gun. 
Its a good combo. No one will argue.


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## MDunle3199 (Jun 5, 2009)

*20s Era*

Don't forget the flask for some "gargle"


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## Alligator (Sep 17, 2009)

I'll have the flask, there's no question about that. I'm on the edge between going for what they expect - a "gangster" costume (which is easy to find), or what I'd really like, a nice tux. Right now, I'm leaning toward the tux since I expect many of the other guests will have the traditional gangster costume.

My only problem is where to get the suit. I'm a 41R, and I'd rather not spend a fortune, but I will spend some to get the right clothes.

Thanks for the advice - keep the photos coming. I especially liked the photo from The Thin Man. I'll have to look into the pencil thin mustache!


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## Alligator (Sep 17, 2009)

Or there's always this look, but smoking is obviously prohibited here . . .


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## amplifiedheat (Jun 9, 2008)

Examine your closet. Ignore anything single-breasted.


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## Philo Vance (Jan 13, 2009)

I think it cannot be overstated how much gangsters were often the best-dressed men in the 1920s and 1930s. People keep referring to the "gangster constume" but there really wasn't one. Some of the more successful racketeers were very well-dressed.

There is one story in particular from the 30s that reinforces the point. In the 30s, NYC began keeping a list of the 10 most wanted/dangerous men in the city. Brooklyn kept a separate list - I dont think this was a list of fugitives - just known criminals. The brooklyn list was headed by most of the members of the "Combination," the Brownsville-Ocean Hill jewish/italian gang that was the contract murder wing of the larger Syndicate.

Around 1934, Pittsburgh Phil Strauss and Martin "Bugsy" Goldstein, two members of the Combination, were pulled in for questioning. During the session, Goldstein actually lamented his low status on the most wanted list and promised police officials that he was "working on" improving his ranking.

To get to the point - Police Commissioner Valentine was so put off by the well-dressed Strauss, considered something like the Beau Brummell of the Underworld, that he held a press conference with reporters to rail against the day when "the two-bit mobster was the best dressed guy at police headquarters." He went on to point out the quality of Strauss' chesterfield coat and Charvet ties and indicated it was no wonder that little kids sought to emulate racketeers.

I have a book at home that refers to this episode, but I'm sure a search of the NYT archive would also pull up a reference.

Also, Lucky Luciano was quoted on several occassions as having learned the value of understated Brooks Brothers suits and silk Charvet ties from none other than Arnold Rothstein, the man who may or may not have fixed the 1919 World Series.

Anyway, here is a picture of Ben Siegel, noted gangster, (in singlebreasted) and George Raft (noted friend of and portrayer of cinema gangsters) in doublebreasted:

https://img686.imageshack.us/i/siegelraft.jpg/

Also, I would recommend a fedora worn after the chicago underworld fashion of the day:

https://img62.imageshack.us/i/alcapone2.jpg/


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## Earl of Ormonde (Sep 5, 2008)

You can't beat the white/off-white/cream DJ with shawl collar. I'd imagine you'd be alone in wearing that.
https://www.blacktieguide.com/Classic_Components/Warm_Weather_Black_Tie/casablanca7.jpg


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## CuffDaddy (Feb 26, 2009)

Not to be a total geek about this stuff, but the OP said the theme was the 19*20's. *The white/ivory DJ didn't really come into vogue until the 30's. 
The widespread acceptance of white coats for summer evening wear can be pinpointed to the 1933 rage for the mess jacket, a civilian counterpart to military formal wear that resembled a tailcoat cut off at the waistline.... While the mess jacket had lost favor among better-dressed gentlemen by 1936, its color remained in vogue. In fact, that year white jackets for summer had become as popular as black and midnight blue. In its August 1936 issue, _Esquire_ defined the quintessential warm-weather semi-formal evening wardrobe: "This year, the big swing is to single- or double-breasted [light colored] dinner jackets, collar and self lapel facings." ​https://www.blacktieguide.com/History/05.htm

_Casablanca_, the source of the Bogart photo, was shot in 1942.


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## Earl of Ormonde (Sep 5, 2008)

I just KNEW someone would bring that up...vogue ,schmogue! yes you are being a geek :icon_smile_wink:

However, does "fashion/vogue " matter? White DJs were being worn in the 20s, but pehaps not so much in the US, I dunno. :icon_smile:

Also, historical query: didn't speakeasys and prohibiton run well into the 30s?


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## CuffDaddy (Feb 26, 2009)

Earl of Ormonde said:


> However, does "fashion/vogue " matter? White DJs were being worn in the 20s, but pehaps not so much in the US, I dunno. :icon_smile:


Were they? (I'm not disputing it, I'm just unaware of it. Would love to see some historical info on it.)


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## Earl of Ormonde (Sep 5, 2008)

CuffDaddy said:


> Were they?


Perhaps not! I'm mixing my decades up I think.


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## Philo Vance (Jan 13, 2009)

Earl of Ormonde said:


> I just KNEW someone would bring that up...vogue ,schmogue! yes you are being a geek :icon_smile_wink:
> 
> However, does "fashion/vogue " matter? White DJs were being worn in the 20s, but pehaps not so much in the US, I dunno. :icon_smile:
> 
> ...


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## Earl of Ormonde (Sep 5, 2008)

Thanks Philo.


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## Earl of Ormonde (Sep 5, 2008)

Just read this quote about the 21st which repealed the 18th, and when you put it like this in a comparative context it kind of makes the remaining liquor laws seem idiotic:

"The Twenty-first Amendment is also one of only two operative provisions of the Constitution that prohibit private conduct; the other is the Thirteenth Amendment. As Laurence Tribe points out: "there are two ways, and only two ways, in which an ordinary private citizen ... can violate the United States Constitution. One is to enslave someone, a suitably hellish act. The other is to bring a bottle of beer, wine, or bourbon into a State in violation of its beverage control laws-an act that might have been thought juvenile, and perhaps even lawless, but unconstitutional?"


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## CuffDaddy (Feb 26, 2009)

America's relationship with alcohol can only be decribed as bizarre, Ormonde.


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## Alligator (Sep 17, 2009)

But that still won't stop me from carrying a flask in my pocket for "authenticity."


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## wgb (Mar 2, 2007)

I'd go black tie, with a wing collar (IIRC, the DoW popularized the turndown collar with black tie later in the 1930's, but not sure it had made its way to Chicago by then). A shawl collar would be a nice, and different, touch. Dressing in "semi-formal" clothing for a night on the town was still pretty common among those that could afford it in the 1930's.

If worse comes to worst, wait for a sale at Joseph A Banks for the suit, and do some searching here for the detachable wing collar shirt. There's an internet outfit that sells reproduction clothing that has them at a somewhat reasonable price, but I can't remember their name right now. slick your hair back and you'll fit right in. One nice thing about black tie is that it's changed very little over the years.

One point about hats -- just about any decent place had a cloak room and a "hat check" girl in that time period. If there's nowhere to check your hat, dealing with it can be a pain.


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## Grayson (Feb 29, 2008)

I should offer that in the 1920's it was not common for a well-to-do man to wear pinstripe suits in the evening, gangster or not.

If we are celebrating the look and style of the period's nightclub crowd, I echo my earlier recommendation of the formal look (embellished a bold carnation, a foppish pocket silk, pomaded hair, and a pencil-thin moustache) with these image reinforcements...


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## Alligator (Sep 17, 2009)

Okay, I have a month to find the suit. Since this is so specific, where might I go online to order one? I have the usual men's stores around, but I suspect I'm looking for something not traditionally carried.


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## Grayson (Feb 29, 2008)

Here's a good retailer resource for choices based on your budget -

https://www.blacktieguide.com/Buying/Retailers.htm

Given the timeframe and the likely need for alteration, you better get movin'. I recommend trying local sources first, then call (not email) online retailers if necessary to confirm availability.


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