参加聚会，男士如何穿得出彩而不出格？

Appropriately Inappropriate for ‘Festive Dress’
参加聚会，男士如何穿得出彩而不出格？

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?”

虽然如今好多事情都不值一提——银行、气候、麦莉·塞勒斯(Miley Cyrus)——但还是可以肯定地说，被邀请参加聚会对大多数人来说都是一件愉快的事。有一个老笑话今天仍然好笑：英语里最悲哀的两个单词是什么？“什么聚会(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，尽管或许大多数人都很享受欢庆的氛围，聚会邀请中的一项附加要求，却可能让人们的“情绪戒指”变成黑色，那就是：请穿节庆服装。

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?

你也曾为这样的要求焦虑过吧？心中有个声音在咆哮，“我该穿什么才不像扑克牌里的小丑、企鹅人或者满脸阴笑的大反派？”不过，节庆服装，到底是什么意思？

“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.”

曼哈顿的投资分析师扎卡里·萨克斯(Zachary Sacks)说，“我同意，这的确让人困惑。我从哪里读到过，它指的可能是黑领结，也可能是花呢休闲外套。”

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.”

时尚设计师迈克尔·巴斯蒂安(Michael Bastian)则更加犀利，他大笑着说，“它的意思是，你需要交些新朋友了。这话太模糊，太让人困惑了。”

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.

记住一件事：聚会的主人并不想要折磨你。对于任何聚会来说，糟糕的着装都令人扫兴，不管你喜不喜欢，你都是聚会的一部分。最让人扫兴的莫过于聚会上的有些人看起来好像刚刚在仓库干完苦力，或者刚刚从“坑人骗钱律师行”打卡下班。再多的波旁威士忌也无法打破这种坚冰般的尴尬气氛。一个好派对需要欢庆的氛围，需要客人们努力表现得喜悦欢快，无论内心是不是这样。

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.

那些需要打黑领结的正式活动的一个好处是，它提供了一套简单易行的指南——你只需要考虑你的礼服衬衫是否干净、是否挺括、裤子还合不合身。而节庆服装会引发一种独特的时尚恐慌，它的前提听起来十分无辜，就是你只需要穿一些你普通场合不穿的特别衣服就可以了。

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适才是合适的，这种复杂的思考甚至会让穿衣达人伤透脑筋，不过大多数人还是想出了自己的变通办法。

“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.”

巴斯蒂安说，“我有一套专门在公司聚会和圣诞聚会上穿的衣服。我的做法是，穿一件基本款的礼服衬衣，打深蓝色或黑色领带，一件花呢外套，一个红色的装饰手帕，再来一双花哨的鞋子，甚至丝绒的拖鞋。我认为不穿礼服只穿衬衫是一个好办法。它表达的意思是，‘我知道我的任务是什么，我打理了一下，但是我仍然很酷。’我去过一些聚会，在那里看到过衣着非常糟糕的家伙。他们一年到头都穿着绣着图案的灯芯绒傻帽裤子，但那不是什么时候都能穿的。还有一个常识是，你不能因为是过节就完全抛弃你平时的风格。这又不是万圣节。”

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.)

这方面的专家们说，的确，节庆服装的部分含义是，千万别穿那些像是戏装的东西。（包括喜欢讽刺的耍宝人士的最爱——丑陋的圣诞毛衣。）

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.”

换句话说，还是把带金属箔的饰品留在圣诞树上吧。保罗·斯图尔特(Paul Stuart)旗下Phineas Cole系列的设计总监拉尔夫·奥列马(Ralph Auriemma)说，“我看到有些人会穿金色的马甲和很酷的领结”，这样穿似乎是为了营造节日气氛，具有一些老派的花哨元素，比如色彩丰富的花呢、尖翻领，以及三件套西装。“我个人还是偏爱优雅风格的男性服饰，它们带着另一个时期的印记。我说的不是夏洛克·福尔摩斯(Sherlock Holmes)，尽管那个的确很有节日气氛。”

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.

打扮过火的男性虽然很容易遭到鄙视，但是更多的人因为过于保守而出错，也是不应该的。简单的选择有很多，比如休闲外套，或是优雅的开衫或套头衫，这两种衣服要是遛狗的时候穿会显得做作。最近开始流行的丝绒休闲外套也许是最简单也是最好的例子。

“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的时尚总监玛德琳·威克斯(Madeline Weeks)说，“不过要剪裁得很好才行。”她解释说，由于丝绒的柔软和厚度，精确的剪裁是一个挑战。她说，一个男人真正需要的，是一件能够显示出你尽力了的衣服：一件剪裁精细泛着灰色光泽的丝绸休闲外套，配上银色的皮领带，或是黑白尖头休闲皮鞋。

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，她建议还是应该提前计划好：“有些人开始思考该穿什么的时候已经太晚了，于是穿件T恤衫和皮夹克就出门了。你肯定不想做一个不用心打理仪表的男人。”