# Total sartorial splendour at Nobel banquet **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 11, 2015, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/total-sartorial-splendour-at-nobel-banquet/740164 "2015-12-11T14:49:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2015, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/total-sartorial-splendour-at-nobel-banquet/740164/1 "2015-12-11T14:49:45Z")
Never mind the words, just enjoy the [pictures](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3354970/Swedish-royals-dust-dazzling-jewels-magnificent-Nobel-Prize-banquet.html). ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2015, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/total-sartorial-splendour-at-nobel-banquet/740164/2 "2015-12-11T17:49:43Z")
Dear Santa, I’d like one aquamarine Kokoshnik tiara in my stocking, please… ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2015, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/total-sartorial-splendour-at-nobel-banquet/740164/3 "2015-12-11T18:12:55Z")
There’s [one young woman](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/12/10/20/2F3F37A800000578-3354970-image-a-102_1449777934053.jpg) wearing a formal gown and what appears to be a military cap. Is this just an unusual fashion choice or does it represent actual military service? For all I know, she’s an officer in the Swedish Navy and this is their ceremonial uniform. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2015, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/total-sartorial-splendour-at-nobel-banquet/740164/4 "2015-12-11T18:27:24Z")
The Duchess of Cambridge wore the Cambridge Lover’s Knot tiara for the first time this week as well - but it was a private event without photos, so the only pictures are when she is in the back of a car. > **[The Duchess of Cambridge at the Diplomatic Reception at Buckingham Palace](http://queensjewelvault.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-duchess-of-cambridge-at-diplomatic.html)** > > The annual Diplomatic Reception (a tiara event) was held at Buckingham Palace tonight with senior members of the Royal Family present. This... (this tiara is heavily associated with Diana). ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2015, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/total-sartorial-splendour-at-nobel-banquet/740164/5 "2015-12-11T18:41:24Z")
Here you go: [Oh It's A Tiara! - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duiKAT-33Ss) ---
**Author:** ![Ispolkom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47774/32.png) [@Ispolkom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ispolkom)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2015, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/total-sartorial-splendour-at-nobel-banquet/740164/6 "2015-12-11T19:14:29Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > There’s [one young woman](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/12/10/20/2F3F37A800000578-3354970-image-a-102_1449777934053.jpg) wearing a formal gown and what appears to be a military cap. Is this just an unusual fashion choice or does it represent actual military service? For all I know, she’s an officer in the Swedish Navy and this is their ceremonial uniform. I’m going for ceremonial uniform. If you scroll down the Daily Mail site, there’s a shot of several Nobel laureates on a staircase. To the right are guards/aides de camp standing at attention, all wearing formal wear, a blue and yellow sash, and navy covers. The men are in white tie and tailcoats, and but there is a young lady in a black gown just to the right of Paul Modrich. Is the aide de camp at the top of the staircase wearing a monocle? ---
**Author:** ![Encinitas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Encinitas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Encinitas)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2015, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/total-sartorial-splendour-at-nobel-banquet/740164/7 "2015-12-11T20:31:22Z")
Gotta be a monocle! ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2015, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/total-sartorial-splendour-at-nobel-banquet/740164/8 "2015-12-11T20:54:06Z")
See, this is why I turned down MY Nobel prize – the dress code. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2015, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/total-sartorial-splendour-at-nobel-banquet/740164/9 "2015-12-11T21:19:39Z")
> [@Ispolkom](#): > > Is the aide de camp at the top of the staircase wearing a monocle? Yes he is! ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2015, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/total-sartorial-splendour-at-nobel-banquet/740164/10 "2015-12-11T21:29:46Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > See, this is why I turned down MY Nobel prize – the dress code. “I’m shocked, Shocked to find that such opulence is going on in here!” “Your Nobel, sir.” “Oh, thank you very much…” ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2015, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/total-sartorial-splendour-at-nobel-banquet/740164/11 "2015-12-11T21:53:57Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > See, this is why I turned down MY Nobel prize – the dress code. In Literature? ---
**Author:** ![Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uosdwis_R.Dewoh)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2015, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/total-sartorial-splendour-at-nobel-banquet/740164/12 "2015-12-11T23:12:29Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > There’s [one young woman](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/12/10/20/2F3F37A800000578-3354970-image-a-102_1449777934053.jpg) wearing a formal gown and what appears to be a military cap. Is this just an unusual fashion choice or does it represent actual military service? For all I know, she’s an officer in the Swedish Navy and this is their ceremonial uniform. It’s her high school (gymnasie) graduation cap. In the past it was common for graduates to wear their caps often but nowadays it’s worn mostly on special occasions. Here in Finland it’s pretty much only worn for first-of-may celebrations. Not sure about Sweden but here you can add tassels to your cap to display your university major. IIRC for engineers the tassel is black. > **[Student cap](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Student_cap)** > > In various European countries, student caps of different types are, or have been, worn either as a marker of a common identity, as is the case in the Nordic countries, or to identify the wearer as a member of a smaller body within the larger group of students, as is the case with the caps worn by members of German Studentenverbindungen, or student groups in Belgium. > A number of student caps have historically been worn in Belgium. The calotte is worn by students at Catholic universities. The penn... ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2015, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/total-sartorial-splendour-at-nobel-banquet/740164/13 "2015-12-11T23:35:03Z")
[a quick primer on white tie formal](http://listverse.com/2007/12/04/top-10-tips-for-wearing-white-tie/). Even a Nobel math laureate would know that the odds of getting a correct fit off the rack is impossible. [Hirohito being shown up be the Prince of Wales in the 1920’s.](http://putthison.com/post/126018834181/turning-western-in-his-book-civilization-harvard) This would inspire revenge later. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2015, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/total-sartorial-splendour-at-nobel-banquet/740164/14 "2015-12-11T23:45:09Z")
I think we find this sort of event interesting because some of us never attend formal events. I only wear a business suit once a year or less and I think I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve worn a tuxedo. (And those times I wore a tuxedo, it was a cheap, adjustable polyester suit.) And I’ve _never_ worn a tailcoat or a morning coat. But I suppose if you’re a member of royalty, an elected head of state or a member of the diplomatic corps, you might do so regularly. I wouldn’t even know where to acquire full formal attire, including the tails. I checked the websites for Macy’s, Nordstrom, Sak’s and Barney’s; none of them listed tailcoats in their men’s collections. I figure; maybe it’s an American thing. So I checked the Harrod’s website. No tails there either. In the very unlikely event that I needed to acquire formalware, I suppose I could show up at Savile Row, and say, “I need help. I’m to be presented to the queen/attend the Nobel Prize banquet/etc.” and I need a formal outfit." I suspect those people wouldn’t bat an eye. (And I think they could coach me on the etiquette involved in meeting the queen.) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2015, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/total-sartorial-splendour-at-nobel-banquet/740164/15 "2015-12-11T23:58:32Z")
Another thing; remember the episode of _Downton Abbey_ in which Lord Grantham wore a tuxedo to dinner at home, shocking his mother with his informality? That’s because normal men’s dress for dinner at home (even without any guests) involved wearing tails. So the way people are dressed in the photos of the Nobel banquet is exactly how a lot of people dressed every night. at least during the early part of the twentieth century. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2015, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/total-sartorial-splendour-at-nobel-banquet/740164/16 "2015-12-12T00:13:56Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > So I checked the Harrod’s website. No tails there either. Good God, man, no-one gets their formal wear from Harrods! > [@](#): > > In the very unlikely event that I needed to acquire formalware, I suppose I could show up at Savile Row, and say, “I need help. I’m to be presented to the queen/attend the Nobel Prize banquet/etc.” and I need a formal outfit." I suspect those people wouldn’t bat an eye. (And I think they could coach me on the etiquette involved in meeting the queen.) 1 Savile Row is [Gieves and Hawkes](http://www.gievesandhawkes.com/tailoring/formalwear.html). They’ve got an online presence, so they are probably a bit vulgar, but y’know. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2015, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/total-sartorial-splendour-at-nobel-banquet/740164/17 "2015-12-12T00:25:23Z")
Another Savile Row shop is Henry Poole (which also has a web presence, but also has a royal warrant). And they’re apparently the guys who invented what we vulgar Americans would call a tuxedo but they call an evening suit or a dinner jacket. My parents were more formal than I ever was, although even my father never owned a tailcoat. A few years ago, he presented me with a bolt of very good suiting material; the fabric from which a suit could be tailored. He’d had it for a while but never got around to having a suit made from it, and was giving it to me so that I could. I had to break it to him that there was very little chance I’d ever do that and that I hardly ever wear a suit anyhow. I don’t know if he quite got it. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2015, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/total-sartorial-splendour-at-nobel-banquet/740164/18 "2015-12-12T00:46:13Z")
Here’s some history behind that aquamarine tiara. > **[Tiara Thursday: The Swedish Aquamarine Kokoshnik Tiara](http://orderofsplendor.blogspot.com/2013/03/tiara-thursday-swedish-aquamarine.html)** > > The Swedish Aquamarine Kokoshnik Tiara Princess Sibylla of Sweden, King Carl Gustaf's mother, was well known for wearing the Connaught T... ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2015, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/total-sartorial-splendour-at-nobel-banquet/740164/19 "2015-12-12T00:57:59Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > A few years ago, he presented me with a bolt of very good suiting material; the fabric from which a suit could be tailored. The whole nine yards? (Flees the wrath of longtime Dopers)…) ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2015, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/total-sartorial-splendour-at-nobel-banquet/740164/20 "2015-12-12T01:01:12Z")
Anyone ever read James White’s sci-fi short story “Custom Fitting”? It’s one of my top ten favorite short stories in the genre. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/total-sartorial-splendour-at-nobel-banquet/740164.md?page=2)