Proper Concert Attire question

[bakopanda]

I often fly to a large southwestern metro area to attend jazz concerts [theater in the round, close seats, cheap ticket prices]. Twice now, I have hired local escorts for the evening and was surprised on how the escort was dressed. Each time, I had communicated to the escort over the phone and through emails that I would be wearing basic black - black shirt/tie/slacks with a sport coat.

 

The first escort wore a button down collar shirt with black jeans and black athletic shoes. The second escort wore a white dress shirt with black cotton pants (Dickies) and dress shoes. He looked like a busboy or waiter. I had told the second escort about the first escort's attire and warned him about no denim jeans. The shirts on both escorts were not ironed. Both escorts were in their late thirties and have good reviews on this site.

 

My question(s) are: Is this a generational issue - I am in my 60s? How can I communicate ahead of time on my expectations on attire? Is it unreasonable to expect an escort to be wearing clean, pressed, and appropriate attire?

[Steven_Draker]

From black leather to black tie

 

Hi Bakopanda,

If I'm told to dress up specifically for a concert, theater or opera, I will. That's why communication is an important part of the deal. Probably you should mention to the escort in details what attire is appropriate and what isn't.

 

On a long trip I bring at least one business suit for a special occasion (sometimes two) ... and pressing at the hotel is very convenient :-)

 

Steven Draker ~

http://www.hotsexystud.com

[raulgmanzo]

Some people just don't think of attire or "dressing up" as important. And some don't have a clue or perhaps have different notions of "appropiate attire" for a given venue.

 

Dress should be more than pockets and protection from the elements. Clothes allow us to celebrate an event and togetherness while expressing one's individuality. This takes more effort than many are accustomed to expending. Too often we see the American uniform of a t-shirt with some coporate logo. Sad.

 

Of course with the bar so low it's pretty easy to impress. Years ago I attended an upscale wedding in France where with my youthful and radical haircut I wore an ill fitting purple zootsuit. Still the wealthy conservative even uber stuffy pillars of staid society loved me. I think it was because all 6 other american guests wore t-shirts! I would have preferred my countrymen remove their tshirts and coat their bodies with mud, that would at least indicate they thought about it.

 

Surpising ones date with a special outfit is to me a pleasure. But I think in many cases it best if people got together to "play" dress up. That way they can make sure the pithy t-shirt logos are at least complementary and the way the tags hang out doesn't clash with one another.

 

I say elevate style of dress to a fetish and go the extra mile to be as specific as you can. After all you your choosing an escort with an 8" cut tool instead of 7" uncut. Somebody 28 instead of 32, brunette instead of blonde etc. Why not tell him your turned on by ox blood colored oxfords, double breasted suits, and socks that match his underwear?

 

Seriously, I think the client has a right to expect a certain level of sartorial decorum.

 

Raul

[+ purplekow]

I have known of escorts requested to wear everything from a flowered G string to a tuxedo. Most will comply when given very specific instructions as what to wear. So if you want black pants, white shirt starched crisp, a Versace tie and a tasteful sports jacket, you should ask for just that. On the other hand, perhaps taking a deep breath and relaxing, both yourself and the dress code, might enable you to more fully enjoy the evening.

[Guest novabear22031]

I think that if you have a certain desire of the dress code you need to state that up front.

 

There is a dumbing down of proper attire for certain venues.

 

At 48 I don't consider myself old or stuffy. But goeing to the Kennedy Center or the National Theater here in DC - I would never be dressed in less than dress slack and a shirt and tie.

[Guest zipperzone]

I think people are more casual about what they wear to a jazz concert. After all, it's not exactly the Opera.......

[seaboy4hire]

>My question(s) are: Is this a generational issue - I am in my

>60s? How can I communicate ahead of time on my expectations

>on attire? Is it unreasonable to expect an escort to be

>wearing clean, pressed, and appropriate attire?

No sadly I don't feel this is a generational issue. A few years back I used to work at the symphony hall here in Seattle. And more times then not I would find more then a few people show up in jeans, t shirt and sandals. Now I understand that not everyone can afford the fancy suits and tuxes but there is a time and place for casual wear that I mentioned. Even though I am not a big suit and tie kind of guy even though I do own them I do know that there is a time and place to dress accordingly. Maybe you might need to be more specific on your expectations telling them exactly how you would like them to dress. Unfortunately sometimes people need a little more direction when it comes to meeting someones expectations. Hope that your next jazz concert is a good one and be sure to let the artists know that I am starving for some good jazz here in Seattle.

 

Hugs,

Greg

 

seaboy4hire@yahoo.com

http://seaboy4hire.tripod.com New page for reveiws http://www.daddysreviews.com/newest.php?who=greg_seattle

http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/3307/dsc05257be3.jpg[/img][/url]

Manners and class are two things money can not buy!

CHI

[+ newatthis]

Here in the midwest, there hasn't been an implied dress code for the opera or symphony for years. I don't see corporate logos and ripped jeans at the opera, but pretty much anything else that is neat and clean (from low cut fancy dresses and expensive suits to chinos and button down shirts). I sit one level down in price from the boxes; perhaps you can still find a tuxedo there. This is definitely not age-correlated, although there seems to be a small correlation between being 70+ and dressing more formally. From what I can tell, it also cuts across gay/straight lines.

 

For that reason, if I wanted a companion to dress a certain way, I would have to be very explicit about what I was looking for. I couldn't rely on common knowledge or custom as a guide.

[+ Charlie]

As a regular opera and concert-goer all over the world for many years, I have observed that the two variables that affect how people dress are age and the price of the seats. Young people dress more casually, or wear fashions that push the envelope, including sometimes overdressing, everywhere. Also, the more expensive the seats, the more carefully older people dress (except for Americans in tour groups); nothing looks sillier than someone in formal attire sitting in the cheapest seats at the top of the house, and someone in T-shirt and jeans, or dressed for a leather bar, is out of place in the orchestra seats. When an older man (yourself) takes a younger man to a concert, he probably buys good seats, and dresses appropriately for his age; therefore, he expects the younger man to follow his lead. However, the young escort may not know what is appropriate for the expensive seats, or may not even know where the seats are. If I were the client, I would tell the escort what I am going to wear, and in general what I think others in those seats will be wearing, and then not worry what he shows up in, unless he deliberately dresses in something radically different from your suggestion.

[Guest Callipygean]

Hello Backopanda. An interesting issue, one I had cause to raise in my last review of an escort, who I thought had dressed inappropriately for the upscale restaurant we dined in. Opinions differ on this one. I was taken to task by some for criticizing the escort's attire, a rebuke I probably deserved because I had not conveyed my dress expectations to the escort beforehand. That being the case, the escort legitimately interpreted silence as consent to dress as he pleased. For many, the whole question of dress is a non-issue and they were irked that I made any kind of fuss over it at all.

 

I don't think manner of dress is age dependent, I think it's dependent on a given individual's personal standards, tastes, and self-perception. Do we dress to please ourselves or to please others? To assert ourselves, or gain the approval of others? Either way it's a statement about ourselves we make very publicly to the world. I'm thankful of the great variety in those statements -- what a boring old world this would be if we all wore uniforms.

 

What I do think, however, is that a client has every right to expect an escort to dress to his, i.e. the client's, expectations, particularly when that involves interaction in social contexts and public settings. If dress is not an issue to a client, fine, no problem, but if it is a consideration then it should be discussed prior to an appointment, and it is the client's responsibility to make his requirements known, very specifically. No experienced escort will be surprised or offended by such requests. IMHO,indeed, a thoroughly professional escort will not leave anything to chance -- he'll ask, in order to be sure he is delivering exactly what his client wants.

 

Neither client nor escort should make assumptions about the other's expectations. That way lies disappointment. Spell out precisely what you want, whether it's tux or T-shirt. If the escort can oblige, you'll be assured of a good time together.

[+ Lucky]

RE: Proper Gym Attire Commentary

 

How exactly does one dress appropriately for his age? The question comes up often. Are older people expected to dress conservatively? I think I know inappropriate when I see it, but the line isn't always a clear one.

 

At my gym, a large gay-oriented facility, you see gay men wearing all kinds of outfits, from traditional gym wear to veritable cheerleadering outfits. The tight form-fitting stuff usually looks good on a younger person who is in reasonable shape, yet starts to look silly on an older guy. Yet many guys seem to be living a fantasy of their youth or are just a little deluded as to exactly how old they are! (Or how fit they are!)

 

Yesterday I saw a celebrity at the gym and noticed that he dressed as though he were 40, when he looks 65. I wanted to know how close my guess as to his age had come, so I looked at his website, where I found that he was a couple of years younger than he looks. Surprisingly, the photo on the web site shows him with great muscles and a six-pack, when in person he is sagging with a pot belly!

 

Anyway, when I dress inappropriately, please feel free to tell me!

[raulgmanzo]

Funny thing about the opera is that I never appreciated it until attending one in high style.

 

I always appreciated the symphony to which attendance and performance was, while growing up, essentially required in my family. But opera just went over my head, or perhaps through one ear and out the other.

 

After moving to Chicago I decided that like it or not I'd better at least experience the highly acclaimed Lyric Opera.

So I bought good tickets, took a date and went dressed accordingly, I became in my mind part of it all. And so immersed, I finally let go my youthful prejudices and just enjoyed. I've appreciated the opera ever since and consider myself lucky to have seen a variety of operas from Tosca to Wozzeck.

 

Raul

[+ Charlie]

RE: Proper Gym Attire Commentary

 

Many kinds of clothing are not age-specific, but some items or styles look ridiculous on anyone over 30; e.g., punk/thug/rapper outfits, baseball hats worn backwards, pants that hang so low they reveal underwear. Other styles are bodytype-specific; eg., tight pants, tight T-shirts, wifebeaters, and chaps. Other clothes are occasion-specific; e.g., my 50 year old cousin came to my mother's funeral in a sweatshirt and jeans, which were right for his bodytype and OK for his age in certain situations, but not this one.

 

In 1969, when most of my friends were under 40 and in decent shape, I threw a "see-through shirt" theme party. One tall, handsome 21 year old arrived in a see-through shirt and specially designed see-through pants. No one present thought that his outfit was inappropriate (though several grumbled with envy).

[Rick Munroe]

>I always appreciated the symphony to which attendance and

>performance was, while growing up, essentially required in my

>family.

 

It was the same in my family, too, but instead of the symphony, substitute NBC's Thursday night "Must See TV."

[buckguy]

I'm not so sure it's generational or even a lack of consideration. DC is a very a conservative place for attire, yet, I think the norms are very subtle. I've been to the theatre twice in the last month. Both times Shakespeare. Both times weeknights and "establishment" venues. The prices were a little different, but not much. One show was a slightly unusual staging of "King Lear". The other a more conventional version of "Richard III", with Richard tending toward "stand up" with his asides to the audience. The crowd for "Lear" was very casually dressed--hardly a tie in the place, with a largely middle aged audience. "Richard III" drew a dressier audience and a wider spread of ages. I was a little more overdressed than the norm for "Lear" and "underdressed" for "Richard III". I was wearing a dress shirt and chinos (my work attire) both times. If it's difficult to predict what to wear for something mainstream in a conservative place, I don't think you can get too bent out of shape because someone doesn't own an iron. The guys didn't wear torn Levi's or boas and most jazz concerts I've attended (quite a few over the years) tend to draw casual dress. If you'd said opera or the symphony, I might have thought they were inappropriate, but for jazz I doubt it.

 

I don't like to be "inappropriate" for a venue, but I also don't like to dress up. I'd assume that an escort might dress upo more or at least be more fashionable than I.

[Guest ncm2169]

Bako, I've spent a lifetime dressing "up" and dressing "down" and many things inbetween. }(

 

At my age (sounds like we're pretty close in age range) I've decided to select what's truly important and what's less important, and to go with the flow from there, whether it's with an escort or just general company.

 

IMHO, if you're so hung up on your companion's style of dress, you're probably also hung up on all sorts of little things that count for shit, pardon my expression.

 

In short, get a life or get lost. That's what I'd tell you whether I was an escort or just another date. I have better things to worry about at my age, and you should too. :*