A Time, a Place and Shoes for Seersucker

Dear Fashion Police: I am a guy in my mid-30s who’s been invited to a midday wedding reception in early June at a nice hotel. I suggested to a friend, who’s also invited to the reception, that I was thinking of wearing a seersucker suit to the event. She cautioned me to “think long and hard” about such a move. Is this occasion appropriate for seersucker? And, for general reference, what shoes are appropriate to wear with it?

--TYPICAL GUY

Dear Typical: Male guests at a midday wedding or reception are usually encouraged to wear a light-to-medium-color suit, or a sport coat, tie and nice pair of slacks.

However, every wedding is different, and if you think this one won’t be extremely dressy, a seersucker suit would be OK. What your friend is probably reacting to is just the look of such a suit. There are those who view this summery ensemble more as a costume than a legitimate suit, since it’s lost some of its popularity over the years. To be honest, we haven’t seen one in ages, and when we have it’s been on men over the age of 70 who wear it with a straw hat, bow tie and white bucks.

But don’t let that stop you. We’d love to see a man your age in a seersucker suit--it sounds somewhat retro and elegant at the same time. And as for the shoes, you could wear cordovan penny loafers, or bucks in white or tan, depending on the color of your suit. Your belt should match your shoes. If you do decide to go with seersucker, please let us know the reactions you get--good, bad and weird.

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Dear Fashion Police: You really need a 911 number. My husband and I were dining out recently when a lady walked by our table. Her hair and makeup were “done.” Her jewelry weighed more than 3 pounds. Her bag and 2-inch heels were fashionably correct. Her hose was a lovely taupe. Her outfit was a lovely pale blue sweatsuit/jogging suit/warmup type thing. Recently you’ve made several comments about gym attire, so I wanted to let you in on how some are dressing them up. Keep trying.

--ON THE LOOKOUT

Dear On: Hey, thanks for the encouragement! And thanks also for letting us know that there are some people out there who not only proudly wear their sweatsuits to restaurants, but are also “dressing them up” with pounds of jewelry, heels and pantyhose. It’s lucky we didn’t catch sight of this woman’s unfortunate attempt at turning exercise clothes into acceptable dining out attire or we would have immediately taken her downtown for questioning.

Sorry, but this get-up you described sounds atrocious. Heels and scads of jewelry with a jogging suit? What was this woman thinking? That someone would mistake her sweat suit for a pantsuit? Accessories can do wonders for dressing up certain items of clothing, but that doesn’t include ones designed for pedaling a stationary bicycle.

Let’s turn the tables here for a minute. What would you think if you saw a woman wearing a formal gown along with sneakers, a baseball cap and a backpack? Would you find that attractive or appropriate?

We realize that there are many people, men and women, who have no interest whatsoever in giving up their jogging suits, despite what we or anyone else says. Although we’ve often listed stores, catalogs and Web sites in this column that carry comfortable, loose clothing ideal for going out, some people just refuse to budge. Well, so do we. Sweatsuits are made for sweating, not for hitting the town. Let’s all keep trying.

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Write to Fashion Police, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles CA 90012, fax to (213) 237-4888, or send e-mail to socalliving@latimes.com.