How not to wear white tie, courtesy of George W. Bush: 1. The waistcoat should never extend below the bottom of the tailcoat.
2. The shirt collar must be a wing collar.
3. The trousers are to be worn at the waist, not slung down around the hips.
4. The shirt sleeve should have at least 3/4" of cuff. (To be fair, Prince Philip is equally guilty of this particular faux pas, but you didn't read that at The Monarchist. By the way, what do you suppose our Grand Old Duke is thinking as he sets his eyes on Dubya?)
5. Also, avoid goofy laughter in the presence of Her Majesty The Queen.
From The Black Tie Guide, A Gentleman's Guide to Evening Dress. (Except for number five which is mine).
I must say, however, that the First Lady looks lovely.
ReplyDeleteI would imagine the Prince is thinking something along the lines of "For Heavens sake, Philip old boy, keep your mouth shut with this one around."
ReplyDeleteBy the way, what do you suppose our Grand Old Duke is thinking as he sets his eyes on Dubya?
ReplyDelete"Wouldnt've lasted half an hour at Gordonstoun in my day..."
"Lights on, nobody home."
ReplyDeleteWhether you like him or just loathe him, you do have to admire George W Bush.
ReplyDeleteFor it takes real guts to be that unpopular.
If nothing else, he certainly put all those Liberals and Lefties back in their place - in The White House. :-)
He also taught the British people an important lesson.
Who commands its military and the interests it serves.
The President may not dress to the British standards that you expect, but he will do what is takes to rid the world of Islamo-fascism.
ReplyDeleteThat's the image he projects.
ReplyDeleteYet the reality is different.
Bush is their best recruiter.
Goofy laughter, ehehehehe... bingo!
ReplyDeleteFor some reason, this site is running extremely slow on my computer. Other sites work fine. Can anyone fathom why this may be the case?
ReplyDeleteCheers
The use of the world Islamofascism is the mark of a moron. Besides the fact, as Mr Welton pointed out, that the Bush foreign policy blunders have led to an increase in support for fundamentalist Islam, Islamo-fascism is an oxymoron. Fundamentalist Islam proclaims the supremacy of the spiritual community over the secular, fascism proclaims the supremacy of the secular over the spiritual. You can have one and not the other. I am not going to get involved in a debate about Islam, just pointing out the stupidity of this term.
ReplyDeleteSorry to double post, but it disturbs me somewhat how many Americans who laughably call themselves conservative are willing to support a dunce who's reign has been nothing but one great disaster after another. Just because he shares the same ideological believes as you does not make him competent or good the country. Choosing ideology over competent government does not make you a conservative, it makes you an idiot at best and a traitor at worst.
ReplyDeleteI cannot pretend to guess what the Duke of Edinburgh thought at that moment, but I know what I hope he was thinking: "Stupid Yank Twat!"
ReplyDeleteBest: American Republicans are not 'conservative'; they are anarcho-capitalists. They do not believe in government, competent or otherwise. The old adage is that the Republicans believe government is a force for evil, and get themselves elected to prove it. No Monarchist should look on these cretins with favour.
I am not a great supporter of Bush, however, First, Lord Best is simply showing his lack of knowlage when he says that bush's policies taken as a whole have increased terorist recruting, the contrary is true on the whole. Second, Anon does not know what he is talking about, the republican party is an allience of religious coservatives, social conservatives, Burkians and Libertarians. Third, a true gentleman would not kick a man while he was down.
ReplyDeleteI never mentioned recruiting, actually. The simple fact is we do not know. I mentioned support amongst the wider populace,and this is born out by polls and surveys undertaken in many Arab countries over the past eight years. I was also kind enough not to mention the fact that thanks to Bush, the theocratic regime of Iran now controls Iraq through the Shia majority. This is a disaster of the first magnitude.
ReplyDeleteNot to mention the whole issue of American prestige and respect, which is but a dim memory.
There is no such thing as "conservatism" in America.
ReplyDeleteRepublican whigs and classical liberals perhaps, but "conservatives"? No.
Why would the citizens of a Republic have to conform to an outdated and elitist dress code because of the prsence of an invited inbred and unelected "royal" ? There is a saying that goes "When in Rome..." W. should have treated her to a BBQ dinner at his ranch. Lizzie could have worn jeans and a cowboy hat, thats what all the folks here do. And can pass me the ketchup ? Thanks a bunch sweeety.
ReplyDeleteThe Dude, because it shows respect for a foreign head of state. People even show respect to Bush because of his position, remarkable as it may seem.
ReplyDeleteWhy would the citizens of a Republic have to conform to an outdated and elitist dress code because of the prsence of an invited inbred and unelected "royal" ?
ReplyDeleteSir:
Surely, if there is no authority in the unelected, how can there be authority in the popular electorate? The members of the popular electorate are unelected, right?
With all the problems in the world today he we have a bunch of fuck-wits banging on about someone’s shirt sleeves not showing etc. Out of touch with the real world or what!
ReplyDeleteBy the way do bother trying to point out the problems with Islam to Best, he’ll tell you it is all the fault of the West and all the rest one hears from the “head in the sand” brigade. I strongly suspect that he wants to run for office some day in Australia and does not want anything on record that would have the PC types all over him.
As for Mr George W Bush, the media don’t like him so he probably never get a good rap. I don’t like the fact that he is a back to basics religionist, not much better than the Islamic lunatics’ out there, in some ways.
Well, if you regard Islam as a threat you should despite Bush for making it worse and empowering one of the worst theocratic regimes in the world. If you do not regard Islam as a threat you should despise Bush for alienating the Islamic world and potentially turning it into a threat. Either way Bush is an idiot. I actually feel a bit sorry for the chap, afterall he is just a moronic puppet of various no-'conservative' forces.
ReplyDeleteAnd Mr Byers, you are misrepresenting what I have said regarding Islam and the West. I have said the only reason Islam poses a danger to us on a cultural level is because we have let our culture be systematically undermined by various groups which regard the West as inherently evil. If our culture were strong we would not have any kind of trouble with Islam. We are blaming the water for washing away the house when we let the foundations collapse.
I certainly have no intention of running for office, I have too much contempt for the media and public at large.
In regards to fashion, Mr Byers, standards must be maintained even in times of turmoil. I would not expect you to understand of course, it is quite apparent that Australians (and I say this as a patriotic Australian) are amongst the worst dressed peoples in the world.
ReplyDeleteI rather suspect Her Majesty (or "Lizzie," if one must) would have enjoyed the prospect of going to a ranch and wearing jeans and a cowboy hat. Perhaps with a different host, though.
ReplyDeleteLook, Lord Best maybe you misunderstand my views too. I do not have any respect for fundamentalist religion of any stripe, and therefore I’m not happy with George W Bush, and yes maybe Bush has stirred up these Islamic nuts. However they would hate us on any account because of our freedoms and way of life. They live in the dark ages and cannot be reasoned with.
ReplyDeleteAnd on the issue of "Standards" of fashion eta. don't patronise me Mr Best.
ReplyDeleteJ.K. Baltzersen,
ReplyDeleteGet your head out of your ass before your make arguments this stupid.
And by the way, Lord Best, thank you for the great shorter version of this blog :
I have too much contempt for the media and public at large.
Sums up the site quite nicely
Get your head out of your ass before your make arguments this stupid.
ReplyDeleteOf course, if someone shows that there is a flaw in your "logic," and you cannot counter it, resort to personal attacks and dirty words.
J.K. Baltzersen,
ReplyDeleteIt would be a waste of good internet time to defeat your "logic". So I kindly suggest you find a 5 year old who will be patient enought to show you the flaws in your moronic argument.
Keep criticizing clothes, it's probably the most intellectually challenging form of entertainement your puny brain is capable of handling.
I'm sure Arthur Schopenhauer would be proud of the dude.
ReplyDeleteThe writer of this article cannot spell corrrectly: Capitol refers to the building, the United States Capitol, the seat of government of the United States Congress. However, capital refers to the city, as in capital city, in this case Washington DC, and its initial letter is not capitalized. The writer clearly writes 'Capitol' in reference to the city of Washington DC, which makes it a misspelling. Even the most pretentious and condescending contributors to The Monarchist blog cannot spell correctly. Spelling errors are inexcusable. Work on it if you want to be taken seriously!
ReplyDeleteAs for Australians being among the worst dressed in the world, I can only say that whomever made this comment has not been lately in any large British town or city and observed the dress of British citizens. Britons are tasteless and untidy dressers by any standard, especially when compared to Europeans from the Continent: most of the French, the Scandinavians, the Dutch, and the Germans dress impeccably compared to the British.
ReplyDeleteYes, standards must be maintained, or in this day and age, much improved upon as they have sunk to an all-time low from the 1960s to the present. However, as monarchists, the contributors to this blog leave much to be desired. I must say that many of the correspondents to this blog seem to be masking their own inadequacies or low stations in life with lashings of pretentiously pompous language and self-indulgent ventings of foolish and furious condescension, and by futile attempts at a snobbery which is as unbecoming as it patently false: a sort of mock snobbery by those who would aspire to be snobs but have not the wherewithal and station in life to properly be a snob, that is to say, a real snob. Standards will be not be raised by this conceit and deceit, this pomposity, pretension, and condescension. Reading just a few of the comments posted on this blog may well be enough to make a republican out of those of us who are either indifferent to the monarchist-republican debate in countries such as Australia, where I am, or hold only the slightest of leanings towards the retention of the monarchy. Many contributiors to this blog seem to be nothing more than would-bes if they could-bes; and I repeat in other words that the tone, tenor, and content of their posts would be enough to drive the uncommitted to the republican cause.
ReplyDeleteI would second Anonymous above, and suggest, with all due respect, that the Old Etonian Snob act has won far more recruits to republicanism than US policy has won to al Quaeda.
ReplyDeleteI am a monarchist, but I hate this blog. It's just so much snobbery and harrumphing, Blimpish nonsense. Like a bunch of people pretending to be retired colonels from Hampshire.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Duke, he's a joke (in the UK at least) and a bigot. His occasional pronouncements that have been reported in the popular press makde Bush look enlightened.
I wonder if this blog was set up and maintained by a republican. It does a very effective job discrediting monarchy.
Ouch. I feel the need to point out a few things, which will give us a much better perspective on the matter and a little better background.
ReplyDelete1. Bush is a very gracious man. Graciousness is a much better indicator of a gentleman than the quality of his formal wear.
2. Pace the ever-loving Aeneas, Bush is quite intelligent. Indeed, it takes a very stupid man to say that President Bush is an idiot, given the cold hard fact of his current standing in the world. Bush did not inherit his position, unlike certain of his guests. Accordingly, it would seem to me to be more fitting to question the intelligence of his two guests, pictured here, if you must question someone’s intelligence. No?
3. Let us refrain from putting quite so much importance on dress, especially such piddling points as has been outlined here. I am sure you noticed, but I’ll point it out anyway: Bush is not wearing cowboy boots and Levis. He is wearing white tie and tails. He is, therefore, NOT showing disrespect for the Queen. Quite the contrary.
4. Many things could explain the ill-fitting nature of his waistcoat. When outside, for instance, he always wears a bulletproof vest underneath his clothes. I cannot tell that his trousers are riding too low based on this picture, but I’ll take your word for it. Nevertheless, bulky undergarments may explain this too. We must give the man allowances for such practical limitations.
5. How can you tell Bush is laughing “goofily”? Do you say this because he always laughs this way? If so, are we commoners not supposed to laugh in the presence of Her Most Royal Highness, the Queen of England, etc., etc.? Should we stifle our grins for fear of being goofy, and instead act as dour as an English prince? Do you wonder why Americans so happily celebrate the anniversary of July 4, 1776?
6. Bush is not an English gentleman. He is a gentleman.
7. Gentlemen are never snobbish.