[Young Gentelman]

Hi all,

I will be attending a dinner at Cambridge university this weekend in which the dress code has been specified as:

"Dinner en blanc” the dress code is chinos, shirt, and tie, or suits
From what I have been able to Google, this means ALL white, including shoes etc.

White shirt ive got covered, chinos I can justify buying, and i'll skip adding a horrific, cheap, solid white tie. A full white suit is out of my price range even if I could pull it off.
Im looking for advice in the shoes department, ive never been a fan of white sneakers/ converse style shoes but I can't seem to find a nice alternative. I would prefer a pair of leather shoes but havent been able to find any that I can justify the added £s. Does anyone know of some cheaper brands/ styles or can convince me of any other occasions where I could wear white shoes to justify the investment with re-wearability?

Thanks,
YG

 

[Trekker]

White bucks

https://www.ivy-style.com/how-the-white-shoe-law-firm-got-its-name.html

 

[StephenRG]

I'm looking for advice in the shoes department, ive never been a fan of white sneakers/ converse style shoes but I can't seem to find a nice alternative. I would prefer a pair of leather shoes but havent been able to find any that I can justify the added £s. Does anyone know of some cheaper brands/ styles or can convince me of any other occasions where I could wear white shoes to justify the investment with re-wearability?

Thanks,
YG

Easier than you might think. Find a pair of white shoes such that if they were a colour you'd like, you'd buy them. Buy them. Wear them to this function, then dye them to the colour you want.

 

[StephenRG]

White bucks

https://www.ivy-style.com/how-the-white-shoe-law-firm-got-its-name.html

Too American.

 

[Flanderian]

Though I know you're in Britain, I know it becomes warm at least one day a year. Upon flying from Heathrow many years ago the temperature stood at 89F.

Since many Americans are blessed with such heat and humidity upon a fairly regular basis, they have evolved dress with an aesthetic that better lends itself to more relaxed dressing. And one staple of the smarter versions of such dress is the white buck derby with red brick sole. It's a summer warm weather shoe, and well lends itself to comfortable, but smarter, casual wear whenever you wish, and at least in The States can even be worn with more casual cotton suits, such as seersucker.

There are a number of English makers who make examples. And most are very nice. I happen to have the shoe I'm depicting in a different color, and can therefore recommend it for both quality and style. Sanders in general offers good value for the quality.

https://www.sanders-uk.com/shop/product/jack-8761wn

Edit: Should you wonder how you keep such a pair of shoes clean, you don't. The two tools needed to keep them seemly are a nylon bristled suede brush and a chalk bag. A chalk bag is a small cloth bag filled with powdered chalk. You wack it on your shoes, and then brush it in with your brush, which also removes any excess. The link below is to an American maker of such, but I'd hope a British maker (Sanders ?) or cobbler might be able to provide one more easily.

https://www.shoecaresupplies.com/Shoe_Cleaner_p/fiebings-buck-bag.htm

 

[Flanderian]

Too American.

My heart is shattered!!!

 

[Fading Fast]

White bucks

https://www.ivy-style.com/how-the-white-shoe-law-firm-got-its-name.html

Good stuff. I had a general idea of where the term came from, but this sharpened the focus. Thank you for posting it.

Re the "too American" angle, I see that white bucks are made by several British shoe companies, is that because they are selling into the American market?

Are white bucks basically not worn in the UK? Not that, to be honest, they are very popular in the US (AAAC is not a reflection of what the general population in the US wears), but once they were so there's still an echo of that history around.

 

[Adelstensfostre]

My French is not the best, so on seeing the headline my immediate though was "Dinner in the nude? In Cambridge??".

 

[Oldsarge]

Hey, it's a university town. Wild things go on in university towns. Heck, they did when I was in university and that was a very long time ago.

 

[swils8610]

Love white bucks!


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[Trekker]

Here's information on "Dîner en Blanc":
https://dinerenblanc.com/

There are sub-pages at that site for events at cities around the world. Here's one with photos from Los Angeles back in October:
https://losangeles.dinerenblanc.com

 

[Flanderian]

Here's information on "Dîner en Blanc":
https://dinerenblanc.com/

There are sub-pages at that site for events at cities around the world. Here's one with photos from Los Angeles back in October:
https://losangeles.dinerenblanc.com

Interesting! Thanks.

 

[Langham]

My French is not the best, so on seeing the headline my immediate though was "Dinner in the nude? In Cambridge??".

Always a possibility. The OP might save some money by making that assumption. But on the other hand ...

 

[harmelba]

My wife dragged me to dinner en blanc last year. I scored some new Ralph Lauren white suede bucks on Ebay for $100 and pants from Brooks Brothers for like $40, I think they were red fleece though.

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[Charles Dana]

Here's information on "Dîner en Blanc":
https://dinerenblanc.com/

There are sub-pages at that site for events at cities around the world. Here's one with photos from Los Angeles back in October:
https://losangeles.dinerenblanc.com

It looks like a convention of bread bakers.

 

[Adelstensfostre]

A Moonie mass-wedding was my thought.

 

[Mr. B. Scott Robinson]

My university age son is heavily into Common Projects trainer footwear at the moment. They make a beautiful minimalist white trainer that is flexible and functional.

or you can go full on Sebastian Flyte.

My "keeping bucks clean" story.

I had a spanking new pair of white BB bucks in my closet and I was invited to a friends for a summer soiree at his house in Nairobi. I thought this to be a great opportunity to rock the bucks. As the main course, my friend was cooking and serving up a suckling pig.

As the afternoon progressed, my friend became intoxicated to an extent where he was incapable of carving the pig. I jumped on my white horse, grabbed the carving knives and came to his rescue.

When I arrived home that evening, I discovered that I had dripped pig fat all over the toes of my new white shoes! YIKES!

After about a week of work using several boxes of corn starch to soak out the fat, I was able to remove 99% of the grease.

Now I don't wear my bucks to pig roasts. You shouldn't either. As an aside, sick is hard to remove from bucks as well. Best not to wear them to Uni parties.

Cheers,

BSR

 

[EclecticSr.]

It looks like a convention of bread bakers.

All baking white bread

 

[Oldsarge]

I know this is a silly question, but what's the point?

 

[Trekker]

I know this is a silly question, but what's the point?

Simply a chance for a fun evening. You meet at a pre-assigned location with a host, the host guides you on public transportation to an undisclosed location, you setup your table / dinner / etc., and enjoy the evening.

The white clothing attracts a fair amount of attention as hundreds of people take trains across town.