[cge]

I personally prefer trousers without pleats for white tie; even when cut well, I think they don't possess the sharpness eveningwear should have. That said, what works for me might not work for anyone else; I'm also not fond of creases on trousers for white tie...

I think you are right to concentrate on accuracy here. Pleats are not that important in the whole scheme of things as long as your lapels are peaks, your waistcoat agrees with your trousers and tailcoat, etc.

As has been said in other threads, while having a waistcoat that's cut correctly is extremely important, and so ignored by so many people, peak lapels are not nearly so important, and are by no means the only correct lapels.

 

[cge]

Oh, they are to us die-hards. It is the second thing we look at after the waistcoat length has been assessed, then after that the collar and bow tie then cuffs then shoes... :teacha:

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by die-hard, then. When evening fashions weren't frozen, most of those other things were stable, but fashionable lapel styles changed frequently.

 

[cge]

That is true in the past but most style experts agree that today's top formal dress codes (i.e. full morning and evening dress) demands peaks given that in the past people wore these styles of dress far more frequently and at many occasions thus there would be a need of different cuts depending on situation and formality and given that in this day and age these styles of dress are very confined and limited to the most formal situations it must thus be inclined to take the most formal form of said style of dress given said form of dress' restricted nature.

Some of us do need to wear them frequently; this is the first week in a quite a while where I haven't needed to wear evening dress, and I need to wear morning dress tomorrow, and evening dress again next weekend. In such a situation, one needs to be able to have variations, and also different levels of formality. And while I know people around me won't question what I wear, it's a bit frustrating when forumites present as universal rules that are more accurately presented as rules for if one only has a single coat for a particular sort of dress.

If you don't want peaks, the shawl is the next best thing (I've seen examples of this and it is used in military evening dress thus an acceptable alternative). Notches shouldn't even be considered regardless of whether it was used in the past or not (I won't go into an argument cycle on this as we all know why).

I will agree that notches aren't really advisable; I don't actually have any evening coats with notch lapels. I like shawl evening coats, though: they look quite clean. There are also, of course, a number of different variations on peak lapels, and it's very unlikely that I would wear a regular notch lapel.