I agree the suit and tie are still appropriate (in the right places of course)but that painting is hardly a flattering exemplar!
The suit looks far too large so is all baggy, and the lapels look exaggerated.
That dress the lady is wearing in Waleskinder's contribution would probably still look good in a modern setting, though Madam may find that Pharonic scale of metal- and glass- work around the neck and ears, and that bloomin' great bouffant, not quite[i] a la mode[/i] now. Nor would Madam wish to carry that enormous cigarette-holder (though looking at some of these vapour thingummyjigs now....).
'Tis a curious thing...
The women in the so-called "celebrity" photos you see on the covers of the tacky gossip-mags in the newsagents, usually photographed at some works bash like the Oscars, like to dress in, err, eye-catching and paparazzi-trapping style, and think themselves gorgeous. Meanwhile their men appear able to afford a suit that may have fitted in the shop; but not the tie, nor the electricity to re-charge the shaver.
I see at times like club Annual Dinners or weddings, "ordinary" women from much less exalted walks of life, dressed elegantly... and they knock (polka?)spots off the "celebrities" for dress-sense and elegance.
It's a matter of occasion - as I say I like to dress smartly when appropriate, although I am not in black-tie circles, and enjoy doing so because it adds to the occasion.
It also respects that event and everyone else.
However I don't regard mere dress as a mark of the true gentleman. You can be that in your gardening clothes!
