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.
@ArishMell I'll agree on the comments about "celebrities" and their "style". I can remember when Gregory Peck hosted the Oscars by contrast. A well-made double-breasted suit will tend to have wider lapels, which are peaked. The jacket will tend to look a little fuller. But I've looked at other illustrations from the period, some of which I may post of I can delazify myself, and the fit is excellent. Here, in a photo entitled Kings of Hollywood, are Clark Gable, Van Heflin, Gary Cooper and James Stewart.
Ah, now there their clothes do fit well. I don't know if the original picture was from an advertisement or something, but it shows the suit rather baggy and saggy.
I've never been to a bow-tie event, though a few of the men do attend even slightly less formal club dinners in black ties. To be honest I am not an expert on suits, and my one-and-only suit is a plain grey, universal weddings / funerals / annual-dinner outfit, to which I add a suitable shirt and tie!
I don't move in the black-tie circles and never had to wear even a tie at work, so for me, dressing smartly now and then is a bit special.
When and where are white ties worn (apart from in old Hollywood films!)?
I've only ever seen black ties - and I gather many are ready-tied on a neck-band - or events-notices stating "black tie".
Also, what is the difference between a "lounge suit" and a "dinner suit"? To me a suit is a suit but may be accompanied by a waistcoat, presumably to make the outfit even hotter and less comfortable as the evening progresses!
The now-gone "Gentleman, you may now smoke" at the end of a formal or semi-formal dinner was a pretty good invitation to remove the jacket too. Formal wear is all very well and it is good to dress up occasionally, but it's not always very comfortable. The "you may smoke" announcement was rendered obsolete by the legal ban on smoking in public and work buildings - which include restaurants and bars.
Like many other work-places, mine joined a trend for wearing casual clothes to work on Fridays - I think it started as a "jeans to work" thing for charity but became just another fashion. I was tempted to wear my suit on a Friday, the appropriate dress for my role being definitely casual!
@ArishMell There are some very formal events where "white-tie" is specified. The "dinner jacket" connotes the tuxedo, pants implied. This is black tie. Heaven forbid wearing a pre-tied bow. The "lounge suit" is wha we understand as a suit or business suit.
So my rig would be "lounge suit" then, and it's perfectly acceptable for the events and circles I move in, though I know it would not be the thing for the more exalted ones.
Heaven may try to forbid, but I suspect the pre-tied bow is to assist the man who may wear one perhaps only once or twice a year so hasn't the practice in tying fancy knots in short bits of fabric! It usually take me 2 or 3 goes to knot an ordinary, full-length, tie reasonably neatly, for the same reason.
At least it is a tie. I shudder at the celebrity photos you see sometimes, of men in suits without ties but about four days' worth of stubble; a sort of fashionably-scruffy. I've even seen one or two photos of pop-singers or the like, so dressed but with shorts!
I'm not sure being fashionably scruffy is a sign of fall of civilisation! :-)
Anyway, many men neither need nor like wearing formal clothes - for me a suit is something of a rare treat, but I would not have wanted to wear a shirt and tie every day; let alone dress up like a stuffy gambling-house attendant in a James Bond film.
It might look smart but a tie is hardly practical nor really necessary for most times and places.
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!
