BAZA ZNANJA

Kurs: - Intermediate

Modul: Past Simple Tense

Autor: prof. Gordana Matorkić

Naziv jedinice: The Tuxedo

THE TUXEDO

You might not know that the tuxedo, that subtle symbol of elegance, is more than 100 years old. It is interesting to find out how it got its name and why it’s called “smoking” in some European countries.

The story begins with a famous family named Lorrilard, which built up a vast tobacco empire in America, after emigrating from France. The family was so rich that when one of its members of family died, the journalist writing about it, decided to invent the word “millionaire”.

The family owned great houses in New YorkNewport. One of their properties, an expensive piece of land 40 miles northwest of New York was called Tuxedo. Before they got it, it belonged to the Indians. The word tuxedo in Indian means “The Home of the Bear”. The estate was transformed into a playground for the rich. It was a luxurious place equipped with all “toys” a person could imagine. It was also known as: Tuxedo Park. On its opening night, the son of the owner appeared in his smoking jacket. This wouldn’t be a problem today, but at the time, it was a shock. All male guests were dressed traditionally. They wore tails, and white shirts with white bow ties. By that time, short black jacket, that the young man had on, had only been worn in the presence of other men in the smoking room, not in the presence of women. and

The first time is always the most difficult, they say. After this shocking event, it was accepted first by the casual Americans, and became known as “tuxedo”. It is today known by many other names: “black tie”, “dinner jacket” and even ‘DJ”.

Always traditional English accepted it a little bit later, when one of the royal family members started wearing it.

Only in Europe has the tuxedo maintained its original name “smoking”.

Today, it is considered to be a symbol of good taste. It is worn at all major events. We can see it on TV and in magazines. A proper star always takes care to wear one whenever there’s a chance. The English prefer black dinner jacket, but the American are more flexible, they even prefer white ones at weddings. In America, pastel tuxedo is popular as well.

A proper tuxedo is an expensive thing to buy. If you really want to dazzle someone you should get the tuxedo which was made by one of the popular designers and they’re never cheap. And there are always additional pieces that go with it: studs, cuff links, and a good pair of shoes. You spend too much money on a thing that you wear on such rare occasions. But the Americans found a solution to the problem – they rent one and feel like one of the most handsome men who brought glory on the tuxedo - James Bond.