THE 2016 TELEVISION BAFTAS WITH HOUSE OF FRASER
When you get invited to the Television BAFTAS the first thing you do is say YES, before someone else nabs your spot. Then you think about what to wear. Now I can appreciate that being a guy, getting dressed for a black tie event isn't exactly complicated, I mean the dress code gives it away a little...for girls it can be a tad more difficult. However saying that, us gents still have a few things to consider when dressing for the BAFTA awards. Dinner jacket or suit, buy or hire, which tailor should I wear, a white shirt but what collar type, is a pocket square too much, what about socks, black or coloured and then we have many bow-tie choices.
As House of Fraser were the main sponsors of the event this year and my invite came from them, I decided to head out for a shopping trip to their Oxford Street branch to search for my favourite dinner jacket from a designer that House of Fraser already stock. That designer was Chester Barrie, for me their suits had character, the tailored lines & curves had personality and the lapel shape had definition and assertiveness. For me their designs really stood out from the many other suit choices House of Fraser offer.
So I headed over to meet with Christopher Modoo, Chester Barrie's Master Tailor to try and persuade them to loan me one of their dinner suit jackets for the event, which they did - its good business because after wearing it for this one event, I'm going to buy it off of them, it was that good! I've even got my Christmas Party 2016 season dinner suit jacket sorted, as they have this amazing navy version coming out for AW16 around September time.
SHOP MY #BAFTASTYLE LOOK BELOW
On the hottest day of the year in London, when everyone else was out on various London parks and commons drinking cider, prosecco and warm beer I was making my very own The Hoftail exclusive BAFTA inspired cocktail - I mean its not every Sunday you get to go to the BAFTAS! I only had time for one though, then I was on my way to the Mondrian Hotel, where I was meeting all the other bloggers who have been asked to attend & cover the event. It was amazing to meet them all but a shame that I didn't get to talk to everyone at length however join me and follow all the #BAFTATV team by clicking on the images below.
This was my first red carpet experience, so I had no clue what to expect, although for a good few minutes I thought I was actually famous! I mean I know that the press, media and interviewers were not all going to be calling out my name...Carl, Carl, Carl...over here please amongst a sea of flashing camera lights. And interviewers desperate to know who and what I'm wearing. Instead there were people on the side saying "Mummy, who are they? Are we supposed to know them?" - for me I just wanted to enjoy the experience and take it all in before being ushered along.
Here are my Top 5 Best Dressed Men at the Television BAFTA 2016:
After my short whirlwind of fame on the red carpet, it was back to normality standing in line for the bar to grab a few bottles of prosecco before finding our seats as the main event started. From Eastenders to The Great British Bake Off, from Poldark to This is England '90 - this night was about celebrating British TV in all its diversity.
For me what was apparent was the immense talent that the British TV industry has. We really are world leaders in many TV genres such as comedy and factual documentaries. I've noted down many new programmes that I have to watch such as 'My Son The Jihadi' and 'The Truth About Ebola' - the short clips of both captivated me. Throughout the night Graham Norton mocked the reality tv sector, a little joke here and there was mostly aimed at the reality stars, although it was this category that got the most comments and laughs when replying the clips of the nominees. First Dates picked up the award in the Best Reality & Constructed Factual sector and well deserved I might add. Its a programme that should be proud of what they have done, they work hard on actually matching their dates on interests to try and make real love connections rather than just great tv. Strictly come Dancing won their first BAFTA. Peter Kay won two gongs for his part in Car Share, a scripted programme of two people in a car, yep that's right...two people in a car! Whereas the two main awards for leading actress and actor went to Suranne Jones, Doctor Foster and Mark Rylance, Wolf Hall - whilst Lenny Henry picked up the last gong of the night with his special award. You can view a complete list of the winners via the BBC here.
I would finally like to thank the amazing Beth and Martha from Mediaworks who looked after us throughout the whole event x
Founder of this eponymous blog, focusing on men's fashion & lifestyle.
