Jacket or Dinner Jacket?

I’ve visited many countries and attend- ed banquets and celebrations， where I often felt embarrassed due to cultural differences and my own ignorance. Not long ago， for instance， GPC Industries Ltd.， one of my clients in Britain， invited my wife and me to celebrate its 30th anniversary， during which time we attended the annual Royal Ascot. We nearly missed it because we didn’t bring formal attire. Fortunately， GPC’s President Greg Clarke and his wife helped us purchase proper formal wear in a shopping mall.

Six months ago， I received an invitation from Mr. Clarke， who has been a good friend and business partner for over 20 years. Mr. Clarke sent me an e-mail before my departure， reminding me to wear a dinner jacket and dress pants to the Royal Ascot in Berkshire.

Mr. Clarke had good reason to remind me of every detail， particularly attire. Ten years ago， he invited my son and me to his company’s 20th anniversary， to which we wore Western suits and ties. We had no idea that for such an occasion， every- one would wear tuxedos and bow ties. It seemed that Mr. Clarke predicted such a misunderstanding and prepared two bow ties for us. Frankly speaking， it was the first chance in my life to wear such a thing； I had no idea about bow ties.

Ten years later， Mr. Clarke still remembered the bow tie episode. He stressed the “dinner jacket” for the Royal Ascot just in case we didn’t know about the custom.

I still misunderstood. I heard “jacket”instead of “dinner jacket，” chuckling to myself， “Great！ I don’t have to deal with uncomfortable Western suits and ties.”

I set off on my journey in my windbreaker.

Mr. Clarke and his wife， in formal attire， received us at the airport. He asked the interpreter to make sure that we had brought formal clothing for the next day’s Royal Ascot upon seeing our “jackets.”

“Formal dress？” I asked， confused.“Didn’t he say ‘jacket’？”

“You misunderstood， Sir，” the interpreter explained. “Here， ‘dinner jacket’means ‘business suit.’”

I didn’t know what to say.

“Never mind， we still have time，” assured the Clarkes， calming us down and suggesting we do some shopping.

We headed directly to the most famous shopping center in London： Mr. Clarke with me for suits， and Mrs. Clarke with my wife， for dresses. The pants were too long for me and had to be altered. “Come back in two days，” the shop assistant said. “Two days？” I screamed. “But I’m wearing it tomorrow！” Mrs. Clarke knew how to solve the problem： “Let’s take them， send them to a tailor tonight， and they will arrive at your hotel before we leave tomorrow.”

They fit perfectly when I tried them on the next morning. I was so grateful to the couple， knowing I would have missed the Royal Ascot without their help.