The cummerbund is back, though not quite how we remember it.

I must disagree with some of my fellow menswear aficionados on this one... men certainly do still wear cummerbunds. However, it seems that they serve a different function than they used to.

Where the cummerbund used to be a less formal or warm weather alternative to the waistcoat, it now fulfills the mere function of covering that dreaded white triangle of shirt fabric that inevitably crops up at every red carpet event these days. Naturally, we know that the culprit lies in the trend of low rise trousers. Personally, I believe the sooner this trend goes away the better. It's one thing to have jeans in a low rise, but quite another to make black tie attire fit like them. But whatever you may think of modern fit trends, having a waist covering of any kind can help avoid this issue.

Unless it's a waistcoat that's too short.

In summary: Gents, cover your white triangle of doom until this low rise thing blows over. Even then, keep wearing waist coverings because they're awesome.

Daniel Craig looking dashing in a shawl collar dinner jacket. Traditionally, the cummerbund would show above the waist button.

Sean Combs' trouser rise is a bit low, but the waistcoat keeps it covered.

Tim Metzger looks far less appealing in a six button waistcoat, sagging britches, and undersized wing collar.

High button stance + low rise trousers + no waist covering at all = an unflattering look for Andrew Garfield.

J. C. Chandor (right) demonstrates the advantage of covering this conspicuous area with a cummerbund, unifying the transition between jacket and trousers despite the trendy cut of his suit. Meanwhile, Zachary Quinto's getup looks far better than his past attempts. (Which appeared to be a Vulcan's poor attempt at imitating Earth customs.)

James Bond almost never wore a waist covering in all his incarnations, but his trousers sat high enough to compensate in these cases.