Ladies and gentlemen

During those long hours at weddings, between the main action, men have to find things to do with themselves while dressed in a way that is usually uncomfortable and unfamiliar. At this particular wedding, presumably at a country manse somewhere in rural England, the men were further sartorially humiliated by having to wear ridiculous black slippers to enter the library. On the plus side, the fellow taking centre stage (possibly the groom?) is looking at his phone instead of reading a book. The photographer seems to be trying to say something here, though it could simply be "I need to use up half a roll of film."

Yes, it's all very overblown and outrageous, but the models are far too self conscious. Another similar photo made it into the top ten, but that was because the subjects had a warmth and dignity about them. This is well photographed, but the models look cold, remote and distant, as if a bit tired of being photographed all day. Still, had it not been for the other example of eccentric cod-steampunk dandy-cum-gothiness, this would perhaps have stood a better chance.

An entirely different perspective on what represents Britain from the photo of the cavalry officers. The eccentric side of our great nation, the complete abandonment of sartorial codes and formal rules, by a couple who probably have an extremely good sex life. The Steampunk gear plays with ideas of royalty and tradition, but mixes it all up with Goth craziness and dandiacal wizardry. The bemused onlookers reflected in the window only add to the stoical, proud expressions of the subjects.

A photograph taken of a photograph being taken, neither of which anybody is prepared for. The backs of people's heads are sometimes more interesting than the fronts, though not always. Capturing a moment between recorded moments can sometimes reveal a deeper truth – though not in this case. The only truth revealed here is that, at some point in the future, a photographer will get a decent photograph of these well dressed ladies. That moment, alas, still seems very far away.

We receive a lot of photos like this at The Chap Magazine; people hanging around steam railway stations re-enacting Brief Encounter. But this photographer has taken a more original approach, capturing a conversation between a female passenger and a railway guard. The fact that it isn't quite clear what they are discussing and how important it is makes the photo all the more captivating. It goes without saying that artistically the snapper has found the perfect angle and lighting to give this shot such strong period detail that it really could have been taken in the 1940s.

At first I wasn't keen on this photo – just another toff at some society event involving either horses or boats. But it's the earring that makes it. Everything else about his clothing is traditional (although he is wearing a black bowler with a tweed hacking jacket), yet the diamond earring speaks of another life entirely for this chap. A pity it wasn't a pearl earring, as it would have tied in nicely with Girl With a Pearl Necklace. A diamond earring, however, is outrageous, and suggests he is reflecting on something far more licentious than the sporting proceedings.

He's got bare feet, he lives in a hovel and probably can't speak a word of English – yet this fellow carries himself with all the nobility of a member of the peerage. It only adds to his gravitas that we can't quite see what he's sitting on, making it seem almost as though he is floating in the room. I like the way he didn't bother to straighten any of the pictures on the walls, and how dodgy his wiring looks. The dagger, too, is very impressive. Despite his age, he looks as though he would know how to use it.

A well executed shot that manages to escape from cliche, somehow, by using an unconventional angle on the subject. The real past, in the form of the rusty tin sign for cigarettes, shadows a man dressed in the clothes of a similar era. The one entirely unselfconscious (as most tin signs are), the other entirely aware of how he is playing with imagery of the past, subtly acknowledging the true ownership of history by his background. And yes, sir, the gold flake of your straw boater next to a vintage Gold Flake ad did not go unnoticed!

Despite being a slightly irritating pretentious poseur, there are clues in this photo that the subject is not as affected as he seems. He's wearing a morning coat, so presumably the photo was taken at a wedding. Perhaps the entertainment was not to his liking – disco dancing, limbo dancing, an orgy? So he's decided to sit it out, but knew he would be, for he came prepared with his own tea set and a single macaroon. Loose leaf tea too, and you can tell that he genuinely wears those boots, rather than dressing up for the wedding.

I was hoping for not too many wedding shots in this competition. Weddings show very little of reality; merely a glimpse into a particularly stressful day, for two people anyway. Yet this photograph shows a moment outside of the wedding celebrations that is entirely unconnected with the formal occasion. This seems to capture a moment of friendship. One of these fellows might be the groom, but at this instant they are all united as one group of chums who are finding new things to do with their top hats, which they are not used to wearing.

With the theme of "Ladies and Gentlemen" it is difficult, nay impossible, to calculate which element of this photograph represents that particular theme. Could a "Lady" in whichever country this is (I'm guessing Sweden) perhaps be defined as "a female with lots of luggage"? The man who is in focus, probably unintentionally, is busy stirring his coffee or about to eat an ice cream, which, as far as a narrative goes, is about as exciting as it gets in this photo.

Alright, this shot is a bit obvious and has been seen many times before. But then so has Madonna with Child etc by the great masters, so why shouldn't photographers revisit classical themes? A chap sitting in a room with a cup of tea still leaves a lot of room for interpretation and mystery. The angles give it that Robert Doisneau feel, as if there is something interesting about to happen to the subject, or has just happened. A few clues remove the shot from the realm of the genuine vintage, but nobody is trying too hard here, and the overall effect is one of timelessness.

"Here is my tree. I grew it from a seedling 150 years ago and am very proud of it. You can come into my tree if you like, the door is round the other side. I like trees." What a shame he didn't ask a tailor to make him a tweed suit based on the colours of the tree, for you couldn't ask for a richer palette of tweed-appropriate colours. Instead of that, he took the opposite approach and went straight to Millets. Nevertheless – nice tree.