Tuxedo Junction – The Black Tie Rules
Queen Victoria’s good health was very beneficial to the world of menswear. Edward, Prince of Wales, had to wait 59 years to succeed Her Majesty as Edward VII and luckily for us he was a great one for his clothes. The dapper Prince was obsessed with reducing the complexity of men’s clothing and dress codes.
It was his idea in 1860 – just over 150 years ago – to ask Savile Row tailor Henry Poole to cut off the tails of his formal evening wear to create a more comfortable garment for informal gatherings.
The resulting “dinner jacket” was readily taken up by high society, which slavishly followed Royalty’s lead. In 1886 James Potter, an American visitor to a dinner at Sandringham, the royal country house in Norfolk, had the prince’s jacket style copied by his local tailor and wore it to considerable acclaim at his gentlemen’s club in Tuxedo Park, a wealthy suburb of New York. The dinner jacket became pretty much the uniform of club members and so became known as a tuxedo. (An earlier version of this tale attributed the introduction of the dinner jacket to Tuxedo Park to the splendidly-named Griswold Lorillard, whose family owned the club, but his claim to be the first to wear in the US it is generally discounted today. Interestingly, the place name Tuxedo is believed to have its origins in an Algonquin Native Indian word meaning “place of the wolf” or “place of the bear”. We prefer the wolf idea…).
Today a tuxedo, a tux, a dinner jacket, a DJ, a dinner suit, black tie, a penguin suit, an evening suit and Le Smoking (as it was used by gentlemen as they smoked after dinner, without the ladies, of course) are all terms for the same outfit. Whatever its designation, the rules are pretty much the same the world over. In the rank of formalwear, the dinner suit comes below the specialty that is “white tie” and below a “morning suit”. Both of these styles are characterised by tail coats, but the more comfortable dinner jacket has eclipsed them in the popularity since the 1920s and 1930s, when another Prince of Wales, later Edward VIII and then the Duke of Windsor, was very keen on its style.
David, as this Edward was known to his family, was a serial maverick who was determined to deflate the stuffy restrictions of the court of his father, George V. Prince Edward liked to turn out for dinner in a black tie outfit when all the other men were in full white tie and tails. He would sport a lounge suit-like double-breasted jacket with silk “facings” on the lapels or he would favour the pique dress waistcoat from the tails outfit with a single-breasted dinner jacket. Even before he abdicated in 1936, this extraordinary style-setter had dropped the old stiff-fronted evening shirt with its detachable stiff wing collar in favour of a soft, pleated-front dinner shirt with an attached soft turndown collar. We are still wearing that style today.
Comprising classically only black and white items, the dinner suit has the remarkable ability, if well-fitted, to make almost any man look elegant.
Despite its name, some people maintain that the best shade for a black tie is actually midnight blue, which tends to look better under artificial light (and most black tie events are held indoor). Midnight blue is very hard to find in ready to wear garments, but it is something to think about if you have a dinner suit made for you.
The shape of your suit jacket and trousers can reflect any prevailing fashion trend – slim-fit silhouette, narrow lapels, tapered trousers and so on – but a dinner suit should look different to a lounge suit, so take the opportunity to try a style that you would not normally wear to the office. The suit jacket can be either single- or double-breasted. A DB, which ought always to be kept fastened, will almost always be peak-lapelled. The SB should not have traditional notch lapels as this does tend to look somewhat ordinary, like a regular lounge suit. Better options are peak lapels or a shawl (or roll) collar, which runs from the collar to the button without interruption. Until recently, the peaked lapel on a single-button jacket was limited to black tie, but it has started to pop up on fashionable lounge suits too.
As we want as clean a look as possible, pockets should be jetted (that is, a slit without flaps). Trimming the edge of the pockets in the fabric used on the lapels can add a dandy touch. Pocket flaps only add a bit of width on the hips, which we don’t want. And there is no need for a ticket pocket on a dinner suit.
Although a formal invitation might give the dress code as “dinner jacket”, you are expected to wear trousers as well of course and these should be black, in the same fabric as the jacket. The outseam – the seam running the length of the outer side of the leg – can be decorated with a single stripe of the material used on the lapels. Never put turn-ups on black-tie trousers as they are regarded as additions to a more casual suit.
Ideally the trousers should be held up without a belt – side fasteners or buttoned braces (not clip-on braces, thank you) are required. If you do have to wear a belt, make sure that it is plain black with a small buckle. The main reason for losing a belt is that a classic dinner suit takes a cummerbund, the horizontally pleated sash that’s worn around the waist. The pleats should be worn upwards (originally so that you can put your tickets for the evening event in them).
The facings on the lapels can be satin (which is a flat weave and often with a discreet shine about it) or a dull ribbed silk (the fine ribs look good when running diagonally). As noted above, the stripe down the trouser should match the lapels.
Black tie requires a dress shirt that is specifically made to be worn with a DJ. As the whole shirt front is exposed, the least desirable shirt will show the buttons. Better than this is a placket front, in which the buttons are covered by a vertical strip of fabric. Adding to the sense of a special occasion, the shirt is even more desirable with a pleated front or one that has a marcella or pique panel (known as a bib front). Marcella is the British name for the woven fabric with a subtle cross pattern that can be found on shirts, tails waistcoats and white bow ties; it is also known as pique, especially in America.
For a 1960s dandy retro effect, you could always try a ruffled front shirt (if you can find one), but be warned that those frilly bits are very tricky to iron!
A modern take on the dress shirt is to wear a jacquard weave – one that has a pattern or pictorial image woven into the cloth in the same colour as the base. The pattern picks up the light very well.
A traditional dress shirt is closed with studs, which are tiny screw-in removable fasteners. You will not need these for anything else but a formal dress shirt. They are often sold in sets with matching cufflinks – a black tie outfit demands cufflinks. Discreet is good; so is showy – let your links reflect your personality.
A recent trend has seen regular long black ties being worn for evening events, but a classic guy will always go for a hand-tie black bow tie. If you can’t tie one, get someone to show you. It’s like riding a bike – it’s easy when you know how and you’ll never forget how to do it. Of course, a ready-tied one is fine – just make sure it doesn’t look too processed. Some people like to wear coloured bow ties (and matching cummerbund) and continue that flash of colour in your pocket handkerchief.
At ground level, you need very simple black shoes – patent leather is a classy option. Black tie is the only ensemble that looks good with male pumps. Avoid decorated shoes like brogues. Socks should be black, plain, as fine as you can find and long enough to cover any skin exposure. Keep it simple.
As a final flourish, wear a boutonnière or buttonhole. A small, neat bloom would be lovely.
PS: Depending on your confidence and the circumstances, you could adapt the black tie uniform with a velvet smoking jacket in a restrained but rich colour like burgundy or deep green. Or perhaps add a Caledonian note with a tuxedo in a tartan; the mainly green-and-black of the Black Watch pattern is very acceptable. Humphrey Bogart looked brilliant in a white tux in Casablanca; so might you in the right light.
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