A tuxedo jacket can be either single or double breasted and usually has silk-faced peaked lapels. A shawl collar is an acceptable alternative. It usually comes in black or midnight blue. The fabric is generally lighter than that of a suit for day wear, as it can often be very warm during evening occasions.

The white tuxedo is worn at open-air evening parties and on cruises. It is either genuinely white or “écru,” a shade between natural white and light beige. The cut and fabric of a white tuxedo are subject to the same rule as its black equivalent. The pants are black or midnight blue like the jacket. The outside seams are embellished with a plain silk stripe, which is called a braid. They have no cuffs, as cuffs are felt to be informal. The pants worn with a white tuxedo are also black or midnight blue, never white like the jacket. A tuxedo is to be worn with a dressy shirt, which is white and has french cuffs. A dress shirt might have a fly front. The front often has vertical or horizontal pleats or it is reinforced with cotton piqué.   And what goes with it…   If the invitation says “black tie,” then the bow tie should really be black. White is out of the question; the white bow tie is reserved for tails. A dash of color is looks great paired with a black tuxedo. A red silk handkerchief, for example, looks splendid against the black of the jacket. A simple white linen handkerchief may also be used and can be very appealing. The handkerchief in your pocket should be cotton, white, and clean. You can use it to dab away the perspiration if dancing or eating becomes too strenuous. The cummerbund covers the area where the shirt tucks into the pants. It’s an adaptation of the sash worn around the waist in India, which in Hindi is called ”kamarband.” It used to have a little pocket sewn into it, which is why it is put on with the fold pointing upward.

As a dress shirt has French cuffs, cuff links are essential. Gold is very appropriate, as are combinations of gold and black semiprecious stones. Many dress shirts fasten with studs and they are sometimes available to match the cuff links.

Black knee-length socks should be worn with a tuxedo. They should be in wool or silk, depending on the weight of the tuxedo fabric.

The birth of the Tuxedo

The duke of Windsor popularized the tuxedo with shawl collar in the 1920’s. The Americans are often credited with the invention of the tuxedo and they themselves seem convinced that this thesis is correct: the 100th anniversary was celebrated on the 10th of October in 1986. The American Formal Wear Association even marked the occasion with an advertising campaign extolling tabacco heir Griswold “Grizzy” Lorillard, who is supposed to have been the inventor. When he entered the Tuxedo Club in Tuxedo Park New York on the 10th of October in 1886, his evening-dress jacket lacked its characteristic tails. This date went down in history as the “birthday” of the tuxedo and, in America, the name has been retained in honor of its place of birth. In the year of the purported jubilee Angus Cundey, managing director of Henry Pool at No. 15 Savile Row, merely remarked discreetly: “We made a short smoking jacket for the Prince of Wales as early as 1865.”