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How to dress like a gentleman- A guide on the history & style of the dinner suit worn by a true gentleman
DINNER SUIT
HISTORY
One state removed from ‘white tie’ splendour, the ‘black tie’ dinner suit is the workhorse of formality,
the only element of dress wear that the gentleman of average means is likely to own rather than
hire.
The dinner jacket-the d.j.-is known to the French, Germans and Italians as the smoking jacket. Both
names reflect its early uses. To the Americans, it is the Tuxedo, and therein lies a bone of
contention. In the 1880s, as evening version of the lounge suit, the ‘dress lounge’, was introduced.
Usually it was made of the same black material as the tailcoat , and the jacket had a roll collar with
satin-faced lapel. It answered the Victorian gentleman’s desire to ease back on formality when at his
club, say, or when passing the port and puffing a cigar on country-house weekends-whenever, that
is, ladies were not present.
The problem lies in determining how and when the dress lounge became the dinner suit. In
England, credit goes to the Prince of Wales, the future Edward VII, for donning one in Monte Carlo
when he grew weary of sttting at the gaming tables in stiff starch.
In the United States, the honour is accorded tobacco tycoon Griswold Lorillard, who on 10 October
1886 dared to attend the Autumn Ball of the elite Tuxedo Park Club outside New York in a short
black jacket instead of the requisite tails. The shock-horror gave way to emulation as fellow
members ordered similar jackets from their tailors. Tuxedo became a new word in Websters
Dictionary.
Deep in the ledgers of Henry Poole, the Savile Row tailors, there is an entry to the effect that just
such a garment as Griswold wore was made for the Prince of Wales in the previous year, 1885, but
wait- the origin of the dinner jacket has also been linked with the Homburg jacket, from Germany .
The jury is out on the issue, and probably will remain so.
By 1990, in England, the dress lounge was being worn with a black bow tie, while in the U.S. the
tuxedo was the subject of experimentation in various styles and materials, including already a white
‘Tux’. All of this activity combined in the emergence of the dinner jacket-cum-tuxedo as the thing to
wear at dinner parties and the theatre. Whatever the role of Edward VII, it was his grandson, the
next Prince of Wales, who really established its popularity.
HISTORY
One state removed from ‘white tie’ splendour, the ‘black tie’ dinner suit is the workhorse of formality,
the only element of dress wear that the gentleman of average means is likely to own rather than
hire.
The dinner jacket-the d.j.-is known to the French, Germans and Italians as the smoking jacket. Both
names reflect its early uses. To the Americans, it is the Tuxedo, and therein lies a bone of
contention. In the 1880s, as evening version of the lounge suit, the ‘dress lounge’, was introduced.
Usually it was made of the same black material as the tailcoat , and the jacket had a roll collar with
satin-faced lapel. It answered the Victorian gentleman’s desire to ease back on formality when at his
club, say, or when passing the port and puffing a cigar on country-house weekends-whenever, that
is, ladies were not present.
The problem lies in determining how and when the dress lounge became the dinner suit. In
England, credit goes to the Prince of Wales, the future Edward VII, for donning one in Monte Carlo
when he grew weary of sttting at the gaming tables in stiff starch.
In the United States, the honour is accorded tobacco tycoon Griswold Lorillard, who on 10 October
1886 dared to attend the Autumn Ball of the elite Tuxedo Park Club outside New York in a short
black jacket instead of the requisite tails. The shock-horror gave way to emulation as fellow
members ordered similar jackets from their tailors. Tuxedo became a new word in Websters
Dictionary.
Deep in the ledgers of Henry Poole, the Savile Row tailors, there is an entry to the effect that just
such a garment as Griswold wore was made for the Prince of Wales in the previous year, 1885, but
wait- the origin of the dinner jacket has also been linked with the Homburg jacket, from Germany .
The jury is out on the issue, and probably will remain so.
By 1990, in England, the dress lounge was being worn with a black bow tie, while in the U.S. the
tuxedo was the subject of experimentation in various styles and materials, including already a white
‘Tux’. All of this activity combined in the emergence of the dinner jacket-cum-tuxedo as the thing to
wear at dinner parties and the theatre. Whatever the role of Edward VII, it was his grandson, the
next Prince of Wales, who really established its popularity.
STYLE
The blacker-than-black magic of very dark blue under electric light was discovered by the Prince
and his 1920s set. By comparison, plain black appears drear and dead. The disadvantage is that
midnight blue cannot take daylight, so either one must maintain two outfits, or be content to lead the
social life of a Count Dracula.
The dinner suit offers scope for individuality within the context of formality. The knock is in going so
far, but no further. Hardy Amies, couturier and sartorial gadfly, believes for instance in sporting a
coloured handkerchief, arguing that ‘to show a white handkerchief is to show a white flag in the
battle of life’. Surely the soundest advice comes from a 1960s manual published by the Tailor and
Cutter. “If a coloured bow or a coloured waistcoat is introduced, great care must be taken they add
some distinction to the outfit other than drawing comment and attention to the wearer”.
A waistcoat is optional with the dinner jacket, and there is the jaunty alternative of the cummerbund,
the waist sash first adopted by army officers serving in India, Cummerbunds are most flattering to
the tall or slim. The portly are advised that black is not only traditional but has a slimming effect.
White dinner jackets for hot weather can be worn with a shawl collar and may be slightly longer and
easier fitting than the black jacket. It is for open air social gatherings, e.g. at garden parties during
the summer. or on sea voyages.
The blacker-than-black magic of very dark blue under electric light was discovered by the Prince
and his 1920s set. By comparison, plain black appears drear and dead. The disadvantage is that
midnight blue cannot take daylight, so either one must maintain two outfits, or be content to lead the
social life of a Count Dracula.
The dinner suit offers scope for individuality within the context of formality. The knock is in going so
far, but no further. Hardy Amies, couturier and sartorial gadfly, believes for instance in sporting a
coloured handkerchief, arguing that ‘to show a white handkerchief is to show a white flag in the
battle of life’. Surely the soundest advice comes from a 1960s manual published by the Tailor and
Cutter. “If a coloured bow or a coloured waistcoat is introduced, great care must be taken they add
some distinction to the outfit other than drawing comment and attention to the wearer”.
A waistcoat is optional with the dinner jacket, and there is the jaunty alternative of the cummerbund,
the waist sash first adopted by army officers serving in India, Cummerbunds are most flattering to
the tall or slim. The portly are advised that black is not only traditional but has a slimming effect.
White dinner jackets for hot weather can be worn with a shawl collar and may be slightly longer and
easier fitting than the black jacket. It is for open air social gatherings, e.g. at garden parties during
the summer. or on sea voyages.
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