Black Tie Guide

Black Tie & Tuxedo History

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1930s Classic Black Tie - that could be worn just like that today
1930s Classic Black Tie – that could be worn just like that today
Yves Saint Laurent

Fashion fades, style is forever.

Yves Saint Laurent
Classic Black Tie Outfits with accents in red - evening waistcoat, pocket square and carnation Laurence Fellows
Classic Black Tie Outfits with accents in red – evening waistcoat, pocket square and red carnation Laurence Fellows

Black Tie History and Mastery Go Hand-in-Hand

It is impossible for evening wear to be fully appreciated or properly executed without being familiar with its history. Until a man understands evening wear’s original intention and aesthetic logic, he is likely doomed to a formal wardrobe that fails to meet its most fundamental objectives. Simply having worn a suit does not intrinsically qualify a man to assemble a proper formal ensemble in the same way that writing a high-school essay does not qualify one to author a novel.

Table of Contents
  1. Black Tie History and Mastery Go Hand-in-Hand
  2. Get to Know the Dinner Jacket
  3. Black Tie History Is More Colorful Than You Might Think
Sean Connery wearing an ivory dinner jacket with a black batwing bow tie in Woman of Straw; the same jacket was famously worn in Goldfinger.
Sean Connery wearing an ivory dinner jacket with a black batwing bow tie in Woman of Straw; the same jacket was famously worn in Goldfinger.

Get to Know the Dinner Jacket

A familiarity with the dinner jacket’s background is particularly important for men who wish to improvise on black tie’s century-old traditions because only an educated dresser can discern between fleeting fads and timeless style. The following pages provide just such an education, conveniently condensed to the most relevant details and generously embellished with period illustrations.

Black Tie in 1934 in Germany. Note the colorful waistcoats and the stiff collar with white tie vest and boutonniere on the right
Black Tie in 1934 in Germany. Note the colorful waistcoats and the stiff collar with white tie vest and boutonniere on the right

Black Tie History Is More Colorful Than You Might Think

You may be surprised to find that unlike its somber apparel, evening wear’s history is a colorful one encompassing depression and prosperity, aristocrats and hippies and ballrooms and discotheques. So slip on your vintage smoking jacket and sit back in your favorite armchair as we begin our story with a tale of rakish dandies and maverick princes .

Explore this chapter: 3 Black Tie & Tuxedo History

  1. 3.1 Regency Origins of Black Tie – 1800s
  2. 3.2 Regency Evolution (1800 – ’30s) – Colorful Tailcoat & Cravat
  3. 3.3 Early Victorian Men’s Clothing: Black Dominates 1840s – 1880s
  4. 3.4 Late Victorian Dinner Jacket Debut – 1880s
  5. 3.5 Full & Informal Evening Dress 1890s
  6. 3.6 Edwardian Tuxedos & Black Tie – 1900s – 1910s
  7. 3.7 Jazz Age Tuxedo -1920s
  8. 3.8 Depression Era Black Tie – 1930s Golden Age of Tuxedos
  9. 3.9 Postwar Tuxedos & Black Tie – Late 1940s – Early 1950s
  10. 3.10 Jet Age Tuxedos – Late 1950s – 1960s
  11. 3.11 Counterculture Black Tie Tuxedo 1960s – 1970s
  12. 3.12 Tuxedo Rebirth – The Yuppie Years – 1970s
  13. 3.13 Tuxedo Redux – The 1980s & 1990s
  14. 3.14 Millennial Era Black Tie – 1990s – 2000s
  15. 3.15 Tuxedos in 2010s
  16. 3.16 Future of Tuxedos & Black Tie

Posted November 14, 2018