Tuxedos Trends 2017
A tuxedo, dinner jacket or dinner suit is a semi-formal evening suit distinguished primarily by satin or grosgrain facings on the jacket’s lapels and buttons and a similar stripe along the outseam of the trousers.The suit is typically black or midnight blue and commonly worn with a formal shirt, shoes and other accessories, most traditionally in the form prescribed by the black tie dress code.
HISTORY
In the 1860s, the increasing popularity of outdoor activities among the British middle and upper classes led to a corresponding increase in the popularity of the casual lounge suit as a country alternative to the more formal daywear that was traditionally worn in town. Men also sought a similar alternative to the formal evening tailcoat (then known as a “dress coat”) worn every evening.
The earliest record of a tailless coat being worn with evening wear is a blue silk smoking jacket and matching trousers ordered by the Prince of Wales from Savile Row tailors Henry Poole & Co. Henry Poole never saw his design cross the Atlantic and be “baptized” as the tuxedo; he died in 1876 leaving behind a powerful and well-respected business to be run by his cousin Samuel Cundey. The jacket was tailored for use at Sandringham, the Prince’s informal country estate and was described as a smoking jacket.
The earliest tuxedo jackets were of the same black material as the dress coat with one, two or no buttons and a shawl collar faced in satin or ribbed silk. By the turn of the twentieth century, the peaked lapel was equally popular and the one-button model had become standard. When trousers were sold with the jacket they were of the same material. Edwardian dandies often opted for Oxford grey or a very dark blue for their evening wear.
By World War I, the grey option had fallen out of favour but the “midnight blue” alternative became increasingly popular and rivalled black by the mid-1930s. Notch lapels, imported from the ordinary business suit, were a brief vogue in the 1920s. A single stripe of braid covering the outseam on each leg was an occasional variation at first but became a standard by the 1930s. At this time double-breasted jackets and white jackets became popular for wear in hot weather.
Colour, texture and pattern became increasingly popular in warm-weather jackets in the 1950s. In the 1960s, these variations became increasingly common regardless of season or climate. Notch lapels were once again a fad. By the 1970s, mass-market retailers began offering white and coloured versions of the entire suit to its rental customers. The 1980s vogue for nostalgic and retro styles returned evening wear to its black tone. Notch lapels returned for good in the 1980s, and in the 1990s tuxedo jackets increasingly took on other traits of the business suit, such as two- and three-button styling, flap pockets, and centre vents. These trends have continued into the early 21st century and midnight blue is now once again a popular alternative.
COLOURS FOR THIS SEASON
1. The Cobalt Blue ‘Greenwich’ Tuxedo
2. The Charcoal Grey Tuxedo
3. The Light Grey ‘Chelsea’ Tuxedo
4. The Sandstone Beige ‘Brunswick Tuxedo
5. The White ‘Clayton’ Tuxedo
