As I’ve said in previous editions of this piece, Hollywood stars command bigger paychecks and higher profiles than their Broadway counterparts. The money and visibility gives Hollywood more access to designers and well-paid (and often overpaid) stylists to help them pull together a look for red carpet affairs.
The good news about black tie is that it’s not complicated. The bad news is that – even with all the money and resources at their disposal – so many manage to blow it.
Well-executed black tie comes with basic rules and constraints to assure that a man will look his best. This isn’t about making a big red carpet splash like Alan Cumming, whose style is a well-earned signature that should not be attempted by amateurs. No. This is about exercising the refinement, restraint and rules of time-tested black tie. There is a reason Bradley Cooper, Jon Hamm, Daniel Craig or anyone dressed by Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren or Tom Ford make the best-dressed list among all the other handsome movie stars: they don’t mess with the constraints of solid, well-tailored, bulletproof black tie. And neither should you. (Unless, of course, you are Alan Cumming or someone aspiring to be the male red-carpet equivalent of Cher.)
Here’s the rundown:
The Tux
Keep it simple. A single-breasted black or midnight blue dinner jacket with peak satin lapels or a satin shawl collar will serve you well on Tonys night and every other black tie night for the rest of your life. Double-breasted is a great option, too, for men of the lean and tall persuasion.
Other characteristics of a timeless formal jacket include a single button closure, as opposed to two or three buttons on regular suits (two can actually be fine, but certainly not three). Dinner jackets can have a single or double vent in the back, and they are the only jackets where one could go without a vent at all. Pockets without flaps are preferable.
Pants are basic: flat front (no pleats) with a satin stripe down the side.
Tailoring is what separates the men from the boys here. The jacket should be snug in the shoulders with a lean and clean fit that conforms to the body without squeezing it. The length of a jacket should cover your ass and reach your thumb knuckles with your arms relaxed at your sides.
Popular shorter jackets of now just cut you in half, pronounce your ass and – if you aren’t built like a lean model – make you look like you have child-bearing hips. Although current trends push this super-short, super-tight tailoring… don’t. While I’m certain some of the younger slaves to trends will show up wearing a sausage casing with lapels, I would strongly suggest just sticking with tried and true honest tailoring that gives you structure and stature without squeezing you.
The jacket sleeves should expose one-quarter to one-half inch of shirt cuff, and the pants should have a gentle break that just kisses the top of the shoe.
Here are some good options:
J.Crew
J.Crew has several wonderful formal options in their Ludlow Shop. If you’re getting your first tuxedo or replacing an old one, stick with an all-season tuxedo in Italian wool in black or navy. If you’re adding to your collection and in the mood for a second or third summer-only tux, they have gorgeous summer-weight black or navy tuxedos in Japanese seersucker or Italian chino. Stick with peak lapels or a shawl collar. Notch lapels (like on a regular suit) are not appropriate black tie, even though J.Crew sells them.
Sold as separates, the wool tuxedos go for a combined total of $790 ($525 jacket, $265 pants), and the cotton tuxedos are a combined total of $456 ($298 jacket, $158 pants).
J.Crew Ludlow Shop, NYC
50 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10013
212-587-3139
Suitsupply
Though they have only one formal option, Suitsupply’s black tuxedo is a beautiful suit, with a wide silk peak-lapel and the corresponding silk stripe down the side of the pants. It’s made with a Super 110s wool from Vitale Barberis Canonico, and features a stunning scarlet bemberg lining in the jacket.
The price of the tuxedo itself is $569, but Suitsupply offers a rather smart “black tie set” that includes the tuxedo, a tuxedo shirt, a silk bow tie and black patent leather shoes for $799.
Suitsupply, NYC
635 Madison Ave. (@ E. 59th St.)
New York, NY 10022
212-259-0400
453 Broome St. (betw. Greene and Mercer)
New York, NY 10013
United States
212-828 7250
The Shirt
Here’s what you want with a shirt: a trim-fit standard or classic spread collar (shown) with holes for studs and French cuffs. Do not wear a wing-collar shirt. Wing collars are for morning suits, white-tie, tails, magicians, poker dealers and Chippendales dancers.
For the money, here are two of my favorite tuxedo shirt options:
Charles Tyrwhitt‘s Marcella bib front classic is fabulous. It’s 100% Egyptian cotton with a pique texture, available in classic or slim fits. They’re $99 each, but Tyrwhitt will give you two for $160.
Charles Tyrwhitt, NYC
377 Madison Ave. (@ 46th Street)
New York, NY 10017
212-286-8988
745 Seventh Ave. (@ 50th Street)
New York, NY 10019
212-764-4697
1177 Avenue of the Americas (@ 45th Street)
New York, NY 10036
212-901-1050
Suitsupply has a terrific white Tuxedo Shirt, made with a beautiful light textured cotton, a seamless French placket and black enamel stud buttons. It’s $99.
Suitsupply, NYC
635 Madison Ave. (@ E. 59th St.)
New York, NY 10022
212-259-0400
453 Broome St. (betw. Greene and Mercer)
New York, NY 10013
United States
212-828 7250
The Bow Tie & Cummerbund
The bow tie is a given, yet the cummerbund seems to have fallen by the wayside. A rule for the tux is that we should not see any shirt below the jacket button. The cummerbund fixes that. This is, of course, not a concern with double-breasted dinner jackets.
My friends at Fine and Dandy sell perfect black bow ties and cummerbunds as a set. They’re both made right here in NYC with 100% silk, with cotton backing on the cummerbund. The very reasonable $79 set is available in their store or on their website. And if you just need the bow tie, they have you covered there, too, for $55.
Fine and Dandy
445 West 49th St. (betw. 9th and 10th Aves.)
New York, NY 10019
212-247-4847
On a style note: we must know how to tie our own bow tie. The pre-tied variety is a cop out. If you make it over to Fine and Dandy, Matt or Enrique can give you a little how-to. If you can’t make it over there, there’s a brilliant how-to video produced by The Hill Side. Check it out here.
On another style note: please don’t wear a standard necktie, however black it may be. There is a growing perception that a standard necktie is appropriate for black tie. It isn’t. It’s a lazy man’s cheat that has a funeral effect, making the wearer look like a Tarantino gangster, a pallbearer or a chauffeur. Black tie is an occasion with deliberate and celebratory apartness from regular suit and tie. Wear a bow tie and celebrate.
The Bling
If you were lucky enough to inherit a badass formal set of studs and cufflinks from your granddad, you’re all set. Otherwise you’ll need to invest in a set of your own. Thanks to Matt and Enrique at Fine and Dandy, you can snag a smart and handsome black and silver set for a very cool $49, available from their website (www.fineanddandyshop.com) or at their Hell’s Kitchen shop.
As for a watch, keep it simple and elegant. The watch should match the metal tone of your studs and cufflinks. Silver tone cufflinks and studs go with a stainless steel or silver watch.
The Shoes
Unless you have a busy black tie schedule, formal shoes (called pumps) won’t get a ton of wear. But one should invest in a smart, handsome, timeless pair that are specially reserved for formal occasions only. Whatever they are, they should be simple, unadorned and nondescript patent leather, without any perforations or designs on them. Unfortunately, your favorite wingtips or monk straps, however glossy their shine, are not appropriate. In a pinch, a well-tended and very well-shined pair of plain black oxfords could work.
SuitSupply sells the handsomest pair of formal shoes I’ve ever seen for the price. Called the Black Tuxedo Shoe, it’s a slim-profile shoe of polished patent leather made with Italian calfskin. They run $289.
Suitsupply, NYC
635 Madison Ave. (@ E. 59th St.)
New York, NY 10022
212-259-0400
453 Broome St. (betw. Greene and Mercer)
New York, NY 10013
United States
212-828 7250
In Conclusion…
This is the Tony Awards, celebrating the highest honor in American theater. It’s an occasion for which one shows up with respect: respect for oneself, respect for the theater, respect for the artists, respect for the tradition, respect for the honor and respect for the fact that there will be cameras. Dress for it.
4 Comments
Once again, an amazing article by George!!
i may have to take you up on your help with indochino measurements offer 🙂
Thank you! It would be my pleasure.
what shoes are you wearing there with the tux?
An old pair of very simple Kenneth Cole slip-ons. They buff to a nice luster.