Introduction: Gold Standard

Defining Classic Black Tie
Classic Jackets
Classic Trousers
Classic Waist Coverings
Classic Shirts
Classic Neckwear
Classic Footwear
Classic Accessories
Classic Outerwear
Warm-Weather Black Tie

Classic Alternatives

Introduction: The Gold Standard

It is only the modern that ever becomes old-fashioned.

Oscar Wilde

While white tie has remained essentially frozen in time since its inception, the history of black tie has been one of continual evolution.  So how do we establish which phase in the tuxedo’s timeline can best be described as quintessential?  By determining the period when black tie’s purpose converged most effectively with its attire.

As elucidated in the History section, the original purpose of black tie was to create a comfortable alternative to the tailcoat while retaining its level of stature and class.  Prior to the late 1920s the heavy wool fabric and stiff shirts that accompanied the dinner jacket did not provide much relief from the discomfort of traditional full dress.  Conversely, while black-tie attire did become considerably more comfortable in the following decades, by the 1950s subsequent stylistic innovations began to erode the tuxedo’s inherent formality.    

This places the apex of the dinner jacket’s evolution squarely in the 1930s and '40s.  A look at the expert definition of proper black tie confirms this fact: the contemporary descriptions provided by fashion and etiquette authorities all draw from the protocols established during this specific period.  “No other era could have produced such a sartorial success,” is how esteemed haberdasher Alan Flusser describes this sublime confluence of the practical and the aesthetic.  “Since the culmination of the dinner jacket’s design in the late 1930s, men’s fashion has yet to improve upon the genius of its original design or the unimpeachable refinement of its accoutrements.”

Fortunately for today’s gentleman, obtaining a classic look does not entail seeking out a vintage tuxedo.  As Mr. Flusser explains, it means only that a fine dinner jacket’s modeling and detailing “must respect the exquisite relationship of form and function that were worked out through the collaboration of English tailors and shirt makers with their fastidiously dressed customers of that stylish era.” The following pages examine that sublime balance in detail to provide readers with the knowledge needed to assemble their very own quintessential black-tie wardrobe.