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

Classic Black-Tie Shirts

• A Tale of Two Collars 

In North America there are two equally correct styles of shirts that may be worn with a dinner jacket: the wing collar and the turndown collar.  Either style can be paired with any of the four archetypal jackets but the wing collar’s dramatic points harmonize best with the angles of the peaked-lapel jacket.  Conversely, the hidden tips of the turndown spread collar complement the more discreet lines of the shawl-collar jacket.

In Britain, however, the turndown collar is traditionally the only option for black tie as authorities such as Debrett’s regard the wing collar as the exclusive domain of white tie. 

Even in countries where it is acceptable, many dislike the wing collar for aesthetic reasons.  Certainly, the modern attached-collar version that has become so ubiquitous in the United States is particularly detested by traditionalists on both sides of the Atlantic.   And the more classic interpretation also has its critics.  American etiquette maven Miss Manners is one of those who feel that while the visible bowtie band works fine in a white-on-white scheme, “gentlemen with their black ties exposed all around their necks look silly.”  Canadian style guru Russell Smith agrees, finding the exposed metal clasp of the tie band to be particularly unattractive.  He also notes the fact that “the wing collar’s height pushes against a double chin and makes a full-faced or overweight man look constrained and puffy.” 

• Wing-Collar Shirt

Full Dress

Like so many other black-tie accoutrements, the original dinner shirt was abrogated from the most formal version of evening dress.  With its tall, starched wing collar and stiff, plain bosom, this classic garment radiates the elegance and gentility of a nobler era and imbues the most ordinary of men with an aristocratic air.  For complete details of this rare and princely garment see the White Tie section.   

Pleated / Attached Collar

Pleated wing-collar shirts were introduced to black tie soon after its inception but they bore little resemblance to those seen today; most notably, they took the same tall, stiff detachable collars as the full-dress shirt.  By the late 1930s pleats had become associated primarily with soft turndown collars only (see below) and this particular style of black-tie shirt became extinct.

Pleats would not be matched with the wing collar again until the late 1970s when they reappeared in a very different fashion.   This time around they were narrow, closely-packed strips decorating the front of a shirt that featured a soft and equally miniscule attached collar.  This modern - and much maligned - incarnation is described in depth in the Contemporary Black Tie section as are its attached-collar cousins, the piqué front and plain front.

• Soft-Front Turndown-Collar Shirt

Unlike black-tie wing-collar shirts which are dressed-down formal shirts, black-tie turndown collar shirts are essentially gentrified ordinary shirts.   Popularized in the early 1930s by the future Duke of Windsor, they offered a more comfortable and practical alternative to the cardboard-stiff full-dress model in that they were softer, did not require extensive starching and laundering and could be buttoned in front instead of in the back.   Initially considered too informal for any occasion outside of summer, they soon became the black-tie shirt of choice following the war.

The standard type of fabric for soft or semi-stiff formal shirts is a fine broadcloth or voile.  The turndown collar can either be spread (as per the photo of the half inch shirt pleats) or semi-spread (as per the other pleat shirt photos) although the former is more formal.  

In order to be suitable for semi-formal evenings, these shirts are always dressed with French cuffs (double cuffs in the UK).  Quality black-tie shirts also take two to three studs depending on the wearer’s height.  However, it should be noted that some classic etiquette authorities such as Vogue’s Book of Etiquette prescribed pearl buttons for soft-front shirts, stating that “studs are worn only on stiff evening shirts and waistcoats”.

Pleated Front

Besides studs and dressy cuffs, the black-tie shirt also features a decorated bosom to distinguish itself from the common dress shirt.  Wide or “box” pleats were the most common during the 1930s but the narrow pleats so popular today have been around since the 1940s.

Marcella (Piqué)

The subtle texture of piqué is another option for adding elegance to the bosom of a formal shirt whether pleated or unpleated.  London shirtmakers of the 1930s also added the material to cuffs and collars in order to create a dressier alternative to the pleated black-tie shirt.  This combination is commonly known as a marcella shirt after the British term for the birdseye pattern that is used in the piqué.

• Universal Details

Bib Front

Whether wing collar or turndown, better-made formal shirts will always have a bib-shaped double layer of fabric forming the bosom of the shirt.  This is the only part of the shirt's torso that is exposed by the jacket and waist covering so it is the only portion that requires starching or decoration with piqué or pleats.  Limiting the starched area to the bib also helps to prevent the shirtfront from billowing out like a sail when the wearer sits down and the excess fabric has nowhere else to go – a particular problem for cardboard-stiff full-dress shirts.  In order to avoid this conundrum, the properly tailored bib is designed to end just above the waist.  For similar reasons, its width should not extend beyond the suspenders.    

Like the shirt’s collar and cuffs, the bib’s extra thickness ensures that it will appear as white as possible rather than allowing the skin tone to show through (or, for that matter, the undershirt’s unsightly outline). 

Trouser Tab

While a correct bib length will prevent a starched shirt front from billowing out when one sits down, a separate solution is required to keep any style of shirt from pulling out of the trousers when one stands up.  That is why higher-end formal shirts have a tab that attaches to a button on the inside of the trouser waistband.  Like the bottom of the bib, the tab is hidden by the formal waist covering.