Proceed with Caution

Contemporary Jackets

Contemporary Trousers

Contemporary Waist Coverings

Contemporary Shirts

Contemporary Neckwear

Contemporary Footwear

Contemporary Accessories

Contemporary Personalization


 

 

 

 

The Notched Lapel

 

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

 

Like it or not, the notched-lapel dinner jacket has gained acceptance among the highest levels of society.  The Ocean's 13 scene below shows how it compares with its classic cousins.

 

 

Well Suited

 

 

The cut of a dinner jacket is similar to that of a day suit and therefore follows the same cyclical trends in regards to length and general style.  Currently the vogue in American designer suits is for a trim fit. While a dinner suit's silhouette does not impact its formality it does affect its shelf life. 

 

Fancy Trimming 

 

 

The sixties vogue for fancy trimming seems to be making a comeback.  Shown here are jacket lapels with only their edges trimmed in satin.  The reverse of this style - silk-faced lapels with undecorated edges - can also be seen on selected contemporary models.

 

The Black Suit as Tuxedo Substitute

 

"There always have been – and probably always will be – men attempting to pass off a black suit as 'formal wear'.  Such gaucherie is obviously its own reward.”

 GQ

Contemporary Jackets



• Model


The Basic Rules: jackets can be single- or double-breasted

The Classic Details: the single-breasted takes one button and the double-breasted takes four

 

Classic one-button peaked-lapel jackets continue to be a popular model but contemporary jackets are also mirroring the current preference for two- and three-button styles in regular men’s suits, particularly in the realm of novice formal wear (i.e. rentals). 

 

While the two-button look is only slightly different than that of the one-button, the high cut of the three-button model has a much more noticeable impact on the overall appearance of a black-tie ensemble.  Its most obvious effect is the significant reduction of the amount of exposed shirt front which consequently eliminates the deep white V traditionally associated with a buttoned dinner jacket.  Secondly, its shorter lapels are not substantial enough for the sweeping shawl or the stately peak shapes making it appropriate only for the relatively modern notch style.

 

As for contemporary double-breasted models, the six-button variation is by far the most popular.  Most often found with a peaked lapel it remains an essentially classic look, especially when designed to fasten with only the bottom button.

 

 

• Lapel

 

The Basic Rules: shawl and peaked lapels are the most traditional but many argue that the notched style has earned its place too

 

Traditionalists disdain the notched-lapel trend which gained popularity in the 1960s and persisted because manufacturers were able to apply their common business suit patterns to tuxedos and thus save money.   “A dinner jacket with notch lapels is a sartorial oxymoron,” opines famed haberdasher Alan Flusser, “like sporting a dinner shirt with a button-down collar. Not only does this sportier coat lapel design lack the aesthetic logic and refinement required of formal wear, its casualness makes the rest of the ensemble look common and less dignified.”   Such opponents regard this innovation as suitable only for waiters.

 

Pragmatists, on the other hand, point out the inescapable fact that this lapel is by far the most popular style on dinner jackets today and even conservative designers and retailers such as the venerated Brooks Brothers have been offering it for a number of years now.  Like the two-button variation, it has a relatively minor impact on the traditional appearance of a dinner jacket, particularly when all the other principles of classic black tie are adhered to.  Consequently, the best approach is likely that of etiquette maven Amy Vanderbilt who in 1952 accepted the notched lapel as a legitimate option in the modern world but categorized it as a less formal alternative along the lines of the shawl collar.

 

 

• Color and Pattern

 

The Basic Rules: black or midnight blue; white is acceptable in summer or in the tropics

 

The Classic Details: solid tones only

 

To paraphrase Henry Ford, contemporary dinner suits are acceptable in any color you want as long as it’s black.  While rental shops offer all-white tuxedos as well as jackets of various other hues, they are the exclusive domain of weddings and proms and very rarely seen at grown-up functions.  The same goes for the black-on-black patterns also available from formalwear renters.

 

 

• Fabric

 

The Classic Details: worsted wool

 

High-end designers have been offering wool & cashmere blends since the 1980s and mohair blends since the‘50s, both of which are soigné enough to honor black tie's basic principles.  Even classicist  Alan Flusser advocates the dulled sheen of baby mohair and fine worsted wool as “one of the few tasteful exceptions to the rule that normally consigns shiny clothes to the parvenu side of the tracks."

 

 

• Pocket

 

The Classic Details: besom style

 

Flap pockets are appearing on dinner jackets offered by even the most traditional designers today.  Just as with the notched lapel, this style of pocket denigrates the formal suit to the level of a common business suit and is usually just another way for manufacturers to save money.  Fortunately, the edges of these pockets are usually besomed which means that the flap can be tucked in or removed altogether in order to create the more formal look deserving of a dinner jacket. 



 

Alternatives

 

• Velvet Jacket


Combining the rich fabric of the smoking jacket and the familiar styling of its semi-formal offspring, the velvet dinner jacket is both alternative and traditional at the same time.  Available in various dark colors since the 1960s it has always been most popular – and arguably most striking – in formal ebony.  


• Long Coat


The modern three-quarter length formal coat – known as a Prince Edward coat in the UK – is a variation of the turn-of-the-century formal day garment known as a frock coat.  Despite its incompatible pedigree, many celebrities adopted it as evening wear during the “creative black tie” trend of the 1980s and 90s and the fad soon caught on with teenage imitators. Invariably constructed with notched lapels and paired with a long tie it is entirely inappropriate for traditional black tie functions.


• Nehru / Mandarin Collar Jacket


Another product of the creative formalwear fad of the 1990s was the revival of the 1960s Nehru jacket, now re-christened as the “mandarin collar coat”.  Like the three-quarter length coat, this alternative model’s popularity has declined significantly in recent years but is still available from some manufacturers.

Although it may incorporate the fundamentals of black color and understated dressiness, it is still a highly noticeable break with tradition.  Because it is designed to be completely buttoned up this jacket style precludes any type of lapel, eliminates the smart contrast of a visible white shirt, and prevents the use of a neck tie.   All of these factors disqualify it from being considered proper black tie.

Introduction: Proceed with Caution Contemporary Trousers

 

UPDATED CLASSICS 

 

Depending on the button stance, the two-button jacket can appear very similar to a one-button model.

 


The same goes for a three-button jacket that is only fastened with the center button.

 

Closing the top button of a three-button model noticeably reduces a black-tie ensemble's contrast. (Note also the informal flap pockets in this model.)  

 

Modern double-breasted jackets are usually paired with peak lapels giving them a very classic air.  This model is buttoned in the six-on-one fashion.

 

Detail of wool and mohair dinner suit from Brigdens.

 

 

ALTERNATIVES 

 

Velvet dinner jacket from the purveyors of stylish black-tie alternatives, Jos. A. Bank.

 

Like its progenitor the frock coat, the modern formal long coat is appropriate only for day wear.

 

The mandarin collar jacket may be considered formal by some but it is definitely not black tie.
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COMPARATIVE ENGLISH TERMINOLOGY

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