Proceed with Caution

Contemporary Jackets

Contemporary Trousers

Contemporary Waist Coverings

Contemporary Shirts

Contemporary Neckwear

Contemporary Footwear

Contemporary Accessories

Contemporary Personalization

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.