One of the few specialist items in every gentleman’s wardrobe, the tuxedo is the designated heavy hitter that it pays to get 100% right. Conventional wisdom has it that when it comes to dress codes it is black tie and black tie alone that is the great social leveller. As the adage goes, everyone from the waiter to the CEO looks the same wearing their ‘penguin suits’ and are therefore on equal footing. This is true, but only on the surface. If you enter a room and see a hundred men all wearing black and white it seems that everyone is dressed exactly the same. However, it’s only when you get close enough to take in the detail do you realise that not all tuxedos are made equal, nor worn with skill. But as we all know, when it comes to men’s style its very often the details that separate the men from the boys. You think the tuxedo is the least creative in terms of self-expression? Wrong. Like so many other things in life, it is what you do within the so-called boundaries that mark you as a man of distinction and character.

With that in mind, here is M.J. Bale’s Black Tie 101, our rough guide to the all-important F’s: Fibre, Fit and Form. As Fred Astaire once said, and we wholeheartedly endorse: “Do it big, do it right and do it with style.”

Fibre

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a globetrotting titan heading to an awards dinner in London or a man on the land heading to the local B & S ball, you’ll want a tuxedo made from 100% Australian Merino wool. Merino wool is no longer the itchy, scratchy and heavy fibre of our parents and grandparents era; it is light, breathable and feels great against the skin. It’s the perfect fibre for suiting because it absorbs perspiration and redistributes it evenly across the garment (fantastic for when you’re ruling the dance floor, or feeling just a tad nervous watching your future bride walk down the aisle). It’s easy to care for, too. If your jacket and trousers are crumpled simply hang them on a hangar in the bathroom and turn the shower on for ten minutes. The steam will iron out any creases and the fibres bounce quickly back into original shape. Note: if you’ve had a big night on the town try and hang your jacket outdoors for at least an hour the next day to help eradicate any odours.

Fit

Apart from having garments that hopefully last the test of time, the purpose of purchasing tailored clothes is that they effortlessly fit to the contours of your body, accentuating the positives and minimising the negatives. If you are an athletically built man with big, broad shoulders and a full-sized waist you’ll want a more deconstructed jacket that makes you seem trimmer; conversely, if you’re a thin gent with small, sloping shoulders you’ll need a jacket that makes you seem broader and more athletic. That’s not even taking in the proportion of your head to shoulders, or width of your legs etc. Very few tuxedos fit off-the-rack (but if so, lucky you), so you’ll want to have our in-store staff make an artful series of modifications and have the garment sent off for alterations. However, hopefully at the end you’ll have a tux that you can, as our founder, Matt Jensen, always says, dance in (see Fibre for the benefits of getting your groove on in Merino wool).

Form

Black tie has gone through so many incarnations over the years, from midnight blue smoking jackets in the 1860s to tailcoats, white tie, double breasted numbers and everything in between. You can have silk or grosgrain collars, constructed in shapes like peak, shawl and notch lapels, or single- or double-breasted waistcoats (but never a cummerbund - this concept died in the ‘90s, lads). Beauty, as they say, is in the eye of the beholder, so there are no hard and fast rules anymore, including colour and construction. The Duke of Windsor rocked an aggressively wide peak lapel, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. loved his tuxedo jackets double-breasted and in velvet, Noel Coward opted for shawl collars and Fred Astaire expertly knew his way around white dress vests (a suave, textured version of the waistcoat). Choose a style that is right for you, in the right fibre and tailored to your body so that it is yours and yours alone. Oh, and if you want to explore the reaches of creativity, meet with our Custom suiting specialists and we’ll make you a handmade tuxedo in our Japanese workshop. 

Accessories

Black tie is one of the few dress codes where it doesn’t pay to over-play your hand in terms of accessories. Save all the extroverted accoutrements for the themed dress-up parties. You’ll want to limit your accessories to a white formal dinner shirt (preferably in turndown or wing collars), black bow tie (always hand-tied, it just has that perfect-imperfect drape), a pair of black leather shoes (opera pumps are coming back for the dandy, black socks, cufflinks and a white or muted pocket square.