There are different theories about the origins of the dinner jacket, or tuxedo. Us Brits may prefer to believe that King Edward VII (at the time the Prince of Wales) had his Savile Row tailor remove the tails from his jacket, thus inventing the shorter dinner jacket.
Across the pond, the popular theory is that the jacket originated in Tuxedo, NY where a young man of the name Pierre Lorillard – whose family were landowners – named his shortened black tailcoat after his hometown.
Regardless of which story you believe, a formal dinner suit is a timeless look.
This party season, keep it classic in black jacket and trousers or play with something slightly different. Creams, browns and greys have all been seen on celebrities of late, and are a way of subtly injecting some fun in to formalwear.
A traditional dinner jacket is silk and Holland and Sherry fabrics, based on Savile Row, offers an exquisite range of intricately detailed silks, jaquards, worsteds and velvets from which to draw inspiration for beautiful formalwear.
A raw silk, with its subtler sheen, is a bit more special. The raw silk jacket pictured is made using cloth from LVMH-owned Loro Piana from the hills of Biella in Italy.
More durable is a wool or mohair, and we have a wide variety of fabric bunches offering beautiful virgin wool which makes for a stunning dinner jacket. Dugdale Bros, based in Yorkshire, offer British wools, kid mohairs and blends with a touch of cashmere for added softness and luxury.
A bowtie is essential for a black tie event, but unlike the name suggests, it doesn’t have to be black. In fact, a new bowtie may be a subtle way of updating your current formal attire. Our made-to-order bowties are beautifully handmade to the highest standard in our midlands workshop.
To book in for your formalwear consultation, call our showroom on 01926 695 206 or email hello@richardgeorge.co.uk
