The mens dinner jacket is often tied to the tight, high standards of the black tie event, but what does that really mean? And what does dinner jacket etiquette involve?
Some gentlemen do tend to shy away from black tie and other formal affairs with strict codes and standards of dress, often because they don't understand the rules or why they exist. The dress code might seem overly restrictive or perhaps the man simply doesn't own the formalwear pieces that are required for the event. Either way, understanding the rules of dinner jacket etiquette is often enough to sway a guy in black tie's favor.
So what are the main rules?
The Basics
Dinner jackets come in four standard styles: single breasted with a peak lapel, single breasted with a shawl collar, double breasted with a peak lapel, and double breasted with a shawl collar. Men who are seeking a more formal look should opt for a single breasted jacket, while those who don't mind seeming a little less formal can feel free to select a double breasted dinner jacket to wear to their event. Lapel style is a matter of choice, as neither outranks the other on the formal scale. Match your jacket with a bow tie and cummerbund set that's of a material and color as closely similar as possible to that of the jacket's lapel. Jackets should have double besom pockets, button holes for a boutonniere and stem, and four buttons on the sleeves. On the subject of buttons, they should all be either plain or covered with whatever material is used on the lapel.
The Alternatives
During warmer months, visits to yacht or country clubs, or for when events are held in tropical climates, a gentleman might find himself either having to or choosing to wear a warm-weather dinner jacket to his formal event. These jackets are almost exclusively in ivory or white fabrics and they adhere to the same general rules as one should apply to black or midnight blue dinner jackets, which you can read more about above.
All told, it is pretty easy to ensure that you're keeping to proper dinner jacket etiquette when putting together your formal look. As long as you have a sense either of the formality of the event or the direction you want to take your own dressy appearance, you should be able to flawlessly dress to impress.
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