Cover credit: Britta Pedersen/picture alliance via Getty Images
I've been planning to own a full tuxedo for years.
An evening outfit suitable for galas and other end-of-year celebrations.
I like this idea of having a very chic outfit for big evenings.
Films like The Great Gath or some James Bond have reinforced my idea that a well-chosen tuxedo means great class.
Here is the story of the quest for this set.
2017: tuxedo jacket
It all started one day in January 2017.
I'm buying a tuxedo jacket.
Traditionally, it is made of dark wool and has a pointed lapel edged with silk.
But this is not the one I chose.
Mine is velvet and has a shawl collar . It comes from Suitsupply :
Contrary to what the photo might suggest, the shoulder is very flexible
Its color is mustard yellow . You saw it anyway.
Quite showy, this jacket contrasts strongly in an outfit composed only of white and black. I like it.
Its material is a short, non-ribbed cotton velvet.
It has a shawl collar, silk-trimmed buttons and piped pockets without flaps for a more refined look.
This is a smoking jacket .
The history of the smoking jacket in less than a minute
It appeared in the second half of the 19th century and it was initially a bathrobe-type piece of indoor clothing that was worn in the smoking room only. Its primary purpose was to absorb cigar smoke and ashes.
It was a century later, after the Second World War, that this jacket evolved and integrated the tuxedo as we know it today.
I tried to wear it in business outfits with chinos and a sky blue shirt but it didn't work. A smoking jacket should be reserved for evening wear.
So I need the right clothes to go with this jacket.
2018: tuxedo shirt
A year later, I purchased a tuxedo shirt, again from Suitsupply.
I find their offer relevant on evening wear.
Here is the anatomy of this shirt:
I know that there are different visions of the tuxedo shirt (with a wing collar, a hidden throat, etc.) but the one I just showed you corresponds perfectly to the vision I have of this garment.
Something happens when you put it on.
The bib, the metal buttons that we feel on his chest and the French cuffs are all indicators that this shirt is not like the others.
Of course, you need a neck accessory to go with this shirt.
You know which one. The one that is sometimes found in wood or even metal .
2019: bow tie
This bow tie is also from Suitsupply. It is black, made of silk, a generous size and above all, to tie yourself: a first for me.
It took me 15 or 20 minutes to find the right gesture.
The volume and the imperfect side of the knot that we make with the sweat of our brow give a charm that we do not find on a pre-tied knot, flat and a little too perfect.
2020: moccasins
2020 is the year I definitely got into moccasins.
The responsibility of a certain Jordan Maurin .
Mine is on a penny loafer shape, burgundy and slightly shiny.
I chose it this way because I find it pretty but also because it makes the shoe acceptable in a tuxedo.
Acceptable because the penny loafer does not appear as such in the list of appropriate shoes in a tuxedo.
There are other slip-on shoes like the opera pump , a slipper in shiny leather or velvet with a bow or fabric band at the front:
Ideally I would need something like this. Velasca
Moccasin, slipper... what's the difference?
Look at the front of the foot. The moccasin has a sewn platform. The slipper no.
The platform seam of the moccasin makes the shoe a little heavier.
The slipper, not having one, has a more refined line.
2021: has the time for tuxedo pants come?
And yes, the pants are missing.
It's a big frustration because I can't find something that suits me in ready-to-wear.
Indeed, I have a very precise idea of what I want: a very high waist, volume, tightening tabs, darts and of course, a braid on the side of the leg.
We can clearly see on these Boggi pants the satin braid on the side of the leg, characteristic of tuxedo pants
I'm going to have to resolve to have these pants made in half measurements. Living in Paris, I am spoiled for choice. But I would like to visit Ardentes Clipei , which I have heard good things about.
I even have the ambition to be able to wear it in everyday outfits.
A bit like Shuhei Nishiguchi does for example:
Once the set is finished, all I will need to do is find opportunities to display it.
Or to create opportunities for me to wear it. As such, I am of the same opinion as Benoît, who says :
“It’s the tuxedo that creates usage and not the other way around.”
