How to Wear a Tux

I saw an interesting article in yesterdays NY Times entitlted "How to Wear a Tux" and I thought our members might be intrigued as I was.

By Guy Trebay - Published 22 Feb 2012

Formal wear Tips from Mens fashion Experts

Jake Gyllenhaal is one of the few men on the red carpet to get formality right (see below pic).

10 Tips for Wearing a Tuxedo

1) Shoulder fit is crucial, said Tom Kalenderian, the guru of men’s wear at Barneys New York. It’s worth sacrificing a little mobility for a snug, high armhole. No one is making free throws in a tuxedo.

2) A four-in-hand tie, a favorite style default in Hollywood, is a solecism and “just wrong,” Tom Ford said. Put on a bow tie and by all means learn to knot your own. There are plenty of tutorials on YouTube.

3) Take an honest measure of your neck. Nobody looks good in a horse harness or a noose.

4) In a standard two-button suit, the closure defines an anatomical equator, said the men’s wear expert Alan Flusser. The closure should be at bellybutton latitude.

5) Shirts fit better with a taper, according to the designer John Varvatos. “It’s about elegance,” he said, adding that there is nothing elegant about yards of cotton bunched up under your coat.

6) The half-inch rule for the cuff reveal has always been inflexible, said Michael Hainey, deputy editor of GQ. Unless you’re Bruno Mars.

7) Thom Browne fans may favor Pee-wee Herman lengths, but most men are best served by a modest break atop the shoe.

8) No cuffs on tuxedo trousers.

9) While pumps are preferred, Mr. Ford said, “most men think they’re too femme.” A calf lace-up is an acceptable option; avoid perforations or extraneous details.

10) A simple steel (or white metal or, if you are bucks-up, platinum) watch with a black leather strap is preferred by those who hold with the tradition that gents don’t wear gold after 5 p.m (Although I perfer to wear a vest & my pocket watch).

"Let them see you and not the suit. That should be secondary". Cary Grant

Cool article. I do think a man should be clean shaven when wearing a tux. He sports the look right on his body, but all I keep coming back to is looking at his scraggly beard. YMMV.

Here's how you wear a tux.

No wrist watch with a tux, if you please!

Old Prohaska

I wear this watch with my tux

I don't see how that isn't appropriate.
Now I do see how wearing a big dive watch is tacky.
What am I missing?

xXClockwork said:

Cool article. I do think a man should be clean shaven when wearing a tux. He sports the look right on his body, but all I keep coming back to is looking at his scraggly beard. YMMV.

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Clockwork:
+ 1...and Jake is missing cuff links & studs.

"Let them see you and not the [tux]. That should be secondary". Cary Grant

Jake needs to put on a cummerbund ... we shouldn't be seeing that bit of white under his jacket button when he puts his hand in his pocket. (Which leads me to suspect that he's wearing a regular shirt and not a tuxedo shirt, so just plain buttons all the way down, and not studs.)

Beside all that, the flaps on his jacket pockets are hardly worth mentioning.

xraygun said:

Here's how you wear a tux.View attachment 223463

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Was there something in the photo in between the two bottles of bubbly?

xraygun said:

I wear this watch with my tux
View attachment 223469
I don't see how that isn't appropriate.
Now I do see how wearing a big dive watch is tacky.
What am I missing?

Click to expand...

As I understand it, a gentleman out for the evening's enjoyment should not be concerned with the time. The only 'timepiece' he needs is dawn to tell him it's time to go home. One should commit one's self to wholly enjoying the evening's entertainment, with no thought to deadlines or time schedules.

For those who still need to keep track of time, a pocket watch is an elegant solution. (Plus, it has the added advantage of the flourish when checking time: produce watch ... hold it out at chest height ... click open cover ... see what time it is ... "gentlemen, if we don't leave now, the sushi place will be closed, and there's a naked girl covered in raw fish waiting for us" ... loudly click watch closed ... sashimi.)

Wrist watches are (unfortunately) becoming more common with tuxes nowadays, but a simple and elegant one such as the one you have selected would not be an overly offensive choice if one must.

Doc4 said:

Jake needs to put on a cummerbund ... we shouldn't be seeing that bit of white under his jacket button when he puts his hand in his pocket. (Which leads me to suspect that he's wearing a regular shirt and not a tuxedo shirt, so just plain buttons all the way down, and not studs.)

Click to expand...

Doc:
+ 1...to be well dressed...a cummerbund or a vest is a must!!!! :yesnod

"Let them see you and not the [tux]. That should be secondary". Cary Grant

Doc4 said:

Jake needs to put on a cummerbund ... we shouldn't be seeing that bit of white under his jacket button when he puts his hand in his pocket. (Which leads me to suspect that he's wearing a regular shirt and not a tuxedo shirt, so just plain buttons all the way down, and not studs.)

Click to expand...

A regular dress shirt and more of a "suit" look with a tuxedo coat and pants have been very popular with my customers (I manage multiple tuxedo rental stores). I do not totally agree with the look, but pleated tuxedo shirts seem to turn people off these days.

As for the rest of it, I agree with most of what he says but my customer base does not...

Black only. As was said above, you should look elegant; not glow in the dark.

Darkahl said:

A regular dress shirt and more of a "suit" look with a tuxedo coat and pants have been very popular with my customers (I manage multiple tuxedo rental stores). I do not totally agree with the look, but pleated tuxedo shirts seem to turn people off these days.

As for the rest of it, I agree with most of what he says but my customer base does not...

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I was thinking of a pique'-fronted tux shirt rather than the pleated ones (which look way too Liberace for me ...)

... and here's another site discussing tuxedo wear today!

Darn. I wrote a long response the other day and lost it somehow. In response to the article, dinner jackets have one button, not two. I agree that the tradition is no watches, and that includes pocket watches, for the reasons stated by Doc4. (the good doctor knows his stuff.) Although last time I wore a tux, I probably had a watch. I am more likely to be wearing a tux at some charitable function and not likely to want to dance until dawn!

I like a pique front shirt myself. But pleats either wide or narrow are absolutely traditional. Re no gold after 5:00 pm, I am not sure I have heard that rule or not. But as far as I know gold cufflinks and gold studs are perfectly proper. Any metal on braces is going to be completely covered, so that could hardly matter. And you are not going to be wearing a watch, so what is it exactly that cannot be gold?

I prefer detachable wing collars myself, I do not care what Ms. Manners says about it. I have read that wing collars are perfectly fine in the States, but in the UK only turn down collars will do for black tie. I do not get it given that as a rule a principle of formal wear it to be distinct from businesswear.

Tuxs may be midnight blue, which is blue even darker than the darkest navy blue, but I have never seen one. In certain artificial light, as I recall, they are supposed to look blacker than black itself.

I know of no rule re arm holes or the placement of the one button of the jacket. I assume this has varied over the years. Sounds like purely advice as to what is fashionable, not what is traditional, to me!

I am sure there are other nits I could pick! But what do I know! I only know what I have read about this stuff! The dinner jacket I own has notched lapel, which bugs me. But I am too cheap and wear it too infrequently to replace.

You wear a tux(or any outfit, for that matter) by not letting it wear you. it should be well fitted and comfortable. all metal components(belt buckle, cufflinks, watch if applicable, etc...) should match, and personally i prefer silver/chrome over gold. and for goodness sake, learn to tie your own knots and treat clip-on ties like the plague that they are. anything beyond that is really a matter of personal taste. i think a nice suit looks incomplete without a pocket square, and would prefer to not have my shoelaces visible, but that's getting into nitpicking territory. oh, and if you can pull it off at all, show up in a nice hat, even though you won't be wearing it most of the night.

The Knize said:

for the reasons stated by Doc4. (the good doctor knows his stuff.)



Tuxs may be midnight blue, which is blue even darker than the darkest navy blue, but I have never seen one. In certain artificial light, as I recall, they are supposed to look blacker than black itself.

I know of no rule re arm holes or the placement of the one button of the jacket. I assume this has varied over the years. Sounds like purely advice as to what is fashionable, not what is traditional, to me!

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Midnight blue ... going to be hard to find indeed, unless you have the tux made for you. (Black Tie is all about not being individualistic and not drawing attention to yourself by being 'different', so it is in the slightest of details that one expresses individuality ... and being the only guy at the event in a midnight blue tux rather than mere black may be just the way to pull it off.)

The arm-holes and button placement stuff ... yeah, that's "what is stylish" advice rather than "the rules of black tie" stuff.



... maybe the 'no gold after 6pm' rule was invented by randy husbands who wanted a legitimate excuse to leave their gold wedding band at home before heading off for a night out with the boys. I've never actually heard that rule myself, although generally speaking silver is seen as a much more appropriate metal than gold for black tie accessories (cuff links & studs) as it fits nicely with the black and white motif unlike gold which screams "yellow!"

Doc4 said:

Midnight blue ... going to be hard to find indeed, unless you have the tux made for you. (Black Tie is all about not being individualistic and not drawing attention to yourself by being 'different', so it is in the slightest of details that one expresses individuality ... and being the only guy at the event in a midnight blue tux rather than mere black may be just the way to pull it off.)

The arm-holes and button placement stuff ... yeah, that's "what is stylish" advice rather than "the rules of black tie" stuff.



... maybe the 'no gold after 6pm' rule was invented by randy husbands who wanted a legitimate excuse to leave their gold wedding band at home before heading off for a night out with the boys. I've never actually heard that rule myself, although generally speaking silver is seen as a much more appropriate metal than gold for black tie accessories (cuff links & studs) as it fits nicely with the black and white motif unlike gold which screams "yellow!"

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Darn ya, Doc! Now you have me thinking how cool it would be to have a midnight blue tux. Especially since I looked it up and the facings of the lapel remain black.

Do you have a citation for silver as being seen as looking better with black tie? <g> I am not saying that it does not. I am asking about "is seen." <g>

My guess is that most studs and cuff links are onyx anyway, so not much metal shows.

I think that metal buckles are still appropriate on opera pumps, so maybe they are supposed to be silver!

I generally wear my tux with an apron...

The Knize said:

Do you have a citation for silver as being seen as looking better with black tie? <g> I am not saying that it does not. I am asking about "is seen." <g>

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I went to the Black Tie Guide ... and lo and behold he's got gold as preferable with black tie ... but of course silver/white metal the done thing with white tie. There may be other opinions out there to the contrary ... if it were me I would take this "perfect opportunity to tastefully personalize" and go with MOP/silver.

Doc4 said:

I went to the Black Tie Guide ... and lo and behold he's got gold as preferable with black tie ... but of course silver/white metal the done thing with white tie. There may be other opinions out there to the contrary ... if it were me I would take this "perfect opportunity to tastefully personalize" and go with MOP/silver.

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Wow, I had not noticed that. Good catch. You and I think scarily alike! MOP is clearly traditionally white tie, but I think I went with MOP (fake MOP) studs last time around with non-standard links of some sort.

What the heck is a waistcoat stud? I thought waistcoats had jacket-type buttons.

this is a great little thread i wear a tux at every opening i do (i work in theatre) and i will say i have hit most of the must have and have nots right on!! i will have to try the pocket watch...i don't wear a watch EVER but like the idea of a nice pocket watch!