Common Threads: The Rebellious History of the Tuxedo

With wedding season upon us, it’s not only brides who are on the lookout for the perfect attire. Along with their fathers, brothers, and best men, grooms are also scouting stores for an impeccable wedding ensemble.

For nearly 200 years, the tuxedo has been the standard-bearer when it comes to formal dressing for men. Even as the high school prom dress code has become more casual in recent years, weddings, red carpets, and other black-tie events still mandate that men wear this classic suit. For many, buying (or renting) a tux for the first time is often part of the unofficial initiation into adulthood.

Today, the tuxedo symbolizes the power of tradition and institutions. While not necessarily the official uniform of royalty and world leaders, the custom-made tuxedo — tailored to body measurements and matched with a proper vest or cummerbund, and a white or black tie — conveys the authority of quiet luxury.

But the tuxedo had much more rebellious beginnings.

During the 19th century, men and women, especially the elite, were expected to change their outfits several times a day. Their clothes were bound by the rules of “time, place, and occasion,” where each determined the cut, fabric, and style of the outfit worn. Specific clothing, as well as their names (“day dress,” “dinner jackets,” “tea gowns,” etc.) were supposed to match specific activities. Dinners and balls often mandated the most formal attire, which for men included a long jacket or a coat made of dark colors (often black) paired with a waistcoat and a white bow tie.

While there are debates regarding the actual debut of the tuxedo, its origins, like much of menswear, are probably in England, where around 1865 the fashionable King Edward VII (then the Prince of Wales) searched for an alternative to the Victorian frock coat — a knee-length tailed jacket — which was the acceptable formal wear for men at the time.

At his request, Edward’s tailor, Savile Row’s Henry Poole & Co., created an ensemble that was based on the silhouette of the lounge suit — which was made with sturdier fabrics and was meant for outdoor occasions — but in colors and fabrics suitable for dinner events. Despite the short jacket, the suit was formal enough in its look so the prince could host dinner parties without breaking etiquette rules.

In this scene from the television show Downton Abbey, the women express dismay when two of the men come to dinner in tuxedos instead of white tie and tails (Uploaded to YouTube by Downton Abbey)

When the style crossed the Atlantic in the 1880s, the suit not only gained popularity, but also its official name. Looking for a more comfortable alternative to wear for social events at their resort village of Tuxedo Park in New York, American elites — whose fortune was tied to the new technologies of the railroad, tobacco, and telegraph — popularized the outfit.

First worn to the 1886 Autumn Ball of the Tuxedo Club by millionaire James Brown-Potter, the jacket soon became a hit. Always looking to emulate the lifestyle of British royalty while maintaining a touch of independence and rebellion, the tuxedo’s association with Edward VII and its semi-formal look made it the perfect candidate to symbolize the new spirit of Gilded Age wealth.

Spreading from Tuxedo Park to the fashionable Manhattan Delmonico’s restaurant, the style soon became the latest trend among young fashion-forward men. By the 1920s, the black-tie tuxedo became the go-to outfit for all formal menswear, leaving the traditional white tie, long-tailed outfit only for special occasions.

The appeal of the tuxedo continued well into the 20th century when Hollywood icons such as James Bond made the outfit a symbol of chic masculinity and solidified the style as the ultimate fashion choice for men.

Trailer for the first James Bond movie, Dr. No, starring Sean Connery (Uploaded to YouTube by Rotten Tomatoes Classic Trailers)

 

The tuxedo would continue to maintain its rebellious nature, no longer an act of defiance against tradition, but as a challenge to gender norms. When stars like Marlene Dietrich adopted the suit as part of her look, she also reclaimed for herself the power it conveyed. As she described in her autobiography, the reason she exchanged her dress for a tuxedo was “for the same reasons the best songs are written for men.” In order to possess the power and authority men had, Dietrich had to dress like one.

In 1966, at the onset of the feminist revolution, French designer Yves Saint Laurent introduced his version of the woman’s tuxedo, “Le Smoking,” which sought to turn the suit — and pants — into an integral part of women’s wardrobe. As Saint Laurent explained, “For a woman, the tuxedo is an indispensable garment in which she will always feel in style, for it is a stylish garment and not a fashionable garment.”

Whether worn by women or men, in black or other colors, with a plain white shirt or with ruffles á la 1970s style, the tuxedo continues to both reinvent itself and to stand for timeless elegance. Even as fashion has moved away from formality, the tuxedo still maintains its iconic status. As films and TV shows such as Friends, I Love You, Man and Father of the Bride, have shown, no wedding experience is complete without them.