Black Tie & Bespoke Dinner Suits: How to Get It Right
Why Black Tie Is Worth Getting Right
Black tie events â galas, awards dinners, charity balls, weddings at formal venues â demand a higher level of dressing than most occasions. An ill-fitting dinner suit is one of the most conspicuous things you can wear in a room full of people dressed formally. A well-made bespoke dinner suit, by contrast, is genuinely timeless and will serve you for decades.
Understanding the Dress Code
What Black Tie Means
- A dinner jacket in black or midnight navy
- Matching trousers with a single silk or grosgrain braid down the outer seam â no belt loops, no turn-ups
- A white dress shirt with a bib or pleated front
- A black silk bow tie â always hand-tied, never pre-tied
- Black patent leather or highly polished black shoes
- Black dress socks
Black Tie Optional or Creative Black Tie
These variants give you latitude. A black velvet dinner jacket, a jacket in a deep jewel tone (bottle green, burgundy, midnight blue), or a white dinner jacket in summer are all appropriate. Trouser, shirt, and shoe conventions remain the same.
The Dinner Jacket: Your Core Decision
Black vs Midnight Navy
Midnight navy is the preference of many experienced dressers and tailors. Under artificial lighting â where you will always wear a dinner jacket â midnight navy reads as a richer, deeper black than black itself, which can appear flat. Either is correct; both work beautifully in bespoke cloth.
Single-Breasted vs Double-Breasted
Single-breasted with one button is the classic choice â versatile, clean, and appropriate for any black tie occasion. Double-breasted dinner jackets have a more assertive, traditional look and suit taller frames particularly well.
Lapel Style
The lapel on a dinner jacket is always faced in silk or grosgrain. You have two correct choices:
- Peak lapel: The more formal of the two. Considered by many tailors to be the correct choice for black tie. Makes a strong, confident statement.
- Shawl collar: A single sweeping collar with no notch. Considered more elegant and slightly less formal â ideal if you'll wear the jacket across different types of events.
A notch lapel is not appropriate on a dinner jacket. If you see one on a ready-made "tuxedo", it is a cost compromise â not correct for formal black tie.
Fabric Choices for a Dinner Jacket
| Fabric | Best For | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Super 120/130 Wool | Year-round black tie | Drapes beautifully, holds shape, versatile |
| Barathea Wool | Year-round formal occasions | Tightly woven, subtle texture, historically the classic choice |
| Velvet | Autumn and winter events | Bold, elegant, best in deep colours â pairs with standard wool trousers |
The Dress Shirt
For black tie, the correct dress shirt has:
- A pleated or bib front â plain poplin is too casual for formal black tie
- A wing collar or a turndown collar â both are correct; wing collar is more formal
- Double (French) cuffs with cufflinks â not buttons
- A concealed placket or dress studs for a clean front
The Bow Tie
Always silk. Always hand-tied. The slight imperfection of a hand-tied bow is part of what makes it correct â a pre-tied bow tie signals rental or indifference. Black is standard. Midnight navy is appropriate if your jacket is navy. Width should be in proportion to your lapels.
Shoes and Accessories
Shoes
Black patent leather Oxfords are correct. If you don't own patent shoes, highly polished black calfskin Oxfords are an acceptable alternative. Avoid suede, monk straps, and broguing at formal black tie events.
Waistcoat or Cummerbund
A low-cut waistcoat in silk or barathea, or a silk cummerbund worn with pleats facing upwards, covers the trouser waistband. Both are optional at modern black tie events, but add formality that is appropriate at grand occasions.
Pocket Square
White silk, folded simply. No colour, no pattern. The breast pocket square on a dinner jacket should be understated â the silk lapel facing does the decorative work.
Cufflinks and Dress Studs
Simple and refined: black onyx, mother of pearl, or plain silver or gold. Avoid novelty designs at formal events.
Why Bespoke Makes the Difference at Black Tie
A dinner jacket has almost no room for fit compromise. Unlike a lounge suit with multiple buttons and pockets that can draw the eye, a dinner jacket's minimal design places every element of the fit on display â the chest, the shoulder, the suppression at the waist. All of it is immediately visible.
NAAMS bespoke dinner jackets are cut to your exact measurements with full customisation of lapel style, lining, button choice, and silhouette. The result is a piece you will wear with absolute confidence at every formal occasion for decades.
Commission Your Bespoke Dinner Suit
Visit our bespoke suits page to start the process. Select your cloth, submit your measurements, and we'll build a dinner jacket and trousers to your exact specification â delivered worldwide in 3-4 weeks from ÂŖ320.