I finally gave in and bought a tuxedo. For a black tie affair do I have to wear one of those specialized shirts and bowties or can I just wear a white shirt and tie like I would with a business suit?
You wear a specialized shirt and a bow tie (and make it a real bow tie, of course). And you do have a vest or cummerbund, right?
You certainly can, just make sure the tie is black and skip the cumberbund.
No braces, no cummerbund, then he’d need braces.
You shouldn’t wear:
a button down
a poly blend shirt
a patterned/striped tie
woven tie
Most, but not all, tuxedo shirts have pleats (between 10 and 16), but they don’t all have stand up collars – I have a nice point collar tuxedo shirt and I despire the stand up “winged collar” variety. You can “get away” with a regular white point collar shirt, but it will be very noticable unless you have french cuffs (i.e. are wearing cuff links).
Obviously, you can wear whatever you want to wear. But since you’ve gone to the trouble of getting the tux, it makes sense (to me) to spend a few extra bucks on a really nice shirt to go with it. It doesn’t need to be ruffled, but I’d go with french cuffs and cufflinks and show some class. If you bought the tux at a local store, go to them and ask for help. Just be upfront and they should take care of you. “I need a classy shirt to go with my tux. I don’t like ruffles. I want something simple but nice in white.”
despire? no, despise
damn you Gaudere
I’m assuming you mean collar, not shirt correct? The two tuxedo shirts that I have are both button down, i.e. no studs, but still having french cuffs. One has a spread collar and the other has the classic “tux” collar with the little turned down points.
While a bowtie is recommended, there are some very good alternatives, like cravats and string ties. Bolo ties, too, if you live in or near Texas.
don’t tell me you haven’t heard of the zipper tuxedo shirt? it’s all the rage in Milan!
Yes, I meant buttoned down collar. Even shirts that allow for studs often have surplus buttons should you need to go studless. I have both a point collar and wing collar shirt, but I only wear the wing collar shirt with tails. I have not yet seen a spread collar with a tux, but I imagine it looks nice with a neck tie in a full windsor knot. I can’t wear spread collars, my face is too round.
or just a neck tie . I am of the opinion that not unlike cowboy boots or reisistol/stetson hats, bolo ties are reserved for country music singers, cowboys and texas oilmen. If you are none of these, stay away from the bolo – you will look a fool.
Remember, the pleats on a cummerbund face** up**.
Is a cummerbund a crumb catcher? I always remember that the pleats go up because one time long, long ago it was described to me as such.
I’ve always heard that it’s because that way the Best Man can keep the ring tucked into it, along with other necessary little items. Total blather, of course, but it makes a good story.
While it works for such purposes, it’s really a tummy hider. If you don’t have a gut to be covering up, you don’t need to wear one.
if anything it accentuates a gut. I was told the pleats went up to store opera/theatre tickets in - which is keeping in line with the basic belief that it’s a pocket of sorts.
I like the trend that some tux rental places (e.g., Selix) are following when it comes to shirts. I recommend a shirt with these characteristics for convenience and versatility:
[ul]
[li]simple white; forget cream, off-white, etc.[/li][li]‘regular’, spread or point collars (no wings); the collars should not be button-down (those buttons under the collars are annoying)[/li][li]‘convertible’ button-holes: hidden buttons down the front of the shirt that you can use for convenience, or ignore if you want to use shirt studs[/li][li]French cuffs; seriously, a tux looks much better with French cuffs[/li][li]100% cotton; get the shirt pressed; it is worth the effort; if needs must, I guess you could go with a cotton-polyester blend or 100% polyester (wrinkle-free), but all-cotton shirts promote breathability[/li][li]I personally prefer ties+vest over a bowtie+cumberbund[/li][/ul]
Although old-school folks say that you should only wear a tux-shirt with a tuxedo, if you get a shirt like the one described above, you can wear it with a regular suit as well. Just use the convertible buttons (studs only look good with a tux) and get a pair of standard cufflinks.
By the way, if you’re wearing a tie with a tux, I recommend a satin or solid silk tie in a solid color (black, French blue, or red).
Disclaimer: These are the ramblings of a guy who has read a bunch of style magazines. I personally would rather wear a suit than a tux, so take my words with a metric ton of salt.
As a musician, I find it’s also good for tucking in spare reeds and/or tune requests.
But yeh, it does accentuate the gut. That’s why I switched to a double-breasted tux.
The story I heard was that the pleats went up to hold the opera or symphony tix…
With a tux, you wear a formal dress shirt w/ french cuffs, you can select one that is very plain. If you choose to wear a four-in-hand tie w/ your tux, it’s properly worn w/ a vest.
It’s perfectly acceptable to wear a plain white shirt with a dinner jacket. I’ve seen it many a time at livery dinners. It’s better to wear a dress shirt, though. But you need a black bow tie.
As for the cummerbund, they look nice, but make wearing braces a pain.