Tuxedo: Poole, the Prince, Potter & Pierre
In 1862, the 22 year old Prince of Wales Albert Edward (eventually, King Edward VII) purchased Sandringham estate for approximately (adjusted for inflation) $20,000,000. The home was developed with additions over the last century and is now one of the private homes to Queen Elizabeth, Albert’s great granddaughter.
As you might imagine, the Prince put his castle to good use, having private dinner parties on the grounds regularly. These parties instantly became famous and the Prince and his wife, Princess Alexandra, were not just royalty but fashion royalty. In 1863, the Prince’s preferred tailor, Henry Poole was bestowed a Royal Warrant by the monarchy. Henry Poole was the very first tailor on the now infamous Savile Row and became a stop for many royals on their way to the theatre. Poole and the Prince popularized Glen plaid suits, Norfolk jackets, tailed formalwear, and due to weight gain, leaving the bottom button unfastened on a waistcoat.
However in 1865, Poole made the Prince a “celestial blue dinner jacket” of silk. It was a short jacket, made without tails, and a wonderful alternative to white tie formalwear. It was Albert’s wardrobe that eventually, at one such dinner party in 1886, impressed a New Yorker by the name of James Brown Potter.
Potter wasn’t just from New York, he was from Tuxedo Park, NY, a village that is adjacent to Tuxedo Lake, and happened to be a founding member of the Tuxedo Club. In early 1886, Pierre Lorillard (of Newport tobacco fame) founded a men’s society in Tuxedo Park that hunted, fished, played/popularized many sports and also had formal dinners. Pierre knew Potter, Potter knew the Prince, the Prince knew Poole.
When the Prince told Potter what to wear to dinner, his jacket from Henry Poole became a sensation back at the new Tuxedo Club. The jacket was quickly copied by local tailors and became the de facto uniform we still know it to be today, the tuxedo.
The garment, traditionally made with peaked lapels or a shawl collar is classically black. Although midnight blue has been a popular alternative over the last century and other such colors can be resplendent (burgundy, forest green). The pant fabric matches the jacket and is typically a worsted wool or wool/mohair blend. If the pants are black and the jacket is a different material (velvet, jacquard) or color (ivory), the coat is now known as a dinner jacket and usually has a shawl collar. The jacket pockets are jetted (not flapped) almost always has a one button closure.
The lapel facings, pocket jets, buttons and out-seam trim are all covered in silk. The silk is either made in a satin or grosgrain (occasionally referred to as ottoman) weave and either matches the body fabric in color or is black. The trousers are made without belt loops and so side adjusters and/or braces are commonplace. As a bow tie is typically worn, the exposed placket of the shirt has studs (not buttons) down the front and French cuffs are standard. The trousers are not cuffed and the simplest of shoes are worn (slippers, loafers, plain toes).
Knowing what constitutes a tuxedo may help steer you towards wearing (or choosing not to wear) one. Most men dream of looking like James Bond, Fred Astaire or Clark Gable at one point or another but it boils down to whether or not you'll look and feel your best at your wedding in a traditionally formal outfit. Regardless of your choice, you can rest assured your fiancé will be just as smitten.