Kirby Allison, founder of The Hanger Project, goes over the fundamentals of a black tie and the small, subtle details that make this look so special. A man looks at his best when a black tie is perfectly executed. Every rule that you follow makes you look better and every rule you break makes you look worse. Following these traditional guidelines will ensure that you show up to a black tie event appropriately dressed so you can rest in confidence that you look proper in any formal situation.
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Rules of Black Tie:
Dinner Jacket: No notched lapels
Trousers: Single, vertical stripe & No cuffs
Bow tie: Same material as tuxedo lapel
Fold Down Collar or Wing Collar
Covered waist: Cummerbund (pleats facing upwards)/Waistcoat
Black Dress Shoes: Cap Toe Oxfords, Wholecuts, Opera Pumps
Black Socks: Over the calf silk or non fuzzy black socks
White Shirts: Plain with a flat front
Buttons: Studs or Shirt with covered placket
Pocket Square: How to fold a pocket square video → https://youtu.be/b30oAGQ9ofY
Vest (optional): Accessorize with pocket watch or pocket watch chain
Watch (optional): Thin timepiece with leather strap
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Hi I'm Kirby Allison founder of The Hanger Project and we love helping the well-dressed
take care of their wardrobes. The purpose of today's video is to
explain the basics of black tie. The one bastion of classic men's
wear where the rules are so perfect there is no need to break them. There is a reason the rules have
remained virtually unchanged over the last century and that's because they just simply cannot be improved. So a man looks his best whenever
black tie is perfectly executed. More im
portantly whenever you're
following the rules of black tie it shows to those that matter that you know
what you're doing. I still remember whenever I was in
college and had the opportunity to go to
several black tie events I was wearing my grandfather's tuxedo but I was perfectly following the rules. I had a nice tuxedo with peak lapels. I wore a cummerbund with a white shirt. I couldn't afford stubs so I had a placket that covered the buttons and I bought my first pair of opera pumps and so I c
ould go to these black tie events with confidence knowing that although I was the youngest person
in the room you know that I was dressed just as well if not better than most of the people there with me. In the same way that you wouldn't show up to a basketball
game wearing a football jersey, you don't show up to a black tie event dressed inappropriately. A splash of color does not make you look debonair. It makes you look uninformed. Every rule that you follow makes you look better and every ru
le that you break makes you look worse. That's why it's important to know
the simple basic rules of black tie. They're not complicated. They're easy to follow and if you follow the rules
perfectly you never have to worry about
showing up to a black tie event not looking your best. The purpose of this primer is to
explain the basic fundamentals of black tie so that you are able to follow and enjoy them and most importantly experience a gentleman dressed at his best. Recently my wife Bianca and I
were in London for a black tie
event hosted by a friend at Boodle's one of the oldest and certainly most well-regarded
gentlemen's clubs in London. Located right on St. James down the street from John
Lobb. It was incredibly validating to walk into a room full of elegantly dressed men all wearing black tie. You didn't see anyone with long satin ties. You didn't see anyone wearing fuzzy
cotton socks. You didn't see anyone with their waist not covered either
by a cummerbund or a waistcoat and ever
yone just looked great. So I showed up to an elegant sophisticated black tie event at one of London's most exclusive and historic gentlemen's clubs looking like I fit in and belonged because I was following the rules of black tie. And so it just felt nice to be able
to walk through those doors knowing that I fit in, I was dressed appropriately and that I belonged there that
evening. So had I shown up to that event
wearing a red satin bow tie or worse a long tie, no cummerbund or a pair of black
wingtips certainly no gentleman would have
made me feel out of place but at some point in that evening I certainly would have realized that
everyone else knew something I didn't. And so with black tie it's just important to understand that it
is not an area for innovation. The best dressed man in black tie is a man following the rules. So here in this primmer the purpose is to just simply review the basic fundamental elements of black tie so that you may follow and enjoy them and most importantl
y walk into your
next black tie event with the confidence that you look great. So let's review these basic elements of black tie
together. So the first and most important rule
of black tie is that your dinner jacket does not have notched lapels. Right. So you don't want a jacket
that has the same lapel that you do for a suit. The proper tuxedo jacket is one either with peak lapels like the one I'm wearing right now or with a shawl collar and preferably a single button because it has the cleanest
look and no pocket flaps. If your tuxedo jacket does have pocket flaps just make sure that you're able to tuck them in. The other element that is really
important for a proper tuxedo jacket is that it has alternate facing satin or grosgrain lapels. That just means that the material
that's used for the facing of the lapel is different than the material that's used for the actual jacket. So your trousers must have a single vertical satin stripe and no cuffs. To summarize a proper tuxedo jacket is
black or dark midnight blue with peak lapels or a shawl collar and traditionally with a single
button and no pocket flaps. The lapels should be alternate facing material and the jacket made with no dents. The trousers should have a single vertical satin stripe and no cuffs. So it is always best to have a self tying bow tie made from the same
material as your tuxedo lapels. If you're wearing a winged the
collar the problem with an adjustable bow
tie is that you're able to see the
slider at the b
ack of the neck. A specific
sized bow tie is always best but if you have an adjustable sized bow tie make sure that you're always wearing it with a fold down collar
like the one I have on today. Next it is important to wear a
cummerbund or a waistcoat. Covering your waist is one of those elements that separates black tie from daytime business wear. It further elongates the silhouette and elevates the ensemble. These subtle small elements taken together are what make black tie so special. If you'
re wearing a cummerbund be
careful to make sure that the pleats are
facing upwards. The tradition is that you would use
those pleats to hold your tickets for that
evening's entertainment. So traditionally one does not wear a wristwatch with black tie. However these days it is acceptable to wear one as long as it's not a large sport watch. So if you are wearing a watch it has to be an elegant dinner time piece preferably with a leather strap. Now if you can always try to match the hardware. So if
you're wearing gold studs try to wear a gold wrist watch. If you're wearing a vest you can
accessorize it with a pocket watch or a pocket watch chain. If you can it is always best to wear a neatly folded thin white pocket square in your jacket pocket. Just the simple addition of a white
pocket square completes the whole look of
this ensemble. Next whenever it comes to your
shoes. you want to be wearing a pair of black dress shoes polished to a high shine. Either a pair of plain black cap toe ox
fords, whole cuts or opera pumps but never any shoes with broguing like you would find in a pair of wingtips. So broguing are the small holes that you find punched into shoes to make
them less formal and it's never appropriate in black tie. These days you see a lot of people
wearing slippers with black tie either with or worse without socks. Traditionally slippers were worn either at home or while at your club but really they're not meant to be
worn out with black tie. So most traditionally with
black tie you would wear black over the calf silk socks. Now as you can see these silk socks don't look like your sister's
stockings. Instead they elevate the formality and the elegance of black tie because they have a nice soft subtle sheen to them. Now if you don't have silk socks you can absolutely wear a pair of smooth black over the calf socks as long as they're not fuzzy or faded. Over the calf socks are important
because they prevent your socks from sliding down during the evening thereb
y exposing your bare leg. With your tuxedo shirt you
absolutely want to be wearing a plain white shirt with a flat front either with a fold over collar or a winged collar. If you have studs It's a beautiful
way to elevate the ensemble with a little bit of embellishment. So if you don't have formal studs as
you want to wear with your tuxedo then you want to be wearing a white
shirt with a covered placket. A covered placket is just an extra piece of fabric that
flaps over the front of the shirt an
d it just conceals and covers the buttons. Remember if you don't have studs that show you should have buttons that don't. So there's nothing wrong with a scarf and gloves as long as you take them off whenever you
arrive and don't wear them inside. Preferably either a white or a black silk scarf and remember no fuzzy socks and no fuzzy scarves. So I hope that this video helps you
understand just how easily and approachable black tie is and that you should never feel
intimidated. By following the
simple fundamental rules of black tie you can dress in confidence knowing that you
look great in whatever formal situation you find yourself. Just like whenever my friend took me
aside or whenever I was much younger and really walked me through the
rules I hope that this video helps you
understand that black tie really is incredibly simple and should never be
intimidating. By simply following the rules you can always dress with confidence knowing that you're
going to look great regardless of wha
t
formal situation you find yourself in. If you have any questions about this
video please feel free to ask them in the
comments section below. I'll get back to all those questions
personally. If you like this video give us the
thumbs up or better yet subscribe to our
channel and turn on notifications so that you can learn whenever we post
new videos. So please visit our formalwear
section on HangerProject.com and view our full collection of
sovereign grade black tie accessories. We have everyth
ing you'd need to
ensure you look your best when dressing in
black tie. I'm Kirby Allison founder of The
Hangar project and we love helping the well-dressed
take care of their wardrobes. Thanks for joining us.
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