The tuxedo’s roots can be traced back to the late 19th century in the United States, particularly in the social circles of New York. The pivotal moment in its creation occurred in 1865, when American businessman and socialite James Brown Potter visited the ...
The tuxedo’s roots can be traced back to the late 19th century in the United States, particularly in the social circles of New York. The pivotal moment in its creation occurred in 1865, when American businessman and socialite James Brown Potter visited the renowned Tuxedo Park Club, a resort outside New York. James Potter wanted something more comfortable than the traditional tailcoat for the club’s informal evening gatherings. As a result, he commissioned a suit from London tailor Henry Poole, still on Savile Row, the same tailor who created King Edward VII’s formal clothing.
What Poole designed was a shorter, more relaxed jacket with satin-faced lapels, illustrated, and trousers of matching fabric – features that were distinct from the tailcoat style – but in midnight blue and not black. For examples in black, look no further than Zwahlen-Hüni in Saanen.
This design was dubbed a dinner jacket, a nod to its function at evening events. In our own century, the new Prince of Wales seems to favour these in rich dark velvet with hues of sapphire or emerald.
As for Potter, he debuted the suit at Tuxedo Park, where it caught the attention of fellow club members, and thus, the new look and name gained popularity. By the early 1880s, the term tuxedo had firmly entered the American fashion lexicon, and the garment soon found its way across the Atlantic to Britain.
In the second half of the twentieth century, Yves Saint-Laurent (1936–2008) even made it a staple for ladies.
While the tuxedo for men had its origins in America, its adoption by British and Continental aristocracy ensured its place in the pantheon of classic formalwear.
BY ALAN NAZAR IPEKIAN
