Custom Tuxedos

A dinner jacket in black or midnight blue with a silk-faced lapel, matching trousers with a braid down the side, a white dress shirt, a black bow tie you tie yourself, and a waist covering: cummerbund or low waistcoat. A dark business suit and a black tie is not black tie, whatever the invitation says.

Peak is the more formal and the more common; shawl reads softer and slightly more of an evening piece. Both are correct. Sam will hold each against your face and shoulders at the fitting, because which one suits you depends on your build far more than on fashion.

Midnight blue photographs richer than black under artificial light, which is where you will nearly always be wearing it. True black can flatten under a flash. Both are correct black tie, so it comes down to which you want in the pictures.

One or the other, never neither: the point is to cover the waistband so the shirt does not break the line. A cummerbund is cooler in a warm room and the pleats face up. A low-cut waistcoat is dressier and holds its shape through a long night.

That is the honest question, and the answer is usually yes if you own one rather than rent. Galas, weddings, New Year, a company dinner. A tuxedo cut to you is a garment you will still be wearing in fifteen years, which is where the maths turns against renting.

Three to four weeks on the bench, and twelve days at an absolute push if the fabric is on hand. For a wedding or a gala, come earlier than that: the extra weeks buy you an unrushed choice of fabric, not extra making time.

A white dress shirt, either a pleated front or a plain marcella, with a turndown collar and double cuffs for links. Black shoes, polished: plain oxfords or patent if you like the old form. Sam cuts the shirt to the same pattern as the tuxedo so the cuff sits right.

Yes, and that is the usual request for a wedding. The party is measured in one session and cut from one fabric run, so the lapels match and the black actually matches, which two rented tuxedos will not.

If you'll wear black tie more than twice, buy. A rental never fits your shoulders and you've nothing to show for the money. I make tuxedos to your measurements so the satin sits flat and the black line stays clean, and it's yours for every formal night after.

A proper tuxedo has satin (on the lapel facing, the buttons and the trouser side-stripe) and is cut to true black-tie codes. A black suit worn with a bow tie is not a tuxedo. I build the real thing, in black or midnight blue.

Midnight blue reads richer than black under evening light and photographs beautifully. Most men are surprised. Both are correct black tie; I'll show you each against your skin before you choose.

About three to four weeks on the bench. For a wedding or a gala, still come in early: the weeks you want are for choosing fabric and getting the fittings right, not for the making.