Back In Black Tie

I’m not here to make the case for why every man should own a tuxedo, but I can say from someone who owns their own, that it's worth every penny. My case is for the elevation of society back to a level where a dinner jacket was that, a dinner jacket. It was something slightly less formal than your tuxedo jacket and you would wear to, you guessed... to a nice dinner. When one would go to a theater production or a fancy restaurant in their best.

I got my first tuxedo for an event for my now wife’s Georgetown University grad-school program’s 25th anniversary. The party was held at the Library of Congress and the dress code was black tie. When we arrived it was refreshing to see everyone from the professors to the students respected the dress code. The men were in tuxedos and the women in beautiful ball gowns. At the time this was the definitely the most high profile event I had ever been too and it did not disappoint. What I learned that day was that when everyone is all dressed their best it elevates the whole atmosphere. Every conversation, every glass of wine, every course of the meal just felt better. This is what I feel is generally missing today’s world. As Jack Donaghy said about wearing a tuxedo “It’s after 6, what am I a farmer?”

A week later a friend of mine was doing a photoshoot for his company in which everyone would be in tuxedos or dinner jackets. Without hesitation I said yes. If I hadn’t had my new tux I would have missed out on this opportunity to have a great time with some friends and help out his business.

When my wife and I went to see A Book of Mormon at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. there were people in jeans, shorts, t-shirts, and flip-flops. Just because we wanted to, I wore my tuxedo and she wore one of her favorite dresses. A funny thing happened as we were walking around before the show. We were getting a lot of people looking our way. As we were sipping our wine we were trying to guess what they were thinking (not that we cared). The consensus was one of a couple things. First, that we must have missed some sort of memo that we didn’t have to get all dressed up. Second, was that they were somehow inspired or wonderstruck. As if our presence somehow elevated the collective consciousness just by putting on the clothes.

I think there is also something to consider when everyone is all dressed up. The tuxedo is the great equalizer. Even though you can spend $200 or $2000 on a tuxedo it gives everyone a similar look. So, when you’re at your next gala sipping champagne, talking about the world’s news, pleasures, or just the weather, it forces everyone to pay more attention to what each other is saying because they shouldn’t be distracted by what each other is wearing. This is, of course, if you aren’t a massive men’s wear fanatic and you are really looking at the grosgrain on the lapels or how soft the shoulder looks.

P.S. When it comes to weddings, if the invitation says “black tie” it means 100% the bride and groom would love for everyone to be in the tuxedos and long dresses. So this is the perfect chance to look your best by either buying, renting, or borrowing, a tuxedo.

Cheers,

- Jake Shields