A safe colour palette for tuxedo dressing

The safe formula for dressing a tuxedo fits in one sentence: black, white and at most one accent colour. The jacket is one colour, the shirt is white or ivory, the bow tie, shoes and trousers stay dark, and a single detail such as the pocket square or a lapel pin carries a colour of its own. Hold to that frame and the rest is a matter of choosing the right shade.

A black and white base

Black tie is evening dress, so its base colours are black and white: black jacket, white shirt, black bow tie, black shoes. Every other colour stands on that ground.

Why does black and white work? Black keeps the outfit grave and makes neighbouring colours stand out. White lights the chest and pulls the eye toward the wearer's face. Between the two, one accent colour has room to breathe; if the whole outfit is colour, the eye has nowhere to rest.

For more on adding colour to a black tuxedo, see adding colour to a black tuxedo.

One accent colour is enough

The accent can sit in one of these places:

• The pocket square (white silk is safe; coloured silk is the accent).
• The bow tie or tie, if different from the jacket.
• The lapel pin.
• The jacket lining or the socks.

Pick one place, not several at once. If you already wear a bold wine-red jacket, the bow tie and pocket square should return to black and white. Conversely, a black jacket can take a coloured velvet bow or a small-patterned pocket square.

Metals: silver or gold, chosen by tone

Cufflinks, studs, collar bars, the watch and even shoe buckles are all metal. Choose a single tone, silver or gold, and keep it throughout.

• Silver, platinum, steel: cool tones that suit black, grey and navy jackets and a crisp white shirt.
• Gold, rose gold, bronze: warm tones that suit wine red, deep green and ivory.
• Mixing both: only when one object, such as a watch, carries two tones in itself, since that reads as deliberate. Silver cufflinks with gold studs will look mismatched.

A watch for a tuxedo should be slim with a plain dial; a sports model or an oversized face spoils the outfit.

No more than three colours in an outfit

Count like this: the jacket colour, the base of shirt and bow and shoes (black and white count together as neutral), and the accent. The total should stop at three groups.

A valid example: navy jacket, white shirt, black bow tie, white pocket square. One that just touches the ceiling: green jacket, white shirt, black bow tie, bronze pin. One that overshoots: green jacket, red bow, orange pocket square, blue pin. Then the viewer has nothing to hold on to, and the outfit goes from refined to noisy.

A quick guide for each jacket colour

Jacket colour	Trousers, bow, shoes	Shirt	Accent	Metal
Black	Black; black patent shoes	White	White pocket square; or a deep-coloured velvet bow	Silver or gold
Navy, midnight blue	Black, or navy in the same tone	White	White pocket square	Silver
Wine red	Black trousers, black bow	White or ivory	White square, or one in the same family	Gold
Green, bottle green	Black trousers, black bow or a bow in the same green	Clean white	Bronze-gold pin	Bronze-gold
Charcoal, smoke grey	Same cloth or black, black bow	White	White or pale blue pocket square	Silver
Ivory (dinner jacket)	Black trousers, black bow	White	Lapel flower	Pale gold or silver

For occasions, see the colour table in tuxedo colours by occasion, and for the fundamentals read tuxedo styling rules.

When the rules can bend

The safe palette is for black-tie evenings. At creative black tie or themed parties you can add a third colour, provided it has a reason: it belongs to the same family as the jacket, or it echoes the bride's colours or the wedding flowers. A real model also makes a good starting point. The navy TUX-011, with black satin lapels, white shirt, black bow tie and white pocket square, uses exactly three colour groups and is never dull.

Try the colours at Mon Amie

Colour on a screen and colour under showroom lights differ, especially wine red, green and navy. Try the jacket with the pocket square and bow you plan to wear. The Mon Amie stylist will help you count colours and match metals. Book at the Mon Amie showroom.