Coloured cummerbunds: should they match the bow tie

Yes, you can wear a coloured cummerbund with a tuxedo, but once you choose colour, the cummerbund and bow tie should be a matching pair in the same colour and the same cloth. Colour suits a wedding with a clear theme or a party that allows personality. For a serious black-tie evening, a black cummerbund remains the choice that needs no second thought.

The cummerbund and bow tie are a pair

By tradition, the bow tie and cummerbund are made in the same cloth and are often sold as a set. Both echo the satin or grosgrain of the lapel facings, so from collar to waist the eye reads one rhythm: neck, lapel, waist.

When colour enters, the rule stays. A burgundy cummerbund goes with a burgundy bow tie; a navy cummerbund with a navy bow tie. If the bow tie is one colour and the cummerbund another, the eye splits the two pieces and does not know where to rest. The detail of matching bow tie, lapel and cummerbund is in matching bow tie, lapel and cummerbund.

There is another acceptable route: keep the bow tie and cummerbund black and let colour appear in the pocket square or boutonniere. That gives some life without touching the core of the outfit.

Choosing colour for a wedding theme

At a wedding, a coloured cummerbund is the most economical way for the groom to echo the main palette without changing the whole suit.

• Burgundy or wine suits warm, late-year weddings with deep red or brown florals. The burgundy tuxedos in the Burgundy and jewel tones collection show this tone when made as a full suit.
• Navy or midnight blue suits an evening reception with white and blue flowers.
• Deep green or emerald suits an outdoor wedding with plenty of foliage.
• Champagne or silver-grey suits a reception built on metallic light.

The principle is that the colour must already exist in the shared palette: the bouquet, the bridesmaids' dresses or the groomsmen's ties. Then the group photograph reads as one picture rather than separate pieces. For more on choosing a lead colour see weddings built around a main colour palette, and for groom-specific advice our wedding tuxedo page.

One small detail: the cummerbund should be the same depth as the main colour or darker, not much lighter. A light band at the stomach pulls the eye to the waist and makes the torso look shorter.

Black is the safe choice

If you are unsure, choose black. A black satin cummerbund in the same cloth as the lapel, with a black bow tie, gives a seamless outfit that is correct for black tie, with no need to consider palette or setting.

Black also has practical advantages. It works with black and midnight blue tuxedos, hides marks, does not depend on trends and can be reused. A coloured cummerbund is often worn for one wedding season or one theme.

For a man with a fuller stomach, black is also the easier option to wear, because it blends with the trousers and does not leave a band of colour across the stomach. For how to wear it, see how to wear a cummerbund correctly.

When colour goes too far

Colour goes too far when it wins over the whole outfit. A few situations to avoid:

• A colour too bright or too loud against the jacket, such as orange or neon pink on a black tuxedo at a formal event.
• Cheap shiny cloth. A glaring polyester band tends to look like a decoration rather than formal wear. A proper satin, or a ribbed grosgrain, looks far better.
• Busy pattern: stripes, prints or novelty designs, especially when the shirt already has a pleated front.
• A coloured cummerbund with a black bow tie, or one in a different tone, so the two pieces sit side by side with no relation.
• A strictly black-tie event worn with vivid colour. Then the cummerbund becomes a statement the host did not ask for.

A quick test: stand a few steps back from the mirror and half close your eyes. If the first thing you see is the cummerbund rather than the whole figure, the colour has gone too far.

From the Mon Amie workroom

Choose the cummerbund colour after you have settled the lapel, the shirt and the wedding palette, because an advisor needs to lay the cloths side by side under proper light. You can book a fitting at a showroom to see the matching cummerbund and bow tie in real cloth and compare them with a black version before you decide.