Cocktail parties: should you wear a tuxedo

Usually not. Cocktail attire sits below black tie, and the convention almost everywhere is a dark suit and shirt, with or without a tie. A full tuxedo with bow tie and satin-braided trousers can make you the most dressed person in the room, host included. There are still cases where a tuxedo makes sense, and there is a neat half-measure worth knowing about.

Cocktail attire is usually a suit

A cocktail party runs from late afternoon into early evening. Guests stand, hold a glass and move between groups. There is no seated dinner and little ceremony, so the usual outfit is:

• A navy or charcoal suit with a white or pale blue shirt.
• A tie or none, depending on the mood the host sets.
• Polished lace-ups or loafers, with socks that match the trousers.

This level is generally called semi-formal, between casual and black tie, and it is explained in what semi-formal means. The remaining levels, from black tie optional to white tie, are in what black tie dress code means.

When a tuxedo is not overdone

A tuxedo makes sense at a cocktail party in a few situations:

• The invitation says black tie or evening dress. Sometimes the cocktail hour is only the opening of a black tie evening, with drinks first and dinner in the hall afterwards. Then you wear the tuxedo from the moment guests arrive.
• The host wears one. If you know the host or the master of ceremonies will be in a tuxedo, you may follow, because it is then the level of the evening.
• A special venue: a hotel opening gala, a luxury brand launch, an opening night at a theatre. These places carry the spirit of an evening event even when the card says cocktail.
• You are the organiser or host. A host in a tuxedo is natural.

Outside these, ask. Two questions beforehand beat standing in the middle of the room finding that you are dressed above the person who invited you.

Use a separate dinner jacket

One approach suits cocktail parties very well: take a dinner jacket worn on its own and pair it with trousers from a different suit, instead of wearing the full tuxedo. Because the jacket is detached from the satin-braided trousers, it reads as an evening jacket rather than as black tie uniform.

Some pairings:

• An ivory dinner jacket with black trousers, white shirt, and no tie or a small bow. TUX-042 is an ivory dinner jacket with black lapels, which works for this because the jacket already carries its own contrast.
• A black or burgundy velvet jacket with charcoal wool trousers, a white shirt and no tie. The velvet-faced lapel on a plain-cloth body of TUX-006 gives a touch of velvet while staying breathable in a hot climate.
• A midnight blue dinner jacket with dark trousers and an open-collar white shirt.

Choosing, pairing and cautions for this jacket are covered in the separate dinner jacket. The key is that the trousers are not the satin-braided ones, so the whole outfit is not confused with black tie.

Do not outdress the host

The oldest rule of guest etiquette: do not dress more formally than the person who invited you. The host is the centre of the evening, and a guest who pushes ahead creates a small awkwardness for himself.

A few ways to hold back:

• Cut the details: a small bow or none, no large metallic buttons, no elaborate watch.
• Stay with dark tones and matt cloth, and avoid raised patterns.
• If you have already put on the full tuxedo, dress it down. Drop the bow tie, open the top shirt button and keep the pocket square. The outfit stays refined with less ceremony.

A word from the Mon Amie workshop

If you attend both cocktail parties and black tie evenings, a made-to-measure dinner jacket is worth the investment because it works in both: the full suit for black tie, the jacket alone for cocktails. You can book a fitting at the showroom and the consultant will help you choose the cloth and lapel style.