CLOTHING
7 Distinctive Features Of Suits And Tuxedos
Suits and Tuxedos – what’s the difference? Are you one of those people who use the terms Tux and Suit interchangeably, and have no clue of the actual difference between the two even when they are placed side by side?
INTRODUCTION
What comes to your mind when you hear, “the occasion requires you to dress in a Tuxedo not a suit.“?
Well, let me help – this simply means, that the suit formality required for this occasion transcends the standard suit and tie worn as daytime wear to the office including all types of business formal power suits.
What then is the difference between Suits and Tuxedos? See if you can spot the differences in the image below.
With the above introduction, I’ll like to welcome you to the day’s topic. The 7 Distinctive Features of a Suit and a Tuxedo.
WHY THIS TOPIC?
Some of you reading this may ask ‘Why this topic?’, or ‘I’m not a fashion designer, I do NOT need to know the difference’.
Picture this 📷: You’re invited for an occasion that requires you to dress up a certain way – let’s say a Tuxedo. Your stylist or tailor while designing or styling you for the occasion creates a fashion faux pas – a blunder, an error or a sartorial slip that would certainly land you on the worst dressed list (just as in the beautiful look below).
Can you spot the fashion blunder in this look? Leave a comment on the page.
Can you spot the fashion blunder?
You’re probably going to dress up in your “half-done tuxedo” feeling all suave and classy like James Bond, oblivious of the transgressions that lay before you and not knowing you are guilty of an unpardonable fashion sin.
Unless you’ve read this…
So basically this article is for every man who dresses up in suits and tuxedos – and it’s meant to equip you with the right information and foundational knowledge when you suit up. Let us dive right in!
If you can spot what is wrong with the above look, leave a comment on this page. Keep reading to find out.
THE 7 DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF A SUIT AND A TUXEDO
The Suit: A suit comprises of a jacket and trousers made of the same fabric and designed to be worn together. There are two (2) major types of suits namely the single-breasted suit and the double-breasted suit. Your choice of suit depends on your style preference as well as the occasion you need to wear it for.
The Tuxedo: A Tuxedo (also colloquially known as “Tux”) or dinner suit is a formal evening suit, distinguished primarily by satin or grosgrain facings on the pockets, jacket’s lapels, buttons and in some cases – a similar Black satin piping along the outer seam of the trousers.
No 1: THE LAPELS
Lapels are created by folding the garments’ front edges over and stitching them to the collar. The whole reason for a suits and tuxedos lapel is to improve the appearance and structure of the suit and tuxedo as well as the person wearing it. There are 3 basic kinds of suit lapels, we have notch, peak, and shawl lapels.
- For Suits
The most common kinds of lapel for standard suits are the notch and the peak made from the same suit fabric. Notch lapels are more appropriate for business and office attires, while peaks could be reserved for formal dinners and exclusive engagements due to their unique and flashy look.
- For Tuxedos
The two types of lapel used for Tuxedos are shawl lapel and peak lapel. For any of these lapel styles, it is made from satin silk and gives out a shiny appearance when worn. Learn more about lapels by reading this.
No 2: THE BUTTONS/POCKET STYLING
A basic characteristic of any suits and tuxedos is its button and pocket styling. These little details are what distinguish both menswear pieces in appearance. So let’s contrast the one for each piece.
-
For Suits
The suit jacket buttons are made of horn texture and are never covered with any fabric.
The pocket styling for suits are usually either:
- Patch pockets – for casual suits, sports jackets, linen suits, summer suits, casual suit jackets etc. or
- Flap pockets which is the most common jacket pocket style for men’s suit jackets (they can be used in almost all types of suit jackets).
-
For Tuxedos
These buttons and pocket are covered in silk fabric and in some cases in velvet fabric (if the tux is made of velvet fabric). By merely looking at them, you can tell it’s a tuxedo already.
For Tuxedo jacket pocket styling, it should be :
- Jetted (or besom) pockets. This is the most formal type of jacket pocket style for men’s suit and contributes to a very sleek and polished appearance. This pocket styling can be found on classic Tuxedos and other formal suits used for weddings, races and other social events.
- Tuxedo jackets sometimes come in flap pockets which should be tucked into the pocket to retain a complete formal look (see the Tux picture below – look at the left and right pocket).
No 3: THE OCCASION CALL
I’ll like to group this into 2 – your style preference vs the stipulated dress code.
Your style preference: I know a few people may be okay wearing a standard business suit for special occasions such as their wedding. You can actually – not a problem. But wouldn’t you want to stray away from the conventional suit and dress up in something really special and formal instead?
The stipulated dress code: In this case, it’s not your call – when the occasion calls for a Black tie or Tuxedo – you’ve got to wear a Tux.
Let’s see the differences.
-
For Suits
Mostly for semi-formal, and business attires. Suits are your one-stop shop for any of those outings. With the right pairing of items of clothing and accessories, you’d come out fine in this piece. You can refer to the 25 Suit Rules All Men Need To Know to learn more about suit rules, how to buy and wear them.
-
For Tuxedos
These pieces are more appropriate for weddings, black tie events, high dinner engagements, like exclusive invites to the movie premiere, red carpets, and so on. It is only right for you to come on with a tux for these events and not a suit.
No 4: THE PANTS
A custom bespoke tuxedo comes with pants or trousers, and so do some suits, so let’s see the differences between them.
-
For Suits
Most standard suit trousers come in varieties of colors that match the suit jacket. It also has the presence of belt loops, in which a belt can be wrapped around to hold the waist as a utility. For specially-made or custom suit trousers you also have the choice of belt loops or side-tabs (also called side adjusters) which feature a strip of matching fabric on the sides and acts as an attached belt. These can be adjusted tightly or loosely depending on which of the buttons you use to secure it to your waist.
- For Tuxedos
A tuxedo trouser, on the other hand, doesn’t have any belt loops, instead, there are waist adjusters. So if you’re kind of confused when looking at a tux, just check out the pants for any loops, if there aren’t any, then it’s most likely a tux trouser indeed. Also, for traditional tuxedo trousers there is a slim satin silk stripe-down design (satin piping) along the two side edges of the pant.
No 5: THE DRESS SHIRT
Moving on to the layered inner piece, dress shirts are an important piece to look at when shopping for your suits and tuxedos. Let us find out more
-
For Suits
Dress shirts worn with a suit can basically be plain, any color of choice that fits with the suit, and can have the normal collar like any other shirt. You can decide to even layer suit jackets with round necks, polo shirts, and the like for business casual or smart casual looks.
-
For Tuxedos
There is no room for any color of the dress shirt, in most tuxedos out there, the inner dress shirt is usually white or black. Also, if you notice, there is this pleated design on the shirt front. This is only available for a tux dress shirts. And then the collars are basically the traditional bibbed wing tip, and nowadays, the fold down
No 6: THE NECK ACCESSORIES
There has been a common misunderstanding as to what neck accessories are perfect for either of these two jacket pieces. So let’s see…
- For Suits
The perfect neck accessory to layer with suits is majorly long ties if the occasion calls for semi-formal or business attire look. If it’s more of a social call or gathering, you could use ascots, or neckerchiefs as stylish statements. You wouldn’t go wrong with these.
- For Tuxedos
The only good neck piece to pair with a tuxedo is the bow tie, which also has it varies. It is the only type of neckwear right fit for the tux. Never wear a long necktie with a tuxedo.
No 7: THE SHOES
Yes, working our way down to the bottom of it all, our shoes. This is such an important decision to make when pairing these fits. It’s also an important knowledge to have when contrasting them.
-
For Suits
Shoes that go with suits are simply black and brown leather shoes. I’m talking Oxford, derby, drivers loafers, and so on. I’ve published a guide here on how you could match your suit color with your shoe color.
-
For Tuxedos
Patent leather shoe is advisable here – preferably Oxford. This footwear has a shiny, reflective surface, which accentuates the shiny silk lapel on the tuxedo. So when thinking of what footwear to pair with that tux, think of something glowing or bold leather for it, and of course black.
FINAL NOTE
We have come to the end of this article – the 7 distinctive all-round features between a suit and a tux. Do well to follow these guide and tips when choosing the appropriate suit type for your occasion. Don’t forget to Ask MR. KOACHMAN any style or fashion question you may have.
By the way, the fashion rules for black tie etiquette states that you should never have a notch lapel on a tuxedo.
In the Tuxedo image included in the quick quiz at the beginning of the article, the lapel styling was Notch Lapel which was wrong.
TIP: When shopping for a Tuxedo – if you find one which has a notch lapel or a patch pocket, please don’t buy it. If it’s going to be custom-made and your stylist insists on this combination, fire him and hire us 🙂
Thank you so much for stopping by and for reading till the end. Until next time, continue to do well, live well, and dress really well. Stay Classy, always!
READ NEXT: 25 Suit Rules All Men Need To Know
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Fashionandstylez
January 24, 2023 at 1:21 PM
Wow those suits over there are perfect,I love it.