Difference Between a Dinner Jacket, Blazer and Sports Coat…..

A tuxedo (American English) or dinner suit or dinner jacket (British English) is a semi-formal suit distinguished primarily by satin or grosgrain facings on the jacket’s lapels and buttons and a similar stripe along the outseam of the trousers. The suit is typically black and commonly worn with a formal shirt, shoes and other accessories, most traditionally in the form prescribed by the black tie dress code.

Although many etiquette and sartorial experts have insisted for a century that tuxedo is less correct than dinner jacket, the first written reference to tuxedo predates dinner jacket by two years: tuxedofirst appeared in 1889 ^[1] while dinner jacket is dated only to 1891. Today, the terms are variously used in different parts of the world. Tuxedo (or, colloquially, tux) sees most use in North America where it is increasingly used to refer to any type of formal coat including an evening tailcoat and cutaway (morning coat in British English). In Britain it is sometimes used to refer to the white version of the suit jacket. Conversely, this white jacket is generally known as a dinner jacket in North America. ^[2]

In French, Italian, Portuguese, German, Spanish, Polish and also other Central-European languages, the jacket is called a smoking. In French the shawl-collared version is le smoking Deauville, while the peaked-lapel version is le smoking Capri.

In the 1860s the increasing popularity of outdoor activities among the British middle and upper classes led to a corresponding increase in the popularity of the casual lounge suit (standard suit in American English) as a country alternative to more formal day wear that was traditionally worn in town. Men also sought a similar alternative to the extremely formal tailcoat worn every evening. The solution for some country squires was enhance the casual velvet smoking jacket by importing the evening tailcoat’s fabric and finishes thus making it acceptable for informal meals at home.

The tuxedo’s history dates from 1860, when Henry Poole & Co. (Savile Row‘s founders), created a short smoking jacket for the then Prince of Wales (later Edward VII of the United Kingdom) to wear toinformal dinner parties. In the summer of 1886 the Prince invited New York millionaire James Potter and his actress wife Cora Potter to Sandringham House, his Norfolk hunting estate. When Potter asked for a dinner dress recommendation, the Prince sent Potter to his tailors Henry Poole & Co., in London, to obtain the new style of jacket. Potter then brought the dinner suit home with him toTuxedo Park Club, a newly established residential country club for New York’s elite. The dinner suit proved popular; the club men copied him, soon making it their informal dining uniform.^[3][4]

According to second-hand sources dating back to the 1930s, the coat style was then adopted by New York society when Griswold Lorillard, son of one of the Tuxedo Park founders, wore it to the wealthy enclave’s 1886 Autumn Ball. These sources cite an article in the society newspaper Town Topics that described how Lorillard arrived in “a tailless dress coat and waistcoat of scarlet satin, looking for all the world like a royal footman” ^[5]. In actual fact, the Town Topics article has been misinterpreted because the “dress coat” mentioned was a period reference to the evening tailcoat. Consequently, Lorillard’s coat would have resembled a mess jacket, not a tuxedo jacket.^[6]

A much more reliable account of the jacket’s American debut is one provided by Grenville Kane, one of the original founders of Tuxedo Park. His explanation is that the club’s members began to wear the jacket in public when they would dine in public in New York City and that curious onlookers came to associate the jacket with the club’s name.^[7].

Although the smoking jacket’s shawl collar was the original collar for the tuxedo jacket the peaked lapel taken from the tailcoat had become equally popular by the turn of the twentieth century. By this time the jacket was invariably a one-button single-breasted model with no vents. Trousers matched the jacket which was most commonly black although Edwardian dandies often opted for Oxford gray or a very dark blue.^[8] By World War I the gray option had fallen out of favour but the ‘‘midnight blue‘‘ alternative became increasingly popular. A single stripe of braid covering the outseam on each leg was optional at first but became standard by the 1930s. At this time double-breasted jackets and white jackets became acceptable for formal evenings in hot weather. ^[9]

Following World War II the tuxedo began to take on traits that deviated from the strict black-and-white interpretation maintained by the black tie dress code. Color, texture and pattern became increasingly popular in warm-weather jackets to the point where Americans associated the term dinner jacket solely with these separates rather than as a general synonym for tuxedo. In the non-conformist 1970s mass-market retailers began offering colored versions of the entire suit to its rental customers.^[10][11][12]

Beginning in the 1980s tuxedo jackets increasingly took on traits of the business suit such as two- and three-button styling, flap pockets and center vents. Most notably, the notch lapel had become the most common lapel style by the turn of the millennium, but is not accepted by traditionalists. ^[13][14]

 

 

The confusion between sport jackets and suit jackets is a more modern problem. 50 years ago most men wore and understood the rules of wearing a suit, and a sport jacket was just that – a jacket for sport worn when the season and situation warranted a suit inappropriate. Today with so few of us wearing a suit daily and even less of us having been explained the guidelines of menswear – many men find themselves wondering, just what is the difference and why can’t they be interchangeable?

Give me 5 minutes, and I’ll show you the light my friend.

 

A Brief Overview of Both Jackets

While the suit jacket is governed by the conservative specifications of the suit, the sports jacket knows no such bounds. Its similar cut still flatters the body and frames the face, but its independence invites a broad range of outfits for myriad situations. The odd jacket–a term for any jacket that’s not part of a suit, generally a blazer jacket or sport coat–originated as leisure wear and remains as such, while today’s loosened standards of professional attire now make it also the garment of choice for many who would have worn suits twenty years ago.

The Suit Jacket – Business and Special Occasion Wear

The suit jacket has evolved over several centuries into a garment that looks great on any man. Depending on its cut, it may add weight to the body or subtract it; it may elongate the frame or compress it. The triangle formed by the lapels draws the eye towards the head, while leaving room for something more colorful to cast the face in its best light.

Besides the traditional suit-and-tie regiment, a suit of solid color has few other possibilities. Worn without a tie it makes a great outfit for New Years Eve, but looks awkward at the office. The coat can be worn with dress slacks of a different color, with or without a tie, but this requires some care. If executed poorly–and this is purely aesthetic–a suit jacket without its matching pants looks incongruous and sloppy.

Additionally, when you dry clean a suit jacket or wear it in the sun while its matching pants hang in your closet, you run the risk that the fabrics will fade differently and the suit will cease to match. A dark suit jacket over sneakers, t-shirt and jeans is de rigeur in the entertainment business, but like pyrotechnics and car chases this one is best left to the professionals. Solids aside, such patterns as chalk stripe and windowpane are called suit fabrics for a reason; leave them to do what they do best.

The Sport Jacket – Endless Casual Opportunities

On the other hand, the outfits possible with an odd jacket run the gamut of formality and monopolize its vast middle ground.

Consider the navy blue classic with brass buttons. Worn with gray slacks, black shoes, a white button-down shirt and a classy tie, it holds its own in a room full of suits. Throw in a pocket square to complete the ensemble and you’re dressed better than half of the more conservatively clad men. Lose the tie and slip into your khakis, and you have a sharp outfit that can go anywhere without drawing attention to itself. Toss an odd jacket on over your chinos and polo shirt, and you look classy but not dressed up. The possibilities are endless; the only caveat here is to avoid pants too close in color to the coat itself.

Without the constraints implied by matching trousers, odd jacket fabrics range from the staid navy wool to camel hair, madras, corduroy and plaid. These may be finished with low-key horn or plastic buttons, or they may fasten with brass or nickel. Besides the slit and flap pockets common to suits, sporty patch pockets are an option here.

When there’s no tie in the picture, it falls to the jacket to finish the outfit; interesting fabrics and contrasting hardware help it rise to the occasion. Thanks to its history as sportswear, the odd jacket is generally looser fitting than a suit coat to allow for ease of movement.

Conclusion – The Suit Jacket and Sport Jacket each has a place in a Man’s Wardrobe

Although the suit has been put on a pedestal that makes it impractical for many men on many days, the odd jacket carries its aesthetic heritage over to a garment for the masses. Both jackets have their place in a man’s wardrobe, and each should be worn in the situation that best suits their nature.

References

1. ^ August 1889 issue of Sartorial Arts Journal according to the Oxford English Dictionary
2. ^ “Terminology”. Black Tie Guide. Retrieved 2011-04-01.
3. ^ “History: Late Victorian Era”. Black Tie Guide. Retrieved 2011-04-01.
4. ^ Flusser, Alan (2002). Dressing the Man: Mastering the art of Permanent Fashion. New York/woodford: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.. pp. 303. ISBN 0060191449.
5. ^ reprinted in “The Saga Of American Society A Record Of Social Aspiration 1607-1937”. 1937.
6. ^ “History: Late Victorian Era”. Black Tie Guide. Retrieved 2011-04-01.
7. ^ As related in a 1929 conversation with colleague J. Earle Stevens, Jr. who later recounted in the conversation in an essay originally posted online by the Tuxedo Park archives and now available at “Citizen Arcane”.
8. ^ “History: Edwardian Era”. Black Tie Guide. Retrieved 2011-04-01.
9. ^ “History: Depression Era”. Black Tie Guide. Retrieved 2011-04-01.
10. ^ “History: Postwar Period”. Black Tie Guide. Retrieved 2011-04-01.
11. ^ “History: Jet Age”. Black Tie Guide. Retrieved 2011-04-01.
12. ^ “History: Counterculture Era”. Black Tie Guide. Retrieved 2011-04-01.
13. ^ “History: Yuppie Years”. Black Tie Guide. Retrieved 2011-04-01.
14. ^ “History: Millennial Era”. Black Tie Guide. Retrieved 2011-04-01.