AFTER SIX
Evening Dress Code Guides
Black tie asks more of a garment than any other code, and forgives less. These guides cover what the codes require, what they permit, and what we make for them.
Every garment here is cut from a unique pattern and made by hand in our Cleveland Street workroom, with a lifetime alteration guarantee.
Black Tie & the Dinner Suit
The most commonly misunderstood dress code, and the garment that answers it. Dinner jacket construction, midnight blue against black, silk and grosgrain facings, the shirt, and the mistakes that give a hired suit away.
Read Full Guide →The White Tie Dress Code Guide
Full evening dress, and the last code that admits no interpretation. The tailcoat, the white marcella waistcoat, wing collar and studs - and why a black waistcoat is the error that gives everything away.
Read Full Guide →The Velvet Jacket
Chosen rather than required. The legitimate alternative to a dinner jacket for creative black tie, festive evenings and the host's own table, cut in cotton or silk velvet.
Read Full Guide →The Smoking Jacket
Originally a garment of private ritual, worn after dinner to protect evening clothes. Shawl collar, quilted or corded facings, and a place in evening dress that no dinner jacket occupies.
Read Full Guide →Common Questions
What does “black tie” mean on an invitation?
A dinner jacket, single or double-breasted, with silk or grosgrain facings on the lapels, worn with matching trousers carrying a satin side stripe, a marcella dress shirt, a black self-tied bow tie, and black patent or highly polished shoes. It does not mean a black business suit with a black tie.
What does “white tie” mean?
Full evening dress: a tailcoat with a white cotton marcella waistcoat, a stiff-fronted shirt with a detachable wing collar and studs, and a white marcella bow tie. It is the most formal code there is, and it sits above black tie rather than beside it.
What is creative black tie?
An invitation to interpret black tie rather than depart from it. A velvet dinner jacket with black dress trousers is the usual answer, while the shirt, bow tie and shoes stay exactly as they would be for black tie. If an invitation names none of these codes, it is not an evening code.
Not sure what your invitation requires? Bring it to a consultation and we will tell you what the code asks for, recommend the cloth, and make sure the commission is ready in time.