Using the Guide

• Who Should Use the Guide

This guide is for men of all experience levels. Whether you suspect that the outfit you rented for your high school prom is not going to cut it in urbane social circles or you have figured this out from actual practice then you have come to the right place.

This guide is also for men with all degrees of sartorial knowledge. Some of the fashion advice will seem ridiculously basic for men who wear suits regularly but many others today have little or no experience with classic men’s clothing so it is important that they be taught the fundamentals.

Finally, this guide is for men of all financial means. In fact, an educated tuxedo rental will trump an uninformed purchase any day. For those planning to buy, the guide will ensure their money is well invested regardless of their budget.

• Getting the Most from the Guide

Although it is obviously possible to jump from topic to topic, you will gain the most from this site reading the sections in order because each topic builds on the knowledge gained in the previous one. In fact, it's a lot like a course curriculum - but without the homework, deadlines and surprise quizzes.

• The Black Tie Basics section provides the absolute fundamentals: defining black-tie attire and explaining its etiquette

• The History section explains how the current dress code and etiquette came into being by examining black tie’s origin and evolution

• Classic Black Tie draws from black tie’s history to describe in detail its benchmark attire

• Contemporary Black Tie looks at black tie’s modern trends in context of its history and classic benchmarks

• Finally, the Supplementary section will help you assemble and care for the black-tie wardrobe that you have chosen based on your newfound knowledge. It will also inspire you to stay true to tradition by showing examples of guys who know what they’re doing and guys who only think they do.

As you are reading through the site, don’t forget to use the illustrated Glossary whenever you come across an unfamiliar sartorial term.

If after obtaining your Bachelor of Black Tie you are ready to move on to your master’s degree, check out the Vintage Black Tie section for the details needed to authentically reproduce a formal ensemble from just about any decade in its history. You may also want to check out the Bibliography (located in the Supplementary section) for further reading.

• Terminology in the Guide

Because the population of the United States is roughly four and a half times that of the United Kingdom and nearly nine times the population of my own country, Canada, it would stand to reason that the majority of visitors to this site will be American. For that reason, and because of nearly identical American and Canadian vocabulary and spelling, it is only logical for me to write in American English.

Having said that, it is important to me to make the site as accommodating as possible to visitors who are more familiar with British English. This is a bit of a challenge because formalwear terms can be very different on either side of the Atlantic and in some cases downright contradictory. And just to add to the confusion, many North Americans prefer original British terminologies over American derivatives.

The following chart of comparative formalwear terminology should help to clear things up.

Tuxedo(1)	Dinner Jacket / Dinner Suit	Tuxedo, Dinner Jacket, Dinner Suit
Dinner Jacket when used (incorrectly) to refer specifically to a white dinner jacket	Tuxedo when used (incorrectly) to refer specifically to a white dinner jacket	White Dinner Jacket
Vest	Waistcoat	Waistcoat
Pants, Trousers	Trousers	Trousers
Suspenders	Braces	Suspenders
Formalwear	Dress or Formal Dress	(Semi-)Formal Wear(2)
Dress (as adjective)	Formal	Dress
Evening Wear	Evening Dress or Evening Suits	Evening Wear, Semi-Formal Evening Wear (2)

(1) Note that tuxedo can mean the jacket alone (the term's original meaning) or the jacket and the trouser combination or the entire black-tie ensemble. When the term is used on this site it refers to the combination of jacket and trousers. Dinner jacket is also often used in the same context.

(2) This site uses the traditional classification of black tie as semi-formal. See the Dress Codes section for further details.