What Is a Dinner Jacket?
Definition
A dinner jacket is a tailored evening jacket worn for black tie, traditionally of black wool with silk-faced peaked lapels and covered buttons. It is the British name for what Americans call a tuxedo, and it began in the 19th century as a less formal alternative to the tailcoat worn for white tie.
Key facts
- Also called
- DJ, tuxedo (US)
- Origin
- England, 19th century; Henry Poole & Co dates its prototype to 1865, and The Museum at FIT says the dinner jacket was first seen in the latter years of the century
- Category
- Clothing
- Documented materials
- Black wool with silk-faced lapels; midnight-blue wool; white cotton for tropical climates
- Key construction feature
- Silk-faced lapels and covered buttons
- Formality level
- Black tie: formal evening wear, less formal than white tie
- Fastening
- Single- or double-breasted
- Word origin
- English compound of "dinner" and "jacket"; Merriam-Webster dates the first known use to 1891.
Where does the dinner jacket come from?
The dinner jacket comes from 19th-century England, where it began as a short, informal alternative to the white-tie tailcoat. The Museum at FIT says the dinner jacket was first seen in the latter years of the 19th century.
The Henry Poole account
The London tailor Henry Poole & Co says a ledger page dated 1865 records an order from the future Edward VII, then Prince of Wales. The garment was a short smoking jacket in blue silk, for private dinners at Sandringham. The firm calls it the prototype dinner jacket and the first one tailored on Savile Row.
Two cautions apply. The evidence is the firm's own ledger, shown on its own website. It is a claim by an interested party, not an independent finding. And the garment it describes was blue silk, not the black wool that Debrett's names for black tie today.
How the name took hold
Merriam-Webster dates the first known use of "dinner jacket" to 1891. It defines the term simply as a jacket for formal evening wear. Debrett's lists "dinner jackets" and "DJs" among the names for the black-tie dress code. In America, it notes, the code is called "tuxedos". The American name has its own history, set out under tuxedo.
The 1930s re-cut
The Museum at FIT records that the dinner jacket was re-introduced in the 1930s in a double-breasted version, in black, midnight blue and other colours. These jackets followed the lines of the London lounge suit: a fuller chest and back, a broad shoulder line, a suppressed waist and a close hip line.
What makes a dinner jacket a dinner jacket?
A dinner jacket is defined by its evening trimmings: Debrett's calls for a black wool jacket, single- or double-breasted, with silk peaked lapels and covered buttons. Those two details, silk on the lapels and cloth over the buttons, are the first things to look for.
The peaked lapel is the one Debrett's names. A notched lapel, the everyday suit lapel, is not part of its black-tie description, so a notched dinner jacket sits outside that guidance.
| Garment | Dress code | How to tell it apart |
|---|---|---|
| Dinner jacket | Black tie | Silk-faced lapels and covered buttons; worn with black trousers with braid down each outside leg |
| Tailcoat | White tie | Evening coat with tails; the more formal garment the dinner jacket was an informal alternative to |
| Tuxedo | Black tie | The American name; Debrett's treats it as the same dress code |
| Suit jacket | Lounge suit | Lapels in the same cloth as the body; no silk facings |
What are the main types of dinner jacket?
The main types of dinner jacket differ by fastening, lapel and colour: single- or double-breasted, peaked or shawl-collared, and black, midnight blue or white.
| Type | What it looks like | Documented example |
|---|---|---|
| Single-breasted, peaked lapels | One column of buttons, silk peaked lapels | The cut Debrett's describes for black tie |
| Double-breasted | Overlapping fronts with two columns of buttons | The form in which the dinner jacket was re-introduced in the 1930s, according to The Museum at FIT; allowed by Debrett's |
| Shawl collar | A continuous rolled collar with no notch or peak | A 1937 Austrian double-breasted jacket by Knize at The Museum at FIT (described in the catalogue as a smoking jacket), in midnight blue wool herringbone twill with a shawl collar, self-covered buttons and besom pockets. Debrett's, which names peaked lapels, does not mention the shawl collar |
| Midnight blue | Very dark blue in place of black | One of the colours of the dinner jacket's 1930s revival recorded by The Museum at FIT |
| White | White cloth in place of black | A 1930 Anderson & Sheppard white cotton dinner jacket at the V&A, worn for dining in tropical climates |
| Exaggerated peaks | Wide, pronounced peaked lapels | A 1940 American custom-made wool jacket at The Met, whose catalogue calls it semi-formal and notes that such lapels became popular again in the 1970s |
How do you tell a well-made dinner jacket?
You tell a well-made dinner jacket by its finishing: clean covered buttons, a smooth collar, invisible support inside the fronts and hand-stitching along the lapel edges.
Lapels and collar
- Look along the lapel edges. The Met's catalogue for a 1940 dinner jacket points to fine hand-stitching along the edges of the lapels as a sign of fine custom work.
- Check the facing fibre. Debrett's specifies silk lapels. Ask what the facing is made of.
- Run a finger round the collar. A clothing quality standards guide for home-sewn garments (E-403), adapted from the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service, says a collar should be smooth and free from wrinkles. The outer edge seam should not show from the right side.
Buttons
- Inspect the covered buttons. The same standards say fabric-covered buttons should be smooth, with no shine or off-colour visible from the base. Shine or a different colour at the base is a red flag.
- Tug gently. Buttons should be securely fastened with double thread and neat stitches.
Fronts, shoulders and pressing
- Look at the fronts in daylight. Interfacing should support the shape of the garment without being visible or noticeable from the outside.
- Check the sleeve heads. Each sleeve should meet the shoulder in a smooth, rounded cap with no pleats or gathers unless they are a design feature.
- Look for shine. The cloth should show no shine or press marks on the right side, and no wrinkled or crinkled areas.
- Read the fibre label. Debrett's specifies wool for the black-tie jacket; the museum examples above are wool, apart from the white tropical jacket in cotton.
How do you wear a dinner jacket?
You wear a dinner jacket when an invitation says black tie, which Debrett's describes as the most popular formal evening wear and less formal than white tie. Labels vary: The Met's catalogue calls its 1940 American dinner jacket semi-formal.
- Trousers: black, with a natural taper and a single row of braid on each outside leg, according to Debrett's.
- Shirt: a white evening shirt with a turn-down collar, worn with cufflinks and studs.
- Tie: a black bow tie.
- Colour: black is the Debrett's standard; midnight blue was among the colours of the 1930s revival recorded by The Museum at FIT. White has a documented use for dining in tropical climates.
Frequently asked questions
Is a dinner jacket the same as a tuxedo?
Broadly, yes. Debrett's lists "dinner jackets" and "DJs" as names for the black-tie dress code and notes that in America it is called "tuxedos". Debrett's uses both words for the dress code itself, and "dinner jacket" also for the jacket worn with it: black wool, with silk peaked lapels and covered buttons.
Can a dinner jacket be double-breasted?
Yes. Debrett's black-tie guidance allows a dinner jacket to be single- or double-breasted, as long as it has silk peaked lapels and covered buttons. The Museum at FIT records that the dinner jacket was re-introduced in the 1930s in a double-breasted version, cut on the lines of the London lounge suit with a fuller chest, broad shoulders and a suppressed waist.
What colour should a dinner jacket be?
Black is the standard: Debrett's specifies a black wool dinner jacket for black tie. Midnight blue is also documented: The Museum at FIT lists it among the colours of the dinner jacket's 1930s double-breasted revival. White dinner jackets also exist, and the V&A holds a 1930 white cotton example worn for dining in tropical climates.
Can you wear a notched lapel dinner jacket?
You can, but it departs from the classic description. Debrett's specifies silk peaked lapels for a black-tie dinner jacket, and a shawl collar appears on a 1937 Knize jacket at The Museum at FIT, described there as a smoking jacket. Debrett's names neither the notched lapel nor the shawl collar. A notched lapel is the everyday suit lapel, so a dinner jacket with notches sits outside that guidance even when its lapels are faced in silk.
Who made the first dinner jacket?
The London tailor Henry Poole & Co says it did. Its account cites a ledger page dated 1865 recording a short blue silk smoking jacket for the Prince of Wales, the future Edward VII, to wear at private dinners at Sandringham. The claim rests on the firm's own records. The Museum at FIT dates the dinner jacket more broadly to the latter years of the 19th century.
Sources
- Know Your Dress Codes, Debrett's
- HM King Edward VII, Henry Poole & Co
- Dinner jacket (definition), Merriam-Webster
- Man's jacket, Knize, 1937 (object 112894), The Museum at FIT
- Dinner jacket, 1940 (2009.300.961), The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Dinner Jacket, Anderson & Sheppard, 1930 (T.700 to B-1974), Victoria and Albert Museum
- Clothing Quality Standards (E-403), Extension Family Development and Resource Management Specialists (hosted by Texas 4-H, Texas A&M); adapted from University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service
Spotted an error? Tell us and we'll check it against our sources.