Tuxedo Styles Through The Decades
by Bill Tzizik

In the 70’s tuxedos were colorful and free spirited. Baby blue was the most popular- the only thing traditional about the tuxedo was the bow tie. You could find colored ruffle shirts, big ties, velvet lapels and a rainbow of colors. The 70’s was the era of a wonder fabric called polyester and it was everywhere.

The 80’s gave way to the Regan Era. Regan is credited by many historians for bringing back the black tuxedo. The black tuxedo when worn with a wing collar shirt and a colored cummerbund would make one the quintessential usher for an 80's wedding. Some other tuxedo fashions that saw their rise and fall in the 80’s were gray tuxedos. There was light gray, dark gray and of course striped gray. The black tuxedo with a bold pinstripe was hot in the mid-to-late 80’s. The 80’s also saw the introduction of designer labels in the tuxedo rental industry. There were names like Bill Blass, Christian Dior, and the biggest designer of the decade, Pierre Cardin.

The 90’s saw the continuation of the black tuxedo. Somewhere in the 90’s the cummerbund gave way to the formal vest. People started wearing double-breasted tuxedos. Banded collars formal shirts became a trend. And there was, oh so much paisley. Paisley became the single hottest pattern, first found on cummerbunds, then on vests.

The Millennium: By the time The Millennium rolled around, the previously popular backless/adjustable style vest gave way to the full back style vest. Black remains the predominate color for tuxedos. The gorge of the jacket has risen higher and features more buttons than before. In the 80’s and 90’s the one-button tuxedo jacket was king. But for The Millennium it’s the two-button, three-button and even the four-button tuxedo that is considered fashionable.

The gorge on formal vests, like the tuxedo jackets, has also risen higher. In addition, we are now seeing all shades of gray... dark gray, light gray, silver, platinum, these are among the hottest vest colors. Then there are formal shirts; for the first time in more than 15 years the laydown collar shirt is the predominate shirt. Worn with the newest up to date formal neckwear... the Windsor Tie. Once again, the timeless look of the tuxedo now has a new twist. So whose wedding pictures will look more timeless in thirty years? The guy from the 70’s in the baby-blue tuxedo with the ruffles or the guy from The Millennium in his black, three-button notch tuxedo with laydown collar shirt, Windsor tie and dark gray vest? You decide!