The designer tuxedo: how far you can go

Indian men like a little more in their evening clothes than London does, and there is nothing wrong with that. A plain black tuxedo is correct, but at a reception where everyone is correct, plenty of men want something that shows a designer had a hand in it. Black tie has room for that. The trick is knowing which lines you can cross, and keeping it to one.

The quiet way in

Black on black.A woven geometric jacquard. From across the room it reads as plain black.

Up close, the pattern.The detail is for the people standing next to you.

No embroidery, no beading.Nothing sewn on. It is in the cloth.

Black satin shawl collar.The evening line holds it to the dress code.

Very good. For: the groom at his reception, a cocktail night, black tie optional and New Year.

Twelve judgements on the designer tuxedo

1. Very good.

   Pattern in the weave.

   A tonal jacquard is the most grown-up way to make a tuxedo interesting. It looks black in photographs taken across the room and rich in the ones taken close.

2. Very good.

   Colour in the jacket, black everywhere else.

   An oxblood or bottle green dinner jacket such as the Supper Club, with black lapels, black trousers and a black bow. The black ties it back to evening dress.

3. Good.

   Velvet.

   The oldest designer move in evening wear, and still one of the best in a Delhi winter. Midnight, bottle green or dusty rose.

4. Good.

   A rare line.

   A shawl collar on a double-breasted jacket, like the Midnight. Satin turn-back cuffs, like the Velour. A velvet top collar, like the Rose. Details only a few people notice, and those are the right people.

5. Depends.

   Pink.

   Dusty rose velvet is right at a cocktail night, a New Year party or a black-tie-optional reception. Not at a strict black-tie dinner. A groom shows the bride first.

6. Don't.

   Zardozi or embroidery on a tuxedo.

   Once a tuxedo is embroidered, it is an Indo-western jacket. Those are good clothes, at a sangeet. On a card that says black tie, it is the wrong outfit.

7. Don't.

   Lapels in a colour.

   Red satin on a black jacket, gold on midnight. The lapel is where black tie is most strict. Black satin, always.

8. Don't.

   Shine.

   Sequins, lamé and metallic cloth look exciting on a hanger and cheap under a photographer's flash.

9. Depends.

   A black shirt, open.

   Soho Noir under the Jacquard or the Velour, no bow, at a cocktail night or the after-party. Never when the card says black tie: that needs a white dress shirt and a bow tie.

10. Don't.

    Two statements.

    Jacquard with a patterned bow. Green velvet with a coloured shirt. Pick the one thing, and let everything else be black and white.

11. Good.

    Texture at the neck.

    A black velvet bow such as the Velour Bow with a jacquard or velvet jacket. It is designer in the right amount.

12. Very good.

    The fit.

    Nothing looks more designed than a jacket cut to the man wearing it. A plain tuxedo that fits beats a statement one that does not, every time.

One statement. Black and white for everything else.

How far the card lets you go

When to order

Two weeks from the measuring visit, with a fitting in between. For early December, order by 18 November; for 11 or 12 December, by 27 November; for New Year's Eve, by 17 December. Closer than that, rush delivery takes seven days.

A cutter comes to your home or office in Gurugram or Delhi, with the cloths. Book a visit.

Choosing between the velvets: midnight, bottle green or rose. What it all costs: a tuxedo, piece by piece.