Shall we dress for dinner?

So, I got to pull out my tuxedo today for a Casino night here at my dorm and figured I'd write a bit of an essay on black tie attire ( and maybe white tie)and how far it's fallen, particularly on the red carpet and among heads of state (Barrack, I'm looking at you).  So, it's bad enough that men have almost universally forgotten how to dress on a day to day basis, but it seems that formal-wear is not immune to this, so I'm going to reference each piece of the formal wear ensemble, one by one.


The Dinner Jacket
First off, let me say this to start off.  The dinner jacket should have ONE BUTTON if single breasted and either two or four if double breasted.  In this day and age, you can get away with two, but more than that is just stupid.  Example:

This destroys all of the lines and elegance of the dinner jacket.  The dinner jacket is supposed to create a long, V-shaped frame for the shirt.  Like so:

Also, while I'm not a proponent of the notched lapel, I'll agree it can work.  However, shawl or peaked lapels are infinitely more elegant. Other details to include are no flaps on the pockets and no vent in the back of the jacket.  And, of course, the dinner jacket should be black, midnight blue, or cream/off white.


Pants/Trousers
Pants should be black or midnight blue (to match the jacket).  If the jacket is white, the pants should be...black or midnight blue. Wearing an all white dinner suit is...just don't.  It's terrible and screams "prom rental."  Pants should also have a satin stripe down each leg and no cuffs.  Also, use suspenders (buttons, not clips) and wear them at your NATURAL WAIST.  


Shirt
It should be white.  Only white.  French cuffs or barrel cuffs are fine, as long as they use cufflinks.  Pleated front, plain front, or bib front are all ok.  Turndown, spread collar is a safe bet.  I hesitate to recommend the wing collar just because of how few good wing collars there are.  Most are just too small and look stupid.  If you happen to find a decent one (or, the holy grail, a detachable wing collared shirt) be sure to pick it up.  The front should have holes for studs or have hidden buttons.


Waist Covering
Unless your jacket is double breasted, you should (read:must) have some sort of waist covering.  So, here you have two options: cummerbund or waistcoat.  Let's start with the cummerbund.  It should be black.  There are some exceptions, but stick to black or DO YOUR RESEARCH!!!  Otherwise, pleats should face up.  That's about it.  Now, waistcoats.  The waistcoat (vest to the layman), like the jacket, should be low cut to create a deep V. 3 or 4 buttons are the norm.  If you can find one, a double breasted waistcoat (4 or 6 buttons) will set you apart.  Lately, rental joints have been pushing high-necked vests that look terrible.  Example:

As opposed to a low cut vest which adds perceived height and frames the shirt:

Also, it helps if you're Bradley Cooper, but you get the idea.
And waistcoats should be black, midnight blue (to match the jacket and pants), or, on rare occasions, white (but only with bib front, wing collared shirt and peaked lapel jacket). Lapels (shawl only) are nice, but not necessary.


Tie
Black (or midnight blue), self tie, bow tie.  Plain silk or grosgrain.  No long ties.  No pre-tied bowties.  That's about it.  Follow that and you'll be fine.


Shoes
I won't be a stickler, but patent leather opera pumps or oxfords are perfect.  I like Chelsea boots too (and black and white wingtips with a white jacket, for that matter), but some may disagree.  If you have none of the above, a nice pair of dress shoes polished to within an inch of their life are fine.  Also, black dress socks.


Overview
So, now you've got the gist so I'll offer some examples to aspire to.  Next time, we'll cover white tie and tails.

And to show that I do know how to do this myself:

Elegance: [el-i-guhnt]

a. Refinement, grace, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners.

b. Tasteful opulence in form, decoration, or presentation.