Dress code

[Karl Brogger]

Being that this forum for the most part is occupied by what I would call a mature crowd and much more inclined to know, perhaps some one on here can answer this.



What is the difference a between a tuxedo and a suit? Or what makes a suit a suit, and a tux a tux?

[Rob Russell]

Thinking of my tux, the first and most obvious difference is that a tux typically has satin trim somewhere on it. The styling is different.

[Eric DeSilva]

"Classic" tuxes have distinctive styling. Think 007. But, today's "modern" tuxes seem to blur the line a lot more. That said, I think the lapels on tuxes are typically much broader than suits, often notched, often with satin accents. Tux jackets are typically one button, versus two or three for a suit. Tux pants often have the stripe and generally are not supposed to have belt loops--suspenders or cummerbund is the general rule.

But, given the informal swing of today, I doubt many people would finger you as inappropriate if you wore a black suit with a bowtie to a tux only event. If a host(ess) has spec'd *white tie* on the other hand, they know what they are talking about and you better get a tux.

Oh yeah, tuxes are usually worn with hideously, ridiculously shiny shoes.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I'll never know.:)

[David G Baker]

Last time I wore a tux was in 1962, it was to my High School Senior Ball. The coat was white. I will probably never wear one again unless as a final joke on me I am buried in one. :D

[Brian Brown]

And you call yourselves guys! :eek:

The answer is :

If your wife makes you wear it, it's a tux.
If your boss makes you wear it, or your buried in it, it's a suit.
If you choose to wear it, it's shorts and a tee shirt....... and it's
comfortable! :D:D:D

[Ken Fitzgerald]

And you call yourselves guys! :eek:

The answer is :

If your wife makes you wear it, it's a tux.
If your boss makes you wear it, or your buried in it, it's a suit.
If you choose to wear it, it's shorts and a tee shirt....... and it's
comfortable! :D:D:D

You'll notice Brian....we call ourselves...GUYS....not GENTLEMEN!:rolleyes:

[Brian Brown]

Gee, I'm gentle, and I'm a man. Doesn't that count?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

In your case it does, indeed, count Brian.

[Dave Anderson NH]

Someone took offense when I called him a gentleman so I gave him the rundown.

A gentleman is a man of leisure.

A man of leaisure is a man who doesn't work.

A man who doesn't work is a bum.

So I just called you a bum. Nicely of course.:D

[Michael Gibbons]

O.K. How many of you wear a Tux or suit when french polishing a highboy?

[Doug Shepard]

A suit is what you buy. A tux is what you rent because there's no way you'd ever wear the same one twice.

[Joe Cunningham]

O.K. How many of you wear a Tux or suit when french polishing a highboy?
It is interesting seeing some old photo plates of joiners/cabinetworkers working. They usually had what we would call dress shirts, pants, suit vest and a tie. I'm sure the top hat and suit jacket were hanging up someplace out of view.

Now I can wear jeans at my office job. If wore a suit people would ask if I was going on an interview someplace else.

[Jim Becker]

Style and purpose and often how certain materials are blended. But there are some Tuxes that are not that far removed from some elegantly cut suits. I got away with a dark suit at a formal charity event a year and a half ago and didn't really look out of place. Recently, however, I scored a very nice tux in excellent condition at GoodWill...for $30. :D So next time Professor Dr. SWMBO and I are required to attend a froo-froo event for the University, I'll have the real thing. :)

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

The cut and the appointments.
Tuxedos have the Cummerbund, they often have tails.
The jacket is longer than a suit jacket in those with no tails. The Tux will have a vest the suit may not.
So too certain trim is common like those horrid shiny satin stripes along the legs and lapels.
I am unsure whether they use drops like the Italian 8" drop but I don't know why not.
The type of tie is not important tho' many people default to the bow it's really a question of the cut of the tux more than anything else.

Put a tux next to a suit and you'll see the difference immediately.

[Chris Kennedy]

My understanding as to what defines a tux is the satin stripe on the pants. You can alter everything else (vest vs. cumberbund, tails vs. no tails, diamond lapels vs. standard lapels) but as long as that stripe is on the pants, it is a tux. I assume (but have absolutely nothing to back this up) that is derived from military uniforms, where the stripe on the pants was indicative (cavalry, for example).

Cheers,

Chris

[Jon Lanier]

I stand amazed at how many guy's in here actually know the difference. Viva the wood smock!

[Belinda Barfield]

A tux makes a man much more handsome. A tux well worn makes him intriguing as well.

[Doug Shepard]

A tux makes a man much more handsome. A tux well worn makes him intriguing as well.

Now there's a Bond Girl:D

[Dennis Peacock]

Wow..!!!! Take a peek into a thread and you get a very wide education.

Suit, Tux, Gengleman, Bum.....wow...what else will we learn? :rolleyes:

[Bob Moyer]

Being that this forum for the most part is occupied by what I would call a mature crowd and much more inclined to know, perhaps some one on here can answer this.


What is the difference a between a tuxedo and a suit? Or what makes a suit a suit, and a tux a tux?


I beleive the Chippendales wear tuxedos??

[Belinda Barfield]

I beleive the Chippendales wear tuxedos??

Well, not exactly Bob. They don't wear jackets and their "pants" don't have satin stripes. They do, however, wear the most delightul bow ties! :)

[Bob Moyer]

Well, not exactly Bob. They don't wear jackets and their "pants" don't have satin stripes. They do, however, wear the most delightul bow ties! :)

Maybe today, but in the old days we wore .........:D

[Greg Cole]

A suit is what you buy. A tux is what you rent because there's no way you'd ever wear the same one twice.
Either one would require you and I to shave Doug. That said, I am not shaving anytime soon!:D

[Belinda Barfield]

Either one would require you and I to shave Doug. That said, I am not shaving anytime soon!:D

I don't know about you Greg, but judging from Doug's avatar a little trim around the ears is all that should be required. :D

And Doug, I wish I could be a Bond Girl, but only when Connery is Bond, or maybe Brosnan in a pinch.

[Doug Shepard]

Either one would require you and I to shave Doug. That said, I am not shaving anytime soon!:D

Sort of like puttin perfume on a pig huh?:D


I don't know about you Greg, but judging from Doug's avatar a little trim around the ears is all that should be required. :D
...

I just went to the groomers Friday and just got back from the vet for my yearly stuff. I'm ready for the white tie and waggin tails affair.:D

[curtis rosche]

i know the actual awnsaer as i have worn both many times.

a suit : a suit it a dress shirt with a dress jacket, tie is optional


a tux: a tux is like a suit but it always has a vest that matches it, and sometimes has a bow tie.

the only difference is the price and that one has a vest

[Jim Becker]

Dennis, you got any special black bibs with strips on the legs? :D :D :D

[Danny Thompson]

If you have an occasion that calls for a tux, it's up to you whether you wear one or not. But I find it is good to throw out the rules with a certain style that shows you know them, but you just don't live by them (as opposed to making people think you simply don't know any better).

With that said. A traditional tux is:

- a short, black, single-breasted wool dinner jacket with a black satin collar
- black pants with a matching satin stripe
- a white dress shirt with a pleated front
- a black bow tie
- a black cummerbund or waistcoat
- black silk socks
- black patent leather shoes

The definition has loosened up over the years and people vary it up quite a bit. For example, a tuxedo doesn't have long tails, but we all typicaly think of tails as a tux. A white dinner jacket isn't a tuxedo, either, but we all think of it as such.

Also, a purple suit with stacked shoes a cane and a matching purple tiger striped fur top hat is definitely NOT a tux, but I wouldn't tell that to anyone who was wearing one.

In practice, if you are weighing tux v. suit (as in, can I get away with wearing this suit) I think you can go with this definition: A tuxedo is a suit that is too formal to be worn to any regular business or church activity. (Your Sunday go-to-meeting clothes aren't a tux.)

Now if I could only figure out the difference between a pin and a tail?!!

[Belinda Barfield]

Dennis, you got any special black bibs with strips on the legs? :D :D :D

Sorry guys, I know this is OT, but I'm curious. Dennis, do you wear bibs, or overalls? I'm guessing in Arkansas it's overalls (or if in Georgia "overhauls"). Around here bibs are something you wear when skiing.

[Brian Kent]

If you mean my wedding tux, a tux is made out of tan wool, with thick brown velour, trim, lapels, and bow tie.

If you mean a modern wedding tux, it is a long black formal looking thing that everybody has to ask how to wear, worn with fresh clean red and white tennis shoes.

I'm supposed to wear a tux when I play with the Raincross Choral, but I'm just a drummer so they let me wear a suit.

[John Schreiber]

A tux is something you are told to rent to go to a wedding.

A suit is something you should wear to a wedding, but you don't fit into any more.

[Ben Rafael]

This is easy.
You wouldn't wear a Tux to a funeral or a job interview; but you might wear a suit.

[Bill Cunningham]

Ha.. My family knows EXACTLY how I would answer this question...
Having worked in the commercial diving industry for 25+ years, a TUX is what you wear for Marriens and buryens A SUIT on the other hand, is made out of rubber, and has a large waterproof zipper across the shoulders..:D