Before you know it, your winter wedding day will be here! You’ve found the perfect dress for yourself, and the bridesmaids are starting alterations on their gowns. Now, it’s time to make some final decisions on your winter wedding tuxedos for the men in your wedding party. From the groom to the groomsmen, we’ve got you covered!

1. Coordinate tuxes with your wedding scheme and colors.

It’s common for men to wear accents of the colors found in the bridesmaid dresses and bouquets. Pick a dominant hue and use it for the tuxedo vests, pocket squares or ties.  Your wedding style can also be reflected in the boutonnières. Ask the florist to incorporate tiny snowflake charms into the flowers, or use a sprig of holly instead of blooms for your winter wedding.

2. Accessorize tuxedos to add personality.

Sure, all the men will be matching, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun with add-ons that show off their unique styles. Let each guy wear his favorite rock band T-shirt under his dress shirt or flaunt a funky pair of socks. Doing outdoor pictures after the ceremony? Let each person wear a warm beanie showing off his favorite sports team logo. These create memorable, candid wedding pictures and let the men have extra fun dressing up.

3. Choose fabrics that are best for winter wedding tuxedos.

Tight-weave tuxedos made from wool blends, tweed, crushed velvet, or polyester are excellent choices for cool weather events. These fabrics are naturally heavy, keeping the bridal party men extra warm and cozy during the day’s events.

4. Flaunt classic winter wear with your tux.

The best part about a winter wedding is adding on those iconic, elegant extras. We love to see a groom traveling to and from the event in a velvet-lined winter poncho or tailored overcoat. Winter wedding tuxedos also look sharp topped with a black derby hat, wool top hat or felt fedora.

5. Let the groom stand out among the men.

Finally, the groom’s wedding day look should coordinate with the groomsmen, but have a few key differences to make him stand out as the man of the day. The groom’s vest can match the tone of the bride’s dress, or he can choose a differing jacket style. Often the groom’s pocket square or boutonnière will coordinate with his bride’s bouquet to unify their look.

Are you ready to make some winter wedding tuxedo decisions? Browse the Jim’s Formal Wear website for more ideas and put together a look to share with your wedding party on the big day. The Jim’s website is www.jimsformalwear.com.

Stop by either Belmeade Formal Wear location for a fitting.  Bristol is working by appointment due to prom traffic:  (276) 466-9911.  The Bristol VA store is located across from the Kroger Shopping Center on Gate City Highway.  That’s Virginia exit #1 off I-81.  In Johnson City, Tennessee, we’re at 149 E Mountcastle Dr, behind Target.

The tuxedo is the most recognized formalwear for men in modern fashion, but its origins are not as commonly known to people as the style of the outfit. We will discuss where the tuxedo came from, its evolution over time and the tuxedo we are familiar with today.

Left to Right: A 1931 Tuxedo Advertisement, A Classic Tuxedo

Origins of the Word

The word “tuxedo” has deeply American roots and originally did not have to do with formalwear. The word P’tauk-seet-tough, which shares its phonetics with the word we use today, was an Algonquin word given to land in New York by the Algonquin Indian tribe.

The word that evolved into “tuxedo” has been attributed both to an Indian chief with the name P’tauk-seet-tough and to the meaning “home of the bear.” In some circles, the word  tucsedo came from the Lenape language of the Delaware Indians. The word we know today as “tuxedo” in its current spelling may have been translated by the Dutch when they were granted the land we know today as southern New York State in the 1700’s. Regardless of its true origins – Lenape, Algonquin or Dutch – it is a certainty that the word “tuxedo” truly evolved from multiple cultures as history brought people from Europe into America.

The Rise of Tuxedo Park and the Tuxedo Club

Fast forward to the 1800’s, and Tuxedo, New York, a town in the same land the Indians had claimed before, grew in population. The Gilded Age was approaching, and American tobacco manufacturer Pierre Lorillard IV developed the idea behind the Tuxedo Club in 1886.

Tuxedo Park Founder – Pierre Lorillard IV

This planned community was a country club that southwest of Tuxedo Park, a village associated with the larger town of Tuxedo. Lorillard had inherited 13,000 acres around Tuxedo Lake, and with help from other wealthy New Yorkers, he developed the prestigious club that became the birthplace of the formal outfit we know as the tuxedo.

TOP: The Tuxedo Club in 1920, BOTTOM: The Autumn Ball at The Tuxedo Club, 1959

The Emergence of the Tuxedo Club

When we left off with the history of the tuxedo, we learned about Tuxedo Park and a country club established in New York for wealthy aristocrats by one of their own, Pierre Lorillard IV. From Tuxedo Park emerged a number of homes surrounding the country club, cementing the club as an important landmark for this community. Eventually, the society of Tuxedo Park developed an elite group of wealthy men that formed what was eventually known as the Tuxedo Club.

This club revolved around a social calendar that included formal events, like balls, and sporting events that allowed the men to enjoy leisure time in the community. The club even established a golf course, tennis courts and allowed for members to enjoy boating on the grounds.

Image Courtesy of The Tuxedo Club

The Rise of Fashion Rebellion

Before the tuxedo became a larger player in aristocratic circles in Gilded Age America, men who attended the country club would typically wear a formal white coat and tie. However, the way in which the tuxedo emerged is hard to discern because there are multiple tales about who exactly wore the first one to a formal event at the Tuxedo Club.

Some of the lore surrounding the tuxedo attributes Lorillard’s son Griswold to bringing the fashionable, new outfit to the first Autumn Ball of 1886, which later became an annual event. According to this story, Pierre Lorillard, his father, commissioned a modified “tail-less” black jacket to wear to the ball inspired by a dinner jacket designed by Savile Row tailor Henry Poole & Co., who was England’s Prince of Wales’ tailor at the time. In this version of the story, Pierre decided last minute not to wear this radical new fashion, but Griswold and his friends modeled their outfits on his and made a splash at the ball.

Another version of the tuxedo story, which comes straight from the Tuxedo Club itself, attributes the tuxedo to Tuxedo Club member James Brown Potter. The summer prior to the first Autumn Ball, Potter and his wife Cora, while visiting England, received an invite from the Prince of Wales to join him at Sandringham, his country estate, for the weekend. Mr. Potter was unsure of what to wear for the dinner, and after asking the Prince, was instructed to visit his tailor in London to get fitted for a short jacket, rather than a tailcoat, for dinner, as the Prince had personally adopted this style and had grown to like it. After Potter returned to the United States and showed other Tuxedo Club members this new fashion trend, they embraced it and had their own tailors copy his style