Summer Evening Dress

Two of the things I like best about summer are the sweet smell of a lady's gardenia and dancing under the stars on a Saturday night (or, once or twice every lifetime, at a prom). And when the ladies are wearing evening clothes it's appropriate to break out a white dinner jacket like the one worn by actor Patrick Stewart in the photo.

Now the white dinner jacket is often misunderstood. Unlike black and midnight blue jackets that are always correct, it's not a general purpose semi-formal coat. It should be worn only at outdoor evening events in the summertime, or aboard ship. Originally seen single breasted and shawl collared on Englishmen in Nassau, the white linen jacket with self faced lapels has had its principal popularity in the United States. It can be worn by men with a variety of figures and that helped it replace the short-lived mess jacket, a tailcoat without tails that could only be worn by men with washboard stomachs, in the 1930's.

The popularity of the white DJ was driven by its comfortable weight and linen's better-than-worsted air circulation, and in keeping with that theme men accompany it with a cummerbund instead of a waistcoat. Introduced to America during the 1920's, the cummerbund was originally nothing more than a black silk or satin sash wrapped two or three times around the waist. It's popularity has since waxed and waned with other dinner clothes (and I think it not as good a choice as a waistcoat with a dark jacket), but in black, midnight blue or patterned madras it remains the standard with a white dinner jacket.

Young men who visit tuxedo rental shops for their prom garb should resist the temptation of colored coats in light blue, lilac or tan. Black and midnight blue are always correct, but white and cream are the colors of summer evenings. Add a pink carnation for extra style points.