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Mark Remillard is a journalist and podcaster based in New York.
MoreWhen it comes to selecting a statement dinner jacket, you’re either quite familiar with formalwear and looking to deepen your wardrobe or you’re someone who likes to bend the rules.
Many men today might find formalwear overly prescriptive, stuffy, and stifling to their personality. The good news is that there are many ways to make it your own. And one of the best is to take the centerpiece of any black tie outfit — the dinner jacket — and make it a statement piece.
Today, we’re taking a look at five statement dinner jackets that will let you fit in while still standing out at even the most formal events (outside of white tie and morning dress).
There are dinner jackets and dinner jackets . . . this is the latter.
Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale
A Quick Look at Statement Dinner Jackets
Dinner jackets — interchangeable with tuxedo jackets in American vernacular — are a staple of men’s formalwear. Whether it’s a black-tie event for work, a wedding, or you’re walking a red carpet, dinner jackets are a must have for a formal evening.
Dinner jackets are distinguishable from suit jackets in a number of ways. First, where a suit or sport coat typically has two buttons, a dinner jacket will only have one (unless it’s double-breasted). The lapels on a dinner jacket should be either peak or shawl and are typically made from a different fabric than the rest of the jacket, often satin or silk — though they can be self-facing as well, which means made in the same fabric as the jacket.
Dinner jackets should also only have jetted pockets that help create a sleek silhouette, whereas suit and sport coats have more variety, offering jetted, flap, or patch pockets. Suits and sports coats also come in a wide range of colors, fabrics and patters, from a glen check sports coat to a standard navy blue hopsack. Dinner jackets, meanwhile, typically come in black or midnight blue.
But while dinner jackets might seem like a simple choice between just a handful of options — there are dinner jackets that make room for expression and can complement your personality and style.
Subtle, But Bold
It probably won’t come as a shock that black is a staple of black-tie events. You’re likely familiar with the sleek and traditional look of a jet-black tuxedo, but where traditional tuxedo jackets are often made from wool or silk, a velvet dinner jacket adds a subtle but bold touch to otherwise more traditional formalwear.
Velvet is a supple, soft, and luxurious weave of silks, cottons, and other fibers. It’s a fabric that screams elegance and exclusivity; think rope-lines at exclusive clubs or the red carpet at the Oscars (it’s actually made of nylon but made to look like velvet). Velvet is an extraordinary fabric that belongs at the most extraordinary types of events.
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Our double-breasted black velvet dinner jacket is a great way to mix up your formalwear staples. Its base is a beautiful, soft black velvet and comes in a 4×2 double-breasted configuration. It has just the right kind of subtlety that allows you to stand out without looking like you’re trying too hard.
All-Over Print
Another traditional color of men’s formalwear is dark blue. While black is obviously more traditional, navy or midnight blue are common deviations from the norm. Our navy floral print dinner jacket is a spin on the conservatism of the traditional dark-blue dinner jacket by spicing it up with a unique all-over floral pattern.
A single-button closure with jetted pockets and a long, draping shawl collar keeps this jacket grounded in the tradition of men’s formalwear, but its pattern is what makes it shine. The floral pattern can do all the talking when paired smartly with black tuxedo pants and a crisp white shirt and bow tie. This is the kind of jacket that gets you compliments because it stands out while keeping things smart and sophisticated.
Standout Color & Fabric
There’s certainly nothing wrong with blacks and blues . . . but there’s also nothing wrong with adding a pop of color to your wardrobe — and our purple Dupioni silk dinner jacket fits the bill with its iridescent purple styling.
While it’s a solid color and pattern, you’ll notice the weave of the Dupioni silk gives it some visual interest and texture thanks to an irregular weft, which are the threads running horizontally through the weave.
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This dinner jacket is quite a statement and shuns the rules in the right ways. Rather than a traditional satin or silk lapel, this jacket takes pulls inspiration from regular suiting in keeping the lapel fabric the same as the body — unusual for tuxedo styling but not a dinner jacket. However, it maintains its formal elevation thanks to its single-button enclosure, jetted pockets and peak lapels, which also have a nice pick stitching.
Let this jacket speak for itself by staying conservative with the rest of your outfit. Black pants, a cummerbund, white shirt, and bow tie will pair nicely.
Who said formal wear has to be stuffy?
Devil May Care!
If black is more your style, consider our black and gold jacquard dinner jacket. The pattern in the fabric is not the product embroidery, but actually done with a weave. “Jacquard” gets its name from Joseph Marie Jacquard, who invented a machine that attaches to the loom and allows for such intricate pattern making.
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Few things are as elevated as gold and few events more elevated than black tie. It’s a perfect melding of two colors that pair perfectly together. The golden pattern on the jacket catches the light and provides a stand-out visual interest that’s perfect for New Year’s Eve parties, galas, or other celebratory events.
Notice too, the cuffs on the jacket are made of the same fabric as the lapel adding an extra touch to the jacket’s styling.
Unexpected Tinge
Finally, continuing with Jacquard prints — our brown jacquard metallic dinner jacket is a bit more subtle than the black and gold number above. Instead, it’s a jacket to get up-close-and-personal with.
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From a distance, you might see it as a brown or burgundy jacket with a sheen, but it’s up close where you can see the detail and pattern as the copper coloring in the pattern catches the light.
This jacket is also distinguishable from the black-and-gold Jacquard dinner jacket by its black shawl lapel, which is considered more formal than a peak lapel.
The Bottom Line
The jackets on this list are statement dinner jackets and should be worn as such — they’re for striking a chord when you walk through the door.
Versatility should not be the goal here. These are not jackets to be worn in a wide variety of situations. Dinner jackets should be worn at formal evening events as their design makes them too elevated to be worn anywhere else.
And while versatility is something to look for in most garments, here with formal evening wear, it is a very specific type of circumstances for which your are dressing up. The good news is, what these jackets lack in versatility they make up for uniqueness.
This Article is part of the Outfit Inspiration Series.
Mark James Remillard
Mark Remillard is a journalist and podcaster based in New York. For much of the last decade, he’s worked for ABC News as a radio news reporter and anchor. In 2017, he wrote and hosted an investigative true-crime podcast called “A Killing on the Cape.” He followed it in 2020 with a 10-part investigative podcast on late sex-offender Jeffrey Epstein, called “Truth and Lies: Jeffrey Epstein” and won a national investigative journalism award. Mark’s been interested in men’s style ever since he was a kid and saw Jim Carrey don a zoot suit in the 1994 film, “The Mask.” While learning classic men’s fashion and developing his own style, Mark’s mother taught him basic sewing and he’s been altering his clothing by hand ever since. He’s currently studying law at Fordham University and got married to his wife, Catherine in their apartment over Zoom during the height of the pandemic in 2020.
Photography by Rob McIver
