Difference Between Tuxedo and Dinner Jacket

Attires play a very important role in determining the visible personality of a person. The person is first judged by his dressing skills. Thus, a person needs to have a decent dressing sense.

Globally, various people emphasize on attires immensely. Suits are generally preferred by men in case of any formal or informal functions.

Thus, tuxedo and dinner jackets are a set of men’s formal clothing, generally categorised as evening dresses. Although, they both are almost similar to each other.

But they differ in case of origin and presentation as well. Thus, in this article, we will discuss two almost similar clothing, tuxedos and dinner jackets.

Key Takeaways

1. A tuxedo is a formal suit with a black or dark-colored jacket, satin lapels, and a matching satin stripe down the side of the pants, while a dinner jacket is a formal jacket worn with black trousers.
2. A tuxedo has a shawl collar, peak lapel, or notch lapel, while a dinner jacket has a shawl collar or peak lapel.
3. A tuxedo is typically worn with a bow tie, while a dinner jacket is worn with a regular or bow tie.

Tuxedo vs Dinner Jacket

The difference between Tuxedo and a dinner jacket is that Tuxedo Is worn with matching trousers and a matching jacket of the same colour. However, in the case of a dinner jacket, the jacket and the trousers can be worn in a different colour as well. The origin of Tuxedos can be traced back to the United States of America. Whereas the origin of the dinner jacket can be traced to the United Kingdom and worn by Britishers. But now, both types of attires are worn by people of both the United Kingdom and the United States.

The use of Tuxedo as attire is extensive in Canada and United States. In Tuxedo, both the black trousers black jacket are matching and are generally made up of a satin finish.

Tuxedo can be used for wedding ceremonies, black tie events, and formal functions as well. Tuxedo has been originated in North America and Canada. These jackets are popularly known as tuxedo coat, tuxedo jacket, simply tux also.

Dinner jackets are almost similar to Tuxedo in all aspects. They are used by the citizens of the United Kingdom. However, these dinner jackets are used in the United States as well. The only difference being the colour of the dinner jackets.

They are white in the U.S. and not black. Generally, a matching jacket and trousers are worn in case of a dinner jacket. A dinner jacket is best suitable for formal events and social gatherings. These jackets are popularly known as a short form of “dinner jacket with trousers”.

Comparison Table

Parameters of Comparison	Tuxedo	Dinner Jacket
Use	Tuxedos are used extensively in Canada and North America.	The dinner jacket is used extensively in the US, United Kingdom.
Jacket – trousers combination	Both the black jacket and trousers are of matching.	It is not mandatory to wear a matching jacket and trousers in case of a dinner jacket.
Worn in	Wedding, any black-tie event, formal functions.	Well suited for any social gatherings, formal events.
Origin	North America	The United Kingdom
Also known as	Tuxedo coat, tuxedo jacket, simply tux.	Dinner jacket with trousers.

What is Tuxedo?

Mainly, the term tuxedo is used in the continent of North America. Particularly in Canada and United States, and maybe some parts of Mexico as well. Tuxedo was born in the United Kingdom.

A tailor-created a royalty for the first time for formal evening wear. It was designed to be used as an alternative to Tailcoat, which was used highly in those times.

Tailcoat had been the most popular formal suit for men. Thereafter, it could be seen that these styles and designs were copied and were introduced in Atlantic regions as well.

The lapels of the jacket are generally made up of silk or satin. They have three different and unique styles. The distinctive styles are the shawl, the notched and the peak.

The shawl being a curved indentation, notched being “V” indentation and the peak being an “-V” indentation. Traditionally, the jackets are black.

However, on various social occasions, people prefer to wear a white jacket or grey, faded grey, and dark grey jackets, to make the whole outfit look classy.

What is Dinner Jacket?

Dinner jackets are found mostly in the United Kingdom. However, the white equivalent of the typical black dinner jacket is used in North America as well. And the same attire is known by the dinner jacket in Britain of the United Kingdom.

A dinner jacket usually consists of some staple items such as white, dress shirt, pleated, black trousers, black jacket and sometimes a pair of black leather shoes as well.

Sometimes, Black dress socks also become a part of the whole attire. The other accessories include cuff links, a black bow tie, shirt studs, and a waistcoat. Customised decorations can also be made, such as pocket squares according to the event or occasion.

For example, medals can be rested in the pocket at the breast as an optional accessory.

Main Differences Between Tuxedo and Dinner Jacket

1. Tuxedo is used extensively in Canada and North America. On the other hand, a dinner jacket is similar to Tuxedo but used in the United Kingdom.
2. Dinner jackets are also used in the United States, but the only difference is, the colour of the dinner jackets is white and not black.
3. In Tuxedo, both the black jacket and trousers are matching and are made up of satin finish. However, it is not mandatory to wear a matching jacket and trousers in case of a dinner jacket.
4. Tuxedo can be worn for a wedding, any black tie event or formal functions. However, a dinner jacket is best suited for social gatherings, formal events.
5. The origin of Tuxedo is North America and Canada. Whereas the origin of dinner jackets is the United Kingdom.
6. Tuxedos are also popularly known as tuxedo coat, tuxedo jacket or simply tux. However, dinner jackets are also popularly known as a short form of “dinner jacket with trousers”.

References

1. https://fashion-history.lovetoknow.com/clothing-types-styles/tuxedo
2. https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/10.3316/INFORMIT.304082848969286