Whether you remember renting one for prom or a wedding, you likely associate a tuxedo with formal or semi-formal occasions. But have you ever wondered how the tuxedo landed in the annals of formalwear?
Perhaps surprisingly, it didn't start out formal at all. As legend has it, the tuxedo is a creation born of lopping the tailcoats off of formalwear to create a shorter and more casual dinner jacket.
But who wore it first? The most popular version credits Griswold Lorillard, son of Tuxedo Park developer Pierre Lorillard IV, when the younger Griswold debuted the tailless dress coat and scarlet satin vest at a gala in October 1886. Griswold was apparently frustrated that his tails were getting in the way of dancing and sitting, according to The Wall Street Journal.
A Tuxedo Park historian credits James Brown Potter, co-founder of the Tuxedo Park club, as encountering the style during a visit with the Prince of Wales on a trip to England in 1865. However, records from Henry Poole & Co., the store where he supposedly commissioned the garment, are missing during the key time period and don't specify what, exactly, Potter purchased.
Also missing from historical accounts: how and when the coat, commonly referred to as a dinner jacket, started to be referred to as a tuxedo.
Regardless, Tuxedo Park this year celebrates the 133rd anniversary of the garment. Oct. 10 has become an official-unofficial anniversary.
