Beyond The Dinner Jacket: Accessorising Black Tie

A pintuck pleated front is the slightly more conversational alternative to a plain bib front or more minimalist hidden placket, whereas frill fronts are for those who like to enter a room full of people and make all heads turn. French cuffs are not optional; they have weight which prevents them from slipping back under the jacket sleeves, and of course allow for personalisation through cufflinks. Stud fastenings are without doubt the more chic way to close the shirt but they are becoming increasingly less common these days - most dress shirts feature buttons. The collar should sit high enough to honour a bow tie and low enough not to look like a stock. Our white poplin pintuck and marcella shirts are cut for this exact job.

On the bow tie, needless to say, self-tie, always. A pre-tied bow announces that you have outsourced the one skill black tie still asks of you. Black grosgrain is the classic matte companion to wool; black duchesse satin is the glossier cousin. Size matters, but only in relation to your own proportions - don't opt for a large bow tie if you have a small head or narrow neck. Colour is a later chapter; first, learn to be perfectly comfortable in black.

The cummerbund is not decoration so much as architecture. Born of the kamarband - a waist chain worn by royalty and nobility in ancient Persia, and refined in mess dress, it covers the waist, hides the shirt’s escape attempts and gives a single-breasted jacket a finished line. Pleats face up - tradition says to catch crumbs, experience says for dignity. The cummerbund is always matched it to the bow and our black grosgrain or duchesse sets do this without negotiation. A double-breasted jacket may skip it; a waistcoat may replace it. Going without both, on a single-breasted jacket, might be palmed off as 'modernism' but really it's an unfinished look. Besides, if nobody else is wearing cummerbunds, all the more reason for you to.

The pocket square, while small, is most certainly not obsolete, nor should it be taken lightly. Too many great black tie ensembles have been ruined by someone thinking they would do 'something a bit different' with their pocket square, believing it to be only a small part of the look. Don't make this mistake. White linen or ivory silk, perhaps even a subtle polka dot. It should look placed, not stuffed, and should not match the bow as if the outfit had been sold as a kit.

Cufflinks close out the accessories, and are without doubt the most subjective of all the elements. Mother of pearl, enamel, gold, diamonds, you name it, so long as they have some weight. They should survive being noticed, perhaps even be a conversation starter, but strictly no novelty links please.

Worn together, all of these pieces do what the jacket cannot do alone: they prove that successful black tie is the sum of its parts - parts that should be taken and considered together rather than disparate elements. Master them and you will always be one of the best dressed men in the room.