Black tie, quietly

A dinner suit is a uniform, and that is its charm: the point is not to be noticed, but to be impossible to fault. Begin with the cloth — a wool barathea or a wool-and-mohair mix in true black or midnight blue. Midnight is the older trick; under artificial light it reads blacker than black.

The jacket takes one button, never two, and a peak lapel or a shawl collar faced in satin or grosgrain. Whichever facing you choose, the trouser braid should match it. Trousers take no belt loops and no turn-ups; the waist is covered by a waistcoat or left to the jacket’s clean line. The buttons are covered; the shirt is marcella or plain with a turndown collar; the bow tie is black silk, tied by hand and slightly imperfect for it.

After that, restraint does the work. A white handkerchief, plain black shoes, nothing that glitters unless it has earned the right. The evening pieces in our gallery — a black satin peak lapel, a midnight jacquard — show the register the house prefers: everything correct, nothing loud.