Have you ever wondered, this word “tuxedo”, where did it come from?
It was 1888 or so when the style started to become all the rage amongst the upper crust and ground breakers. The style had recently been introduced. Before this it was tailcoats of white.
Tuxedo is the name of this style of dress that came from Tuxedo Park, a Hudson Valley enclave, 34 miles north of New York City. It was here that the name came from because the affluent started wearing them here.
The Lenape people were indigenous to this region and spoke an Algonquian language. Tuxedo comes from their word “p’tuck-sepo” which means “crooked river”.
It was 1888 or so when the style started to become all the rage amongst the upper crust and ground breakers. The style had recently been introduced. Before this it was tailcoats of white.
Tuxedo is the name of this style of dress that came from Tuxedo Park, a Hudson Valley enclave, 34 miles north of New York City. It was here that the name came from because the affluent started wearing them here.
The Lenape people were indigenous to this region and spoke an Algonquian language. Tuxedo comes from their word “p’tuck-sepo” which means “crooked river”.
The story about the origin of the suit design is controversial. The design can be traced to one of two men. Pierre Lorillard IV of New York City owned land in the area of Tuxedo Park. His family wealth came from tobacco. But possibly it was the design of King Edward VII and his tailor called Henry Poole & Co. James Brown Potter, an American and friend of the British prince, had asked for advice on formal wear. He took the design back to the Tuxedo Club in the New York's upscale community where Pierre Lorillard modified it. He named it and made it popular during the Autumn Ball. Was it British or American? Perhaps we’ll never know.
In the beginning it was considered rebellious evening wear adopted by the younger men. Eventually tuxedos came to be accepted by the mainstream upperclassmen as well. In the 1930’s the word no longer need to be capitalized, “Tuxedo”, and it no longer referred only to white jackets. At this time, the tuxedo was typically black with a shawl collar, but the peaked lapel came to be standard as an alternative. Double breasted styles became popular, once considered too casual for formal evening wear. A single button became standard with black accessories.
Silk lapels are what typically make it a tuxedo. The trousers of a tuxedo sometimes have a stripe of matching silk down the sides.
In the beginning it was considered rebellious evening wear adopted by the younger men. Eventually tuxedos came to be accepted by the mainstream upperclassmen as well. In the 1930’s the word no longer need to be capitalized, “Tuxedo”, and it no longer referred only to white jackets. At this time, the tuxedo was typically black with a shawl collar, but the peaked lapel came to be standard as an alternative. Double breasted styles became popular, once considered too casual for formal evening wear. A single button became standard with black accessories.
Silk lapels are what typically make it a tuxedo. The trousers of a tuxedo sometimes have a stripe of matching silk down the sides.
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