Three looks, three very different readings of the same dress code. Leah is joined by Mickael Korausch, founder of La Bowtique and author of Modern Black Tie, to work through a classic dinner jacket, a velvet smoking jacket, and a more experimental jacquard — and explain the principles that make each one work on its own terms.

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Black Dinner Jacket — Shawl Lapel £1,445 Black Dinner Jacket — Peak Lapel £1,445 Plum Velvet Jacket £1,445 Burgundy Velvet Jacket £1,445 Green Velvet Jacket £1,445 Black Velvet Jacket £1,445 Classic Silk Bow Tie £175 Classic Grosgrain Bow Tie £175 Batwing Silk Bow Tie £175 Batwing Grosgrain Bow Tie £175

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The Classic Black Tie Dinner Jacket

The most traditional reading of black tie is also the most useful starting point, because it establishes the rules that everything else works from or works against. A black dinner jacket with a single-button closure and a silk satin shawl lapel; a white shirt with front pleats and shirt studs; double cuffs; a black silk satin bow tie. Each element is doing a specific job and the combination has been settled for the better part of a century, which is a reasonable indication that it works.

The bow tie should match the lapel facing. If the lapel is silk satin, the bow tie should be silk satin. This is not a minor detail — the visual coherence of the whole outfit depends partly on the continuity between lapel and bow tie fabric. On shape, Mickael's view is that the classic butterfly is the right default, but that there is room to vary the proportions: a slightly deeper bow, a slightly smaller one. What does not vary is the fabric.

On trousers: black, matching the jacket, with a silk braid on the outer seam. Cream or white trousers do not belong with a black dinner jacket — that combination works for a summery, more informal reading of the dress code with a lighter jacket, but not here. Colour can enter through the shirt if you want it to: a cream shirt in the same pleated style is the most conservative variation; a coloured shirt is a more flamboyant departure. Tartan trousers are another option entirely, but one that requires confidence and a sympathetic occasion.

How to Wear a Velvet Jacket for Evening

Velvet is not the most classic evening wear option, but it is a legitimate one with a long history of its own. The smoking jacket, which is what a velvet jacket is, predates the dinner jacket and was once the more formal of the two. Its return to favour in the last decade or so reflects a broader shift in how black tie is understood — less as a fixed uniform and more as a dress code with an identifiable spirit that can be expressed in different ways.

The important constraint is that the structural vocabulary of the jacket should remain correct for black tie: a one-button closure, a peak or shawl lapel. Those two elements place the jacket within the dress code regardless of what the fabric is doing. A velvet jacket with two buttons and a notch lapel reads as a velvet suit jacket, not a dinner jacket.

On the bow tie with a velvet jacket: a satin bow tie, not a velvet one. The instinct to match the fabrics is understandable but the result is too heavy — both elements competing in the same register at the neckline. Satin provides contrast and sits lightly against the velvet without fighting it. Classic black satin is the safe choice. For those who want to commit fully to the character of the jacket, a more dramatic bow tie shape can work — something with more height and presence. The jacket is already making a statement; the bow tie can either amplify that or simply hold the line.

How Far Can You Go With Black Tie

The third look in the video pushes against the conventional boundaries of black tie more deliberately. A jacquard jacket with a peak lapel and a bold, angular bow tie — the kind of combination that is very much dependent on context. Mickael's position is measured: the code can be stretched, but only if the spirit is maintained. A one-button jacket with a peak or shawl lapel, celebratory fabric, a coherent overall outfit. Those constraints are not aesthetic preferences; they are what places the look within black tie rather than outside it entirely.

The bow tie choice is telling. A geometric jacquard jacket with sharp peak lapels calls for a bow tie with its own strong character — in this case something angular, with a straight top edge and a pronounced drop. That shape is visually consistent with the art deco quality of the jacquard pattern, and it gives the bow tie enough presence to sit as an equal element alongside the jacket rather than being overwhelmed by it. This is the reverse of the usual advice, which is to let one element lead. When the jacket is this strong, the bow tie has to be strong enough to stay in the conversation.

The broader principle holds across all three looks: audience, location, and occasion determine how far you can push the dress code. The classic black tie is appropriate everywhere. The velvet jacket is for celebrations, parties, and occasions where the gathering itself is informal enough to welcome a more personal expression of the code. The jacquard works in the same territory, but with an even smaller window of occasions where it lands correctly. Knowing which window you are in is more important than knowing all the rules.

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Black Dinner Jacket — Shawl Lapel £1,445 Black Dinner Jacket — Peak Lapel £1,445 Plum Velvet Jacket £1,445 Burgundy Velvet Jacket £1,445 Classic Silk Bow Tie £175 Classic Grosgrain Bow Tie £175

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