Beyond Black: What Other Tuxedo Colors Are There?

What Other Tuxedo Colors Are There?

Beyond black, tuxedos can come in navy, ivory white, burgundy, dark green, brown, and red. A navy or blue tuxedo is the closest thing to a second classic and works nearly everywhere black does. The rest sit further from tradition, so the dress code, the season, and the formality of the evening matter more when you choose one.

The word tuxedo itself is American. Britannica traces the name to Tuxedo Park, a wealthy enclave in New York where the tailless dinner jacket caught on in the 1880s as an alternative to full tails. Color came later, and midnight blue arrived in the 1930s partly because more blue wool was being milled than black at the time.

When a Colored Tuxedo Works and When Black Still Wins

A strict black-tie dress code still calls for a black tux or a midnight navy tux. The Knot's guidance for men is direct, in that black tie means a tuxedo and even darker suit colors are not considered formal enough. Once an invitation says black-tie optional or formal, burgundy, green, brown, and white all become reasonable choices for a formal event.

• Black tie: a black tuxedo or blue tuxedo in a deep navy, with a black bow tie and a white shirt.
• Black-tie optional: navy, burgundy, or a velvet tuxedo in a dark shade.
• Formal or semi-formal wedding: any of the above, plus brown and green.
• Prom or a holiday gala: red, green, and velvet all read well under low light.
• White tie: black only, and usually tails rather than a tux.

If the dress code lands below formal, suit color becomes the better question. A black suit, a charcoal grey suit, or a brown suit will serve you better than a tuxedo at a semi-formal wedding, and each one stretches into work and everyday wear afterward. One reliable rule: the further you get from a stated black-tie dress code, the more room you have. If the couple wrote the dress code themselves, ask them before ordering a bold color.

Match the Color to the Season and the Setting

Season narrows the field faster than personal style does. A white dinner jacket became acceptable in warm climates during the 1930s because black felt heavy in summer heat, and that logic still holds. Deep colors and a velvet tuxedo belong to cold months, while ivory and lighter shades suit summer and destination events.

• Summer and beach: ivory white with black pants, which is the white tuxedo look James Bond made famous.
• Fall: burgundy or brown, both of which sit well against autumn color palettes.
• Winter weddings: dark green, navy velvet, or black velvet.
• Spring: navy in a lighter weave, or ivory for a daytime ceremony.

Velvet also holds its color under low reception lighting, which matters once the dance floor opens and most of your photos stop being posed. Color trends back this up more broadly. Zola's survey of more than 11,500 couples found green in 53% of wedding palettes and sage specifically in 30%, with burgundy at 10% and white-forward palettes at 39%. A green or burgundy wedding tuxedo is far less unusual now than it would have been a decade ago.

The Details That Make It a Tuxedo

Color is the loudest choice, but the construction details are what separate a tuxedo from a colorful dark suit. Satin or grosgrain facing on the lapel, covered buttons, and a formal shirt are the markers people register without naming them. Get those right and a brown or green jacket still reads as formal attire rather than a blazer.

• Lapel style: shawl lapels are a tuxedo-specific detail, while peak lapel and notch lapel both appear across tuxedos and suits.
• Lapel facing: satin in black keeps a colored jacket anchored to the black-tie tradition.
• Jacket cut: a double-breasted jacket adds formality on its own and pairs well with a peak lapel.
• Pants: tuxedo pants have a clean satin waistband and sometimes also a satin side stripe, and though many more modern styles skip the stripe.
• Shirt: a white tuxedo shirt with French cuffs or studs is the most formal option.
• Fabric: velvet reads richer under evening light, which is why it shows up so often in colored tuxedos.

What to Wear With a Colored Tuxedo

Keep the accessories conservative when the jacket is doing the talking. A black bow tie, a white dress shirt, and black shoes let a burgundy or green tuxedo register as intentional rather than accidental. Save the pocket square for your one point of personal style, and match your waist covering to the lapel facing rather than to the jacket color.

• Bow ties in black satin work with every color on this list.
• A cummerbund or tuxedo vest covers the waistband and completes the perfect look.
• Black shoes in patent leather stay correct with every color except brown.
• Cufflinks finish a shirt with French cuffs.

Budget and Timing Are Where Colored Tuxedos Differ Most

Plan for a longer lead time on any color outside black and navy. The Knot puts the average cost for a male partner to rent ceremony attire at $205, with most suit rental and tuxedo packages landing between $150 and $300, which is roughly what buying costs at SuitShop. In-stock styles ship in 7 to 10 business days, while Made-to-Order colors are cut after you order and arrive in 8 to 10 weeks.

Order a free fabric swatch before committing. Screens shift color badly, and burgundy and brown in particular can look like a different shade in person than they do in a product photo. If you are stuck between two colors for a special occasion, customer service can talk it through with you before you order, so you are not guessing on the one thing everyone will notice.

Where This Lands for a Wedding

More than two million couples marry in the United States each year, spending roughly $100 billion collectively, and wedding attire is one of the few line items that follows you home afterward. A colored tuxedo you own gets worn again at the next gala, the next holiday party, and the next black-tie wedding you get invited to, which is a meaningfully different value proposition from returning a rental the following Monday. That makes the color decision worth a little more thought than the rental counter usually allows.

Find Your Tuxedo Color at SuitShop

SuitShop carries tuxedos in black, navy, ivory white, burgundy, red, green, and brown, all yours to own for about what a rental costs. Browse the full men's tuxedo collection or the women's tuxedos, use the Fit Finder to lock in your size, and order free swatches to see your color in real light. Suiting a wedding party? Register your group and get one free tuxedo when five or more members order.