I had such fascinating ideas about music and fashion. I was ready to name and shame, or even praise, from Elvis to Elton, from Freddie to Harry, but as the hours of poring over images went by, the sad truth emerged: from Bill Haley to Damiano David, there’s no arguing with a tuxedo. Plus, of course, outside mainstream pop the tailored black jacket also wins again and again.

When the chips are down, the invitation arrives, the concert looms or the award is being offered, what does the male singer opt for? I am staggered to discover how often it’s a tuxedo, a bow tie or simply lounge lizard Rat Pack conventional smartness.

Upon further investigation of this phenomenon, and although of course the possibilities of variations on the classic black tuxedo are almost limitless, there’s more to it than that. Like the little black dress, it offers endless options as a basis for creative thinking, yet within a structured and recognised framework, which makes it both a safe and infinitely fascinating vehicle for a designer. Italian and French houses from Zegna to Dior would always include a tuxedo in their menswear offering. The Met Gala shows us how, alongside the extravagance of the women’s looks, the tuxedo, however quirky, often wins easily on a handsome guy rather than any other possibility.

Balancing performing in a huge stadium with making an acceptance speech, striding down miles of red carpet or seated at a formal dinner, music men go safe and sober. The rigour of the classical cut and construction means that, even if lavished with extras like beading or flowers, it fails to overwhelm the strength and formality of the overall look. Crooner to heavy metal, soloist to band member, it’s often a marvellous shock to see such diverse personalities step back into such a classic piece from the man’s wardrobe.

In music and style terms, one of the greatest examples is how David Bowie always understood this look and all its variations, with memorable tuxedo moments being his appearance at the Grammy Awards in 1975, the movie Just a Gigolo in 1978 and his wedding to Iman in 1992. His switching from Kansai Yamamoto drama to tuxedo classicism stands for both his chameleon style and his understanding of how selecting something so seemingly conventional could disconcert and, at the same time, add another character to his repertoire.

Anyway, it’s fascinating because the tuxedo isn’t even centuries old. Historically, it’s a weird hybrid of the Ottoman Empire, Savile Row and royalty, with a dash of New York thrown in; it’s basically English gentleman meets eccentric traveller. Let’s have a look at the tuxedo’s story. First, there were smoking jackets worn at home, since smoking, even for gentlemen in the 1850s, was a private hobby. Inspired by the robes seen and purchased during the Ottoman wars, gentlemen would wear a silk or velvet jacket meant to absorb smoke and the smell of tobacco after dinner, and the luxury splendour of the originals, often with frog fastenings or later a single button, encompassed usually a shawl collar and even bright, rich lining. This robe quickly went from floor length to shorter, as it was less ostentatious and more practical. In 1860, the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII, went to Henry Poole & Co of Savile Row and ordered a special version of the smoking jacket. It was shorter than the traditional tailcoat, again with a single buttonhole and shawl collar, and in this case, dark navy. As the prince wore it out in society, it seems most likely that in 1886 an American visitor to London, James Brown Potter, had seen him wearing such a garment and ordered one himself. He then went to an autumn event at the private country ball in Tuxedo Park in New York wearing it, hence the ‘Tuxedo’.

Although in 1935 navy blue again replaced black as the colour, the biggest transformation period for the tuxedo, even pre-Giorgio Armani, is seen gradually through the 1950s and ’60s. The heavy construction and tightly woven fabrics begin to relax, while polyester and new fibres lightened the jacket immensely. Formal ballroom dancing waned and the new demands of movement included rock and roll and the twist, forcing tailors and tailoring manufacturers to rethink the established rules.

Bill Haley wore a tartan shawl-collared version in 1954, Buddy Holly rocked a neat version in 1955 and Elvis Presley rocked white, black and even gold tuxedos for many years. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Andy Williams and Perry Como wore tuxedos on their many TV appearances, throughout the 1960s and into the ’70s. Vintage also started to become interesting to fashion people through the 1960s. Designers were blurring the lines between a nostalgia for the 1930s and ’40s, yet wanted to be modern at the same time. This gathered momentum in the 1970s, with Flip in Covent Garden importing American vintage into a vast space that often included rails of every type of dinner jacket, smoking jacket and tuxedo. At the same time, Take Six, a menswear fashion chain in London, repeatedly sold out of slender black velvet tuxedo jackets, which were being worn with skin-tight satin shirts and wide, flared pants.

I remember during the 1970s I wore my father’s dinner jacket a lot; constructed of tightly and densely woven wool barathea, it had marvellous, peaked, big 1940s revers in heavy ribbed silk satin. It was four-button double-breasted and was interlined, lined, canvassed, stitched and shoulder-padded to within an inch of its life. Extremely waisted and tight, it weighed a ton, plus it was stiflingly hot, but I looked great. Compare this with American Gigolo from 1980 and Richard Gere’s Armani tuxedo, and it’s very clear that the heavy construction and hefty fabric have been exchanged for relaxed tailoring, lighter fabrics and wearability.

Like the nostalgia for a 1950s Dior ballgown, the truth of the matter is we will no longer suffer to look good, especially for those living in the real world, not celebrities. Unlike those constantly photographed, in the limelight and on the red carpet, we want to look good, but not at the high cost of total discomfort. The sharp tuxedo is flattering, especially with the addition of a white shirt and a good bow tie. Please not that ready-made, pre-tied bow tie; they’re hideous in every way and lack the nonchalance and softness of a hand-tied bow tie, whether that’s in velvet, grosgrain or satin. The final note about the bow tie business is, without being unable to untie it, how can you do the sexy late-night look of unbuttoned shirt and untied bow tie hanging insouciantly down like an inverted exclamation mark? Please note how in live performances Bowie relishes the sexiness of the untied bow tie.

Anyway, to return to the tuxedo jacket today. Harry Styles with a huge black flower corsage, Jason Derulo merging smoking jacket brocade with tuxedo sharpness, Damiano David working burgundy tailoring with satin shawl collar, or whoever, the tuxedo is international, both for the guys wearing it and for the designers. From Sydney to Shanghai, from Rio to Rome, all offer their interpretation, and performers from dancers to pianists know its value as both a statement and a fashion fail-safe whatever the location.

Although in recent years the ‘rules’ have been relaxing, for classical musicians, from the players in the orchestra to the conductor, from the solo violinist or pianist to the concert singer, it’s simply easiest to tuxedo it. Even Luciano Pavarotti at his hugest popped on an enormous facsimile of a tuxedo accompanied by a tablecloth-sized white handkerchief to mop his brow. A gesture strangely similar in its accessorising to the great Louis Armstrong, who played the trumpet wearing a tuxedo and brandishing a large white handkerchief. While mentioning opera, we must note the style jump when Freddie Mercury ditched Zandra Rhodes, military and white jeans to wear a classic tuxedo when he performed Barcelona with Montserrat Caballé.

Oh, and one final point to remember: even within its most classic and clean-lined versions of the tuxedo, today especially, its pairings can go from strictly classic slender pants with superbly high-quality braiding down the trouser-leg side seam through to being paired with immensely wide draped pants, a huge tulle ballgown skirt or, for the Paul Mescal fans, even shorts.

Note that the tuxedo wearers include Timothée Chalamet in Celine, Bruno Mars in Saint Laurent, Barry Keoghan in Stella McCartney, the K-pop band Enhypen and Harry Styles in Nina Ricci by Harris Reed. And remember, Snoop Dogg said, “The only time you wear a tuxedo is when it’s time to party” on Fux with the Tux, the opening track of Tuxedo II by Mayer Hawthorne and Jake One. Let’s face it, the tuxedo is an unbeatable winner in every category and genre.

Above image: Bruno Mars at the 67th Grammy Awards wearing SAINT LAURENT BY ANTHONY VACCARELLO, Courtney of Saint Laurent.

@t.g.therealtonyglenville