The Dunhill tuxedo: Charm assured

The elegant attire that once broke codes of British eveningwear is a timeless classic that can still bend the rules

There is a complex story behind the origins of what we call the tuxedo these days, but it all seems to have started in 1865 with a commission for a short blue evening jacket to be worn for informal dinners at Sandringham by the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) from his tailor and friend, Henry Poole of Savile Row. A convoluted series of events then unfolded involving a visiting American, James Brown Potter, who, upon invitation to dine at Sandringham, bought a similar jacket. This man took the style back to his club in the US – the Tuxedo Club – and the tux was born. The tuxedo was the name given by Americans to what became the British dinner jacket.

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