Men's Black Suits

Black Suits and Black Tie

Black is the most competitive suit color to shop for and the easiest to get wrong, because two very different garments share the word. A black suit is business and daywear. A black tuxedo is evening wear with satin on the lapel and a stripe down the trouser. Buy the first for an interview or a funeral and the second for anything whose invitation mentions a dress code.

Black Suits

Three here, and the difference is the cut rather than the color. The Black Suit is the straightforward two-piece at $219. The Slim and Regular Fit runs heavier. The Black Double Breasted is the one to pick if you want the suit itself to be the statement, since a double breasted front reads deliberate in a color most men wear by default.

One thing worth knowing: black is a harder interview suit than people assume. It can read severe in daylight and it photographs flat. If the event is daytime and professional rather than formal, charcoal or navy usually serves better, and most tailors will tell you the same.

Black Tuxedos

This is where the collection is deep. Ten tuxedos, and the choice comes down to the lapel. Notch lapel is the least formal and the most familiar, closest to a suit. Shawl lapel is the unbroken curve, the classic dinner jacket line. Peak lapel points up and out and is the sharpest of the three.

Past the basics: the Double Breasted Tuxedo needs no vest or cummerbund because nothing shows. The Tail Tuxedo is for white tie and for nothing else, so check the invitation before buying one. For texture rather than plain satin there is the Paisley Shawl Lapel and the Gold Jacquard, and for color against the black, the Black and Red Peak Lapel.

Black on Black, and What to Wear With It

A black shirt with a black suit is a real look, not a mistake, but it is an evening one. It flattens in daylight and it removes the contrast that makes a face read in photographs, so it belongs at a party rather than a ceremony. A white shirt is the safe answer with black, a pale grey shirt is the quieter one, and a burgundy tie is the easiest way to put a single color into an otherwise black outfit.

For prom, black does what it is supposed to do: it is the one color nobody questions and the one that lets a boutonniere or a colored bow tie do the work. See prom suits for the rest.

Jackets, Trousers and Vests on Their Own

Black is the color most worth owning in pieces, because black trousers go with almost any jacket and a black dinner jacket goes with its own trousers for years after the first set wears out. All of these are listed above. The Black Suit Jacket is $139.99, the Notch and Shawl Lapel tuxedo jackets are $169.99, black suit pants are $79.99 and the Black Vest is $69.

If what you want is a blazer rather than a suit jacket, the Solid Black Blazer is a sport coat, cut to wear with grey or tan trousers instead of matching ones.

What Comes in the Box

Every full suit and tuxedo here ships as a complete bundle: jacket, pants, shirt, tie and socks. Black suits start at $219 and the tuxedos run from $239.99 to $319 for the tail coat. Shipping is free over $99 and exchanges are free.

Getting the Size Right

Black hides a bad fit better than white does, which is exactly why men get away with the wrong size in it for years. The shoulder is the part no alteration fixes, so it is the part to get right first. Our suit size estimator takes height, weight and build and returns a jacket and pant size in about a minute.