Black tie had become the standard of formal attire, so it creates a general rule of thumb on how things should be. So, It's a case of dressing appropriately rather than making a fashion statement, it's virtually impossible for anyone not to look great.
Below, we will list general rules of thumb for how things should be, provided by GQ magazine as their "ten-step guide to tux perfection..."
How to spot a quality jacket from a rental
"The good thing about black tie is you only wear it a handful of times a year but it will last for a decade or more. So if you invest in something that is well made and fits you properly you'll always look good. With a dinner jacket, it's the small details that make the difference: the facing material on the lapels should match the braiding on the trousers and ideally the button fabric. Grosgrain silk, rather than satin, looks more considered and elegant. The fabric is important because it's got to last; traditionally it'll be wool barathea or you can go for mohair - at Dunhill, we've introduced a wool and mohair mix. The beauty of mohair is it plays on the light - you get a luminescence you don't get from wool. Ideally, the jacket should have a closed back with no vents at all. It's about the silhouette being sleek and clean. However, it's not very practical, so if you're going to have vents, choose side vents. A centre vent will blow open and show your shirt, which looks messy."
Choosing the right lapel
"Ideally, you should have a peak lapel. You can wear a shawl lapel, but that's one of those things that can look great if you do it right but can look awful if you get the proportions wrong. A notch lapel should never be worn on black tie. If you go buy or hire a really cheap dinner jacket it's probably going to have a notch lapel because it's come from a factory where they churn them out with the same block for business suits and dinner suits. A peak lapel looks a bit more special and if you're not the most naturally athletic person, it will draw the eyes out to the shoulders and will accentuate that V-shape you want from a well-fitting suit."
Wearing a waistcoat can look really stylish and is a good alternative to the cummerbund.
Velvet: no longer underground
"These days, a velvet dinner jacket can look really cool - the trick is wearing something that fits really well. Velvet has that smoking jacket feel and a lot of people like it because it has a bit of a vintage look. If you do choose to wear one, you should wear smart black trousers, not a whole velvet suit."
Embrace double-breasted and three-piece
"You can wear a double-breasted dinner suit. You have to be prepared to have it done-up all evening, because if you undo a double-breasted jacket, it hangs and looks dreadful. Wearing a waistcoat can look really nice and is a good alternative to the cummerbund. A black tie waistcoat is also a different shape: scooped, like a horseshoe, to show off the Marcela front or the pleats of your shirt."
Wear midnight blue like Bond
"At the moment people are always asking, 'Should I be wearing midnight navy?' The midnight trend has been bubbling under for years. In low light, it gives a richness you don't get with black for some reason. It's not for everyone - you have to be comfortable with it because in anything other than low light it will look quite blue, but in the right conditions it will look really special."
The shirt
"It should always be a turn down collar - a wing collar is for white tie. The front part (the bib) should be pleated or Marcela (that textured fabric made up of little diamond shapes). With pleats, be careful to not veer down the Seventies ruffled look, but these days nice tight, neat pleats look great. We do a fly front on our shirts where a front placket covers the buttons and of course it's a double cuff. It's worn best with some simple elegant cufflinks - silver, black or white."
In low light, midnight blue gives a richness you don't get with black
Learn how to tie a bow tie
"There's no excuse. It's not difficult - it is just like tying your shoelaces. Go online and watch a video, then practice. In terms of the tie itself, you can match it with the facing of the suit - satin with satin, grosgrain silk with grosgrain silk - but it can also be an opportunity to something different. A different texture or feel can look great but I wouldn't go into different colours or prints. Do you really want to be 'that guy with the fun bow tie?'"
The shirt should always be a turn down collar - a wing collar is for white tie
The trousers
"They should have plain hemmed bottoms - no turn-ups. You can have them pleated if you wish but increasingly people these days like a flat front. The current style is slightly slimmer and always has a single braid down the side. Traditionally for black tie you have a single braid, whereas for while tie or tails have a double braid. The side pockets should be in line with the braid as it looks neater - and no belt loops!"
Accessories are key
"You can wear a cummerbund, but they're not very popular at the moment. Braces are great - they ensure the trousers stay put and not slip down throughout the evening. The traditional accompaniment to a dinner suit is evening shoes - pumps with a satin or silk bow on the top. You have to be quite something to pull those off but if you can find some well-shined patent leather shoes - very simple, no broguing - that's ideal. Wear black socks - nothing too woolly, preferably silk or cashmere. You can wear a pocket square with evening wear but it should be silk and coordinate with the rest of the outfit. Also, personally I think a nice thing to do is wear a silk scarf. It stands out as not everyone will be wearing one and is a bit more special. White is great, but why not black silk with white polka dots or something more adventurous?"
Some things to avoid
1. Leave Hollywood black tie for the red carpet. "'Hollywood black tie' is this strange thing where you wear a black suit and a black tie and somehow that's appropriate for eveningwear. For me, that's not evening wear, it's not a dinner suit."
2. Ditch the white jacket. "If it's the daytime, if it's the summer, if you're an ex-army colonel on a cruise in the tropics, you can wear one - and a white jacket might actually look more appropriate. But never in the evening or in the winter."
You can wear a pocket square with evening wear but it should be silk
3. Unless you're Ryan Gosling, keep it simple. "Saying 'I've seen Ryan Gosling in that outfit, therefore it'll look good on me' won't work. There is room for personal expression but you've also got to exercise caution as well. I get people who come in and say, "I want to look like James Bond", which is fine but not if you're 5"9, portly and middle-aged. You need to find something that suits your body shape and who you are - and most of all is appropriate for the event."