Proper Dress Etiquette for Formal Affairs

White Tie: This is the most formal and most specific affair. It requires a full dress tailcoat, tuxedo trousers, white pique formal shirt, white pique vest, and a white pique bow-tie. It would be very inappropriate to wear a regular length tuxedo jacket for a full dress tailcoat. Black patent formal shoes and mother of pear cufflinks and studs finish the outfit.

Black Tie: Most formal affairs are black tie. The only requirement is to wear a tuxedo. You have your choice of what style, but generally you will still need a black jacket. Additionally, black tie involves a formal shirt, bow-tie and cummerbund set or vest and tie set, and black round cuff links and studs. Black patent formal shoes are also required.

Black Tie Preferred: Indicates that the host prefers guests to wear formal evening attire. A black tuxedo, white dinner jacket, or a dark contemporary style of tuxedo would all be acceptable. Non-formal dress suits would be accepted, but not preferred. "Black Tie Optional" or "Black Tie Invited" events are more accepting of Non-formal dress suits.

Creative Black Tie: This allows more freedom for personal expression, such as colored jackets, trousers and shirts. It still requires a tuxedo jacket.

Terms and Styles of Tuxedos

Jackets:

Tuxedo - A tuxedo jacket can either be single-breasted (one strip of buttons) or double-breasted (two strips of buttons).
Mandarin, a.k.a. Nehru jacket, Mao jacket - This jacket features a stand-up collar with no lapel and is worn with a mandarin-collar shirt.
Full dress, a.k.a. tails or tailcoat - These jackets actually have tails, with a two- to six-button front. Generally worn at ultra-formal affairs.

Lapels:

Notched lapel - This lapel features a triangular indention where the lapel joins the collar. It's the least formal lapel style.
Shawl collar - This is a smooth, rounded lapel with no notch.
Peaked lapel - This broad, V-shaped lapel points up and out just below the collar line.

Shirts:

Wing collar - The most formal choice and the style most often worn with tuxedo jackets, this stand-up collar has downward points.
Spread collar - This resembles a standard button-front shirt but folds over and around the neck with a wide division between points in front.
Mandarin collar, a.k.a. band collar - The most contemporary-style tuxedo shirt, this collar stands up around the neck, above the tux buttons.

Cuffs:

Dress-shirt cuffs - Standard cuffs held together with cuff links.
French cuffs - Folded over and closed with cuff links.
Everyday cuffs - Cuffs that close with a button.

Trousers:

If you choose a formal tuxedo, your trousers should match your jacket in style and color. If you’ll be in a formal daytime wedding and will wear a stroller coat or cutaway coat, wear gray or gray pinstriped trousers.

Neckwear:

Ascot tie - This wide, formal tie is usually patterned, folded over, and fastened with a stickpin or tie tack. Usually reserved for ultra-formal daytime weddings and worn with a cutaway coat and striped gray trousers.
Bow tie - The standard tie to go with a classic tux. Bow ties come in several colors besides basic black, but black is the classiest option for a black tie affair.
Sharpe tie - This is a hybrid between an ascot tie and a regular, run-of-the-mill necktie. It’s a long, square-bottomed tie knotted at the neck and worn with a wing collar or spread collar shirt. It has a very formal look without being as formal as an ascot.
Necktie - Standard four in hands tie, often worn with suits.

Accessories:

Vests, a.k.a. waistcoats - Vests are sophisticated, slimming, and available in a huge selection of colors and patterns. They also are a good way to express individuality at a formal affair.
Cummerbunds - Pleated swatches of fabric worn around the waist. Black is the most formal and popular option.
Cuff links - A simple way to add class and style to a tuxedo. A simple, elegant option would be black cuff links outlined in gold or silver.