How Celebrities Do Tuxedo Colors Right, And You Can Too

Celebrities are given a pass on a lot of things, from drunken outbursts to trashing hotel rooms to making horrible sequels. So it’s no surprise that they take a few liberties with society’s rules when it comes to dress codes.

Case in point, on the red carpet, black tie is getting decidedly less black. Until recently, tuxedo styles have changed at a glacial pace. But in the past few years, alternative tuxedo colors have been all the rage at award shows and premieres. And these celebrities are paving the way for the rest of us to wear tuxedo styles and tuxedo colors that would have been considered shocking just a decade ago. Just take a look at this collection of black tie pioneers who’ve brought some color to the red carpet.

If you’re going to a black tie wedding or planning on going all out for holiday parties this year, consider yourself lucky. The spectrum of acceptable tuxedo styles hasn’t been this wide since the 70s.

Contrasting Dinner Jackets and Pants

Looking to combine dinner jackets and pants in unexpected ways? The base should be a pair of black formal trousers, but up top you can let your freak flag fly with a bold design, like Orlando Jones does below.

Looking to less aggressive, but still impressive? Try mixing up the color palette from top to bottom.

The Smart Choice: Take a tip page out of Orlando Jones’ playbook and choose a shawl lapel for an uninterrupted black lapel and collar that keeps your look streamlined.

Alternative Tuxedo Colors

Most guys think tuxedos only come in black. But not many people know that almost as soon as the tuxedo became a thing, men started experimenting with colors. The midnight blue tuxedo, for example, first gained popularity nearly 100 years ago. So it’s not too much of a leap from dark blue to other tuxedo colors like the in-your-face red that LeBron James rocked for the ESPYs a little while back.

We can hear some of you out there now saying but LeBron is a professional athlete at an awards show. I’m just a regular dude going to a black tie event. Don’t worry, you can back it down a touch and still wear a statement tux.

The Smart Choice: Darken that red down to a deep burgundy tone and you’ll be right in the sweet spot between predictably conservative and boldly standing out.

Are You Red Carpet Ready?

Okay, so maybe you’re not winning any nationally televised awards, but you can still look as suave as the guys who do at your next black tie affair. Will you be the guy who breaks the color barrier with a burgundy or blue tux? Will you switch things up with contrasting jacket and pants? Tell us how you put your own spin on black tie in the comments below.