The more formal outfits generate some doubts, but that’s what we’re here for!
Fraque , half tuxedo , smoking , jacket , tern, custom …There are many names!
And there are different models too! Taking the outfits that many brides and grooms choose for their weddings as an example ( Coat, Half Coat and Jacket )…You can already see that there is a difference between them in the cuts:
But to put an end to your doubts, check out the difference between each of the most formal men’s suits:
FRAQUE
Its origin comes from the English word “Frock” . It was the costume worn by English gentlemen in the mid-seventeenth and nineteenth centuries, as an elegant outfit for riding during the day.
The main characteristics of Fraque are its long tail (which goes down to the knee) and the triangular cut on the front. The most common colors for jackets and pants are black and grey. The vest is usually gray or white.
Half Fraque
O Half Fraque The tailcoat, as the name implies, is the same as the tailcoat, but without the elongated tail. It still has the pants (often pinstriped), the jacket with a similar cut to the tailcoat and the vest (gray or white).
Smoking (Tuxedo)
O “Smoking Jacket” was created precisely to protect you from smoke. It was created around 1850, when the London newspaper Gentleman’s Magazine presented a proposal for what would be an ideal jacket for those who like to smoke. But it was the Prince of Wales, Edward VII, who made the suit popular even during meals.
Later, an American aristocrat by the name of James Potter had a meeting with Edward VII and was amazed by the Smoking Jacket, asking to have one made for him. When he returned to the USA with the garment, he began wearing it in the Tuxedo Park Club an elite club in New York. His colleagues found the idea sensational and copied it too. That’s how Smoking ended up becoming famous in the USA as “Tuxedo”(name still used today).
It’s the famous costume used when the invitation asks for “BLACK TIE” . O classic tuxedo consists of a short jacket with silk (or satin) lapels, pants in the same color and material as the jacket, sash or vest, shirt and bow tie.
Jacket
A Jacket looks like a mix of Smoking and Fraque . It is the ultimate in formal dress and is very famous for being worn by conductors, pianists and at ceremonies of great importance.
The jacket has a marked lapel, is short at the front and has a long, scissor-shaped tail. The complete outfit includes the black pieces (jacket, pants, socks and shoes) and the light ones:vest (white or gray), shirt and tie (usually white).
Costume and Terno
These are the most commonly worn suits, but many people still don’t know the difference in their names.
We usually use this formula to explain the difference:
TERNO = Jacket + Waistcoat + Trousers.
COSTUME = Jacket + Trousers.
Pretty simple, isn’t it? If there’s a jacket, pants and a vest in the composition, it’s a Terno. If it’s just a suit jacket and pants, leaving the vest at home, it’s a Custom .
Now you know the main formal suits for men!
