Suits you: womenswear brands are touting the tuxedo
Paul Smith, Catherin Quin and Wardrobe.NYC provide androgynous antidotes to overblown party dressing

If the festive season sends you into a spiral of wardrobe stress, and you’re reluctant to cough up for another barely worn party dress, may we alert you to the talents of the tuxedo. Timeless, androgynous and a surprising antidote to all that once-worn shimmer, it’s a salute to chic, long-lasting dressing that will serve you long after all that holiday season abundance. Here we present three experts in tuxedo dressing.
Paul Smith
Tuxedo Collection
For the third iteration of its Tuxedo Collection, London-based tailoring aficianado Paul Smith has souped up its original classic black style with a range of hues and textures. Think two-tone suits with 1970s flair, tuxedo jackets imagined in vivacious magenta velvet with black satin lapels, sleek bib shirts and fluid pussy bow blouses in black, cream and fuchsia silk. For those keen to balance androgyny and feminine elegance, the brand has also created a waist cinching bias cut dress with a tuxedo lapel. It'll make for essential office attire too.
Catherine Quin
Party Release, by Catherine Quin.
‘We’ve made limited edition party wear pieces based on our deadstock fabrics,’ says Catherin Quin of her eponymous brand's latest release. The London label's limited edition collection features a range of sparkling kaftans, slip dresses and pencil skirts, produced using sequin off cuts. We're also angling towards its sleek tuxedo jacket with satin lapels and chunky buttons, and a sparkling trouser suit jangling with Twenties-centric beaded fringing. Its jacket silhouette has been reinterpreted as an Italian wool blouse with a startlingly plunging neckline. ‘We want to offer our customers pieces they truly desire at this time of year,' Quin adds. Mission accomplished.
Wardrobe.NYC
Release 05 Tailored
For luxury essentials-focused label Wardrobe.NYC, founders Josh Goot and Christine Centenera have focused on five purist releases of minimalist urban essentials, ranging from its second sports-focused release to its fourth denim-specific collection, designed in collaboration with Levi’s. Its fifth release, ‘Tailored’, is encompassed as a sleek eight-piece collection of expertly cut eveningwear items, including a women’s merino wool double-breasted coat, slashed pencil skirt in mini or midi lengths, and a silk crepe sheath dress. For the ultimate in luxe-tux, we recommend this wool tuxedo blazer with a satin shawl lapel in off white. Clear liquids are your only drinking option.
INFORMATION
catherinequin.com
paulsmith.com
wardrobe.nyc
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