Book a Visit
Black Tie

The Shawl Lapel Tuxedo.

The most formally correct evening jacket — one continuous curve from collar to front edge, without interruption.

The shawl lapel is the defining feature of the most traditional dinner jacket. Unlike the notched or peaked lapel, the shawl is a single continuous curve from the collar roll to the front edge — no break, no notch, no point. It is the lapel associated with the original dinner jacket as it was worn in the nineteenth century, before the peak lapel became common in evening dress. A bespoke shawl-lapel dinner jacket from The Black Lapel, made in black barathea or midnight blue, is one of the finest garments we produce.

Photograph to follow

The shawl lapel — character and formality

The shawl lapel reads as the most traditional and, to many eyes, the most elegant of the evening lapels. Its continuous curve is visually softer than the peaked lapel's angular geometry, while remaining entirely formal and appropriate for black-tie occasions of any kind.

For the single-breasted dinner jacket, the shawl lapel is the correct and traditional choice. For the double-breasted dinner jacket, the peaked lapel is more commonly used. In either case, the lapel is faced in silk grosgrain or satin — the only source of sheen on the dinner jacket, and the element that most clearly distinguishes it from a business suit.

We make shawl-lapel dinner jackets in black barathea wool (the most traditional choice), midnight blue (a slightly dressier and more sophisticated alternative that reads truer black under artificial light), and, on occasion, in a white or ivory lightweight wool for warm-climate formal events and destination weddings.

Commission your suit.

Visit us at 4 Sardar Patel Road, Adyar, Chennai — Mon–Sat, 11am–9pm. First consultation free.

Book a VisitWhatsApp Us