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“Ralph Lauren.” The sight of that name conjures breathtaking people, garbed in breathtaking apparel, posed against some of the world’s most breathtaking scenery. But it also conjures country weekends in flannel shirts and summers spent sailing in the Hamptons. Ralph Lauren means different things to different people, but it always means fashion.

If you’re in the market for quality men’s formal wear, the Ralph Lauren tuxedo certainly deserves your attention. From their beginnings nearly four decades ago as a line of men’s ties, the Ralph Lauren fashion collections have grown to include apparel for every conceivable lifestyle, including black tie.

Considered among the world’s best men’s formal attire, the Ralph Lauren tuxedo is fashioned in the most classic sense of either black or midnight blue fabric, which are generally accepted as the only appropriate colors for tuxedos. The Ralph Lauren tuxedo is also designed with either peaked lapels or a shawl collar; those with peaked lapels are frequently double breasted. These styles, again, are considered the standards for tuxedos.

The painstaking attention to classics standards means that notched lapels are only occasionally seen on a Ralph Lauren tuxedo; in addition, all Ralph Lauren tuxedos are tailored with waistband buttons for the tuxedo trouser braces, and a left lapel boutonniere. For extra convenience, each Ralph Lauren tuxedo can be worn with any pair of formal trousers without cuffs.

From its origins at the first Autumn Ball of the exclusive Tuxedo Club in 1886, when Griswold Lorillard appeared among his white tie appareled fellow members in a short, vividly red “dinner jacket,” the tuxedo has ascended to the pinnacle of men’s formal attire. Highly visible at premiere social and entertainment functions around the globe, the tuxedo adds a visible air of elegance to very event it graces. And the tuxedo designers at Ralph Lauren have a variety of tuxedos styles from which you can choose.

How will you know which Ralph Lauren tuxedo is perfect for you? Simply try on every style offered to you, and you’ll know the right look when the mirror reflects it back to you.

As with all of Ralph Lauren’s men’s and women’s formal wear, the Ralph Lauren tuxedo will cost more than one from a less-respected designer. Given that any custom tailored tuxedo is expensive, you can expect a Ralph Lauren tuxedo to be even more so. The Purple Label Savile Row Three Piece Tuxedo, their most expensive, will set you back $4695. But take a look at it, and read about its construction, at www.ralphlauren.com, and you’ll understand why. Quality may cost, but in the end, quality will tell.

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Your past experience with tuxedos may not have extended beyond renting one for prom or to participate in a friend’s wedding, and in both instances your tuxedo ensemble may have included a bow tie. The bow tie is, without a doubt, the most popular of tuxedo ties, dating back to the introduction of the tuxedo as the standard for men’s formal wear in the late nineteenth century.

The white bow tie is the most formal of all tuxedo ties; it is reserved for the absolutely highest echelon events. The white bow tie is what you are expected to wear, along with your white tails, when your invitation reads, “White Tie.” The black bow tie takes second place in the hierarchy of tuxedo ties, and other than at white tie occasions, you can’t go wrong with a black bow tie.

Colored tuxedo ties, like a bow tie chosen to match a wedding color scheme or prom date’s dress, are occasion appropriate, but it’s never a good idea to breach tuxedo ties etiquette by showing up with a chartreuse bow tie just to liven up an affair.

Tuxedo ties, however, are not limited to the bow tie. If you have a good quality silk black, silver, or dark blue necktie, or, as it is known in high fashion circles, four in hand, it will be entirely appropriate to wear with a tuxedo at a less formal wedding.

Whichever of the tuxedo ties you choose, you’re going to have to tie it yourself. Clip on tuxedo ties, whether they are those which attach to the points of the shirt collar, or are fitted around the wearer’s neck, are verboten. If your host or hostess thinks you are tuxedo material, he or she undoubtedly thinks you are cultured enough to know how to tie tuxedo ties.

Because most men learn to tie four in hand ties reasonably early in their social careers, the problem with tying tuxedo ties usually lies with bow ties. Self tie tuxedo bow ties are available in two designs; the butterfly, and the parallel sided bat wing.

You can simplify your bow tying experience by opting for a polysatin, instead of silk, tie. The ”slickness” of silk can cause you carefully crafted knot to work loose, causing you some frustration during your initial attempts. While mastering the knot on tuxedo ties is simple enough, getting the tie loops in equal proportion is not, and having the knot work loose will make that correct balance even trickier to achieve.

Begin by placing the bow tie beneath your shirt collar so that the right end is about two inches lower than the left. Working close to your neckline, bring the longer right end over the left, and upward, to form a knot. Then fold the dangling end over on itself into a loop which you will hold closed with your thumb and index finger. his loop will be the front bow of the tie.

Take the other end, which was used to create the original knot, and form it into a bow loop like the first; place the second blow behind the original one, and both bows holding them together, position the second bow in the knot behind the front one. Then tighten the knot by pulling on the bows until they are of equal size.

The secret to tying tuxedo ties is practice, practice, and more practice. Buy a self-tie bow tie far enough in advance of your formal event that you have all the time you need successfully master one of the true “gentlemen’s arts!”

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