Henry Poole is perhaps most famous for being the crucible for modern black tie dressing. The Henry Poole tuxedo is such a piece. However, the founding fathers of the Tuxedo Club, Messrs William Waldorf Astor, Robert Goelet, Ogden Mills and Pierre Lorillard, are all well documented Poole customers in the 1860s, when Bertie first ordered his prototype dinner jacket. However, it all seems to lead back to Henry Poole and a jacket the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) commissioned from his tailor – said Mr Poole of Savile Row – in 1865. Founded in 1849 by Henry Huntsman, H. Huntsman & Sons moved to No. Henry Poole accordingly shortened the traditional tailcoat and presented the evening jacket to the Prince of Wales in celestial blue. This led to the couple being invited to dine and sleep at Sandringham. While black is the usual colour of choice for the style, midnight blue is a stylish variation: when we first meet Sean Connery’s James Bond in 1962’s Dr No, he is wearing a midnight blue tuxedo at the chemin de fer table at a London casino. The Americans christened the British DJ a ‘tuxedo’, following a story that circulated the Tuxedo Park Club, north of New York City. It is therefore likely that these social peacocks copied the Prince of Wales and introduced the dinner jacket to New York society (and subsequently the Tuxedo Club) a full 20 years before the apocryphal Potter incident. I’d nominate a great navy blazer, white shirts, a sturdy overcoat, a cashmere crew neck, a stout pair of brogues… and so on. And by choosing to get this cornerstone of the male wardrobe made by the people who created the original model, you’ll be in good hands, joining a client list that has included Frank Lloyd Wright, Jean Cocteau, Robert Mitchum, Edward Fox, Serge Diaghilev and, of course, King Edward VII. He was also advised that he could have a smoking jacket made by the Prince’s tailors, Henry Poole & Co. In 1886, a Mr. James Potter of Tuxedo Park, New York, visited London and subsequently was invited by the Prince to spend a weekend at Sandringham House. Start by looking at our hand-picked collection online. The origins of the tuxedo – or if you prefer the more British term, the dinner suit – are somewhat convoluted. You will be sure of a warm welcome at Henry Poole & Co. because we believe immaculate service is only fitting for our customers, many of whom have remained loyal to us for generations. Then there are those items that for the cognoscenti possess a special allure on account of their claim to being “the original”. Every item is hand-made by a master craftsman at our Savile Row premises to the client’s individual pattern. For the benefit of our overseas customers, our Trunk Shows take our fabric collections to you, in Europe, the Americas and the Far East. The Henry Poole dinner jacket, in black or midnight blue, remains the universal standard for men’s eveningwear. The story goes that the Prince of Wales visited in 1886 and his notorious roving eye fell upon Cora, the devastatingly gorgeous wife of James Brown Potter. However, it all seems to lead back to Henry Poole and a jacket the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) commissioned from his tailor – said Mr Poole of Savile Row – in 1865. You’ll be able to pore over our samples and discuss options with our team from the comfort of a nearby hotel, where we’ll also conduct fittings. The famous British Tailor house that created the original tuxedo (aka the Dinner Jacket) in 1886. Generations of the Poole family are proud to have been serving our customers since James Poole started stitching military uniforms during the Napoleonic Wars.