After Six: 105 Years of Tradition and Innovation
The venerable company that literally put America into tuxedos has been in business for more than 100 years. Over a century of change whenever America celebrated, After Six formals were always on the scene. What a run it's been. After Six has remained the largest men's formalwear manufacturer from its inception through today. It all began at the turn of the last century when men going formal wore tails and wing collars. Fast-forward to today and the elegant black tuxedo still sends a message of personal style. But as much as fashions have changed, After Six tuxedos have always meant good times and good taste.
Looking back, long frock coats were all the rage when the company started and President Teddy Roosevelt lived in the White House. Not long after, the modern tuxedo was born when Griswold Lorillard, the tobacco heir, ordered his tailor to cut the tails off of his formal jacket. In the Roaring Twenties, the days of "Chicago," the movie, and flappers, "jazz suits" with shawl collars were popular. Just a few years later, dashing double-breasted tuxedos added a natty touch when it was really needed during the dark days of the Depression. Then an era ended when tuxedos went into mothballs during World War II. After the war in the 1940s and '50s, a succession of exciting looks, colors and tuxedos with celebrity names made After Six synonymous with fashion and fun. That's why the history of the tuxedo and After Six go hand-in-hand.
Do you like trivia? Did you know that After Six actually invented tuxedo rentals? Or that the company was the first to bring out a machine-washable tuxedo? And as if that wasn't enough, After Six signed the first Hollywood star, Tony Martin, to appear in its tuxedos. The company took formalwear to the fights in Atlantic City and also put some of the most famous menswear designer labels into tuxedos. That's why over the years when the invitation read "Black Tie", After Six was there. Even in the early days, the tux was always something special and had its own fashion MO.
The first commercial tuxedos before the First World War were a far cry from regular men's business suits, which were stiff and heavily padded. Tuxedos, on the other hand, were trim, slim and softer with narrower shoulders and understated grosgrain lapels and side-striped trousers. Underneath was the perennial starched wing collar and "boiled-front" starched shirt and white waistcoat. Comfort was still years away. It took the '20s and all that jazz to take some weight off of American men's shoulders. They switched to soft-front shirts and trim bow ties, and the decade also marked the beginning of innovations that made tuxedos lighter, brighter and much more comfortable. But this didn't rule out fashion. Even in the bleak Depression days of the 1930s, tuxedos put their best foot forward. Double-breasted tuxes arrived from Europe. The former Duke of Windsor and later King Edward VII gave his own tuxedos Seville Row drape and shape, and his royal look still persists. But American ingenuity took over when black tuxedos later gave way to midnight blue and even white and cream for winter vacationers in the islands. And topping it off were lightweight tropical worsteds. Tuxedos were finally being made for dancing. Tuxedos moved to the back of the closet during the war and After Six switched its production to military uniforms. But in postwar days, the tux bounced back and bloomed. Imagine a tuxedo in exaggerated zoot suit proportions, and in the 1950s when After Six proclaimed "It's fun to go formal," they pulled out all the stops with color.
Picture this: tuxedo coats in riotous colors like green and yellow. White wash-and-wear tuxedos. Miracle polyester/worsted tuxedos. Formal shirts and accessories in a rainbow of colors. All this became the tip-off of things to come when the Beatles added their own celebrity magic to formalwear in the 1970s with their Mod silhouettes. Yes, it was fun to go formal! There was no stopping the tuxedo after that. In rapid succession, there were Nehru styles without lapels and in exotic fabrics. Double-knits for ultimate comfort. Creaseless polyester tuxes. And the colorful Peacock revolution in lustrous silks. This gave birth to the rainbow wedding with the bride and bridegroom wearing matching colors. And by the 1970s and 1980s, After Six was first to dream up the designer tuxedo. They all gave the tuxedo a new and lasting lease on life.