The Journal — Formalwear

Private members' clubs in New York have dress codes that are enforced — not as a suggestion, not as a loose guideline, but as a condition of entry. The staff at the Knickerbocker, the Century Association, the Lotos Club, and similar institutions have been trained to turn away members and guests who are not appropriately dressed, and they do. Understanding what these clubs expect is not a matter of optional etiquette. It's the price of the room.

A suit that arrives at a destination in the same condition it left in is not an accident. It's a function of knowing how to fold it, what to pack it in, and what to do when you arrive. This is the complete process — from folding the jacket to the post-arrival ritual that removes most wrinkles without touching the suit with an iron.

Dress code language has accumulated over centuries of social convention, and the terminology is imprecise enough that two different people can read the same instruction and arrive wearing completely different things. This glossary defines every dress code you are likely to encounter — from the most formal to the most casual — with specific guidance for men and women.

Winter suiting is where the pleasure of heavy cloth and serious tailoring becomes genuinely functional rather than merely aesthetic. The same qualities that make a heavy flannel or tweed beautiful — weight, texture, drape — also make it warmer. In winter, you can wear the most interesting, most tactile fabrics in the wardrobe and have them serve the weather rather than fight it.