English Origins of Tuxedo

In the 1860s, the increasing popularity of outdoor activities among the British middle and upper classes led to a corresponding increase in the popularity of the casual lounge suit(standard suit in American English) as a country alternative to the more formal day wear that was traditionally worn in town.Men also sought a similar alternative to the formal evening tailcoat(then known as a " dress coat ") worn every evening.

The earliest record of a tailless coat being worn with evening wear is a blue silk smoking jacket and matching trousers ordered by the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII of the United Kingdom) from Savile Row tailors Henry Poole & Co. Henry Poole never saw his design cross the Atlantic and be " baptized " as the tuxedo; he died in 1876 leaving behind a powerful and well respected business to be run by his cousin Samuel Cundey. The jacket was tailored for use at Sandringham, the Princes informal country estate and was described as a smoking jacket.