Custom Tuxedo and Suit Boxes for Dinner Jackets and Suits

What is a tuxedo box?

It is a large, deep rigid box for a tailored jacket. In the UK we often call the garment a dinner suit, but the box is the same either way.

Our photo shows the idea well. A purple lid carries a gold foil frame and corner patterns. Inside, a gold-lined base holds a black velvet dinner jacket folded with a white shirt and a patterned bow tie showing at the neck.

Most of the boxes we make for tailoring are presented by hand, not posted. So the outside matters as much as the fit, because it is often opened in front of a room.

The box sits with our other rigid boxes for fashion labels, but it is the largest garment box we usually make.

How does the lid come off a suit box?

It is a two-piece box. The lid lifts straight off the base, and the jacket is revealed folded, collar towards you.

On a box this large, the lid needs depth. We usually make it at least half the base height, so it does not twist when you lift it by one side.

A contrast base, like the gold inside the purple box in our photo, shows a band of colour round the jacket. It frames the garment as soon as the lid comes off.

What size box does a dinner jacket need?

Fold the jacket as you would present it: sleeves folded behind, lapels flat, shoulders square. Then measure the folded length, the width across the shoulders and the height at the collar.

Allow 10 mm extra on the length and the width, and 20 mm over the collar. Jackets with padded shoulders need more width than you expect, so measure at the widest point.

Adding a shirt and bow tie on top adds about 10 mm. For a full suit, the trousers fold flat under the jacket. The steps in how to measure for a rigid box apply to clothing too.

Which board and wrap hold a jacket's weight?

A dinner jacket is heavy compared with a shirt, and the base is wide. That calls for a thicker greyboard, which is available on request, so the base does not sag when lifted.

Rich solid colours suit formalwear: deep purple, navy, black or bottle green. Linen-look and textured papers give a cloth-like surface that sits well with tailoring.

Inside the base, a contrast paper is one of the cheapest ways to add drama. Gold, cream or a printed pattern all work.

Dark wraps on a box this size show scuffs at the corners first. A matt laminate over the wrap helps, and so does picking a textured paper rather than a smooth one.

Which finishes suit a formal suit box?

Foil is the natural partner for a dinner suit box. A gold or silver frame, a monogram or a fine border reads as formal straight away.

Every finish is an option you can add: matt or soft touch lamination, foil blocking, embossing and debossing, or spot UV. An embossed monogram under foil gives a raised, metal effect.

Keep the pattern to the lid and leave the walls plain. Our foil and embossing finishes guide shows how fine a foil line can go.

Do suit boxes need inserts?

A folded jacket mostly holds itself, but a few inserts help keep the shape. Choose by what you send with the jacket.

Are tuxedo boxes used for weddings?

Very often. A groom's jacket in a foiled box makes a good photograph on the wedding morning, and it keeps the jacket pressed until it goes on.

Groomsmen usually get smaller pieces, such as a bow tie or a waistcoat. Matching our tie and bow tie boxes in the same wrap ties the party together.

For Eid and family weddings, a boxed outfit is often part of the gifts. A deep base can hold a folded jacket and a matching accessory side by side.

How do you store and post large suit boxes?

These boxes reach you made up, lids on. They are large, so check you have the shelf space for your quantity before you order.

Where space is short, consider our flat-folding collapsible rigid boxes, which come in garment sizes too.

To post a boxed suit, use a snug double-wall outer carton. Lay the box flat with packing at the corners, and mark the outer carton to keep it flat.