A gentleman's guide to three-piece suit etiquette

Telegraph

06-06-2025

The three-piece suit needs a bit of rescuing, the format having been hijacked by the Instagram manosphere and estate agents. We are an awfully long way from Indiana Jones in his Raiders of the Lost Ark professorial garb and, like a lot of the sartorial canon, various codes have been forgotten.
The first thing to know is that a three-piece suit is the least formal of suit styles, perfectly demonstrated by Tom Hardy with his excellent and discerning use of RRL, a range from Ralph Lauren that's designed to be somewhat informal and more 'rustic'. This is the rule for both lounge suit and black tie, followed by double-breasted suits and two-piece single-breasted varieties. However, this wasn't always the case.
The wearing of a waistcoat was essential in the nascent years of suiting because of a decree in October 1666 by King Charles II, mandating the wearing of a waistcoat for gentlemen. We know this because it was noted in Samuel Pepys' diary, reminding us of a time where people remembered to memorialise the more important matters.
In the Regency era to much of the Victorian, order of the day for established houses was morning dress (a riding outfit - the morning was when gentlemen rode out) or frock coat in the daytime, and white tie in the evening, all requiring a waistcoat. As morning dress was replaced by the lounge suit and the frock coat was more or less isolated to the Court, the waistcoat was no longer a certainty in a man's daily wardrobe.
In 1856, Edward VII commissioned Henry Poole to make him an 'evening lounge suit' in midnight blue, as he disliked dressing in white tie and preferred the growing trend of tailless jackets. Black tie was born, and waistcoats also began to fall out of favour for evening wear. More on 'Dirty Bertie' later.
This heritage might explain the consensus that the wearing of a three-piece suit is occasion wear, which is why it's so prevalent at weddings. The hard-man credentials of Peaky Blinders have also made a lot of men feel confident that it's an agreeable way to dress up without losing any machismo. Whether you align with Tom Hardy and wear it casually, or want to wear the three-piece for something formal, there are rules that need to be kept in mind.
Button know-how
This is where we return to our wonderfully short-lived but sartorially consequential monarch, Edward VII. The question surrounding waistcoats often has to do with the bottom button. There are various disputes around the origin of this, but allow me to dispel things once and for all.
Edward VII was perfectly able to wear the bottom button done up, no matter how large he was, his tailor would have taken it into account and an extra button would have made no difference at all. In fact, it was popped open for riding. This could easily have been for comfort but that is not necessarily a weight issue, rather the traditions of higher buttoning on riding garments - see morning coats, paddock-cut jackets and hunting pinks - which all need raised buttons for comfort in a sedentary position.
The unbuttoning of the waistcoat therefore indicated you were a man of good standing who rode, and so everyone wanted to follow suit.
Just to confuse things a bit, this does not apply to double-breasted waistcoats; they must all be done up. The smartest button stance is a three-button (six altogether) angled stance in a V shape, rather than the straight buttoning you see often from fashion designers.
Fit check
One of the biggest fashion faux pas is the sight of a man's shirt peeking out beneath the lapel and above the trousers. It is as much of a sartorial shortfall as the triangle of death – the triangle of white above the waistline and single-breasted jacket button, betraying the jacket as too small. This is very much how a certain tight-suited, Love Island hopeful might dress. One issue is that many brands make trousers that have what is called 'a low rise', i.e. the distance between the crotch and the top of the zip is short. What a man needs are trousers that are cut higher, ideally with pleats and held up by braces, to avoid this sloppy look.
The lapel debate
Old school aesthetes like my father, the kind that see everything through the prism of what is allowed in the officer's mess, would die on the hill against lapels on waistcoats. The lapel debate has more to do with opinion rather than actual etiquette, and truthfully, far be it from me to speak ill of my father's opinions on style, I think this is a misstep. It is true that a single-breasted lapel should have a very small lapel, if one at all, but a double-breasted waistcoat must have one, and the prouder the better.
Accessorising
The Roaring Lion by Yousuf Karsh is considered one of the greatest portrait photographs of all time; Winston Churchill's moody look is because just before it was taken, Karsh removed Churchill's cigar from his mouth.
What stands out the most in this image is the chain which travels across the pockets, dipping to create a W shape. Whether a pocket watch, a lighter, a Champagne swizzle stick or cigar cutter, the chain is legitimate accessorising for waistcoats. The chain should travel from the left pocket to the first button hole that sits above the line of the pocket, and then if there is a fob, it should dangle down. If long enough, it can then be passed to the opposite pocket.
One form of accessorising is a more outre design of waistcoat. This is, and should remain, the domain of the prefects of Eton College, known as 'Pop', who are allowed to wear whatever design of waistcoat they like in order to distinguish their authority (and boy do they take advantage of that freedom). You also had Sixth Form Select who were the 'other' prefects, selected due to academic achievement, and they could wear silver buttons. Keep it simple on civvy street; yours should match the jacket and trouser of the suit, and with morning dress should be a pastel colour such as sky blue.
Where to find inspiration
Watch every episode of Jeeves & Wooster for a categoric reminder of proper classic style, and there is plenty of three-piece action in there for you to see. Further watching should be the aforementioned Indiana Jones, Jude Law as Dumbledore in the Harry Potter offshoot Fantastical Beasts (seriously, a great men's style reference), and the original Great Gatsby.
For non-fiction references, look to Churchill of course, and then his Tory successor Anthony Eden. Tom Hardy is definitely a solid inspiration for men who want to avoid the dandyish look. Just remember that tweed and heavier wools are much more preferable for a three-piece suit, so in the summer look for what are known as 'high twist wools', which allow for breathability. Full linen will crease too easily, so travel fabrics like Fresco wool are ideal.
The three-piece suit may feel like dress up, but perhaps with a little bit of historic enlightenment and better knowledge of the rules, you can channel your Bertie or Tom Hardy and never let anyone take your cigar without asking permission.