Le Smoking
A Short History and My Hand Picked Edit
Yves Saint Laurent said, “For a woman, the tuxedo is an indispensable garment in which she will always feel in style”. I’m not sure when he said this, but it still holds true today. Possibly now more than ever with the prevailing mood that women are weary of dressing for the male gaze. Though, ‘le smoking’, as the French call it, is anything but unsexy. Quite the contrary. When a woman wears le smoking (let’s just stick with the french term, so much more seductive no?) it combines sex, power and even subversion in one beautifully tailored swoop.
It’s not as simple as just borrowing from the boys. It’s owning it with precise tailoring emphasizing the female form. The addition of heels, jewelry and a sexy underpinning turns the often banal menswear staple into a sultry look for a woman who doesn’t shy away from her power and allure. She celebrates it with a glass of champagne and a cigarette (not advocating for smoking, purely for effect)! What’s more modern or irresistible, I ask you?
Le smoking has endured over the decades. Marlene Dietrich was an early adopter dating back to the 1930’s, shocking people with her chutzpah. It wasn’t until 1966 that le smoking officially hit the fashion scene. Yves Saint Laurent, the undisputed godfather of le smoking, introduced it in his Fall-Winter 1966 haute couture collection. It proved too radical for his couture clients, selling only one. For women to wear pants in anything but the most casual of settings was still taboo. Even in Swinging Sixties London, it was miniskirts that dominated, pants were still off the menu.
Saint Laurent found le smoking too seductive to give up on. He included it in his newly opened ready to wear collection, Saint Laurent Rive Gauche, where it was an instant sensation with his younger clientele. The establishment at large was not so sure. Saint Laurent model and muse, Danielle Luquet de Saint Germain borrowed le smoking in the summer of 1966, just weeks after its debut, to wear to a casino in Normandy where she was rebuffed at entry. Francoise Hardy was heckled when she wore it to the Paris Opera. The most notorious story is from 1968 when New York socialite and Saint Laurent devotee, Nan Kempner, wore le smoking to Manhattan society’s favorite restaurant, La Côte Basque. They refused to seat her in compliance with the dress code that forbade women to wear pants. She responded by taking off her trousers and wearing the jacket alone as a dress. I’m sure Nan would get a kick out of the current trend for jackets without pants.
Since its rocky debut in 1966, le smoking has become an iconic piece for women, consistently in fashion for over 50 years and well worth investing in. How many times have you been invited to a party with the dress code festive? That’s open for broad interpretation, but a tuxedo jacket can offer a number of solutions; wear the jacket with a barely there camisole and a fluid silky pant. For those nights when you don’t even want to go to the party, pair it with jeans cuffed up, a white shirt buttoned low and killer heels. You’ll ooze insouciance, will probably drink too much and end up having a fabulous time. I could go on but I think you get my point.
There’s no shortage of great tuxedo jackets out there. Why not kick off the holiday season with a gift to yourself? I’ve done my usual obsessive digging to bring you great options, All are well made, expensive in look and feel, and sticker shock has been mitigated with deep reductions and my savvy shopping skills. Treat yourself now, you’ve earned it, or will have by the end of the holidays.
I hope this inspires you to give le smoking a spin. There are a lot of fantastic deals here for high quality, timeless pieces that fall into my enjoy-forever, investment-piece category. Let me know your thoughts, I’m always interested!
xxx Jolain
Love this article! I remember reading that Marlene Dietrich referred to them as her “tails." Apparently it wasn’t an uncommon outfit in Weimar Berlin, at least on stage and in the clubs.
I would love to wear a smoking but everytime a tried one in I felt like I was hiding a bit my femininity. Maybe I need to find the right one for me?