Black Tie

What Black Tie does

BlackTie.com is a US-based, family-owned direct-to-consumer e-commerce retailer specializing in men's formalwear, founded around 1985 and operating for over 40 years. The company is headquartered in Trenton, New Jersey, with a lean team of 11-50 employees, and sells suits, tuxedos, and formal accessories through a single Shopify-based online storefront with global shipping and CAD/USD currency support. Its customer base spans wedding parties (grooms, groomsmen, and wedding guests), prom and homecoming attendees, gala and black-tie event participants, cruise and party goers, and individuals seeking business or everyday formal attire, including a dedicated boys' and toddlers' line for ring bearers and junior groomsmen. The company positions itself explicitly as a "buy instead of rent" alternative, with products priced at rental-equivalent levels (suit jackets $149-$209, tuxedo jackets $119-$160) but delivered as owned garments, supported by a 4.7+ star ShopperApproved rating from thousands of customers.

The core product technology is the Separates Program, which allows customers to independently mix and match any jacket size with any pant size, addressing common off-the-rack fit issues without requiring tailoring. Supporting this, the platform offers a Designer Color Matching Tool and over 400 color swatches across product lines, enabling coordinated wedding-party aesthetics, alongside an Event Manager tool for group sizing and styling coordination across groomsmen and family members. The catalog is structured around 16+ designer sub-brands (including Allure Men, Mark of Distinction, Cristoforo Cardi, Kensington, Vinci, Sebastian, and Ted Stanford) covering slim, modern, and classic fits across a full accessories portfolio (dress shirts, vests, cummerbunds, bow ties, neckties, pocket squares, cufflinks, dress shoes, belts, suspenders, socks, and tie bars).

The business model is one-time product sales through a direct e-commerce channel with no subscription, rental, or recurring revenue component. Marketing is distributed across organic social (Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter/X, YouTube, Vimeo), content marketing (Real Weddings blog, news blog), email, an affiliate program with referral commissions, a $20 cashback UGC photo-sharing incentive under the #blacktieowntheroom hashtag, and featured-partner placements on The Knot and WeddingWire wedding platforms. The company is privately held with no institutional investment, no parent company, no subsidiaries, no disclosed funding rounds, no acquisitions, and no leadership changes recorded in available source material.

Name

Black Tie

Legal name

BlackTie.com

Website

https://blacktie.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

BlackTie.com is a family-owned US direct-to-consumer e-commerce retailer founded around 1985, selling men's suits, tuxedos, and formal accessories at rental-equivalent prices to wedding parties, prom attendees, and gala-goers via a Shopify storefront with a proprietary Separates Program and Color Matching Tool.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Men's Formalwear Retail

NAICS

Clothing and Clothing Accessories Retailers (458110)

SIC

Retail-Apparel & Accessory Stores (5600)

akta.pro primary industry

Special Occasion Styling (Weddings, Galas, Events) (HSACAJAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Ties, Bow Ties & Pocket Squares (CRAAAJAH)

Keywords

• Men's formalwear
• Wedding suits
• Tuxedo sales
• Formal accessories
• Prom attire

Headquarters

HQ city

Trenton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Product Sales: Direct one-time purchase of suits, tuxedos, accessories, and kids formalwear at fixed price points. Customers buy individual items or coordinated separates.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

BlackTie.com is a direct-to-consumer e-commerce retailer that sells men's suits, tuxedos, and formal accessories (shirts, vests, bow ties, shoes, etc.) as an owned-purchase alternative to traditional tuxedo rentals. The company curates coordinated wedding party looks through a separates program, a designer color matching tool, and over 400 color options across product lines. Orders are shipped directly to consumers with free shipping on $99+ purchases.

Product overview

BlackTie.com is a men's formal wear e-commerce platform offering a comprehensive portfolio of suits, tuxedos, and accessories for weddings, proms, black-tie events, and special occasions. The core product line consists of Men's Suits (available in slim, modern, and classic fits) and Men's Tuxedos (including classic black, white, ivory, and velvet options), supplemented by a Party Wear collection for festive events. The accessories portfolio includes Dress Shirts, Vests, Cummerbunds, Bow Ties, Neckties, Pocket Squares, Cufflinks & Studs, Dress Shoes, Belts, Suspenders, Socks, and Tie Bars, alongside a Swatches service for color matching. A dedicated Boys 5-Piece Sets collection serves younger members of wedding parties. The Separates Program enables customers to mix-and-match jacket and pant sizes for optimal fit, while the Color Matching Tool helps coordinate wedding party aesthetics. Products are sold as both individual items and coordinated sets, with the brand positioning around 'owning' formal wear rather than renting.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Allure Men: Designer formalwear brand offering luxury tuxedo shirts, including laydown collar and geo-print options at higher price points.
• Kensington
• Mark of Distinction
• Sebastian
• Ted Stanford
• Vinci
• Allure Men (Shoes)
• Bravo
• Vangelo
• After Midnight
• Cardi
• Cristoforo Cardi
• Cardi
• Cristoforo Cardi (Silk)
• Cardi
• Peanut Butter Collection

Products and services

• Men's Suits

Quantifiable outcome

• 4.7+ star average rating from thousands of customers
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• The KnotcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerFeatured partner status on The Knot wedding planning platform, one of the largest wedding-focused websites. Allows BlackTie products to be discovered by engaged couples planning weddings through the platform.
• WeddingWirecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerVerified partner with rating display on WeddingWire platform, another major wedding planning resource. Provides credibility through wedding-specific platform endorsement.
• Affiliate PartnersminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAffiliate program allowing partners to promote BlackTie products for commission on referred sales.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Suit Supply: Global DTC and retail menswear brand selling suits, tuxedos, and formalwear directly to consumers with an emphasis on fit, fabric, and value. Direct competitor for wedding and special-occasion purchases, with a much larger assortment and omnichannel footprint.
• Generation Tux: Online-first tuxedo and suit rental retailer serving weddings, proms, and black-tie events with a similar self-serve, group-coordination workflow. Directly competes for the same wedding-party customer BlackTie serves, differing primarily in rental versus purchase.
• Indochino: Made-to-measure menswear DTC brand offering custom suits, tuxedos, and formalwear for weddings and events. Comparable online-first customer acquisition model with showrooms for fittings; competes for the same groom and groomsmen segments.
• The Black Tux: Direct-to-consumer online tuxedo and suit rental platform targeting the same wedding and black-tie occasion customer. Closely comparable business model and category positioning, with BlackTie differentiated primarily by its owned-not-rented model.
• Menguin: Online tuxedo and suit rental brand competing in the same wedding and prom verticals. Comparable DTC model, target customer, and value proposition; BlackTie's owned-formalwear approach is the key point of differentiation.

Emerging players

• Alton Lane: Boutique custom menswear brand offering made-to-measure suits and tuxedos through showrooms and online. Comparable customer base (grooms, professionals) and overlapping occasion focus; smaller scale but premium positioning that competes for higher-end wedding and gala spend.
• Knot Standard: Custom menswear brand offering made-to-measure suits and tuxedos for weddings and events with both online and showroom channels. Niche emerging player targeting a similar high-intent groom and groomsmen customer with comparable price points and product overlap.

Broad incumbents

• Jos. A. Bank: National menswear chain (part of Tailored Brands) selling suits, tuxedos, and formalwear through retail stores and online. Broad incumbent competing across price points and occasion categories including weddings, proms, and business formal.
• Men's Wearhouse: Established US formalwear retailer and tuxedo rental chain with deep wedding category penetration. Competes broadly for the same wedding and prom customer through both retail and rental, and serves as the dominant incumbent that BlackTie positions itself against with the 'own, don't rent' message.
• Tom James Company: Large custom and bespoke menswear company selling suits, tuxedos, and formalwear through personal stylists and trunk shows. Broader incumbent in the custom formalwear space, with overlapping groom and wedding-party customer base but a different (relationship-led) distribution model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/blacktieOTR
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/BlackTieExperience
• Facebookfacebook.com/blacktieowntheroom
• Instagraminstagram.com/blacktieowntheroom
• Pinterestpinterest.com/blacktiecom

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Black Tie