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Orange cummerbund

A cummerbund is a broad waist sash, usually pleated, which is often worn with black tie. The cummerbund was first adopted by British military officers in colonial India and later spread to civilian use. The modern day use of the cummerbund is as an elegant fashion accessory to complement the wearing of a tuxedo during formal evening occasions.

The name comes from the Persian for waist restraint (kamar "waist" and band "to close") and was borrowed into English from the Hindi word meaning "loinband" in 1616.

Cummerbunds were traditionally worn pleats facing up in order to hold ticket stubs and similar items. These days however such a fact is purely academic as cummerbunds are now a mere decoration to a gentleman's black tie attire.

See J.Dixon's book - "Me and My Cummerbund" for a fuller history. This book charts the story of the cummerbund from its original persian roots to its modern role as a stylish addition to black-tie dress. However Dixon's text is a relatively amateur one with numerous mistakes of fact.

Many of the top fashion houses offer formal cummerbunds in their annual collections however leading designers of cummerbunds include Thomas Pink, Turnbull & Asser and Robert Charles. Robert Charles is particularly renowned for silk cummerbunds with interesting and colourful designs (mostly floral).

Within the UK cummerbunds are available from leading men's apparel and accessory retailers including the likes of Charles Tyrwhitt, KJ Beckett, John Lewis Partnership, House of Fraser, and Selfridges. Within the US retailers include the department stores Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus. In addition, a gentleman wishing to purchase a cummerbund can visit a local traditional men's formal eveningwear store.

Similar to the cummerbund, a cummerband is an accessory to the dress uniform used extensively in the Indian Army, a holdover from the original use by the British military. It is generally worn during ceremonial parades and dinners. Like the cummerbund it is a long strip of cloth (usually based on the regimental colours) which is tightly worn around a soldier's waist. Unlike the standard cummerbund, a leather belt is generally worn on top of this cloth piece.

A cummerbund is also an informal word used in SCUBA diving to mean a wide waistband on a diving stability jacket—Buoyancy Control Device—designed to provide more comfort to the user than a standard waistband and usually made of a stout fabric backed with velcro fastenings.