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Esc8p

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The wedding was last November. My groomsmen bought the same grey wool suit from Indochino, but I had them choose their own shirts, ties, pocket square, suspender/belt/none, and shoes. I went with a tan silk 3 piece suit. Not too bad. Fit of the final piece may not have been perfect, but due to waiting until the last minute, this was what we were able to do:





Sorry for the lack of more direct pic, these are just some proofs from one of the photographers.

Feel free to critique, but please, no bashing as it won't do any good. Too late to do anything about it.

Tyler
 

100 yrs

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I'm getting married this Nov, haven't set a time yet, but it will be in the evening. Wanted to run this by the group:

First off, the bridesmaids will be wearing black dresses, but not necessarily the same one..

I am thinking about wearing a charcoal suit (3 pc probably), white shirt, and black cap toes. I will be asking the groomsmen to wear either a grey or charcoal suit, and I will prvode wedding ties (different one for each guy).

My main question, will the charcoal/grey suits be ok paired with the black bridesmaids dresses?

Secondly, if i wore a navy suit to stand apart from the charcoal of the groomsmen, would that be too much? i.e. My navy suit, the bride's white dress, groomsmen charcoal suits, and bridesmaid blacks?

Thanks in advance.
 

RogerC

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All your ideas sound fine on the gent's side. I can't say I'd be enthralled with black dresses.
 

aravenel

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I'm getting married this Nov, haven't set a time yet, but it will be in the evening. Wanted to run this by the group:

First off, the bridesmaids will be wearing black dresses, but not necessarily the same one..

I am thinking about wearing a charcoal suit (3 pc probably), white shirt, and black cap toes. I will be asking the groomsmen to wear either a grey or charcoal suit, and I will prvode wedding ties (different one for each guy).

My main question, will the charcoal/grey suits be ok paired with the black bridesmaids dresses?

Secondly, if i wore a navy suit to stand apart from the charcoal of the groomsmen, would that be too much? i.e. My navy suit, the bride's white dress, groomsmen charcoal suits, and bridesmaid blacks?

Thanks in advance.


I think that would look just fine. I really don't think it makes much sense to coordinate too much with the bridesmaids, and grey or charcoal grey is a classic suit color, so it's not going to look out of place.

If you wanted to wear a navy suit, that wouldn't look out of place. I don't really get the need to be dressed differently, but this is definitely still within the realm of good taste.
 

JimC

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Hello All,

Firstly, my apologies for posting this in the wrong place earlier. Yes, I'm a noob.

Anyway, my wedding is approaching fast and I could really use some advice (or ammunition) in relation to my and my groomsmen's attire. My apologies in advance for the lengthy post.

I'm having a suit made (first fitting in a week or so) but have since been told that the fabric may now be too dark. And so the fun begins! We (yes, my fiancé was there) had decided on a charcoal fabric as shown in this pic. (the darkest swatch visible):




I figured this would give the groomsmen more chance of finding a suitable suit in their wardrobes or at least give them an excuse to buy another suit that they would get plenty of wear out of.

She changed her mind as she feels that a lighter grey would better show off her bridesmaids in this dress:




I'm hoping that my fiancé decides once again that this charcoal fabric is fine, but if not I'll be going for another suit in a suitable, lighter, shade of grey. Maybe one or two swatches lighter in that first picture.

Apart from that hurdle I'm now looking at the options of ties, pocket squares etc. I've managed to persuade my better half that a white linen square is the way to go and that the boutonnieres are the means by which we can match and highlight the girls. Am I right? Thanks to advice gleaned from this forum I'm leaning towards Sam Hober's Belgian Linen PS. One each for the bridal party only.

The other thing I think I've scored with is I've (so far) steered her away from ties in a shiny silver or pink, etc. I'm keen to go with a glen plaid such as those offered by Drake's or Kent Wang (I can't find any on Sam Hober's site), or alternatively thought that I could wear one of those and then give my groomsmen one each of a houndstooth, a shepherd's check, and something else to suit (any suggestions?). I don't want us to match too closely. I'd like to follow a theme but not look like we were all too particular. My fiancé is just as keen on this idea as I am.

Our shirts are easy. Ivory (to match the bride's gown), wing collar, plain cotton, with French cuffs.

My footwear is likely to be my well worn and trusty black RM Williams Craftsmen. I know this isn't exactly a traditional look, but I am Australian, and this will be in Australia, so I'm sure it's kosher. I do very much like wearing fine shoes such as Loakes or Church's (both readily available here), and in some respects am leaning that way as I'm sure the others in my party will be wearing something along those lines. Any thoughts? I am trying, and failing, to keep costs down you see...

Lastly, accessories. The belt is a no-brainer. Cufflinks will be the guys' choice. I'm wearing a beautiful sterling silver knot that my fiancé bought me last year. As yet unworn. The watch however has me stumped. Do I wear my favourite, my Submariner, No Date, or do I use this excuse to get my hands on a nice Nomos Orion that I've been eyeing off, or do I go formal (despite the lounge suit) and lose the watch altogether?

If you made it to the end of that ramble you have my apologies and my thanks.

Any and all advice will be greatly appreciated. And I'll be sure to post shots of the suit after my fitting.

Regards,

James
 

RogerC

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If it's summer in Australia, a lighter grey would certainly not be out of place. There's no reason, by the way, why your groomsmen must look alike, and I can't understand the obsession with that. Even the Power Rangers had different colours, ferchrissakes.

White linen pocket squares are ideal, as are glen plaid ties (you could also consider having a number of different ties in a similar colour scheme, houndstooth, houndstooth w spots, etc.) For shoes: I have no idea what footwear is easily available in Australia, but inexpensive options for black Oxfords are available from Meermin, Markowski and Allen Edmonds.

Lay off the wing collar, though, unless you're going in full morning wear. Also lay off the watch: I'd say the evening dress rule applies. At your own wedding, you don't need to know what time it is.
 

unbelragazzo

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whats the opinion of this color in a 3 piece for a late september evening wedding?

http://www.blacklapel.com/suits/solid-light-charcoal-blue.html

what do you guys think about that color if the groomsmen are in black or charcoal, and the bridesmaids are in a light pale pink like a blush?


This would be for the groom? It seems kind of odd to put the groom in a less formal color than anyone else. Color might be weird enough that you risk a lounge singer look. Hard to know without seeing the cloth in person.
 

JimC

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Thanks guys. As far as the collar goes, I think I misspoke. I think I was referring to a spread collar. You know, something suitable for a good solid Windsor knot. Is a wing collar the type often seen with tuxedos? The type I never wear I might add. If that's the case then I'll happily avoid it. And the watch is gone! As I suspected.
 

RogerC

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Prepare thyself for the anti-Windsor lobby. Yes, the wing collar is the one worn sometimes with tuxedos and always with tails.


In my view, Windsor knots are justifiable in the following situations:

1:
 

JimC

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So, Roger, a good alternative would be...?
For many years I've had no cause to wear a tie let alone formal attire that wasn't issued to me by others. The Windsor was my go to knot as it was the only one that suited.
I'm honestly quite happy to be led on this. Particularly noting the fact that tie I'll be wearing will no doubt be a little more substantial than I'm used to. My hands might struggle tying something different, but I'm sure I can handle it.
 

aravenel

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In my view, Windsor knots are justifiable in the following situations:

1:


:fonz:

Jim, the four in hand or double four in hand gets the most love around here. The problem with a Windsor is that it ties a huge knot, which looks silly on, well, everyone.
 
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