Need a nice suit for my wedding in Chicago

[Caustic Man]

All the men in the wedding party should be wearing a tuxedo if you will be. Being the only one in a tux will make you look oddly overdressed. Indeed, if your wedding is going to be formal then all the men in attendance should be wearing one as well. This rarely happens because so few men actually own one, or will bother to rent one but still, it is proper. By the by, there is nothing wrong with an evening wedding with the men wearing suits. It's simply a matter of formality. If you want a formal event then tuxedos are correct. If you do not, then suits are fine.

Also, don't take relationship advice on SF (or anywhere else on the internet, I would say). They know nothing about you or your wife to be.

 

[starbuk]

All the men in the wedding party should be wearing a tuxedo if you will be. Being the only one in a tux will make you look oddly overdressed. Indeed, if your wedding is going to be formal then all the men in attendance should be wearing one as well. This rarely happens because so few men actually own one, or will bother to rent one but still, it is proper.

Also, don't take relationship advice on SF (or anywhere else on the internet, I would say). They know nothing about you or your wife to be.

Thanks Caustic. We won't be able to make everyone dress in tuxedos, unfortunately. I would love to be able to wear a nice new suit because then I can wear my comfortable shoes posted in the OP. But I'm just not sure that is appropriate for a wedding. The shoes are my major concern about tuxes along with making a few groomsmen buy a nice tux, but that is my problem to deal with.

 

[Caustic Man]

Suits are perfectly fine. A wedding is a joyous occasion that is not necessarily a formal event. They can be if you like, but don't have to be.

 

[LA Guy]

When you say matching navy or midnight blue suits, do you mean different suits in the same color or do you mean exactly the same suit in navy?

I wouldn't worry too much about big picture topics when someone is soliciting wedding attire advice. I'm sure we can put our relationship back together after this, the most jarring of arguments.
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The bride will be wearing her dress without the veil and it is an evening wedding at a nice hotel. I think a tuxedo is more appropriate for the groom than a suit, is this correct? Will the groomsmen have to wear tuxedos or can they wear suits if I wear a tux? As far as the matching goes, I am leaning towards being similar but not matching exactly, be it having different style suits, shirts or ties.

If you wear a tux, they really should as well.

I meant matching suits, since your bride-to-be seems to have that in her mind. I think that it could look rather silly, but a good compromise might just be to ask everyone to wear a suit in the same configuration (2 button midnight blue double vented suit never hurt anyone) and material, but in a style that matches their personality and body type. I don't know your budget or location, so it's hard for me to give concrete suggestions, but someone like Mr Ned (www.mrnednyc.com) could easily accomodate your party. Of course, the price is $950/suit, which is, while not high for a custom suit and the services of a company with a long record of success, like Mr. Ned, is typically out of the price range at which most men are comfortable. Then again, your party could be the exception.

Suits are perfectly fine. A wedding is a joyous occasion that is not necessarily a formal event. They can be if you like, but don't have to be.

This.

And really, don't fight with your fiance about this. While her expectations may clash with the "correct" way of doing things, they are pretty common requests, and not unreasonable ones. She may be thinking about wedding pictures.

Yes, acceding to the bride's wishes may be a bit old fashioned, but traditional weddings are pretty old fashioned events. The general principle to be followed is to show a bit of chivalry. And if that means that you have to look slightly silly, then so be it.

 

[starbuk]

If you wear a tux, they really should as well.

I meant matching suits, since your bride-to-be seems to have that in her mind. I think that it could look rather silly, but a good compromise might just be to ask everyone to wear a suit in the same configuration (2 button midnight blue double vented suit never hurt anyone) and material, but in a style that matches their personality and body type. I don't know your budget or location, so it's hard for me to give concrete suggestions, but someone like Mr Ned (www.mrnednyc.com) could easily accomodate your party. Of course, the price is $950/suit, which is, while not high for a custom suit and the services of a company with a long record of success, like Mr. Ned, is typically out of the price range at which most men are comfortable. Then again, your party could be the exception.

This.

And really, don't fight with your fiance about this. While her expectations may clash with the "correct" way of doing things, they are pretty common requests, and not unreasonable ones. She may be thinking about wedding pictures.

Yes, acceding to the bride's wishes may be a bit old fashioned, but traditional weddings are pretty old fashioned events. The general principle to be followed is to show a bit of chivalry. And if that means that you have to look slightly silly, then so be it.

Thank you for the thoughtful post. I'm starting to get a picture of how things will look.

The issue is making people spend $1000 or even $750 on a tuxedo. I'm ok doing this for my wedding, but it will be an issue for at least 3 of the groomsmen. If the choice is between renting a tuxedo or allowing people to bring their own suits which match, it sounds like the best bet is to avoid the rental and let them bring their own.

 

[LA Guy]

Thank you for the thoughtful post. I'm starting to get a picture of how things will look.

The issue is making people spend $1000 or even $750 on a tuxedo. I'm ok doing this for my wedding, but it will be an issue for at least 3 of the groomsmen. If the choice is between renting a tuxedo or allowing people to bring their own suits which match, it sounds like the best bet is to avoid the rental and let them bring their own.

I would say to allow them to bring their own suits is the better option.

Rented tuxes have a limited lifetime, for obvious reasons, and in order to get the margins right, they have to be cheap. For example, if you rent out a tux for $150, and you can rent it out 6 times before it needs to be sold off for cheap, you need to get that tux for maybe... $150-200, to make up all your overhead. It would be better to just buy an inexpensive tux from somewhere like a mens wearhouse. The quality will be the same or better in any case, and you have something you can possibly wear again.

 

[Caustic Man]

Rental tuxes are generally cheap and obviously poorly fitting, however there is nothing wrong with it if you simply must have your groomsmen in a tux. So you want yourself to look good and you are willing to buy your own tux and invest in alterations. That's great. If the groomsmen aren't so concerned then let them rent. You looking your best will simply make you stand out even more. And why shouldn't you? You are the groom.

 

[Jim Chu]

Quote:
Try La Spalla or Jort lines, both fully canvassed.

 

[LA Guy]

Rental tuxes are generally cheap and obviously poorly fitting, however there is nothing wrong with it if you simply must wear a tux at your wedding. So you want yourself to look good and you are willing to buy your own tux and invest in alterations. That's great. If the groomsmen aren't so concerned then let them rent. You looking your best will simply make you stand out even more. And why shouldn't you? You are the groom.

This.

However, your groomsmen can buy an inexpensive tux and get it altered for marginally more. I know that this sounds... insane, but you can actually try things on at a mens wearhouse: http://www.menswearhouse.com/mens-clothes/formalwear, and if they are going in together, they can get stuff for $230 apiece or so. Compare this to rented tuxedos, which start at about $150, and you have penalties for getting them dirty, or turning them in late, and the financial incentives for buying them decrease significantly.

But yes, I would concentrate on you!

 

[starbuk]

This.

However, your groomsmen can buy an inexpensive tux and get it altered for marginally more. I know that this sounds... insane, but you can actually try things on at a mens wearhouse: http://www.menswearhouse.com/mens-clothes/formalwear, and if they are going in together, they can get stuff for $230 apiece or so. Compare this to rented tuxedos, which start at about $150, and you have penalties for getting them dirty, or turning them in late, and the financial incentives for buying them decrease significantly.

But yes, I would concentrate on you!

The posts in this thread have helped tremendously and decreased my stress level quite a bit - thank you to all posters.

LA Guy, Caustic et al. - I live in Chicago and am comfortable spending $750 to $2000 ($1000 being ideal) for a tuxedo. Mr. Ned sounds like he would be great - is there a similar shop that you can recommend in Chicago? I would like to have another option besides Suit Supply.

 

[LA Guy]

The posts in this thread have helped tremendously and decreased my stress level quite a bit - thank you to all posters.

LA Guy, Caustic et al. - I live in Chicago and am comfortable spending $750 to $2000 ($1000 being ideal) for a tuxedo. Mr. Ned sounds like he would be great - is there a similar shop that you can recommend in Chicago? I would like to have another option besides Suit Supply.

I don't really know Chicago that well, but @Despos is a bespoke tailor there, though his prices might be above your budget. There are many other custom tailors in Chicago as well - I've heard of Richard Bennett, Nikiforos, The Tailor Shop, and so on. You'd have to consult with them re. prices, look at their work, etc...

 

[Caustic Man]

Thanks from me as well, LA Guy. I'm new to the area myself and I will check out some of those places you mentioned.

 

[LA Guy]

Thanks from me as well, LA Guy. I'm new to the area myself and I will check out some of those places you mentioned.

No problem. Chicago has a surprising number of tailors. The designer shopping used to be fairly limited, but even that is growing, so, something for everyone.

 

[Veremund]



I would love to be able to wear a nice new suit because then I can wear my comfortable shoes posted in the OP. But I'm just not sure that is appropriate for a wedding. The shoes are my major concern about tuxes along with making a few groomsmen buy a nice tux.

Dude, it's your wedding. If you want to wear a tux, do it. Those shoes will do just fine. And if you're the only one in a tux, that's fine too. It's your wedding.

 

[Newcomer]

I use Despos, and he is superb, but again, if it is out of your price range, not much you can do about that! For $750 to $1,000, not certain just how much you can get "custom." A lot of "custom" shops - aside from Mr. Ned, and a few other exceptions - will simply farm out the suit to a 3P after taking measurements. In some ways, you are often better at looking RTW, if you are an easy enough fit. With custom - especially inexpensive custom - comes a whole lot of risk. And depending on when your wedding is, well, risk may not be the best thing...