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PiCcolocV

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What's a charcoal tuxedo?

You don't even want to know. =\ Basically a charcoal 3-piece, with satin on the lapels and stripe running down the leg - I tried the whole "give parameters and let people wear their own version of stuff", but that didn't fly.
 

msulinski

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Shined black shoes are way better than the MW **** shoes. What's a charcoal tuxedo?

I was going to ask the same thing. I've never heard of a charcoal tuxedo.

I think matching the bridesmaides is the least of your problems.
 

PiCcolocV

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So, yes, agreed... to give you a sense of what I am working with, and hopefully give an idea of how I am just trying to make the best of it, when I emailed the party last night saying to wear their best black dress shoes instead of the MW ones, two of the men responded (who I am guessing may not own a pair) saying that they would rather just use the store ones than put in any effort/cost into having a shined pair of their own. Myself and another member in the party are going to search, pay for, and shine a pair for each of them in order for them to not just use the store ones.

So, that being said, is there any place that rents non-patent dress shoes for men? I could always just find passable beaters on ebay I guess, but would rather just rent a pair if possible.

Also, any advice on the neck tie question above?
 
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LA Guy

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I was going to ask the same thing. I've never heard of a charcoal tuxedo.

I think matching the bridesmaides is the least of your problems.


A charcoal tuxedo is a sort of bastardization of traditional (and frankly, pretty much defunct) morning dress, and an evening suit. It's a silly looking thing, but it is what it is. Are you guys (the OP) doing rentals or are you buying. If you are buying, even the worst suit can be made much better with the help of a good tailor. Make sure that the shoulder fits well. Everything else can be salvaged. I went onto the MW site (I'm now officially beyond saving), and there are a lot of grey and charcoal options. Maybe if you could give us a link, painful though it might be. For ties, something that has more black might work better, or something that is lighter, perhaps with some cream, depending on how dark is the actual suit.

You're not working with the best cards, but you can get things to work.
 

unbelragazzo

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If you can't work your way out of the charcoal tuxedo, can you get some black cummerbunds?

If so, consider this and ditch the long ties in favor of bow ties. Long ties with a tux are kind of terrible, but that presupposes a proper waist coat and evening shirt. I assume you won't have evening shirts, but just white dress shirts?
 

TheFoo

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If you're wearing a charcoal "tuxedo," there's really no point in mitigating the damage. It's like worrying about getting your hair straight after being a body-manglying car accident. Just pray and hope help comes soon.
 
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unbelragazzo

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These are the resources I've found most useful:
Somehow I missed this post earlier - I will add to OP (although I think some of these are linked in the article I linked, but whatever, no harm in linking more times).
 

mymil

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Somehow I missed this post earlier - I will add to OP (although I think some of these are linked in the article I linked, but whatever, no harm in linking more times).
Yep, some but not all of them are.
 

Firefox

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Back in the fall, I posted a thread asking for some advice on attire for my upcoming wedding (October 2013). I think it's time to finally stop procrastinating and actually start getting something done.

My fiancée really likes morning dress, but I think it would be too formal for our wedding. And frankly, I don't really want to buy a morning coat that I will only ever wear once in my life. As a compromise, I really like the idea of wearing a stroller/Stresemann suit. I was thinking that I would get a black or very dark grey lounge suit. I would then get a MTM vest in dove grey and a pair of trousers made in a grey cashmere stripe-type pattern. I would then top it off with a classic houndstooth or shepherds check wedding tie. For shoes, I think I'd just wear my black captoes (Allen Edmonds Park Avenues). I'm thinking something along the lines of the following (ignore the ties):



The advantage of this is that the lounge suit could be used post-wedding, and I could always dig out the trousers and vest if I wanted to dress up a little for a daytime event.

I have a couple questions, and would love to hear some opinions:

1. Do you think it would be strange if I were to wear a stroller/Stresemann but my groomsmen were to wear black and grey lounge suits? I like the idea of standing out a little from my groomsmen, but I don't want them (or I) to look totally out of place.

2. The classic stroller/Stresemann jacket would typically have peaked lapels. However, do you think that peaked lapels would limit the usefulness of the suit post-wedding? I'd love to have peaked lapels for the wedding, but I'd also like to get some business/wedding/funeral use out of the lounge suit in the future. I'm thinking that peaked lapels may be a little much for a funeral or business environment, but maybe I'm overthinking things. Any thoughts?
 
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