Wedding guest, cocktail dresscode

[Mihunai]

Hello all.

I'll be attending a wedding soon, and apparently it's a cocktail dresscode.
From what I've read, it's a bit more casual, without 'outdoing' the groom.

Their theme is green/white/gold, and so I'm looking for a green suit, white shirt, and yellow/gold accents and accessories.

My concern is that, with green being a somewhat bold colour of its own, it might be a bit too foward altogether.

Would any of you fine gentlemen recommend certain looks or guidelines colour-, or stylewise?

Much obliged,
An aspiring gentleman

 

[The Dirty Pigeon]

Hello all.

I'll be attending a wedding soon, and apparently it's a cocktail dresscode.
From what I've read, it's a bit more casual, without 'outdoing' the groom.

Their theme is green/white/gold, and so I'm looking for a green suit, white shirt, and yellow/gold accents and accessories.

My concern is that, with green being a somewhat bold colour of its own, it might be a bit too foward altogether.

Would any of you fine gentlemen recommend certain looks or guidelines colour-, or stylewise?

Much obliged,
An aspiring gentleman

Cocktail attire typically calls for a medium-to-dark suit (not black) with a tie and dress shoes. I've never heard of a wedding dress code where guests would dress according to the colors of the wedding theme. If you are specifically being asked to coordinate your clothing with the wedding colors, I suppose you should do so. But, otherwise, a mid-grey, charcoal or navy suit will be most appropriate.

 

[Joffrey]

I would recommend wearing a "normal" suit. Blue or grey with a white or pale blue shirt. Since they are leaning casual you can forego the tie - I personally would wear a pocket square. You can try slacks and a blazer/sportcoat if you have them in your arsenal.

I'll also add you definitely should not worry about coordinating with the wedding theme. That's for the bridal party.

 

[The Dirty Pigeon]

Also thinking here, if you'd like to incorporate the wedding colors, you could do a "blank canvas" of sorts with a grey suit and white shirt and then, as more of a statement piece, do a tie or pocket square that includes some of the green/gold that you mentioned.

 

[marimichel]

I recently spotted some good-looking green suit options at Suit Supply, it's a local Dutch brand here, but I am pretty sure they have stores all around. Aesthetically I prefer their Havana line. Might be worth checking out. If you don't want to overdo the green, a dark-gray mix with green would be a good option, f.e.:

I agree with Joffrey, skipping the tie & wearing a pocket square is a nice feature. Something fun I have seen is men wearing vintage lace napkins as pocket squares, like the ones from antique stores. Many of them have embroidered initials on them, it's a nice personal touch to find one with yours. I think it would look great for a wedding.

 

[ter1413]

I would wear a navy suit.

Don't overthink this.....

 

[gimpwiz]

What is (or is not) cocktail attire is hugely dependent, I have found, on your geographic area, and on your social circles, and on what the bride and groom (largely the bride) envision.

For example, cocktail attire in NYC where most guests are in finance might be navy suits, french cuff shirts, and black shoes. Not black tie, but still quite formal.

For example, cocktail attire in san jose where most guests are in tech, and the wedding is outdoors, might be odd jackets / no jackets if it's warm enough.

Without knowing roughly your social circles and area, I would say... well! You're somewhere between those two on the spectrum, inclusive. Something inclusively-between a rather fun odd jacket, all the way to a classic if not particularly severe navy suit. (But not a "business only" suit, so, probably don't go for charcoal with white pinstripes.)

With that said. Okay, the wedding theme is white, gold, and green. That's cool! But that has not much to do with you, IMO. I would highly recommend that if you already own well-fitting clothes of appropriate formality, just wear those. You have not mentioned being part of the wedding party, nor a father of the groom or bride, so, the wedding colors don't have all that much to do with you.

If you feel you do not own anything of appropriate fit, quality, and color (ie, you only own a bright orange jacquard jacket ...), and you're shopping for new clothes for a good reason... yeah, still, this isn't really a color scheme you're going to want to coordinate with, let alone need to coordinate with. Get something adequately nice that fits great. (You'll usually need to tailor anything off-the-rack to get the best fit you can, but sometimes you get lucky.)

If you're really really stoked on coordinating with the color scheme, stick to accessories. Tie, pocket square, maybe cufflinks. I am sure you can find a white/gold tie, especially with various off-white colors (eggshell, ivory, bone, ecru, etc.) Naturally, a white pocket square is trivial to find; white and gold probably as well. Those would be easy to match to many jackets. Something like a green tie, or green square, would be harder. Green cufflinks wouldn't be too hard; gold cufflinks are super standard; white cufflinks are kind of hard. (But then, you are likely to wear a standard barrel-cuff shirt that does not take cufflinks.) Obviously, a white shirt is trivial; I probably wouldn't go for a gold shirt; there are a number of green shirts that might work.

 

[ter1413]

What is (or is not) cocktail attire is hugely dependent, I have found, on your geographic area, and on your social circles, and on what the bride and groom (largely the bride) envision.

For example, cocktail attire in NYC where most guests are in finance might be navy suits, french cuff shirts, and black shoes. Not black tie, but still quite formal.

For example, cocktail attire in san jose where most guests are in tech, and the wedding is outdoors, might be odd jackets / no jackets if it's warm enough.

Without knowing roughly your social circles and area, I would say... well! You're somewhere between those two on the spectrum, inclusive. Something inclusively-between a rather fun odd jacket, all the way to a classic if not particularly severe navy suit. (But not a "business only" suit, so, probably don't go for charcoal with white pinstripes.)

With that said. Okay, the wedding theme is white, gold, and green. That's cool! But that has not much to do with you, IMO. I would highly recommend that if you already own well-fitting clothes of appropriate formality, just wear those. You have not mentioned being part of the wedding party, nor a father of the groom or bride, so, the wedding colors don't have all that much to do with you.

If you feel you do not own anything of appropriate fit, quality, and color (ie, you only own a bright orange jacquard jacket ...), and you're shopping for new clothes for a good reason... yeah, still, this isn't really a color scheme you're going to want to coordinate with, let alone need to coordinate with. Get something adequately nice that fits great. (You'll usually need to tailor anything off-the-rack to get the best fit you can, but sometimes you get lucky.)

If you're really really stoked on coordinating with the color scheme, stick to accessories. Tie, pocket square, maybe cufflinks. I am sure you can find a white/gold tie, especially with various off-white colors (eggshell, ivory, bone, ecru, etc.) Naturally, a white pocket square is trivial to find; white and gold probably as well. Those would be easy to match to many jackets. Something like a green tie, or green square, would be harder. Green cufflinks wouldn't be too hard; gold cufflinks are super standard; white cufflinks are kind of hard. (But then, you are likely to wear a standard barrel-cuff shirt that does not take cufflinks.) Obviously, a white shirt is trivial; I probably wouldn't go for a gold shirt; there are a number of green shirts that might work.

Overthinking!

 

[ter1413]

What is (or is not) cocktail attire is hugely dependent, I have found, on your geographic area, and on your social circles, and on what the bride and groom (largely the bride) envision.

For example, cocktail attire in NYC where most guests are in finance might be navy suits, french cuff shirts, and black shoes. Not black tie, but still quite formal.

How do you figure that?

I live in NYC and the MOST people are not in finance.

 

[Mihunai]

Thank you all for the advice, it really cleared things up.

I'll definitely know where to turn next time.

 

[gimpwiz]

How do you figure that?

I live in NYC and the MOST people are not in finance.

That is an "AND".

If you are in NYC "AND" most of your guests are in finance, you will have a different expected definition of cocktail attire than if you are in san jose "AND" most of your guests are in tech.

If you show up to an outdoor park wedding in san jose in a navy suit, you will stand out a bit, though nobody will be offended. If you show up to a fancy hotel wedding for finance-folk in NYC in a fun sport coat, you will probably stand out a bit, and some might be un-stoked about it. So sure, the navy suit is the no-brainer option, but I'd suggest putting more thought into it than a single half-sentence.

 

[ter1413]

That is an "AND".

If you are in NYC "AND" most of your guests are in finance, you will have a different expected definition of cocktail attire than if you are in san jose "AND" most of your guests are in tech.

If you show up to an outdoor park wedding in san jose in a navy suit, you will stand out a bit, though nobody will be offended. If you show up to a fancy hotel wedding for finance-folk in NYC in a fun sport coat, you will probably stand out a bit, and some might be un-stoked about it. So sure, the navy suit is the no-brainer option, but I'd suggest putting more thought into it than a single half-sentence.

Am I missing something? Where does the OP say that most guests are in finance? Do you know NYC? One could be in Brooklyn and have locals who are not in fin once at the wedding.....

 

[gimpwiz]

Truthfully I am not sure how what I wrote was unclear. I am afraid that if I tried to explain it I would just end up repeating myself. Perhaps someone else can let me know if what I wrote was unclear.

 

[jeremygo]

I think gimpwiz was just listing various examples of social circles that may have different dress code expectations (finance folks in NYC, tech folks in San Jose, cultists in Indiana, etc.)

Anyways - I have been to probably around 10 "cocktail attire" weddings over the past few years in a mix of urban (NYC/Boston/LA) and country (upstate NY, rural PA) locations. 80-90% of men wear navy or mid-grey suits with oxford shoes and a tie. The other 10-20% wear an odd jacket (navy sportcoat + grey trousers, etc.) or a suit in a less formal color (khaki, light grey, light blue, etc.).

Don't overthink it: just wear a navy or mid-grey suit. If you feel the need to match in some way with the color scheme (which i would discourage if you're not an official member of the wedding party), just wear a tie with green or gold in it. Don't wear a green suit - there's a substantial chance it will look like "everyone look at me!"

 

[Duke Santos]

Also thinking here, if you'd like to incorporate the wedding colors, you could do a "blank canvas" of sorts with a grey suit and white shirt and then, as more of a statement piece, do a tie or pocket square that includes some of the green/gold that you mentioned.

This. I think it would be a nice subtle nod to the wedding theme. Unless they're asking people specifically to dress in the wedding colors, I would absolutely not do so.