Black corduroy suit - shoes and bow tie?

[ErnestWorthing]

Good morning all,

I'm attending a fairly casual wedding in England in July (shouldn't be mega hot). I'm wearing my black Spencer Hart corduroy suit - http://imgur.com/a/ct5ms I'm 6'3, 200lbs, in my early thirties.

Questions:

1) Shoes. Formal black Oxfords seem a bit too formal for the more causal suit, what options do you think I have? What about colours, just black with a black suit or could I play around a little? Brogues? Suede? Ankle boot? Some options I'm looking at here http://imgur.com/a/UALVa but general advice welcome.

2) Bow tie. Looks like it might work with the concealed placket shirt, I'm thinking small and black possibly, what would you say might work in terms of colours, styles etc?

3) Pocket square. Very slim slither of white is my usual go to, stick with that?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Astaroth]

What is the dress code for the wedding? Are you just at the evening function or the wedding itself too?

Whilst the laws have changed here now the tradition is still to get married in the daytime and so we dont have the tradition of black tie/ eveningwear unless people get changed (which most dont)

 

[ErnestWorthing]

No mention of dress code on the invitation so I'm also assuming not formal black tie, I'm there for the full day. Currently leaning towards knitted black bow tie (less formal than satin/silk), black suede brogues (tempted by going off-piste on shoe colour but black would be safe but the suede also slightly more casual)

 

[Astaroth]

How much of a peacock do you want to be? As you're going to the daytime elements then almost no one will be in black nor wearing bowties so you are going to stand out plus some wont like black being worn to a wedding.

As to shoes, I do like black suede and so it'd probably get my vote. Could do a chelsea boot but if its in calf then its not really going to be that noticable

 

[Andy57]

I would strongly urge you to reconsider. I guess it's too late if you already own a black corduroy suit, although you could give it to Goodwill. But don't wear it to the wedding.

 

[ErnestWorthing]

Any particular reason Andy?

I'm fairly extroverted so no problem peacocking but good point on the double black Astaroth, I could go with something jollier on the neckwear front during the day then switch to black bow tie for the evening

 

[Andy57]

Any particular reason Andy?

I don't like corduroy for anything other than trousers. So a corduroy suit just looks weird to me. Black is a very poor choice for a suit unless you attend a lot of funerals and, if you do, corduroy would be a very poor choice for such a suit. Corduroy is too thick to drape well, it is noisy, and black corduroy just can't look good. Plus, unless it's a black tie affair, black is a funereal choice to wear to a wedding.

You might think it looks smart. But it doesn't. I don't have to see it to know that. You want to appear well dressed, I assume. Wear something that fits you well, isn't black, and isn't corduroy.

 

[kopo]

Did you ever see this episode of Seinfeld?

 

[BigBadBernard]

A black corduroy suit and bow tie would be wildly inappropriate for a July English wedding.

I would say a linen suit, or if really informal, linen sports jacket and trousers and a grenadine tie. Alternatively just a good lounge suit. (Always assuming this isn't a morning suit dress code, which if it was it would have said so on the invite.) A bow tie will always be an eccentric choice, unless it is a hipster wedding.

 

[dieworkwear]

I like corduroy suits, but black corduroy sounds bad. Casual, sporty fabric; formal, somber color. If the wales are fine enough, it might even look like velvet (insert other great Seinfeld clip). Also a weird choice for a wedding in July.

FWIW, Christopher Waltz wore a black, Bedford cord (or maybe pinwale?) suit to the Jimmy Kimmel show two years ago. Combo wasn't terrible, although I don't think it's terribly good either. He gets away with it because he's Christopher Waltz. If you do something similar, I would skip the bow tie. Don't know what tie you could wear with a black corduroy suit (black silk knit?), but the bow tie just adds to the weirdness of the outfit. For shoes, maybe simple black derbies.

Anyway, Waltz:


[VIDEO][/VIDEO]

 

[GBR]

A black corduroy suit has very few useful purposes if any.

Quite unsuitable for a wedding - supposedly a happy event not a funeral. So either get a decent suit, linen has been mentioned, lightweight wool, any colour but black or dark grey. If you can't get one stay at home and not make a fool of yourself.

 

[dieworkwear]



If you can't get one stay at home and not make a fool of yourself.

I mean, it's not the end of the world if he wears a black corduroy suit to a wedding. If that's all he has, he can go, drink, be merry, and socialize like a normal human being. Some people may think it looks strange, but normal people don't put as much weight on clothes as people on this board. And once everyone is drunk and dancing, nobody will care.

I assume whoever invited him would rather him show and be part of the celebration than not come just because he was going to wear a black corduroy suit.

 

[GBR]



I mean, it's not the end of the world if he wears a black corduroy suit to a wedding. If that's all he has, he can go, drink, be merry, and socialize like a normal human being. Some people may think it looks strange, but normal people don't put as much weight on clothes as people on this board. And once everyone is drunk and dancing, nobody will care.

I assume whoever invited him would rather him show and be part of the celebration than not come just because he was going to wear a black corduroy suit.

Nor would it be the end of the world if he wore his pyjamas or night shirt. All three look pretty stupid though.

 

[David Reeves]



Any particular reason Andy?

I'm fairly extroverted so no problem peacocking but good point on the double black Astaroth, I could go with something jollier on the neckwear front during the day then switch to black bow tie for the evening

Messed up the post on mobile please delete.

 

[ErnestWorthing]

Didn't manage to get a decent picture, but this is the outfit that I chose to wear rather than stay at home and not make a fool of myself

http://i.imgur.com/XBB42qJ.jpg