Formal enough for prom?

[eames]

Hey guys, I was just wondering if you could tell me if the outfit I am planning to wear to prom is appropriate. I really want to impress my date (after 2 years finally asked her out) but I'm on a budget (work 2 part time jobs) so I can't afford to buy a tux & the outfit I'm planning to buy costs as much as a rental.

Light grey 2-button blazer (Zara, $70)
(Side note: Don't want to sound childish, but will light colours make me look bigger than I really am? I'm a pretty big guy (my suit size is 40).)

Slim-fit white dress shirt (H&M, $25)
Skinny black tie (H&M, $20)
Black dress pants (H&M, $30)

Still need to get shoes... they will most likely be black but should they be pointed or rounded at the tip?

If you have any suggestions on how I can improve my outfit, please feel free to share them.
Thanks so much guys, I will really appreciate all the help I can get.

 

[acecow]

Sounds pretty good, although black pants might not be the best option. Dark gray would be better, just make sure that the shades of gray differ by a lot between the sport coat and the trousers. Match your tie width to the width of the lapels of the jacket. Also, I'd suggest a dark navy tie instead of a black tie to make it less formal.

 

[sinclairaw]

back when i went to prom (senior in college now), i wore a black rental tux the first year and bought a silly white polyester tux the second. some advice:

-most people won't notice or care about the details of your jacket or pants. the most important thing is if they fit well, you'll already be ahead of 80% of the guys there.
-i'd go for a pleated shirt and bow tie to formal things up a bit, but remember prom's one of those times you can play around with formal wear with no "rules" really, nobody's going to judge you if you wear the "wrong shirt" or "wrong tie" or whatever. at my high school some guys wore "zoot suits" to prom.
-make sure the outfit still looks good when the jacket's off, as you'll probably take it off as soon as you get to the dance; it's mostly for the pictures.

and most importantly....

-proms are really about how the girls look, you're more their accessory than anything else.

 

[KObalto]

Yes, burgundy or navy for the tie, charcoal might work for the pants, but all this might be a little informal for your prom. Where do you live? How do students usually dress for the proms there? Was Obama really born in Kenya as a Mau Mau anti-colonialist? You need to answer these questions for us first.

 

[eames]

Originally Posted by KObalto

Yes, burgundy or navy for the tie, charcoal might work for the pants, but all this might be a little informal for your prom. Where do you live? How do students usually dress for the proms there? Was Obama really born in Kenya as a Mau Mau anti-colonialist? You need to answer these questions for us first.
I live in Toronto, and most of my friends are renting tuxes, which cost $150+. They look like metallic boxes, and I was looking for something that looks nice and can be used in the future too. After reading the suggestions I think I'll go with dark grey pants and navy tie instead; any suggestions on the shoes? Thanks for all the quick help guys.

 

[add911_11]

Generally good, for shoes go for what you usually wears, generally if you are skinny type wear pointy, for a traditional approach go for rounded (for me)

Don;t buy a skinny black tie, go for a polar dotted knit tie, I think black in white dots are good and better than cheap looking black tie.....

make sure pants are not too tight so if the date need to undress you make her life easier

Good luck and have fun

 

[DrPsycho]

I first read that as "Formal enough for Appreciation?"

 

[12345Michael54321]

Originally Posted by eames

Light grey 2-button blazer (Zara, $70)
Okay, I guess. Especially if you think a light grey blazer will prove practical for things other than the prom. I mean, if you're dropping $70 on an item of clothing, wouldn't it be nice if you could wear it on more than a single occasion?

I admit I've never owned a light grey blazer, but tastes differ.

(Side note: Don't want to sound childish, but will light colours make me look bigger than I really am? I'm a pretty big guy (my suit size is 40).)

You don't sound childish, but neither do I think you need worry about which colors will make you look bigger. If you're wearing a size 40, you're probably not all that huge to begin with. I mean, I'm not saying you ought to consider a career as a professional jockey, but you don't sound like Jared Fogle before he discovered Subway subs, either.

Skinny black tie (H&M, $20)

It's not 1955, nor are you attending a funeral; go with some color in your tie.

Hey, you say you want to impress your date, right? So do this - tell her that you're going to pick up a tie to wear to the prom, and you were wondering what color she thinks would look best with her dress.

You'll earn points with her for this. Seriously. It'll make her happy to think that you care about her dress, and about looking good in the prom photos with her and all that. And what the heck, if she wants you to wear a blue tie, or a red tie, or whatever, it's as good a choice as any with your grey jacket.

If you have any suggestions on how I can improve my outfit, please feel free to share them.

Proper fit. As in, after you buy the jacket and the pants, go to a good tailor and get the necessary alterations and have them done right. (Oh, and the pants are supposed to be worn higher than you'd wear, say, jeans.) And don't delay on this, since he might need a week or so to do the work.

You can look better in a $70 jacket and $30 pants that fit you perfectly, than some other guy will in an $800 suit with sleeves that are just a little too long, or pants that don't quite fit right. I kid you not, spending an extra $75 at your tailor can easily get you more bang for the buck than dropping an extra $500 at the clothing store.
--
Michael

 

[ALFAMALE]

Originally Posted by acecow

Sounds pretty good, although black pants might not be the best option. Dark gray would be better, just make sure that the shades of gray differ by a lot between the sport coat and the trousers. Match your tie width to the width of the lapels of the jacket. Also, I'd suggest a dark navy tie instead of a black tie to make it less formal.

+1

 

[lemmywinks]

I bothered to follow the so called 'rules' for prom, but looking back I wouldn't have minded wearing something more 'fun'. If you're not going to go black tie to prom, steer completely clear of black tie. No weird in between stuff. For shoes, since money is a problem buy these... http://www.shoebuy.com/florsheim-edg...-_-none-_-none It's the quintessential business shoe. Florsheim quality is not as good as say Allen Edmonds but since you aren't wearing them that much you should buy these and spend the other $200 on something else. I think too many celebrities do the skinny black tie look but I really hate that look. I'd say go to your local Nordstrom rack and go find a fun bow tie to wear... They cost around $20 max. Basically if I had to wear another outfit to prom I would wear a medium gray suit, white shirt and a fun bow tie.

 

[pvrhye]

Originally Posted by DrPsycho

I first read that as "Formal enough for Appreciation?"

The secret to this is to spend most of your budget on a nice bowtie since the rest is coming off.

 

[eames]

Thank you so much for the help everyone! I think I will try on some bowties tomorrow; never really considered them but as long as I don`t look like a teddy bear I would be happy to take a risk.

 

[inimitable]

If you are wearing odd trousers and a sport coat, I would avoid a bow tie. Stick to a classic navy polka dot tie

 

[NAMOR]

Originally Posted by acecow

Sounds pretty good, although black pants might not be the best option. Dark gray would be better, just make sure that the shades of gray differ by a lot between the sport coat and the trousers. Match your tie width to the width of the lapels of the jacket. Also, I'd suggest a dark navy tie instead of a black tie to make it less formal.