Guest at my best man's wedding in midsummer. A little help?

[dasai]

A friend of mine, who was the best man at my wedding ceremony, is getting married next summer. The wedding will be held outdoors on an island in a large body of water in northern New York State. The bride and groom's families are opposites when it comes to dressing up: her side prefers a jacket and tie, while his would probably show up in t-shirts and shorts if they could get away with it. The bride has suggested to me that a summer suit or blazer and slacks would both be appropriate for the occasion, so I'm trying to go for the latter as a sort of compromise. I'm a schoolteacher with a child, so I don't have a huge amount of money to spend, but I was thinking about taking advantage of Brooks Brothers' upcoming semi-annual sale to grab at least the jacket and slacks, then work out the rest of the outfit over the next year (thinking too far ahead?). I was quite happy with the fit of these slacks, so they're a pretty definite purchase, but I'm still undecided about the jacket. I've been leaning towards this one in the "navy" (more of a mottled mid-blue), but I don't know how well the two items go together, or if I like the fit (Fitzgerald is pretty slim, maybe too slim for my body type). So, questions: 1. Do these two items make a good combination? 1a. If so, what shirt/tie/PS/belt/socks/shoes would you recommend? 1b. If not, what would you recommend I go with instead? 2. What's going on with the jacket fit (with apologies for the amateur-hour cell phone pics, lack of a proper shirt, and sloppy unhemmed trou)? This is a 38S; the 37S was pulling in the back, but this has something weird with the skirt. The quarters look fairly closed, yet the vent splays out for some reason (too many squats at the gym? jacket chest area too large?). Can this be fixed? Thanks, and apologies for one more wedding-outfit thread. Good idea for a stickied topic?

 

[ktrp]

I'd certainly try on this:
http://www.brooksbrothers.com/IWCatP...olor=Navy#null.

Cotton would work I'd imagine, as a summer weight. More of a standard navy might be more versatile for you. But the main reason is that its got slightly less drop and is double vented, which should sit differently on you. Worth trying on anyway, and cheaper.

White shirt without much question in my mind. I'd go with tan shoes/belt at that point. The tie/PS combinations that would go with navy/white are pretty wide, just don't match either one of them. I might go with a gabardine tie and silk PS for texture contrast, though I'd have to see the cotton jacket's texture in person first. I'd probably add a shot of bright yellow or orange on either the tie or PS since both look good with navy.

 

[Sanguis Mortuum]

Not sure exactly what's causing the vent to gape but from the front it looks good, fits well and the combination of coat/trousers works nicely. Obviously the sleeves would need to be shortened a little bit.

Personally I would probably wear a pink shirt, tan shoes and belt. Not sure about the tie, possibly a blue pin-dot or something, and then a complementary pocket-square.

 

[dasai]

@ktrp:
Thanks for the advice. I'll try and get back to try on the other jacket when I get the chance (maybe at the other Brooks Brothers in Umeda so I don't have the stigma of not buying anything on the second visit).

I was thinking of using a tie with a pink or yellow ground, but I don't really know what kind of PS would go with that. There's always white, I suppose. I do have a tan belt and a pair of AE strands in Walnut, but I've been thinking of selling them and getting some shoes that are a bit more of a true tan. (I have some MacNeils that have been winning out pretty much every time I would otherwise wear the Strands, so they're not seeing much use.) I have a year, but suggestions are welcome. I'm also hoping to get some loafers in #8 shell, but perhaps that's a bit too dark for the outfit?

@SanguisMortuum:
Thanks for the advice. I'd really like to know whether the vent issue is something that can be fixed, but I suppose maybe that's something a tailor would have to see up close. The quarters seem much more closed than on the model on the website when I'm wearing it, but I don't know what would cause that or if/how it could be remedied.

By the way, is the lighter blue of the jacket a fairly classic summer option, or is it more of a passing trend? I'd prefer not to go with any pieces that are too eccentric when I have only a few things in my "nice" summer wardrobe. I suppose, in a worst-case scenario, I could always go with this jacket from Uniqlo...

 

[koolhistorian]

For the vent issue - no it cannot be fixed with a RTW jacket! Go for a side vent or ventless on a different pattern - you probably have a drop issue (the difference between chest and tights is lesser than in the pattern of the jacket.
As a "diplomatic" solution, a navy blazer is a good one!