Official Wedding Attire Question/Answer/Picture Thread

[archibaldleach]



Generally I would tell a guy to go with purchasing a grey three-piece instead of renting a grey "tux." At least one can get some use out of it post-wedding. I would suggest going with some details that would take it beyond a business suit: Peak lapels, a ticket pocket...and as someone else mentioned a lower-cut vest. And French cuffs, or course!

+1. If there's a time for a 1 button suit, this would be it too.

Obviously anyone wearing a properly tailored suit is going to look better than someone in rented attire.  If the convention actually manages to establish itself, people will be able to buy, and properly fit, their grey semi-formal day time suit, whatever it ends up being called.  Like with Tuxedos, there would be a range of well designed, to atrocious.  Those that I think would become popular among the discerning, are those with silk faced edges, rather than fully silk faced lapels - like the Morning Coat/Waistcoat set that Prince Charles often wears.  Essentially, they will be three piece suits, with an added decoration.

I'm not arguing in favour of this becoming the day time standard of formal, or semi-formal, attire.  I'm saying I think it's what will evolve, based on what I'm seeing people do.  People are rejecting the Tuxedo for day time weddings because they are questioning the North American convention of wearing Tuxedos (or some incorrect version of them) for all weddings, because black suits just don't look very good in sunlight.  I believe that is the motivation for moving to the grey version, as it is more than a suit, but can still look good during the day.  I would much rather see a resurgence in morning dress, but, as you say yourself, the morning coat stands a greater chance of being completely discarded than having a serious renaissance on this side of the Atlantic.  A formal convention of any kind gives the gentlemen in attendance the uniformity of formal dress, whatever the dress code entails.  If a distinct convention of "grey suits for a wedding" evolved, that would achieve the same result, and I don't see any reason one couldn't punch up a lovely grey suit for special, more formal, occasions, with a tasteful detail like understated silk edging on his lapels.  Like most things, if it's done poorly, it will be hideous, but if it's done well it could be lovely.

Again, I'm not arguing on behalf of grey "formal suits," and I'm not suggesting that rented attire is ever superior to properly fitted clothes.  Just based on what I observed in the planning process of my own wedding, this is the direction I see things going, and I don't think it would, necessarily, be bad if it happened.  These would, then, be suits people would start buying, designers would start designing, and manufacturers would start manufacturing.  But, anyway, it's not a proposition, but rather an observation, and a prediction.  Essentially, the luncheon suit - TRADEMARK! - may well evolve from the Tuxedo over the period of 2000-2040, the way that its predecessor evolved from White Tie a hundred years previous.

Fair enough. I just find it hard to imagine people creating a new garment as a broader trend when they have one that works almost as well (a grey suit), is more versatile and the new garment has no real tradition behind it. Plus I think silk facings outside of eveningwear and somewhat tacky. I suspect what we see is more the result of people thinking they need formalwear for their wedding but being concerned that black is not appropriate for daytime, so they end up with a different color tuxedo. At least in my experience, I see more black tie weddings during the day or weddings with people in lounge suits during the day.

 

[Craig10114]

You're wearing a tux. In the day time. With a long time. And pink socks.

Riiiiiiight.

I'm sorry man, you must not have read my original post.

I'm getting married at night (time of day of the wedding was never actually mentioned in my post)
The pink socks are far from decided, the point of my post was to seek honest, constructive opinions because my gut told me that it would not look good.
Yes, a long "time" ... sorry that it offends you, but thanks for your opinion.

 

[Veremund]

Hell, if it's night, no one will see the socks anyway. Wear pink braces as well.

But do wear a bowtie.

 

[ter1413]



You must not be married, and if you are you should understand that it has nothing to do with her not knowing anything about menswear, it has to do with me wanting her to be happy on our wedding day.  If it were up to me, we'd be wearing black socks.... but she wants some color, is that the end of the world?

Being married or not married has nothing to do with saying:
"Hon....that will look stupid...hence I will look stupid. I am going to pass on the pink socks!"

 

[Kasun]

Hi,

Im getting married this summer and I'm planning on wearing two outfits; morning suit for the day and a black velvet tuxedo for the evening. I've already decided on the cloths etc for the outfits but I would dearly like some advice on how to accessorise everything to complete the look.

Firstly for the morning suit, the coats and pants will be made from this fabric. I know it is not necessarily traditional for them to be of the same colour; but as I need to match with the best men who would be wearing grey morning suits I went down this route. Its a Holland and Sherry royal blue 20%mohair80%wool. It is very loud but then again I didn't want to wear a dark drab colour as the groom.

.

The waistcoat will be in this colour. Again holland and sherry. Super 100's I think.


The tailor is also making me a pique cotton shirt with dress studs. I am thinking of wearing a cravat with this. This one particularly caught my eye, its a champagne floral silk ascot from harrods. Do you think it will go? Or is it too similar to the waistcoat colour?


Cufflinks I'm wearing MoP from Lanvin. I've got a matching MoP cravat pin as well.



Braces are black moire from Albert Thurston:




I've also got a novelty pocketwatch/chain.. which I'm still undecided on!



And to finish things of I'm getting a pair of bespoke patent black shoes.

Think I covered everything there. Oh and the bride to be will no doubt make me wear a rose or something on my lapel!

What do you guys think?

 

[ImTheGroom]

The piqué shirt is fine with the evening attire, but does not go with the morning suit. Get a lovely, white dress shirt for the day time. I think a four in hand tie is best. The morning suit, as opposed to morning coat, is not formal enough fit a wing collar, and cravat. You are also mixing the two (morning coat/morning suit) together. I actually like your variation quite a bit, but because you are already putting your own twist on tradition, the cravat will just look costumey, I think. If you do a cravat, I would do a silver/grey one. I think attached, turndown collar is the way to go with the suit you're having made.

 

[Kasun]

Thanks for the feedback.

When I said pique shirt I was actually thinking of a normal turndown collar, but with that sort of ribbed texture to the cotton (that's what pique is right?). The cravat will be worn more like a ruched tie. Here is the effect I'm going for.

 

[ImTheGroom]

A textured shirt of some kind sounds perfectly fine - just a matter of preference - but studs are for evening shirts. You could get MoP buttons if you just wanted a luxurious touch to the shirt. I don't know if there is any precedent for that in morning dress, but it seems much more subtle to me than studs, and, since they'll be covered by a tie, they are really just there for your enjoyment, and would only be seen if your tie got out of place.

Piqué, at least to my knowledge is a specific, woven pattern that I don't think works well for an entire shirt, personally. It is normally on the bib, collar, and cuffs of a dinner shirt, like this:



Described in some detail here:
http://blog.blacktieguide.com/2014/03/19/the-marcella-shirt/

Choose a shirt fabric you like. If in doubt about a fabric, or shirt, ask around, both here, and people whose opinions you trust. I have one with sort of diagonal ridges that I have worn with my morning coat, that I quite like - you have to be quite close up to see the pattern in the weave. Marcella/piqué itself is often fairly thick as well, so you might find it warm, depending on the date of your wedding. I don't think it's my cup of tea for an entire shirt, especially since it is very much associated with evening shirts. It risks people thinking you don't know the difference between day time clothes, and evening clothes.

I really think that a regular tie is more attractive with morning dress. I think one should either wear a cravat, or not. That is to say, wear it in the traditional way, with a detachable wing, or Imperial, collar, tied in the traditional fashion, or wear a four in hand tie with a turndown collar (whether detachable, or attached). When I say four in hand tie, I do not mean to exclude the Windsor knot, I just mean a standard, long tie, as one would wear with a business suit. Personally, I think that cravats/ascots, tied as the one you show, look hired, and/or costumey. And, as you are pushing things a bit with your matching coat and trousers, with odd waistcoat, I would stick to tradition/convention elsewhere. You want people to think that you made a conscious choice to do your morning suit a little differently, rather than thinking you just did not know how to do it correctly. A stick pin is always lovely when wearing a four in hand tie, with morning dress.

As an aside, have you considered having a matching waistcoat made as well? This way you would have a full morning suit, as well, if the occasion ever came up. To someone else's wedding, perhaps, it might be more appropriate, as it would be something standard, and not take any attention away from the groom. Just a thought; of course it adds another expense, and I don't know if that bothers you.

 

[Kasun]

Thanks for the reply again!

I think I might just be misinterpreting what pique actually is hehe. I picked the fabric for the shirt and it had a very feint texture to it - nothing like what you've shown in the picture there! I'm having dress studs in the shirt to try to kill two birds in one stone/two outfits with one shirt. With the morning suit, the tie/cravat will completely cover the dress studs anyway and they'd only be seen when I change into the tuxedo.

I wouldn't mind going for a normal tie, only thing is I've already gotten silk cravats for the (7) best men. It would be an unnecessary expense to change everything. What I could do is tie the cravat in a more conventional manner? almost like a normal tie? is that possible/done? I definitely don't want the outfits to turn out costumey.

Well I initially wanted the waistcoat to be matching as well, but after discussing with the other half decided to go with a lighter hue db waistcoat as it is more "weddingy" and at least attempts to co-ordinate with her white dress. I think I'll have to ignore the idea of getting an extra one done cos I've already busted my budget! And in most likelihood the morning suit will go into the wardrobe and never see light again anyway. If in any case the occasion does arise, I think this fabric is readily available.

 

[Kasun]

I have too much spare time in my hands. I butchered a picture of morning suit on photoshop so the colours look like mine. Do you guys think everything co-ordinates well? Im tempted to go for a splash of colour for the tie/cravat (pink/red?) but it could end up too flashy.

 

[ImTheGroom]

If you did want to change the ties for the gromsmen, you could get them from TheTieBar.com, and still give them the ones you have purchased, purely as a gift (or sell them to anther wedding party). I got my gromsmen's ties there, and they are quite good - they cost $15, but you would pay $40-$50 for a similar tie at a department store. Of course that may seem like a step down if you have already bought high quality ones, and if that makes you unhappy, being happy is always preferable.

Ultimately, though, you must be the one that is happy with what you choose to wear. Here's a link with instructions for tying a cravat, traditionally, though it's not something I've done myself.

http://www.morningdressguide.com/morningwear-accessories/ascot-plastron-morning-dress/

If you wear the cravats, go with standing collars, I think. I don't think it's very common anymore, to wear a standing collar with a morning suit - the only pictures I find of it are very old, such as King George V, when he was Duke of York - but I think putting the standing collar with the morning suit is preferable to putting an ascot under a turn-down collar.

 

[ImTheGroom]

I have too much spare time in my hands. I butchered a picture of morning suit on photoshop so the colours look like mine. Do you guys think everything co-ordinates well? Im tempted to go for a splash of colour for the tie/cravat (pink/red?) but it could end up too flashy.

I think it looks quite nice, though I would definitely go to detachable standing collars with the ascot/cravat.

 

[unbelragazzo]

That cravat thing tied like a tie looks weird and rental-shoppy to me, but if you're already determined to wear that, the rest looks fine. Except for the shoes, but I don't know if you're planning on wearing those or similar. Personally I recommend no watch or watch chain, but others disagree.

EDIT: If you wear the ascot as ImTheGroom suggests, it will look much better, although I agree with him that in that case a wing collar would be better. In any case, you'll look much better than that picture of the effect you're going for, since the ascot will not match your waistcoat and you'll have it tied in non-horrifying fashion.

 

[Kasun]

thanks for the feedback again guys!

Here is the dilemma; I have a short/thick neck and I have always thought wing collars don't flatter me. Another option is to go for a victorian collar which covers a bit more....but i think they look a bit messy.

Also, if I go for a victorian/wing collar, the best men would have to follow suit, and sourcing 7 wing collar shirts for them will be a little bit harder than getting hold of normal shirts.

The tie seems like the most logical choice, but I feel it is a bit too minimalistic for a wedding. I'm not too worried about not adhering to the rulebook 100% as long as it looks decent. I found this picture online, is it of a cravat? Doesn't look too bad imo.

 

[Kasun]

The shoes I'm getting a pair of patent lace ups made for me. Again getting this so I can match with the best men who would be wearing similar, albeit store bought ones.