best physical store for a budget minded wedding party?
Need to get suited for a groom and 5 groomsmen in NJ USA. Budget is low, ideal would be 300-400 range.
I'd prefer to just order Spier & McKay but don't think those guys know their sizes so trying to find a store.
Bonus points if you have ideas to match a champagne bridesmaids for October wedding. I thought maybe a forest green could be nice, champagne is so neutral.
86 Replies
300-400 each?
Including shirt and shoes I assume?
I was thinking just jacket and pants. Sort of assuming we have a white shirt and shoes
https://suitsupply.com/en-us/men/suits/navy-perennial-napoli-suit/P6339M.html.
It's $500 but I don't think it would be unreasonable to ask groomsmen for a small contribution on the basis it's a suit they can use other times (interviews, wedding guests etc). You could source matching forest green ties and boutonnieres etc for them. YMMV may vary on asking for/giving a contribution though.
I'm just a groomsmen. My first time. What's the protocol here? Does groom offer to buy the suits?
Ask the groom
They likely have an idea of what they want
Sorry, assumed you were the groom.
Could be a coordinated group rental via black tux ($300) which is the most common thing I’ve seen
My groom is clueless. The weddings in 2.5 months and I asked him yesterday and it he responded as if it was the first time he even thought about it
I'm trying to help by doing research
Jesus
That’s not a lot of time
Yeah I've been telling him that
Maybe ask the bride what she pictured
But the safest options would be a navy suit
I heard rented tux are trash?
They’re fine
Like they never fit and can't be tailored?
The ones I wore weren’t as good as l any other suit I wore but they all looked the same and also didn’t cost that much
But they were still meant they were fine
With tux would it be black probably or navy still?
The other option I would suggest is a tux
Don't tuxs require a special tuxedo shirt as well? Don't think we have those
Black fabric hides a lot
You can get everything you need from black tux for $264
(What my groomsmen paid for tux’s with shoes, shirts, cufflinks, studs and cumberbund)
Interesting. I'm a little wary of this option for a selfish reason as I'm short and a little round so literally never found an off the rack suit that came close to fitting me. Especially not a shirt
Or the S&M redline for about $300 is designed for this senario
My other advice from being in a wedding party, and being a fashion dweeb about it
It doesn’t matter if it fits or looks great on you cause it’s not really your call
As long as the couple likes it it has to happen
Yeah I'd love to go S&M red line. Would that work with the guys Maybe not knowing their sizes tho?
It’s easy to buy a tape and measure
I figured we needed in person thing. I do have a great tailor though
Do they let you pick a drop on that red line. Cause if not that could fuck us
I don't think they do
Spier does drop 6
But you can request something different I believe
I'm a 40 and 35 in Spier so for example for me that would be a tight squeeze
It’s a budget suit
Contact customer support
Thanks man. I'm gonna have a come to Jesus convo w the groom that were running out of time. The Spier option seems like the best idea since I have a really good tailor
Yeha navy will be a great option
I will say that it can be kind of a huge pain to convince guys to buy a suit, particularly online
What's the alternative? Do you otherwise have to get everyone to go to the same store at the same time?
Yeah that’s what my friends did
Sorry what I was trying to articulate is that it can be really hard to wrangle guys into doing anything and it’s best to have direction coming down from the groom
Can always pop into a Nordstrom if they're not busy and ask to get measured
thanks guys. I spoke with my tailor who thinks a dark forest green, tan, or navy would best with a champagne. I tend to agree, I think green or tan would be sick
Ask the bride.
Seriously. Please ask her. Since your buddy has no idea
In that budget, rental is the safest option
Rental garments are in fact designed to allow minor alterations regularly. Ask the people working there.
Tuxes aren't a bad idea but it's a specific aesthetic that the happy couple should want.
Bottle/forest green is a lovely suit color but fairly unusual which will limit options significantly.
Tan is kind of the opposite on the formality spectrum from a tux. It may or may not be adequately formal
Absent specific requests, navy is classic and about as timeless as it gets. Other classy options include various shades of gray (but not too dark, keep it lighter and partier) and blue (lighter than navy.)
ok thanks for the tips. What do you think of black?
Don't wear black unless it's a tux.
can I ask why?
In the English speaking world black suits are generally only worn for funerals or as uniforms. They're traditionally seen as quite somber.
Gotcha
Yeah, the simple answer is context is wrong for a wedding, unless properly black tie (or adjacent.)
Sounds like the dress code is "formal" which I guess means dark suits? So maybe we should do Navy or black tux?
Dude you gotta have them tell you
Formal means so many things these days but navy suit white shirt Is the baseline
Don't guess, ask specifically. "What color suit. Navy?"
Formal means different things to everyone. Anything from "your nice jeans" to "white tie, fit to meet some king at a state dinner."
thanks guys. It's a weird situation because TBH the bride and groom both seem clueless. She hasn't even decided on the bridesmaids dress color I just found out . Now shes between champagne and rose gold. I told me buddy how are we gonna pick the suits if we dont know that. When I asked what color was his wedding themed he said he didn't know and didn't think there was one. That's why I'm trying to do research so I can try to help him because normaly I'd run away from this kind of situation because of what a shit show it is but it's a really good friend
she's completely indecisive about every single detail of the wedding so I really dont even want to ask her about our suits
Here’s my suggestion for a very basic, safe but classic look you can suggest: everyone in navy suits and white shirt with ties to match the bridesmaid (imo the only issue with this is it can look a bit like prom) or groom in a tux and groomsmen in navy suits like above. Groomsmen in tuxes only really works if it’s also black tie optional in general
But I personally like the look of a groom in a tux
I know there’s all sorts of other rules about formality you need to keep in mind for that but I think wedding is the one where you can break it
Thanks, that's a good idea and one I was considering offering him (just all go navy). It just feels sad to have to compromise because of indesiveness lol
I had my wedding looks planned like week 2 but I’m an outlier
Some people don’t care about this stuff!
They’re just planning a party!
yeah I guess. That's hard for me to grasp since it's such a big detail and they are haveving a big /expensive wedding
I’d also suggest black shoes. A rented suit with brown shoes looks awful
but yeah I guess we are different. I just got married and had an inexpensive wedding with 80 people in June and I spent months refining my look lol
Yep. Navy suits. White shirts. Black shoes and black belts. White pocket squares. Ties on theme is optional. Done.
Don't stress and don't go through a million ideas. Just do that. If navy isn't it for whatever reason, do a mid gray.
And honestly if someone doesn't have black shoes but has brown or something, I wouldn't stress too much.
trying to think if I own black shoes lol
you think 6 non fashion guys can handle measuring their chest and getting the navy suit from Spier? or should we just find a local store. I have a lead on one, it seems less error prone but at least the Spier route will be better quality most likely
Local store
Local store
Rental shop in fact tbh
Black tux even
I tried to convince a groom to buy a spier suit instead of buying from black tux and it was just waaaaayyy too hard for him to comprehend
So I gave up
People don’t like ordering online
Don't worry about things like fabric quality, just rent something that fits well from a local shop. Buying online is sort of for people who know their shit it have a ton of time
Fits well and looks good *
ok thanks guys
yeah black tux rental could also work
I think I'm gonna present him those 3 options, navy, grey, or black rented tux
thanks yeah I m,eant renting black tux from a store
but yeah I'd prefer to buy a cheap navy suit
personally
for grey do you think tone is flexible or should we go for more of a charcoal darker grey?
What’s the setting of the wedding
October makes me want to do darker grey cause I think a budget level worsted wool isn’t the best in lighter tones
My rule of thumb is that darker colors hide a lot of sins
Black is the best at it, navy next and charcoal after that
Light grey or even tan rented suits always look so cheap to me
woodsy
its like a nice maybe rustic earthy vibe
pics from the actual venue
Another case of thinking a tux is nice for the groom cause it’s contrasts with the background
But yeah when it comes to rentals I’ve seen them do “fun stuff” like a tweed and I think it always looks corny
Plus again, If indecisiveness is an issue, don’t give them too many options
good point on the black contrast. I guess charecoal might might be best if we go grey
Keep it simple
yeah thats why I was asking you guys opinion haha. I want to offer him either navy or charcoal (or whatever grey tone might be best)
Also, and understanding your trying to help, don’t try to plan their wedding for them. Just give him the store and the recommendation
yeah that's good advice and what I'm trying to do. Good point about the darker colors hiding sins
Less charcoal, more mid gray or blue-gray / static gray.
But charcoal is fine if that's what you end up with
It's really nbd.
Not like a rule, just a personal preference, I think charcoal is a little too severe to be my favorite option for a wedding
But ultimately it's not my choice ;) don't over-think it. Go into a rental shop or two, find the one you like best, make sure they can work with your groomsmen, etc.
hi gents, I conferred with Groom and presented the best options. He seems good with a Navy suit solution but also intrigued by a black tuxedo. We are going to the store this weekend to check stuff out just the two of us. Bridesmaids wont be wearing identical dresses, she is just picking the color and telling them to get something in that shade I guess, so I dont think groomsmen need to be matching exactly. Think its OK if groom wears a black tux and groomsmen wear navy suits, or do we all need tux if he wants tux? Just not sure on the rules for a formal wedding
Either groom wears tux, or groom plus groomsmen. Either way is fine. Only requirement is that groomsmen aren't more formally dressed than the groom, ie, don't put groomsmen in tuxes and groom in a business suit
Thank you
Hey yall. Looks like groom and bride want black tuxes. Did you mention the black tux website you had experience with and was any good?
chuck's taken a break from the server, but i think the website he was talking about was called "black tux"
Yeah it seems solid
There should be one or several tux rental shops in every metro area
I'd go to those first, assuming in-person is viable. Occasionally online-only is a must, but in-person is generally best.
I wrote that bit, it's not exactly authoritative but it goes through the long, long list of reasonable options for tuxes, and what to avoid. Along with some basic summaries.
A lot of tux rental shops do not rent out the full kit. Shoes, dinner suit, shirt, studs, links, bowtie, vest/cummerbund, braces. Missing bits can ruin the look. Modern sentiment seems to often skip the waist covering, and use side adjusters instead of suspenders/braces, so you can roll with that probably, but if you're (eg) missing a formal shirt, or missing footwear, or missing bowties, etc, it won't look right.
Dude, thanks so much for all the tips
I'll go through the doc and share with groom
We wound up going to that cheap suit place and they had tux rentals. Full kit. I got sized and it fit better than I expected for a cheap tux rental. I convinced groom to buy. Probably ly will go to SuSu for that. The for purchase tuxes were pretty scoffy there
I read through most of your guide. Thanks again for sharing. It seems like the only thing missing from the kit they rent is a vest,cummerbund and suspenders. The pants have side adjusters. Telling the guys to buy suspenders should be easy but do we really need a vest or cummerbund? I think the place does have a vest option but we didn't pick it in the store because I thought it would be more comfortable without it tbh and didn't know it was necessarily required
I'm also thinking of just buying a shirt and bow tie since the rental shirt is nasty (Proper Cloth has one for 105$) and I'm guessing a 25$ bow tie from tiebar will blow away the quality of the rental one
Trousers with side adjusters don't need suspenders. Though if any of your groomsmen are, uh, very portly around the waist, suspenders still do a better job holding pants up.
Not having a waist covering is... fairly acceptable in 2023. It makes the whole ensemble look worse but if you want to save on this, /shrug go for it.
A self-tie bowtie from Tie Bar should be acceptable. Match the jacket facings: satin for satin, grosgrain for grosgrain.
Buying a shirt is a maybe. Yeah you'll get a much better shirt that way, but on the flip side, maybe people don't want to own and have nothing to do with a formal shirt. Obviously I'd prefer it money-no-object. Define nasty, when it comes to the rental shirt?
If you do buy a shirt for black tie, I would suggest the following. Turndown/point collar rather than wings. I'd have a pretty large collar here, you don't want to go wimpy. Get a plain bib shirt, with a convertible button strip. This allows the shirt to be worn easily with suits: it'll still want cufflinks, but instead of studs you just do buttons, and long tie instead of bowtie. And on the flip side, it meets the requirements for a black tie shirt: take the button strip out, insert studs, throw on a bowtie, boom. More versatile and not really worse. Alternatively, do a fly front shirt. A marcella bib, which I think I do generally prefer, is not really wearable without a tux, IMO. Versatility here would be a pretty decent trade-off versus perfection (which is in the eye of the beholder anyways.)
Oh, I meant just for myself, not the guys. Do they have to match exact? The pleated tux shirt at Proper Cloth looks pretty similar to the cheap shitty rental one. But I could just buy the shitty rental one instead, would still be an upgrade from renting from them and smelling like another dude the whole time lol
Hmm, we already picked the pleated shirt w studs and the wing collar. I could probably still call and change that if needed. It just looked more cool/formal
I figured for 105$ at PC would be worth it to be more comfortable the whole day and I'd still match the guys
Sounds like we should get vests tho. That should be an easy fix since they offered them w the rental for cheap
Man, I wish I had you guys 3 months ago when I was obsessing about my suit for my own wedding lol
The neat thing about the tux is that it's enough of a uniform that non-matching details add minor character, rather than being flaws. You don't need an identical shirt.
I hope you got a detachable wing collar. The attached ones are not my favorite due to the size and physical strength of the wings. That said, if you love it, rock it, who am I to judge?
The downside of vests is heat. If this is going to be somewhere warm, a vest may or may not be the best strategy. Ideally tuxes are worn in the evening, but often they're work in daytime, in direct sunlight. The cummerbund was "invented" (borrowed) specifically to reduce how warm the ensemble is. But being easy to rent does make it easy.