Congratulations. In all this running around planning a caterer, a venue, a special day, you’re preparing for one of the most important days of your life. When you join in matrimony with your significant other, every single eye in that venue will be on you.
Scared? Good.
You’re wedding day is about you, it’s about the person that you’re committing to spend your life with too, but you’re going to shake a million hands, have a thousand ‘catch-up’ conversations, and be the subject of a minimum, twenty toasts. You will look your best, it isn’t an option.
On that day, your appearance will be immortalized in pictures shown to your ensuing generations of family members for decades to come. When your great-grandchildren picture you as a younger man, that will be their primary frame of reference.
So let’s talk tuxedos.
First, Jackets. Peak lapel, or shawl lapel, when you are getting married, there is no notch lapel. If you aren’t getting married, you’re allowed to wear a notch lapel. While double breasted may be “accepted” for formal occasions, single breasted, single button (two button if you’re a very tall gentleman), is the best look for a groom. The Jacket should have besom (jetted) pockets, or pockets without flaps as to best preserve the lines of the tux. Obviously, you don’t want to wear tails to your wedding, the best option for the back of your jacket is no vent. Tuxedo rental shops and catalogs love to extoll the utility of a single vent jacket because it fits more people and makes their job easier. This is your tux, this is your moment.
Next, Pants. These should match your jacket, not just in color (black), but the material the outer seams are concealed by (the braid) should also match the material that your lapels are. Tuxedo trousers do not have cuffs and have slits behind the braid that serve as pockets. Regardless of how you wear your jeans, your trousers will need to be high-waisted so that your waist covering can do it’s job. Tuxedo pants are worn with suspenders and do not feature a belt loop. You should probably opt for plain front pants, but pleats are still acceptable.
The waist cover. If you were a groomsmen, a cummerbund would be an optional look, as the groom however, you should opt for an evening waistcoat. This is the most formal of the options, and typically considered the best looking. An evening waistcoat differs from a typical suit vest in one very important way, it closes much lower and opens wider, so as to show more of the tuxedo shirt. This should also be single breasted to match your jacket.
Finally, the shirt. This shirt is always white. You should opt for pique over pleated as it’s the more formal of the two, this will likely require you to also opt for studs over buttons. This brings us to the final decision, turndown or wing collar. Collars are a hotly debated topic when it comes to men’s formal wear. Wing collars are higher, pointier and considered the most formal, they don’t do men with rounder features justice, though and tend to call an unreasonable amount of attention to themselves. Turndown collars, considered less formal, complement all face shapes and features, but do resemble the same collars worn on typical dress shirts. We’re going to leave this last decision up to you.
When it comes to deciding on the other things like shoes, cufflinks and socks, our Philadelphia Tailors can answer virtually every question. Stop in today and see how some of the best tailors in Philadelphia can craft the look you’re remembered for.
