You might be able to get away with jeans and one of those awful untucked "going out" shirts at your workplace, at the local bowlong alley, or at a bar on Saturday night, but they are not correct wedding attire.
The wedding season is (almost) upon us. With that in mind, here is a vital bit of information for average guys who want to kick up their everyday sense of style several notches. Are ya ready boys? All right fellas, let's go!
Unless it has been specified on the invitation that an upcoming wedding, to which you are invited, has an ultra casual, southwestern, or (God help us) a country and western theme, the correct attire for male guests at a wedding is an understated suit (gray, charcoal, or navy) with a necktie and recently polished and shined leather dress shoes. Newsflash! Weddings are formal occasions. Jeans are not formal wear.
While most people in most places around the world now wear them, and some pairs of jeans retail for an obscene amount of money, their origins are decidedly proletarian and nothing more. They have no place in a formal setting unless of course you are part of a Hee-Haw themed event, and the bride has decided to model her appearance on the late Minnie Pearl.
My knee-jerk suspicion is that, for some bizarre reason, there are an awful lot of people in 2014 who don't know any better. So, let me set the record straight. To all of those average guys out there who don't want to show up for their college buddy's big day looking like a clueless rube, remember this. Please accord the bride and groom, as well as their families, a high degree of respect on this special (and stressful) day. Attend the festivities in the appropriate clothes, that is an understated suit (gray, charcoal, or navy), a necktie, and pair of polished and shined leather dress shoes.
Even if you mistakenly denigrate and dismiss items like these as markers of the much maligned "rich" upper class, set those working class hero principles to one side for a few hours and demonstrate that you have at least a modicum of grooming, sophistication, and good taste. Show that you know what is appropriate and when. Why stick out like a sore thumb with a pathological dislike of formal occasions and attire? There are such people, of course, but that sort of attitude is not the way to win friends and influence people. Instead, suck it up and wear what you should to formal events like weddings. It ain't goin' to kill ya.
Now, say it with me one more time. For weddings, proper male guest attire includes an understated suit (gray, charcoal, or navy), a necktie, and pair of polished and shined leather dress shoes. There now. That didn't hurt, did it?
-- Heinz-Ulrich
Here in the UK the normal dress code for weddings is either morning dress (please black coats and not grey) or fairly conservative suits. It is a bit like dinner jackets - second hand from charity shops etc are quite acceptable. In fact as far as I am concerned they are far preferable as the material and workmanship is far better quality than some of the modern variants unless you are going to go to the expense of having it made.
ReplyDeleteMy morning suit coat is I believe about 75 years old (!). It belonged to a friends grandfather and was given to me about 30 years ago. It must have been about 40 years old then. I then had the striped trousers made and I team it with a number of waistcoats I have. These depend on the mood and the event. My standard is a fawn coloured one which has mini lapels.
The end result is that the males almost without trying look smart and do justice to the bride. Please though, no top hats!
regards,
Guy