Buy or rent a tux?

November 13, 2008 9:22 AM

I'm trying to decide how often I would need to wear a tuxedo to have it make more sense to buy one rather than renting each time. Obviously the financial factor is part of it, but there are also advantages to being able to personalize the accessories (cuff links, tie, etc) that would make a purchase more valuable over time, as well as not having to go through the rental process each time. Conversely, I don't know how much "give" tuxes have to accommodate, e.g., putting on or taking off a few pounds, or how much minor alterations cost, but those would weigh in favor of renting. I'm looking for advice on how to decide at what point it makes more sense to buy and when I should keep renting.
posted by philosophygeek to clothing, beauty, & fashion (23 comments total)

well, say the lifespan of a tux is 3 years, with style, weight gain, wear, etc

how many times would you need to rent a tux in that period? Say, 9x

that's, what, $900?

How much is a tux, is it less than that? Buy it!

Is it more? Don't
posted by Salvatorparadise at 9:33 AM on November 13, 2008

I've heard this problem for the case when deciding when to buy skis vs when to rent; you shouldn't buy skiis if you aren't gonna go skiing ever again. I forget the exact mechanics but solving the optimization results in: rent until you've paid the sale price in rentals, then buy.
posted by sandking at 9:33 AM on November 13, 2008

How often? 2-3 times a year, perhaps once or twice if renting is a hassle? If you can find a older tailored one in a vintage/thrift store or on eBay, you're sorted for alterations. I got mine cheap at a factory shop (the place made suits for Marks and Spencer).

The good thing about dinner jackets / tuxedos is that they're usually more mix-and-matchable than regular suits, being uniformly black. If you rip the trousers, you can get another generic pair that doesn't look wrong. The waistband usually has some adjustability; the best jackets are ones that aren't cut too skinny to begin with.
posted by holgate at 9:46 AM on November 13, 2008

I had the same thought about seven years ago and bought a tux. So many family members coming up on weddings, etc. Boy, do I wish I'd not bothered doing that!

The reason: I ended up having to rent a tux most times anyway -- because it had to match the tux of all the other men involved in the wedding.

So now I have a very nice tux I've been able to wear to all of one wedding, and one funeral. It probably doesn't even fit right anymore -- I actually have no idea. Apparently, there are stores that rent these things for a very good reason...
posted by Pufferish at 9:49 AM on November 13, 2008

My husband has been wearing the same tux for about 4 years and it still looks perfectly charming. A good tailor fits a tux with some flexibility in mind.

He only wears it about 2-3 times a year.
posted by agentwills at 9:49 AM on November 13, 2008

My husband is an odd size (wears a 44 xtra long in a suit; he's 6' 6" tall) and buying a tux has made his life SO much easier, because getting a good fit in a rental was always a huge hassle for him. He's had the tux 3-4 years, and wears it 2-3 times per year (we do find that now that he has it, he finds more reasons to wear it. Last year he put it on for us to go for dinner on New Years Eve, for example, even though it was just the two of us). Its also much better quality than the rentals.
posted by anastasiav at 9:56 AM on November 13, 2008

A good place to find a tux is a thrift store. In the UK (where tuxes are called 'dinner suits') you can often find them in charity shops, donated after the death of some old guy who wore it twice a year at the Rotary Club dinner.

They're usually in decent condition because they're not worn too often, and if they're in a classic style with a shawl collar, they won't date. The only ones to avoid are from the mid-70s, where they have those biiiig lapels and flared pants. If you buy one of those, then you are duty bound to buy a frilled shirt, a cummerbund, patent leather shoes and a velvet bow tie to go with it.
posted by essexjan at 9:57 AM on November 13, 2008

I realise I didn't finish answering the question. What I meant to say was, if you want to buy one, have a look for a second-hand one, because if you only pay a few dollars for it, you won't be annoyed if you don't wear it all that often.
posted by essexjan at 9:58 AM on November 13, 2008

I've found that owning a tux opens up opportunities to wear it. Before I owned, there were several events I decided not to attend, due to the hassle and expense of renting. Now that I own one, I think nothing of putting it on for New Year's or Halloween or whatever.

And, you know, you don't have to spend a lot. I paid $200 or so for mine, altered nicely, and I bet my size is harder to find than yours. Sure, it's not quite as nice as a $1000 one, but it does the job, and it's been doing job for 7 years or so (though I have replaced the shirt).

On preview: anastasiav? My wife's sockpuppet?
posted by MrMoonPie at 10:11 AM on November 13, 2008

I got a spare tux from a friend (he bought a Brooks Brothers off Ebay for all the charity balls he goes to) for my wedding. All my sisters are married off, but I figured a classic tux would be handy to have around. Maybe change the shirt or the tie and cummerbund to suit fashion (i used a straight tie and vest for the wedding.)

My friend is 6'2, skinny in the chest, but broad-shouldered; 36 waist. Alterations from his size to mine (5'-10" or a little less, barrel-chested, 32 waist) ran about 60 bucks from the Sicilian tailor in the neighborhood. A *lot* of people remarked how well a tailored tux looked on me vs a rental unit.
posted by notsnot at 10:18 AM on November 13, 2008

I found out too late that wearing a tux can usually help you avoid the line at some of NYC's hottest clubs.
posted by any major dude at 10:38 AM on November 13, 2008

I realise I didn't finish answering the question. What I meant to say was, if you want to buy one, have a look for a second-hand one, because if you only pay a few dollars for it, you won't be annoyed if you don't wear it all that often.

You can get a very good one at a good store that rents as well as sells. You'll get a rental tux in like-new condition for a few hundred.
posted by JimN2TAW at 10:43 AM on November 13, 2008

Most tux rental places will also sell you slightly used tuxes for cheap. I pushed a tux used for around 250 and picked up 3 different vests to go with it. I worked out way cheaper than renting for the 2-3 times a year I needed the tux. Plus I could just swap in a different vest each time, and it would change the look.

If you're going to need to wear the tux multiple times a year for a few years, go buy it.
posted by Arbac at 10:44 AM on November 13, 2008

Bah - I purchased a tux!

I pushed a tux? What were my fingers thinking when I typed that?
posted by Arbac at 10:46 AM on November 13, 2008

I only (usually) wear mine once a year, but I'm still glad I bought it. The pants have enough adjustability that a few pounds on or off between this time and next won't be an issue, and -- this is the key part -- it fits well and actually looks good. That, plus avoiding the hassle of renting (and having to return the next day while hungover) has made it more than worthwhile to me, even though I've probably not recouped the cost compared with renting despite having owned it for four years.
posted by littleme at 10:46 AM on November 13, 2008

I'm looking into this too, and I'd like to suggest that looking for which direction is cheapest over time is taking your eye off the ball - there are too many intangibles this ignores that you're just precluding yourself from a useful evaluation by focusing on money.

I lean towards owning one, some of reasons include:

- You are ready to go at a moment's notice, no stress. Someone could invite to you an event at short notice - even later in the same evening (they have tickets but someone bailed) and your wardrobe will cover any kinds of attire up to and including formal. (Or semi-formal if you use the strict definitions)

- A rental often involves up to 3 or 4 trips planned out over a few weeks - booking in advance, getting measured, trying it on, getting it adjusted, checking it again, and returning it again afterwards. That's potentially a few hundred dollars in lost time on top of the rental fee. But more than that, it's stress and hassle and traffic and rush hour, and if you're running late, or they screw up at their end, it's extra crap you need to deal with while the clock is ticking down and that's crap you Just Don't Need.
(That said, you'll sometimes still need to rent if you're part of a co-ordinated wedding party)

- You don't want to feel like you're wearing someone else's clothes, or playing dress-up, a kid borrowing dad's threads, you want to feel like you're the real thing.

- Rentals are cut for lowest common denominator. They're engineered completely differently, with the goal of being highly adjustable, rather than most flattering. You will look noticeably better in clothes intended for you.

- How often you get to wear it isn't the be-all and end-all. Perhaps it's like a bomb shelter - having one doesn't mean you plan on being bombed and needing to use it, it means you are equipped and ready for anything and everything that life might throw at you.
posted by -harlequin- at 12:16 PM on November 13, 2008

I would vote with buy. I've been wearing mine for about 10 years now (about 4-5 times a year).
posted by Arthur Dent at 12:18 PM on November 13, 2008

If you're renting for the weddings of peers, you might want to hold off. There tends to be a time in life where you have three weddings a year or so...but that time starts to pass once your close friend pool is in their mid- to late-thirties. After that, there are still weddings, but nowhere near as fast and furious. So be sure you're not just in the middle of a tux-intensive life phase that's going to pass.

Consider your career and that of your SO, and also your community involvements and volunteer interests. If one or both of you is going to always need to go to galas, openings, launchings, awards ceremonies, etc., then there is a really good reason to buy at least one tux in your life. If you serve on boards or are (or plan to become) donors or supporters of an organization that has fundraiser benefits, then that's another good reason.

if it's just for weddings, I'd skip it - if not, then it's a good investment, and I agree that owning one automatically lowers the bar for wearing it. Without any barriers to wearing the penguin suit, such as the hassle and expense of rental, you may realize you can wear it a lot more often than you now do, since you won't need to 'get away' with a sport jacket if the event goes a bit more formal.
posted by Miko at 1:09 PM on November 13, 2008

To be objective: How are you with maintaining your weight? Have you fluctuated much over the last couple of years?

This would probably be my number one concern when deciding whether to rent or buy a tux.

If it has fluctuated, I will say rent. If not, what are you waiting for?

Good luck!
posted by alice ayres at 1:11 PM on November 13, 2008

Buy the tux. Consider it one of those things every man should have, like a suit. And it doesn't cost much more than a decent suit. Over the life of the tux, you'll have saved a lot of money, time, and stress and you'll look much better than those who rented.

Go for something simple and classic - no tails or two-tone satin. Wear it with classic black wing tip shoes. No cummerbund. If you like vests, keep it conservative like solid black for formal or charcoal gray/light pinstripe/herringbone pattern. Get a bowtie - no arguing. And spring for 1 or 2 crisp white shirts with a spread collar.
posted by junesix at 1:14 PM on November 13, 2008

Get a bowtie - no arguing

Two of them: one black and one white.
posted by Miko at 1:21 PM on November 13, 2008

The correct answer, unless you have money to burn and you just *want* your own tux, is 2. If you wear a tux 2 times a year currently then it makes sense to buy. This takes into account the lifespan of the tux, the hassle of having to rent, and the fact that 2 additional opportunities per year will arise if you have your own tux.

You're welcome, glad to have helped.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 1:45 PM on November 13, 2008

I would think that depends on the price of the tux more than anything. In Ireland, there's a company that does very nice ones for €150 (no idea if they'd ship overseas) that I just wrote up because that's such a great deal, it's a no brainer for anyone going to weddings, stuck in weddings, or going to penguin evening events.
posted by DarlingBri at 3:04 PM on November 13, 2008