Picking out men's clothes for wedding

March 15, 2009 2:34 PM

Where should I go for advice for dressing groomsmen and myself (the groom) for my summer wedding?

I need help. I'm horrible with men's fashion and I'm faced with deciding the groomsman outfits and my outfit for my wedding. I'm getting married in at the height of summer, outside, here: http://www.cdandme.com

The bride and I have decided to go it pretty casual, I'm thinking linen suit for myself or list colored tux. Shirt and slacks for groomsman, no tie or jacket.

I don't need you to tell me exactly what to wear, but in general where I should go for advice. I live in Chicago and right now all I know is that I should probably just make an appointment at men's warehouse. Would another custom clothier be possible? Could a department store help? Nordstroms? Macys? If so, what about the groomsman who live out of town? Would they just send in the measurements?

I would not mind buying or renting my outfit. If possible I would like to keep the groomsman under $125 (buying or renting) for their stuff.

Any advice is appreciated, thanks!

posted by patrad to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (7 answers total)

I suggest just a regular formalwear store, at least as a first "reconnaissance mission". We went to Gingiss in Orland Square, but it appears to be a different name now, so I can't recommend it. My husband did get very good advice from the guys there. They were able to steer him towards jacket and pants styles that complemented his body type, which I found wonderful, and they also managed to shoot down some of his wackier ideas, like wearing a top hat, to my everlasting gratitude. They have other clothing at these kinds of places than tuxes, and are no doubt used to dealing with out-of-towners as well. I believe one of our out-of-town groomsmen had his mom measure him, and they were able to fit him nicely.

I've received excellent fashion advice for myself from a personal shopper at Nordstrom's, but I can't speak for their expertise in men's wedding fashion.

CDandMe is a lovely place - you will look handsome there no matter what you wear! :-)
posted by SuperSquirrel at 3:48 PM on March 15, 2009

Did you check out theknot.com for ideas?
posted by cestmoi15 at 3:51 PM on March 15, 2009

Are there any higher-end menswear stores in your area (something like Levy's in Nashville?). Stores like that (locally owned, with higher end clothes across the spectrum from everyday to special events) tend to have salespeople who have been around a long time and built up impressive stores of knowledge. A store like that will be able to give you advice on how to dress at the level of formality you'd like while looking sharp and timeless (so that ten years from now you don't look at your photos and think Jeez, why did I wear that? It looks so 2009! but rather Wow. That was a really wonderful day.
posted by ocherdraco at 4:17 PM on March 15, 2009

If you're just going shirts and slacks for the groomsmen and its sort of casual you could even check out J.Crew or the Gap, but maybe that is too casual.

Chicago also must have a Nordstrom's Rack outlet, they sell both casual and more formal wear...including suits. this might be harder to find exactly what you're looking for or several of the same outfit, but would be great for the budget. cheap but still well-made/well-designed.

Nthing finding a small, locally-owned, "local institution"-type menswear store run by really dapper old men. they know what's up.

I know you said you don't really need suggestions for what to wear, but I can't resist: since its summer and casual, you might consider wearing just a shirt and vest instead of a full suit, very handsome and romantic.
posted by dahliachewswell at 5:55 PM on March 15, 2009

What kind of wedding? Navy blazer & linen pants would look nice, not be too pricey, and everybody either has or probably should have a navy sportscoat. Where to shop? Navy blazers are universal, and you can get linen (or khaki or grey flannel) pants anywhere from Macy's to JCPenney to Brooks Brothers. Look for very beautiful or cool matching ties that match whatever theme your wedding may have.

Great loaction, btw.
posted by theora55 at 9:26 PM on March 15, 2009

Response by poster: dahliachewswell thanks I was thinking nordstroms racks but I think it would be tough getting everyone the same outfit there. possible but they would probably have limited quantities of clothes, no?

a google search of "custom clothier chicago" yields:

balani says formal wear starts at $850 :(

astor and black looks more expensive than balani

durus not a very informative website

vangna a couple of people on yelp like it for men's wedding suits

richard bennett
posted by patrad at 3:23 AM on March 16, 2009

I realize you're not doing tuxes, but I just got married in Chicago about 3 weeks ago, and we did all our groomsmen tuxedos at Formally Modern Tuxedo. They were really easy to work with, they're a Chicago-local....as far as I know, they aren't owned by anyone else.

If you're trying to get advice/scope out options, I'd give them a visit. My specific fitting happened at their Schaumburg store, but I would expect the customer service and knowledge to be the same or better at the Chicago location.

And if that doesn't work for you, try yelp.com. That's how we found both our wedding venue and the tuxedo place.

Good luck, and Congratulations!
posted by specialnobodie at 11:35 AM on March 16, 2009