SUITED AND BOOTED
As marriage is a coupling of two souls as one, what each of you wear is just one half of the whole equation! Whilst men generally tend to be more pragmatic and don’t tend to deliberate on their appearance quite as much as women, there’s still some excellent tips to keep in mind when it comes to hiring or purchasing your outfit as a groom.
Firstly; keep in mind if there’s a colour scheme for your wedding. Consult with your bride and wedding planners! Like in a relationship itself, communication is everything. Take a colour swatch (a textile sample) along to your appointments regarding your suit – ensure that you suit’s colour and shade actually match any preset themes for your wedding.
Secondly; pay attention to the ‘bases’ of your clothing, such as your shirt and tie, as well as accessories. Does your shirt match or compliment your suit or waistcoat well? Perhaps consider a tie, bowtie or cravat to adorn your neck. Cufflinks with metallic accents can look very sharp and compliment your overall appearance stunningly, especially if you’re opting for a waistcoat.
Thirdly; your shoes are vital! You’ll either want them to match your suit, or contrast it. If you’re unsure of what colours match and contrast your suit well, check with your tailor or groomswear provider. A good example would be black brogues against grey trousers.
Lastly; consider hiring rather than purchasing your suit if you need to keep costs down. Some retailers even offer a discount on the suit if you decide to purchase it after hiring it and using it for your wedding – this is more common than you’d think, as many grooms like to keep their wedding suits afterwards.
Want some examples of what sort of pricing and deals you can expect to see when shopping for menswear?
For that, I recently had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with Dave from Astaires, a specialist menswear store based on St. James Street in Taunton.
They work with ready-to-wear clothing, wedding suit hires and made-to-measure outfits.
Astaires offer traditional tailcoats, lounge suits and other attire right through to full three-piece tweet suits, which seem to be the trend among Devonshire grooms at the moment – something that Dave believes ties into the recent Peaky Blinders phenomenon. Suit hires depend on the suit, but average £100 – £180 for a package that includes a jacket, waistcoat, trousers, shirt, tie, handkerchief, cufflinks and insurance. Furthermore, if you hire five or more outfits, one of those outfits will be free – that’s an offer Astaires do all the time!