Wedding Blog
This weekend Mr. Spider and I went to Mens Wearhouse to organize our wedding party tuxedo package. We were in and out in less than an hour. *Sigh, if only everything else was this easy. I mean seriously, it was all so idiot-proof. Figures that things involving the groom are easy as pie.
Mens Wearhouse offers a few promotional specials and the one that works best for us is:
Grooms Tuxes are always FREE with four paid rental packages.
The tuxedos run from $69.99 to $149.99 and include: jacket, pants, shirt, tie, vest, suspenders, cuff links and shoes. That’s right, the whole kit and caboodle. Sorry guys, gotta wear your own socks and underwear. (Which begs the question, which is worse? Stores who rent out socks and underwear with tux packages or the guys actually willing to rent them. If it were an option, I’m sure SOME guy out there would do it.)
The tux selection begins with the jacket and more specifically, with the number of buttons. When asked what type of look he liked to go with, Mr. Spider said, “British.” haha.
A one-button jacket gives a formal and traditional look but may not work for bigger builds as the one button may give a strained look. Note how much of the vest is visible.
You can’t go wrong with a two-button jacket. It gives medium exposure of the vest and is flattering on all body types.
The three-button jacket produces a more modern and slimming look. Since it buttons up higher, less of the vest is visible. The three-button jacket may be troublesome for men on the bigger or shorter side as it elongates the torso (at the expense of the legs) and is generally a tighter fit.
Next comes the vest and tie, which is the fun part as it actually involves color. Mr. Spider was disappointed that all the ties are clip-ons. I was relieved - anything that saves time, saves sanity. Vest and tie styles really run the gamut but of course I was drawn to the PINK ones haha (hope the groomsmen don’t mind).
Then comes the shirt.
Point collar; pleated or no pleats
Wing tip collar; pleated or no pleats
The rest are small details that the guys can choose as they please.
To end, here is the timeline, Mens Warehouse gave us:
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my fiancee and i went to Men’s Warehouse (in chicago) and it was TOTALLY the worst experience… the rudest most uncooperative sales people i have ever met, and we’re both very easy-going and laid back, so that’s saying a lot that we were offended.
needless to say, we left after 40 minutes of frustration - they didn’t even care that we just walked out, mid-process. they just kind of watched us with a blank stare. i will NEVER recommend them to anyone.
we then we to the Afterhours by my house, the following weekend, and literally got everything done - measuring, trial fitting, colors, and even the payment done in 30 minutes flat. and this was on a saturday while the whole place was packed. the manager at the store went above and beyond for us - even took off some of the clothes of the manequinnes so that my fiancee could test out some of the jackets/vests.
the other thing i strongly disliked about Men’s Warehouse is they only have all their rental tuxes stored in texas, so should anything go wrong, you’d have to wait for them to emergency ship things to you (we’re in chicago)…
… but the Afterhours actually has 3 warehouses in the chicagoland area, and the manager said he actually lives 5 minutes away from one of those warehouses, so if there’s a problem, he can just pick up the suit the next morning on his way to the store and have a new suit ready for any of our groomsmen. for that reason alone, i would’ve chosen Afterhours… it gave me a lot of peace of mind.
The men’s warehouse i went to (2 different locations in manhattan) were OK on the first visit. Then it was all downhill from there. one wedding that i was part of - all the shirts and suits came in the wrong size, so they had to be tailored 3 hours before the wedding. once i was at the warehouse, and while i was looking around, a customer came in fuming because they completely screwed up the wedding party tuxes.
i think its a hit or miss with them. anyway, i dont wanna scare you….good luck!
We also went to Mens Warehouse this weekend. I don’t have an issues with the store itself but (and this is probably just lack of experience with tuxedo rentals) I was shocked that my fiancee couldn’t try anything on! How are you supposed to know if a bowtie would look better than a tie on a particular tux? Or if silver might be more flattering than ivory on him? I just found it odd…they directed me to their build a tux website but unless they employ my fiancee as a model…it still seemed unsatisfying.
It sounds like Afterhours might be more accomodating with the try-ons?
it really bugged me that they don’t have any rental tuxes for customers to try on. our sales person was wonderful though, she pulled their regular tuxes for Mr. Spider to try on.
peachy, sorry to hear you had such a horrible experience. we chose mens warehouse because our wedding party is all over NYC and two are in houston.
we haven’t put anything down yet, maybe we should check out afterhours too.
thanks for sharing your experiences everyone~!!
I picked out the same pink vests & ties for my GMs!!! Hahah, but I told them that it was my choice, not FIs so that they wouldn’t get pissed at him. BTW, if you’re undecided between bow tie and euro tie, you can rent both and it only costs $2.50 more!
I went to Men’s Wearhouse yesterday and I have the same complaints…but I’ve called Afterhours and they’re BASIC tux is $150 and then up. Men’s Wearhouse’s most expensive is $150. So despite they’re rudeness, inconvience, and so on…Men’s Wearhouse is free for the groom to choose the most expensive tux and cheaper the groomsmen.
I’m actually trying Men’s wearhouse for my engagement/wedding pictures that are 6 months before my wedding, so hopefully they’ll grow on me before I commit to them for my wedding attire.
actually, when we went to men’s warehouse, their “typical” tux that they were trying to pawn onto us was $140, after the $20 off coupon. they gave us the schpeel that the groom’s tux is free yadda yadda yadda, and that their price includes everything (minus the socks/underwear)…
… but afterhours we went to also has the same “coupon” (which really isn’t a coupon, but more just something to get you in the door) and a free groom’s tux as well. our grand total for everything (minus socks/underwear, of course), plus tax and everything, was $133. so, for us the afterhours tux was the cheapest.
There’s this one customer in Chicago where she threatened t report the sales rep to the manager and all she got was “Go ahead, report us, we hate our jobs anyway!” What kind of crap is that??
With all the complaints I’ve heard on the warehouse about the groom not able to fit the mens clothing line, not to mention the the not-so-cool attitude of their sales rep, Afterhours might be the best choice after all.
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Mrs. Spider, New York
Age and Occupation: 27, Paralegal
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Advisor Research
Engagement Date: December 30, 2005
Wedding Date: October 2006
Venue: Jericho Terrace - Long Island, NY
About Me: My favorite parts of wedding planning are DIY projects and figuring out ways to incorporate old traditions into a modern affair.
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