Playing Dress Up: The Boys
August 27th, 2008 @ 5:18 pm by Miss Lemonade
I must have wardrobe on the brain lately, as today I can’t stop thinking about what the boys are going to wear (and how awesome Mr. Lemonade is going to look all dressed up! Y-U-M!). We’re pretty casual in our daily lives and Mr. Lemonade’s job is such that he doesn’t “dress up” in a suit and tie, so I’m that much more excited about not only Mr. Lemonade, but also the groomsmen and musicians (who are some of our very best friends as well) getting all done up in their formal wear.
That said, we’re not sure yet what exactly they’ll be outfitted in. Since we’re going for that ultra swanky formal vibe, they’ll all be sporting tuxes, and since none of them can remember the last time they needed a tux, they will all be renting. We had to choose a company that is national since one of our guys is located in Ohio (no, we don’t hold that against him… often). Since they happen to have a location across the street from our house, we decided we’re going to give the Men’s Wearhouse a chance.
all images courtesy of The Mens Wearhouse
My dress will be ivory, so I’d like Mr. Lemonade to wear an ivory shirt and tie. We’re thinking of having his tie made out of the extra fabric from my gown, since I’m 5 feet tall and we’re going to be cutting off almost half a foot! We’d also like the boys to wear the same color midnight/navy blue as their female counterparts (I love me some matching, I do!).
As far as styles go, I’m at a loss. Two buttons or three? Notch collar? Cummerbund or vest? Bow ties or straight “Euro” ties? These are all questions that are so foreign to me, and to our guys as well! What we do know is that we want them to all rock fun and matching socks and we’re “allowing” them to wear whatever shoes they choose (more than likely they’ll wear black Chucks that are nowhere near as pristine as this pair below).
I can’t wait to hit the MW for a mini fashion show to see what looks best on Mr. Lemonade and his crew. We’ll let you know how it goes!
How are the men in your party personalizing their tuxes?
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12 Responses to “Playing Dress Up: The Boys”
I am a fan of the classic tux with a hand tied bow tie. No prom tux for me.
Why, may I ask, are you going with an ivory shirt? Tie, I get, but a white tux shirt looks perfectly fine against an ivory dress! Just curious!
First of all, don’t hate on Ohio. People who live here probably didn’t choose to (I know I wouldn’t). 
Second, I can’t wait to hear about your experience at Men’s Warehouse. We’re possibly doing suits from there so I’ll be interested to read how everything went with them. Good luck!
I originally picked ivory for my guy to match my ivory dress. I just changed it though because MW ivory looks buttery, not the color ivory. I agree with MagPie white is fine.
I know that FI loves 3 button suits but for a tux that leaves little of the vest to be seen so we went with the 2 button suit with a tie and vest. He is wearing ivory to match my gown and the guys are wearing plum. I love it. Maybe you could give them new chucks as groomsmen gifts that way you know that they will be all shiny and nice looking instead of covered in dirt or worn down.
My fiance is in charge of what the boys are wearing. They’ve floated the idea of kilts, tuxes with tails and all sorts of bizarre ideas.
I’m hoping they settle on something reasonable, and I’ve tried to do some guidance… but ultimately I figure its up to him.
We get so much of the fun of picking almost everything out, that I figure its only fair that he have his arena!
Wish me luck!
I totally go back and forth - originally I thought the euro tie and vest was such a more modern, cute look. I still think it’s cute, but there has definitely been a resurgence of the basic classic tux - sans vest or cummerbund - with a bowtie. I’m kind of wishing he had picked that for their ensemble, but I vetoed their crazy schemes so I can’t complain. Either way I’m sure they’ll all look dashing.
However, something our consultant pointed out to us was that a white shirt doesn’t actually clash with ivory - since they’re wearing so much black, when you look at it, it’s most like it offsets the black rather than looks weird against the ivory. She said they’ve had lots of brides regret the ivory decision because in pictures it just doesn’t have the crispness of a white shirt/black tux combo and it ends up not looking as polished, clean, crisp, etc. in photos. Just something to think about!
Ooh! Ooh! I love the idea of fun socks for the boys, but I’m having a really hard time finding them. Have you had any luck on-line or around you? I live in Houston, but I’m up in the Hill Country all the time. It’s nice to see a fellow Texan!
I use to work in a tux shop and I wouldn’t recommend mixing a white shirt with an ivory dress or tie. Most of the time the ivory shirts are so light that they only look ivory when next to a white shirt or dress. I had a diamond white dress and my husband wore an ivory shirt and vest and tie and it looked great.
In my three years in the tux business I never had a bride come back after the wedding and tell us that she regretted going with the ivory shirts. The contrast of the black tux with the light shirt is going to make it crisp and polished whether it’s ivory or white so I wouldn’t worry about that. Just do whatever you like best!
I love the Euro ties… they look classy and classic without that “prom” look
As Alisha said above - My dress is not white either so I was going to go with ivory, however when the MW guy pulled out the ‘ivory’ shirt.. it was definitely buttery yellowish.. I’d stick with white.
Miss Lemonade, Austin/San Antonio
Age and Occupation: 28, Bureaucrat
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Music Management
Engagement Date: December 21, 2007
Wedding Date: April, 2009
Blogging Since: August 22, 2008
Venue: Country Club ceremony, ballroom reception
About Me: I’m a total wonkette who is lucky enough to be surrounded by her favorite things on a daily basis – awesome music, the great State of Texas and of course, Mr. Lemonade! I find any excuse I can to craft something and am completely infatuated with the 1950’s, all things Kennedy, and my furbaby Vida.
I’d always thought that the vest was the better look — that cumberbunds were so 1980s prom. However, looking into it a little, it seems that the cumberbund is making a comeback as the “classic” tux — I read it described as “James Bond never wore a vest.” Also, I’ve heard some guys say the vests make them feel like waiters. In looking at celeb photos online, seems a lot of them (Mr. Clooney and Mr. Pitt, among others), don’t bother with either.