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Wearing a suit to a black tie wedding?


White Walker Texas Ranger

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I have a wedding this weekend that's a few hours away by plane. Like an idiot, I just realized that it's supposed to be a black tie event. Unfortunately I don't own a tux.

Is it too late to call a local place and rent a tux for the weekend? What if I just wear a decently nice suit?

A few of my friends told me they're not planning on wearing tuxes. One will just wear a suit, while another will wear a suit with a bowtie.

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1 minute ago, White Walker Texas Ranger said:

I have a wedding this weekend that's a few hours away by plane. Like an idiot, I just realized that it's supposed to be a black tie event. Unfortunately I don't own a tux.

Is it too late to call a local place and rent a tux for the weekend? What if I just wear a decently nice suit?

Not too late for a good rental place methinks. As far as wearing a nice suit, I'd get the opinion of someone in the wedding party if at all possible. 

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3 minutes ago, Jaxom 1974 said:

Get the opinion of those in the know with the wedding if you can. If you go with a nice suit in lieu of a tux, make sure it's a black suit for heaven's sake.

My only suit colors are navy and charcoal, so I guess I'll just try a last minute rental.

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46 minutes ago, Weeping Sore said:

You can get one of those tuxedo-printed t-shirts to go with some tight black yoga pants. Just don't forget a sequined cummerbund.

:lol:

I'd say try and go to a rental place if you can, you could wing it with a suit but if they specifically asked for black tie and it's feasible to do it, try and honour that 

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I'm all about promoting sartorial excellence but in this case, unless 70%+ of male guests will be in black tie, I'd wear a suit with a tie & pocket square combo that's festive rather than business. 

A good suit that actually fits you is better than a rental. 

I used to own a tux.  I wore it twice in a decade.  When I went to wear it a third time, it was so hopelessly out of style -- boxy jacket and pleated pants -- (despite $200 in alterations the second time I wore it) that I donated it and went with a rental instead.  I hated the rental.  It was like a potato sack compared to my own suits. 

Tuxedos are tough.  Very few people have a lifestyle that supports the outlay to own a good one, and no-one wants to wear a pig-ugly rental.  Tell the preppy douche groom that your tailor would be on suicide watch if you wore a rental and you are sure he understands how tempermental true artists can be. 

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Not sure its that uncommon. I've been to two wedding that were black tie "optional" (specifically said that on the invitation) in the past couple years. The idea was, wear a tux if you can/want to; but its fine to wear a black suit instead. Ties/pocket squares/vests as festive as you want.

For your case, I dunno if they're okay with the 'optional' part, but its usually pretty easy to rent a tux on short notice. The complicated part that takes time is getting one that fits the groom's requirements and is altered to best fit you, but that's only a issue for the wedding party. For everyone else, if you don't care that its a bit too baggy or whatever, short notice should be fine.

And just be glad you've never had to go to a white tie wedding. I almost did once, but the couple eventually changed their minds and were one of the black tie weddings.

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