How hard is it to find a nice DB suit these days???

[avedwards]

I was thinking along similar lines with cutting the top two buttons off. Tomorrow I will be wearing it for the first time (not counting trying it on) so I might be able to get some photos and let the experts decide on whether the button removal will work.

 

[BruceTracy]

I had the similar idea for a 6x2 DB (If I found a nice, affordable one in my size). I was thinking maybe I could remove the top 2, non-functioning buttons, thereby making the jacket 4x2. What do you think?

 

[crazydaisy]

Hi, hope you can help me guys. My wedding is in September and, while I got my dress, we haven't got yet anything for my husband to wear. We'll have a vintage inspired do - 30's/40's - with me more inclined towards the 30's and wearing a long fluid satiny dress - starlet type - kinda Jean Harlow if you like.

My husband is into army and WWII stuff and would prefer to wear a blue/navy db suit with metal buttons that would look military reminiscent. We also like a lot the jackets Hugh Fraser wears in Poirot - the sport coats.

The other option would be a vintage looking tuxedo - which I think would be more appropriate for the occasion and would go better my dress.

Please advice me on what would be best. I am new to this and not very good at it. We also have little money and not a lot of time left. I have been looking around for suits/tuxedos but haven't see anything I like, or if I did, it was of ebay and not having the right measurements.
The budget is 300 pounds maximum. If anyone can suggest anything I would be grateful. We live in the Uk so we a re looking for suggestions of shops over here.
And yeah, did I mention I hate polyester? lol I know, it is going to be a toughie to find real quality for my money, but we can't spend any more than that, even that is a stretch.

 

[donCarlos]

crazydaisy

I would definitely forget the idea of blue suit with metal buttons - blue jacket with "golden" buttons is blazer and it shall only be worn with grey trousers, which seems to me too informal for a wedding. Maybe a full vintage royal navy uniform, but I don´t think it´s appropriate.

I´d go for the tuxedo, but I guess it´s impossible to get one in your price range, maybe a rental. An ordinary DB suit can be good too, he still surely will be the best dressed groom the guests have ever seen

And finally, don´t hate the polyesther (and I mean it to all loungers) I know that it looks wrong very often, but a certain ammount of polyesther in fabric can do wonders and the technology has advanced, so you often don´t even recognize there is some.

 

[crazydaisy]

yeah, I did think the sports coat would be too informal, just wanted to keep hubby happy and have him wear something that would feel "representative" for him to a certain extent...
Looks like I had a good gut feeling about the dinner jacket - now just finding one will be quite the challenge. How much does the stuff cost anyway? If it's around 500 pounds maybe I can still find something in my price range in the sales...Maybe someone can point makes or shops for me to keep an eye on...

 

[Luke 42]

To my experience there are always a lot of vintage dinnersuits on ebay.co.uk which would cost you less than 500 quid and be certainly of nice quality. I also have seen a very nice one in the thrift shop next door, although they never seem to carry anything else that's interesting, so it seems there are some dinner suits out there. Don't know his size though, I've seen dinner suits from sizes 36-40. But then again, I don't look for big sizes, so maybe they're out there?

Edt: Sorry, my point seems moot..I should've read your post completely first:eusa_doh:

 

[Howard Hughes]

WEDDING ATTIRE

Whatto, Miss Daisy,
First, a groom does not wear a dinner suit, Tuxedo, sports jacket, or blazer in which to get married, please abandon these ideas completely.
He should wear, I think, Grey morning trousers, a Black topcoat, and a Bowler hat. However, I doubt you will wish to take this route, in which case he should wear a smart, understated suit.
Unless your intended is an incredibly odd shape, he should be able to pick up an original, period, "smart" suit for less than three hundred pounds stirling.
I just picked up a beautiful, DB, navy, pin-stripe, De-Mob (which will probably serve the same purpose for myself, also in September of this year) for not
much more than half of that.

After all is said and done, it is your day and you should do and wear exactly what you like, but if you wish to keep it period, then there are a few rules to obey.

Hope this helps, and that I have not offended in any way.
Good luck with the wedding plans, hope you are more organised than us.
At least I have the transport organised, and that is the main thing.

Toodleoo
HH.

 

[avedwards]

Crazydaisy, if what you are looking for is a DB suit which can pass off for '30s it shouldn't be too hard. I don't know where you live, but Slaters in Birmingham was where I saw a 6 on 2 DB pinstripe (or shadowstripe) made from pure wool which looked like it could have come from the Golden Era. For £210 which was outside my limit but will be within yours. Other than that the cut isn't quite as nice as custom suits or vintage suits, there is nothing wrong with it.

I agree with the others though, a dinner jacket for a wedding is incorrect. Either morning dress, a stroller or a suit. My personal favourite is a suit just because it's the only one a fedora can be worn with, but if your fiance's comfortable in a topper, a bowler or a homburg (or no hat ) then the others are an option too. Charcoal grey three piece suit is the most formal suit colour for a wedding IMO, then black pinstripe (plain black is more for funerals). I'd say either a single breasted three piece suit, or a DB one though, as a single breasted two piece suit isn't formal enough IMO.

 

[John in Covina]

Here in the US you would often in the past see the men of a wedding party in what we call a Morning Suit which these days is getting harder to find at your regular tux rental shop.

(Also what's with wearing a tux but no tie just some stone on the top button? I still remember at an event on TV a winner comes up with the stone sans tie and Billy Crystal in his best Mom's voice says, "What?! You couldn't put on a tie?!")

Best wishes for the wedding.

 

[avedwards]

Here in the US you would often in the past see the men of a wedding party in what we call a Morning Suit which these days is getting harder to find at your regular tux rental shop.

I'm glad to say that here in the UK at least some formal wear rental shops will have some form of morning tailcoat with morning trousers, waistcoat and all the necessary accessories including a topper.

 

[crazydaisy]

Uhhh...please forgive my ignorance guys, I understand it may be shocking to some of you, but I am not familiar at all with formal attire, and even less for men than women. Having said that, I did know that a morning tailcoat and top hat/bowler would be appropriate for a groom attire, however you must understand this is in some aspects a less formal wedding. First of all it is a very small wedding, just family and friends, around 30 people. I don't know if this counts in terms of formality. I am getting more and more confused. Also my husband and I are already married civily and we have been so for the past 5 years. We are now doing the religious service and an evening reception with dance afterwards (no band, can't afford it). We are doing this because first time around we didn't get to have "the wedding" due to our circumstances at the time, and we want to make up for it. But at the same time it will not have all the formality of a whole wedding, so to speak. I don't want to overdo it, nor do I have the money for it really. Anyway, enough with the side explanations, I just wanted you to get the idea.
Also, please bear in mind this wedding/ anniversary party is taking place abroad, in a country that does not have a proper tradition/ knowledge of what constitutes or not proper attire for different formal occasions.
Therefore I don't have very specific expectations of my guests, and the dress code is black tie with inspiration from the 30's/40's. Enough to say the vintage theme freaks everybody out - in a place where people put on whatever to go to a wedding, and admittedly have very little resources to dress well. (I know the saying according to which one is too poor to dress poorly, however there is poverty, and there is Poverty.)
So going back to the groom's attire, since tailcoat seemed too much in the context, the next best thing to me seemed a dinner suit. In my ignorance it seemed more formal than a suit. The option of having a db suit somehow military looking was just an idea to indulge my husband who's not keen on a tux.
Now you know it all. And I am EXTREMELY confused. So given the situation, what should he wear and where can he buy it?

Sorry for the extremely long post.

 

[avedwards]

A dinner suit or dinner jacket (both the same thing) is more formal than a suit, it's one rung up the ladder. For an evening event it is appropriate. DB dinner jackets exist as well as single breasted ones and which one you get is just a matter of personal preference. Most decent menswear shops will sell you some sort of dinner jacket. Very cheap ones come from Matalan (less than £100 for the entire outfit), better ones at Marks & Spencer and the best at expensive retailers.

Hope this clears you up a little bit.

 

[Howard Hughes]

WEDDING ATTIRE

Whatto, Mrs Daisy,

First off, you use the terms "Dinner Jacket" and "Tuxedo" in the same context, as though they were the same thing, well, they are not.

Second, if the dress code is "Black Tie" then the groom must either wear "Black Tie" or "White Tie". Nothing less formal, so no Tuxedo.

You should be able to pick up a nice 30/40's dinner jacket from Ebay UK for approx £30-£40, trousers will nearly always colour match and should be even cheaper.

Third, and, in my opinion, most importantly, one should not "dress down", just because other people do. It is virtually impossible to "over dress", but it is all too easy to "under dress".

I know where there is a stash of vintage dinner jackets/suits, in England, all at affordable prices, so if you are prepared to spend a few pounds on petrol, a trip out may "save" you much more in the long run.

Toodleoo
HH

 

[crazydaisy]

Howard Hughes,

I am obviously very mixed up with my terms and I must apologize again for my ignorance. Looks like i'll have to get dictionary out. I thought the jacket with silky lapels worn with bow tie (like the one Bogart wears in Casablanca, except his is white) was called a tuxedo jacket or a dinner jacket, as I went into a shop asking for a tuxedo and they said: "Oh, is dinner jacket you mean!" [huh] So yeah, who can blame my guests if I don't know my onions!
As for that place you're talking about, absolutely, let me know, I'm very interested!

 

[crazydaisy]

Looking it up on wikipedia contributes to my general confusion:

"Black tie is a dress code for semi-formal evening events, and is worn to many types of social functions. For a man, the major component is a jacket, known as a dinner jacket (British) or tuxedo (Canada and the U.S.), which is usually black but is also seen in midnight blue. A woman's corresponding evening dress ranges from a conservative cocktail dress to the long evening gown, determined by current fashion, local custom, and the occasion's time."

" ...black-tie ensembles can display more variation. In brief, the traditional components are:

* A jacket with silk facings (usually grosgrain or satin), called the dinner jacket
* Trousers with silk braids matching the lapels
* A black cummerbund or low-cut waistcoat
* A white dress shirt with either a marcella (piqué cotton), stiff, or pleated front
* A black silk bow tie
* Black dress socks, usually silk
* Black shoes in patent or highly polished leather, or patent leather court shoes"

So then are they or not the same thing? According to this, I was not confused at all! [huh]

 

[Blackl3232]

"Tuxedo" was originally just the American name for the dinner suit. More recently though, kids have started refering to their prom outfits with 3 button jackets, black shirts, neon neckties and vests, etc. as "tuxedos", so many sartorialists tend to avoid that word.

The term dinner jacket can refer to either the black or white jacket. In America it's common to call the white jacket a dinner jacket, and the black jacket a tuxedo, but technically they're both dinner jackets. In Europe they're both still called dinner jackets. Dinner jacket can also refer to just the jacket, or both the jacket and pants depending on who you're talking to. Dinner suit is sometimes used for the whole outfit.

Dinner suits (tuxedos) and white tie and tails are only supposed to be worn in the evening, or after 6 p.m. In England weddings take place during the day (I think I read that this is by law?), so the only correct attire is a morning coat, which as you say would probably be too formal for what you're looking for. In America weddings have historically occurred both in the evening and the morning, so grooms have often worn tuxedos here. It's now actually common to wear a tuxedo here during the day, even though it's not "correct" to do so.

As for what you should get-if it's taking place in the evening a dinner suit/tuxedo would be fine. If it's not, or if you don't want to wear the dinner suit, then a standard double breasted suit would be a good choice.

 

[crazydaisy]

Many thank, that explains it all! we'll see what it is going to be...maybe I can scary him into some tails...lol if not dinner suit or db suit will be. Church ceremony lasts 1/2 hour from 4.30 and reception starts at 6 pm.

 

[avedwards]

To my knowledge they are the same thing, though I could be wrong. Tuxedo is the American word, dinner jacket the British. Black tie is the dress code referring to when they should be worn. A white dinner jacket can be worn in summer instead of a black one, although this is not so common (though allowed) in Britian, mainly because our summers aren't that warm.

So to help you clarify a little bit:
Dinner jackets can be white or black, but I would recommend black for your husband as he is the host and black is a little bit more formal.

Bow tie must be black with black tie, white or any other colour may be worn at modern events but is incorrect.

Lapels can be peaked, notched or shawl. Peaked is what double breasted suits have (although it does exist in single breasted), notched is what normal modern suits have (although some vintage suits had this too) and shawl is what dressing gowns have. Peaked lapels are the most formal.

Dinner jackets can be single or double breasted. What you must be aware of is that certain styles are not period accurate if you want this to be a '30s wedding. For example, all white dinner jackets of that era had shawl lapels, whether single or double breasted.


Hope this is of some help.

 

[Feraud]

This primer will help explain and clarify a lot of the terms and misunderstands on modern and vintage formal wear.
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=7058

It's a recommended read.

 

[Blackl3232]

http://blacktieguide.com/ is a good resource as well.