It’s summertime and usually we would be enjoying all the wonderful social moments the summer season brings. This year we are still on a semi-holding pattern and whilst the lockdown thaws out, I cannot help but think about all the postponed weddings, graduations and summer parties, we are all missing out on.
I feel that this period has made us think about the more important things in our life and one of those is to celebrate the milestones with our loved ones. With the postponement comes wardrobe dilemma’s and to be honest, even in normal times, navigating around formal wear for special occasions, can be daunting for those unused to having reason to wear suits, tuxedos and dinner jackets. Choosing custom-made tailoring for a special occasion is often for men, the first experience with J.Hilburn and we want to ensure that we can address his fit perfectly but also guide him to making the right choice for those special moments in his life making him feel and look his very best.
I am someone who doesn’t believe in a lot of rules in menswear but when it gets to formal–wear I believe that some guidelines can be helpful in feeling your best at those big occasions. We know we can get the fit perfect, but most guys get pretty flustered not knowing what the most appropriate way to show up to any kind of event.
Some occasions may not need special attire at all and normally a good summer sportcoat can be enough to dress up an outfit for a garden party or fête. The seersucker suit is a great go–to for a more dressed–up occasion, for example as a daytime summer wedding guest. It looks so fresh and summery and very fitting for any outdoors daytime occasion. I love it with an open neck shirt and pocket square, but a lovely silk tie can add a touch of smartness to this fresh summer staple.
Light colored linen suits are also a very stylish way to show up to a daytime event, but they will wrinkle which some men love, and some men hate. Linen is often a go–to for destination weddings that involve beaches or resort destinations where looking good and feeling cool at the same time is paramount.
Generally, if an occasion takes place indoors or partially outdoors, I would advise a cool wool suit in a mid to light grey, navy or pale blue. These colors are perfect for indoor religious weddings and work well with boutonnieres (flowers in a lapel). I especially love navy as it photographs well and tends to take about ten pounds off you in pics, which is very helpful indeed.
So now let’s talk about tuxedos and dinner jackets. First briefly; a Tux is a suit of the same (usually dark) color. Black and navy are the classic choices but other colors such as grey are becoming a stylish alternative choice. A dinner jacket is a separate formal jacket with satin lapels worn back to black tux pants. The point of both of these is that they should be worn for evening which I would define as 5pm and beyond.
Sunset weddings with evening receptions, any event that requests “Black Tie” or “Formal Attire” after 5pm is actually asking you to wear a tux though a dark suit and tie is often an acceptable choice. I remember living in New York and always having my tux’s matched in my closet and ready to go last moment. The social life in the city was pretty busy especially as a Fashion Designer living there. Fundraisers, parties, last minute invites and occasions would often pop-up and I quickly learned to have my black and navy tuxedos hung separated from each other to avoid the faux pas of an unintentional navy and black ensemble. I also learned to give myself enough time to get dressed in a tux as it is a ceremonial process that can take even an expert dresser, more time than he imagined. The accessories, between the stud-front shirt, cufflinks etc. and of course the bowtie (I rigorously don only a self–tied one) can take up a lot of time.
Luckily, at J.Hilburn, we not only offer many choices in formal wear but offer also all the coordinated accessories to ensure that we can outfit any special occasion.
