our friends at astor & black invade the blog today to discuss the debates that go along with wedding tuxes… and the custom options that exist.

Marshall and Michi. Photo by Allison Conklin.

The day has arrived. You’ve had a good night’s sleep, you’ve taken your vitamins and you’re ready to tackle this head on. It’s What You’re Going to Wear to the Wedding Day.

After a coffee with the wife-to-be and an hour of discussion, you’re feeling pretty good about your progress. After the second hour, you tell her: “Honey, it’s your day to shine. I just need to make you look good.” You’re rewarded with a smile, maybe a kiss, but no absolution from the meeting. After the third hour, you’ve already been to your honeymoon and back, plus you’ve made up a haiku about socks, and decided on a name for your goldfish.

Finally, the planning is over. And the shopping begins.

There’s a brief rent vs. buy debate, then a trip to the department store – for three hours and three hundred (or so) fitting room marches – an online search, a trip back to the department store, a fitting, a tailor, the fabric retailer downtown, and then another round at a different department store, the one with more variety at the outlet mall outside town.

Sound like a headache yet?

Charles and Lindsey. Photo by Manolo Doreste.

At this point, you’re beginning to wish there was a tuxedo genie that if you just promise to stop eating chocolate, or drinking so much beer, the genie will appear at night while you sleep. It will wake you with a touch of a feather and hand deliver an impeccably designed tuxedo that is timelessly classic, and yet perfectly suited for the wedding theme and color scheme. The fabric is soft, the satin is luscious, the seams sharp, and accessories you never even knew you wanted.

You step out of bed and change into the tuxedo. It feels snug and cool against your skin. You stand in front of the mirror with your and wow! The man looking back at you is definitely you, albeit an updated version, an upgraded version. This must be a dream, you pinch yourself, it must be a dream.

You grab the phone, “Honey, you have to get over here, right now!” She’s on her way before you hang up. She comes rushing through the door.

“Honey! Are you alright?” She’s in the hallway right around the corner. You’re still looking at your reflection.

“Honey?” and then she turns the corner. She stops in her tracks. You turn to her. She meets your gaze, speechless for a moment.

Then she’s not. “Omg, honey, you look amazing! This… I literally dreamed of this just last night! This is exactly how I always imagined you would look – so fantastic and dashing!”

“This must be a dream,” you both say at the same time.

But it doesn’t have to be.

When you opt for a custom tuxedo for your wedding day, it saves a lot of hassle, a lot of time, and the end product is perfect. The look and fit will be timeless, so your wedding night will never be dated, nor the photos. The quality is top tier so the tuxedo will last upwards of ten years. (That’s assuming you don’t eat too much pasta in the interim).

The primary advantage of custom is the limitless array of options at your disposal in terms of fabric, design and accessories to match any theme or style. At Astor & Black, our favorite custom clothing company*, you also have the benefit of the clothier as a personal fashion consultant who will guide you through the maze of options to finding the wedding attire best suited for you.

And not just you. And not just the tuxedo. They can outfit the best man, the groomsmen, or an entire wedding party. They also offer a full range of men’s and tuxedo accessories, including belts and shirts, and have special wedding packages for groom and groomsmen attire. It’s a sweet deal.

The greatest deterrent to going custom however, is the price tag. While there’s no denying that a custom wedding tuxedo is more expensive than renting or buying, the actual numbers might surprise you. It’s an investment and it could begin paying off right from the first day you make an appointment with an Astor & Black clothier.

It could be a dream come true.
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astor & black is a sponsor of the man registry’s groomsadvice.com

Are you considering a custom tuxedo for your wedding day. What about the look makes makes it right for you? Tell us in the comments section below.

By Guest Blogger: OneWed.com

I know what you’re thinking, it’s a wedding dress, it’s white, right? Um, no. Is it white, diamond white, platinum, ivory, or off white?

Many brides don’t want you to see their dress before the wedding day, and if your fiancée feels that way, you need to honor her feelings on this. But, you do need to ask her what color the dress is. Why? Well, when you go to buy (or rent) a tuxedo they’ll ask you. Again, why? Well, because “they” want your shirt to match her dress. Believe it or not, if she’s wearing an ivory dress and your tuxedo shirt is white, it will look a little funny in pictures.

Just a few of the odd facts of wedding planning that we like to share with you.

By Guest Blogger OneWed.com

If you’ve ever been shoe shopping with your fiancée you’ve probably noticed those boxes of little slip on hose-type things. That’s because women tend to wear one of the three things on their feet: regular socks, hose/tights, nothing. Trying on shoes with the wrong kind of socks can make a huge difference in fit.

Are you curious about where I’m going with this? If you don’t wear a suit for work, or if you’re the kind of guy who wears white athletic socks no matter what, you may not have noticed that men also have “dress socks” and “regular socks.” If you go to try on your wedding day shoes wearing the same socks that you work out in, they won’t fit correctly. Believe it or not, your wedding attire will require you to buy a new pair of socks, and you will need to bring those socks with you when you go shopping for your wedding day shoes.

Not earth shaking or life changing advice, but still, something you need to know.

Guest Blogger Profile: Simon Daykin

Grooms can take a note from these guys when it comes to style

Last year North Americans spent over 52 Billion dollars on clothes, sadly most did not buy any style.  Don’t believe me?  Next time you’re travelling internationally, try to pick out the North Americans in the airport.  They are pretty easy to spot for the most part, walking piles of laundry.  Oversized sweaters, rumpled pants, baseball hats, etc.  In contrast, look at the European travelers, smart, well dressed, hair styled and great shoes.  Still comfortable for flying, but they look good while doing it.

I always say that it is never a bad thing to be the best dressed guy in the room, and I stand by this 100%.  I have also noticed that some guys just don’t know how to choose well fitted clothes, the shoulders on their shirt end at their triceps, or the neck is WAY too big for them.  Did you know that when a suit jacket is buttoned up and you pull it away from your body, there should only be the length of your thumb between your body and the jacket?  Any more space and the jacket is not the right fit for you.  I know casual Friday is recognized in most offices, but seriously guys, that doesn’t mean baggy jeans, old stinky sneakers and a “Golden Boy” T-shirt.

Shall We Begin?

I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again.  The suit is not the be all and end all, you need to add your style to it.  Accessorize my friends…add pocket squares, a kick ass tie, amazing shoes, even socks can make an impact.  I have my Union Jack socks that I wear to most events, yup, they get noticed.  The suit is a great place to start but it needs to be added to.  And when choosing the suit, I suggest making a trip to a high end suit store to pick the salesman’s brain.  Ask about style trends, colors that are in that season and how to accessorize if you don’t feel comfortable doing it yourself.  Also, if you have a friend or co worker that dresses really well and you like their style, ask them a few questions, trust me…they will be flattered you did.  If you pick up your suit or tux rental and go with what they give you, then you’ll just look like every other guy who got married over the last decade or so, and we don’t want that do we!?!?!

Many grooms accessorize with engraved cufflinks.

Size Does Matter

It’s a pretty simple concept, but it’s also simple to screw this up because a lot of guys don’t know exactly what to look for.  A well tailored suit will make you look a million times better than a suit you pulled off the rack at say…Sears.  When choosing your shirts and suits make sure that the shoulder seams fall on your shoulders.  Pretty simple concept right?  Now have a look at the general public the next time you’re out and see how many guys have broken this rule.  A collar on a dress shirt should fit snugly around your neck, not too tight though.  If you can fit more than one finger between you and your collar, that neck size is not the right one for you.  If you’re getting married on a beach and you’re going with the golf shirt style, the shirt should end just below the waist…not down at the crotch, you ain’t K-Fed!  With the pants, a pant worn lower will elongate your torso, I like this look and it works for me.  A higher waistline will make your torso appear shorter and more stocky.  A jacket that drapes low on you will give you the appearance of having shorter legs, but a shorter cut on the jacket will make them appear longer.  It’s important to try on a few different styles to make sure you get the right one for you.

Quality Always Wins

You can always tell the difference between a tailored suit or tux and one that is off the rack.  Be it the lining, the stitching, the fabric the garment is made of and most of the time, the fit itself.  If you are renting, go to a higher end rental place, forget Moore’s rentals and the “booklet” people.  Go to a place that has stock on site and will let you try stuff on.  NEVER, EVER order sight unseen!  If you’ve decided to get married in a suit, buy a new suit for the wedding, a custom suit, just for you.  I suggest Indochino.com, I get all my suits from here and I can say, they do good work.  You can wear that suit after your wedding, it’s not the dress that gets wrapped in plastic and stuck in a box.  So spend a little extra on it.  You’ll have it for a long time.

Simon’s Gutsy Groom Advice

At your wedding you should be the best dressed guy in the room, nay…you MUST be!  So do your research, look into various styles, look at both suits and tuxes as options.  Research the colors and accessories and go shoe shopping.  Never wear the rental shoes!  Try EVERYTHING on!  If you’re thinking about wearing it on your wedding day, try it on before hand.  Put on the full look, down to the cufflinks and socks.  If you’re wearing sunglasses for an outdoor ceremony, put those on with the outfit, they may not look as good with a suit as they do with a beer and boardshorts.  And make sure they fit properly, sunglasses should fit the frame of your face, not hang off the side.
There are plenty of places and people out there that you really have no excuse to be ill dressed at your wedding, or really any day of your life.  Don’t be afraid to ask, or visit if you have any questions.  If you don’t want to go out in public with your style questions, the internet is there for you in the privacy of your own home.  Sites such as Indochino.com have style tips on a wide variety of subjects,  TheManRegistry.com has a stable of experts (myself included) just waiting to help you out, Youtube.com can show you how to tie a bow tie and I’m always available should you need me.

So in closing gentlemen, remember that fashion is fun, once you have a few rules that work for you on the basics, try new things, add brighter colors and may every suit you wear be a well fitted one.

We recently came into connection with one of the guys over at Blank Label, an online custom dress shirt company, that lets YOU be the designer of your own dress shirts, and we  thought it might be of interest to you guys out there to check them out and see what they’re all about (By the way, for the overly sensitive and non-humorous crowd, this site is off-limits).

New e-tailer, Blank Label, is changing the shopping experience with their intuitive dress shirt customization platform. They offer custom dress shirts that can be worn by the casual, everyday male, or better yet, customized for a theme-oriented groom’s and groomsmen’s shirt.

So imagine this. The theme of your wedding is a red, white and blue. You can create a blue dress shirt, with a red and white striped collar and matching cuffs, white placket, and red buttons!

As you can also see, the shirt I’ve created, which is blue and comes with matching red/white striped collar and cuffs, white placket and red buttons (NOTE: the buttons don’t update on the visual, but we were assured that the database still registers your selection) only costs $62.50. Not a bad deal for a shirt, custom tailored for you, designed by you. Now, if you contact our new friend, Danny Wong at dwong@blank-label.com you can work out a group discount if you wanted to get this snazzy shirt or any custom shirts for that matter, for yourself and all your groomsmen too!

The concept behind Blank Label’s custom, design-it-yourself dress shirts stemmed from their interest in changing the landscape of fashion and retail as we know it. They’re here to solve the problem of looking like every other guy because most guys shop at the same stores and buy the same thing. There’s nothing individual about wearing a mass-produced shirt, in fact, there’s nothing special to that shopping experience. We’ve found Blank Label’s online application to be a fun new way to shop because you can design your own product that’s completely one-of-a-kind. Admittedly, we haven’t purchased shirts yet ourselves, but are interested in trying them out! They’ve got a ‘perfect shirt guarantee’ too, which means you can return your shirt within 60 days of purchase for a full-refund (didn’t think you could do that with a custom product, right?), and they even pay for return shipping! Their website doesn’t say all of this now, but Danny’s got your back.

BL gets the TMR seal of approval and we think it’d be cool for any guy to call on the Blank Label team to whip up custom dress shirts for himself (the groom) and his groomsmen for his wedding. The turnaround time is only 21 days too! But if you don’t think you’re one of the creative types that can design an awesome dress shirt, perhaps your fiancé might like to give it a try.

You can find the Blank Label guys at http://www.blank-label.com, email general inquiries to sayhi@blank-label.com, or even connect with them on Twitter or Facebook.