A Suit for All Seasons
Just like brides, grooms are stepping up their fashion sense for the big day
By Nola Sarkisian-Miller CTW Features
For reasons based partly on the economy and partly on their personality, grooms are choosing to wear suits on their wedding day as an alternative to the signature tuxedo. While tuxedos are still the top pick for most, suits are a welcome change for the groom and his sidekicks, who can mix and match styles and colors and use the wardrobe staple again and again.
“It gives grooms and their groomsmen flexibility,” says Jennifer Hronek, owner of Joie de Vivre, a wedding consulting firm based in Glendale, Calif. “Bridesmaids have been able to buy a dress that they can wear again. Now grooms can buy something they can wear again at a good price.”
Last summer, Hronek’s client wore seersucker pants, a bright green tie and a navy blazer for an afternoon church wedding. His groomsmen wore the same look, but with a different color tie. Another client chose slacks and navy blazers for a preppy style. In an upcoming wedding, Hronek says, the groom is wearing a morning suit, with a tailcoat, vest and striped trousers.
Etiquette usually dictates that grooms wear suits or suit-style attire for less formal daytime wedding celebrations or in warm climates, according to “Emily Post’s Etiquette” (now in its 17th edition).
“Tuxedos usually aren’t worn before 5 p.m. or 6 p.m.,” Hronek says. “Suits are less stuffy for that time frame.”
Grooms are turning to non-traditional venues to pick up their wedding day wardrobe, which can vary in price from less than $500 to more than $1,000. A snapshot on Brides.com shows a bride wearing a satin Monique Lhuillier gown and her groom wearing a khaki suit from Banana Republic, where suits average around $475 for a blazer and trousers. Nordstrom.com’s wedding section highlights men’s tuxedos and suits, including a Hickey Freeman herringbone look on sale for $995.
At JoS. A. Bank Clothiers, a chain of menswear stores based in Hampstead, Md., customers opt for seersucker suits in the summer, says a sales representative at the Pasadena, Calif. location. When the groom's party select their suits for the wedding, they can place them on hold until the company stages its annual sales.
As grooms demonstrate nontraditional sartorial flair on their special day, could their dapper ensembles detract from the attention that’s usually lavished on the bride?
“It’s hard to take anything away from a bride’s dress,” Hronek says. “The bride is the only person people are always looking at.”
