The Event: Wedding at the famed Four Seasons Restaurant in Manhattan.
Dress: Black Tie
The wedding was planned for a Saturday. On a Wednesday I realized that the attire was black tie and I do not own a tuxedo, at least one that I would be caught dead in. I needed to solve this problem, and do it quickly. This I don’t believe, is an isolated incident for men in the prime of wedding season.
Okay, tuxedo options, this is not going to be pretty. I could always rent a tux, right? I’m gonna look good –- that guy with the beard guarantees it, right? No way, I can’t go the Men’s Warehouse route. Too much disgusting fabric. Too painful. Anyway, the timing did not allow for renting a tux. Not even close. Damn-you planning ahead. Then I realized that the best option for me just a few blocks away at the J.Crew Ludlow Shop in TriBeCa. Boom. Game changer. Even Mr. Impossible Cool agrees.
I walked in on a Friday, tried on a few different options. Picked out a jacket, selected the perfect pants and shirt and was ready to go in just about an hour. The tuxedos are all part of the cultish Ludlow fit program meaning they are slim and have perfectly modern proportions. All of the Ludlow stuff is sold as separates, which makes things incredibly easy from a sizing perspective. The game changing factor of buying a suit or tux from the Ludlow range is the fact that if the jacket ($525) fits you off the rack (which it did for me), you can select the pants ($265) with the appropriate waist and inseam sizing and then basically walk away without any tailoring work necessary. This was exactly my experience at J.Crew and the Ludlow Shop, which enabled me to procrastinate at a very high level while at the same time being incredibly productive and extremely well-dressed for what turned out to be an amazing black tie wedding.
I feel this post won’t be complete without a pic of you in the tux.
I really wish that pick-your-pants-separately thing would become standard . I just bought a really nice L.B.M. 1911 suit, only to find out that the waist can’t be altered because of the way the fabric was dyed.
I would not look forward to going to an event where I’m told I have to wear a tux, surely there’s away around it. Nice to know J Crew are making it easy for us.
I agree with first comment – we need to see a picture of you in the fabulous tux at the fabulous wedding!
Yeah Im lucky, J Crew stuff also fits me off the rack, dont even need to get the sleeves adjusted. I bought a suit there at the last minute and it worked out great. I have a handful of suits and sport coats from them, all are great.
What do you want to see? It’s a simple question with a complicated answer. To solve the conundrum the challenge must been tweaked.
Yes, picture!!
So, what would you wear to a wedding that said ‘lounge suit’ as the dress code?
JCrew 4 Ever..!
I must say I experience the same ordeal..! In which case I ended up heading to their shop on Broadway. A cool 1 hour later I walked out with an amazing Heather Grey Doubled Breasted number, only sending about 800 clams..!
Kenyan
Yes but their tux’s have vents which real tux’s should not have!