How to Buy a Tuxedo – Kenneth Cole – $200 | Tommy Hilfiger – $300 | J. Crew – $700
If you’re over the age of 25, or under the age of 25 and consider yourself to be in the top 10% of your peers when it comes to style, renting a tuxedo can be a total nightmare. It can cost upwards of $125 to rent an ill-fitting, non-breathing, sack of polyester that some clod puke jagermeister all over the week before. Can you get buy with a black suit for black-tie invited events? Of course… if you do it right. But that time will come when you need to be in a monkey suit. And you need not be afraid or owning your own.
Buying a tux is just like buying a suit. Fit is key (especially in the shoulders), tailoring is a must, and the slight details will set you apart. Here are three options that should make you look more like you own the place, and less like you’re waiting tables:
Regular Unleaded – Kenneth Cole Slim Collection Tuxedo – $200
Kenneth Cole, despite all their maddening style-guides, really does know how to make a bargain-priced slim fit suit. Their tux is nothing more than that slim-fit suit in black, with the standard smooth satin lapel, covered buttons, and pocket piping. Is it anything extravagant? No. For twice the price of a rental will you look fifty times better than any other guy in a suit he borrowed from a tux shop? Count on it.
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Mid-Grade – Tommy Hilfiger Tuxedo – Reg. $525.00 | Usually on Sale for $300
Full disclosure: I don’t have a tux hanging in my closet. But the next time I need one, this is the tux I’m going to buy. Perfectly Proportioned high two-button, substantial but not crazy notch lapel, and a fit that’s trim and athletic. If you’re in shape but neither skinny or the incredible hulk, you’ll command some attention in this thing.
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Premium – J. Crew Ludlow Tuxedo – $670.00
If you’ve got $700 to blow on a Tux, then you probably own one. Or two. But say you’re getting married, and you just inherited $250,000, and you want to look reallly nice. Then go ahead and get this peak lapel, cut perfectly J. Crew Ludlow. Is it going to look twice as good as the Hilfiger Trim fit? Nope. But some high fashion types will still buy it.
Things to Remember
And some final notes about putting on that monkey suit. Lose the tuxedo shirt. A bright white formal oxford will do just fine. Cufflinks, there’s your opportunity for flash. Wear a tank watch and you risk looking too up-tight. A round yet still slim chronograph (like this one from Citizen
Hmm…this is good timing. I wear a tux 3-4x per year. I bought one maybe 5 years ago but I like the Tommy 2 button slim. My tux usually takes a beating because I wear it to charity functions which are really just big drinking parties for the older crowd.
Mid-grade: Get a custom-made to your specifications indochino.com tuxedo.
Premium: Get a bespoke custom-made to your specifications atailoredsuit.com tuxedo.
For best results: Don’t go cheap on a tuxedo. You may not wear it often, but when you do it’s important.
I really enjoyed this posting from Joe. I was tux shopping a couple of months back for my wedding, I used the occasion as the perfect excuse to finally buy myself a tuxedo (something I think every guy should do), and after a LOT of research and window shopping I settled on the Ludlow tuxedo from j.crew. The tux was significantly more expensive than I had originally intended to pay, but I sat and thought on it for like 3 months (really) and out of all the suits I saw I felt the most excited and comfortable with the cut and look of the ludlow. I did look long and hard at the Hilfiger option, but I was skeptical of the quality due to the unbelievable low price (it was even less than $300 when I saw it). Had I read this posting back then I would opted for the cheaper Hilfiger suit as I trust Dappered’s judgment on these matters.
Having bought the Ludlow though, I’ve yet to get it tailored. Was hoping I could get some advice on how to scout out a good, affordable tailor. I hear j.crew offers this service but I also hear their tailors aren’t so great that they are kinda hit and miss with these things. How does one go about finding a good tailor without enduring a trial and error process? I live in Chicago.
Hey Tristan. Thanks for the kind words. I’m glad you went with the Ludlow. It’s your wedding, and I think that means you gotta feel and look your best. I’d go with the Hilfiger because I’m already married and thus, the splurge wouldn’t be nearly as justified. You’re right to find your own tailor and have him or her (I prefer a her myself) actually look at you and communicate with you while you’re getting pinned up and fitted. A sales person pinning you up then sending it off to be tailored is too much of a risk. I don’t live in Chicago but I’ll drop this on our Dappered facebook page, and see if I can’t get some die-hards to respond with some suggestions. My only suggestion is ask around where you work, see who has a good tailor, or even ask the same of your fiancee’s girlfriends. Good luck!
Tristan — I go to a place next to Gus’s Shoe Repair on Clark just south of Fullerton … can’t remember the name but they’ve always done a good job. Have used a few other places on Clark without much luck.
Went with the Hilfiger, now I need a tailor. Any recommendations for a guy in Houston?