Kenneth Cole Video Style Guide – What to Wear to a Summer Wedding
“Ed and Lynne’s wedding is this weekend! Forecast is looking warm with boozy patches. I’m already sweating thinking about wearing that thick wool suit in August…” – From KennethCole.com
It’s wedding season. If you’re between the ages of 25 – 40 you’re probably scheduled to attend somewhere between, oh, 25 – 40 weddings in the next few months. Maybe not that many, but for a lot of us there are summers where you’re attending nuptials once a month.
Kenneth Cole’s latest style guide covers what to wear if you’re a non groomsmen at one of these warm ceremonies, and be warned: Getting dressed for a summer wedding can be extremely tricky. Two years ago I saw a groomsmen pass out during a ceremony and it was only 80 degrees that day. He was standing in the sun, wearing a rented tux, and he just flat out collapsed. He ended up with a concussion which garnered a quick trip to the hospital. You do NOT want to be that guy, so dressing appropriately while staying cool is a must.
What the guys at Kenneth Cole got right, and what they got wrong, after the video.
Well that looks like it was thrown together. Both the video and the outfit. The entire production seemed rushed. This Doug guy now looks like half his luggage was lost by the airline, and he’s been forced to combine what he wore on the plane with what was left in his carry on. At least he’s not wearing sneakers. Let’s get started…
What they got RIGHT
The Shoes – Kenneth Cole Mister Man Oxfords – $255.00
See… I knew Brian from Kenneth Cole Productions had it in him. Gone are the sneakers that were suggested for first dates, charity functions, and the work place. Here’s a pair of shoes that’ll get a bridesmaid’s attention. And for almost $300, the better do something other than cover your feet. Smooth uppers, slightly pointed toe, perfect. Annnnnnd really expensive.
The Watch – Black Leather Strap Chronograph – $160.00
Nice pick for the time piece. No touch-screen digital this time, but instead a true dress chronograph. Thin in the case with a croc-embossed wristband. Pretty affordable too at just $160.00
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What they got WRONG
The Suit – NO: BLACK Cotton Tech Suit – $230.00 | YES: Stone Cotton Suit – $350.00
Just because it’s cotton doesn’t mean you’ll stay cool. A black suit is still black, and it’ll absorb heat like crazy. I’m not blaming Brian from Kenneth Cole productions on this one. At :58 in the video he has the stone colored suit literally in his hands. He even calls it “the perfect choice.” And it is. Yet somehow the Doug guy ends up in a black suit. Don’t wear black to a summer wedding. You’ll look like you’re headed to a funeral, and if it’s hot enough you just might end up at one. You’re own. You can also save yourself some money and pick up any of the best summer suits under $200. $350 isn’t bad for a well tailored suit off the rack (which the Kenneth Cole is) but just know there are cheaper options.
The Shirt – NO: Chambray Shimmer Shirt $59.50 – YES K. Cole Blue Stripe Shirt – $44.99
A nice rule of thumb is to never wear anything that uses the word “shimmer” in its description. Just go with a medium blue striped oxford. It’s classic and you won’t look like the lovechild of Chuck Norris and Robocop.
The Socks – NO: Sockless & Tieless | YES: B.R. Socks – $8.50 & Gap Wool Tie – $24.99
Sockless works sometimes. But this is really not one of those times. Dress laceups, a black suit, and bare ankles doesn’t look cool and breezy, it looks unfinished and messy. Not to mention it recalls Michael Jackson’s affinity for bright white socks with black shoes and pants. Sockless works best with lighter colored suits and dress loafers. And even if you are going with that combination for a wedding, it’s still a wedding. Wear socks. And a tie. A simple wool tie looks strangely perfect in the dead of summer.
Agreements? Disagreements? Too boring? Do you like wearing stuff that “shimmers?” You know the drill, leave it all in the comments section below…
The suit is too small on him!
I was thinking the same thing. The jacket looks too slim (noticeable stress on the button) and the pants are halfway to Thom Browne territory. Just my opinion.
So its okay to wear a light suit at night?
the suit is too small, it appears as if doug is having a tough time being comfortable when he is trying to hail a cab. I just think this entire showing is a farce. Once again the classic look looks the best, simple but stylish…cheers
I just attended a wedding this weekend that started at 5pm and went well into the night. I wore the J.Crew Cotton Ludlow Suit with a similar look as the model goes for. My brother wore the Macy’s INC $75 suit mentioned numerous times before. These are both light suits (obviously) and it was a night time wedding, and we were definitely the best dressed there :). We both got numerous compliments on the suits.
I personally do not like the stone color dappered and the guy in the video picked up. It looks almost pure white, and that is like straight baller status. The only time I can see a pure white (or close to) suit working is if you are in the Caribbean. On a yacht. Shooting a music video with girls in bikinis all around you.
That’s just my opinion though 🙂
I agree with Bryan about wearing white to a wedding. The only one who should wear white to a wedding should be the bride..or groom if he’s to get a white tux. I feel its kind of taking away from them to wear that color. But the suit is indeed sweet. Just a little up there in price.
I think I would stick with black cotton on this one.
Wait a minute, so… by the same logic does that mean it’s not cool to wear black to a wedding because that’s what a groom is usually in? I think it’s different if you’re a guy. And it’s 100 degrees out. And even if a woman were to wear a white cocktail type dress to a wedding, I don’t think anyone should take it as a slight to the bride and groom. Maybe that’s not real traditionalist to me but… I put myself in that situation at my wedding, and if one of the women wore a white dress, I wouldn’t have thought twice about it.
Well.. I think it is a bit out of line for someone (female mostly) to wear white to a wedding personally aside from the bride/groom. That said, there’s nothing wrong with wearing a light color. I just think out of respect the white or offwhite should be reserved for the bride/groom. The j.crew ludlow suit is a light grey but has the stripes to darken it a little bit.
I don’t think you need to wear black (in fact you probably shouldn’t if you value your sanity), but there is a wide spectrum of colors that are not white (not to mention patterns and such) so it shouldn’t be hard to give the bride/groom that distinctive color.
Lastly, the wedding I attended was an outdoor wedding and the sun was still shining at 5pm and it was hot and muggy. My brother and I were actually pretty comfortable in our linen and cotton (respectively) suits. On the other hand the groom’s men were wearing black tuxedos and a few other people were wearing darker suits too and they all looked like they were dying. I’m not gonna lie though, despite being reasonably comfortable during the ceremony we were both extremely grateful for the A.C. when we went inside for the reception :).
Oh also, one more note. Having now had experience with both a linen and cotton suit, I personally would recommend cotton over linen. The linen my brother wore was much more prone to wrinkles than my cotton ludlow. He had to iron twice before we left because he laid it on his bed wrong the first time, and as the night progressed his naturally picked up at least 2-3x more wrinkles than my suit. Didn’t matter that much to us because once the dancing started the jackets came off, but in a situation where the jacket remains on the cotton would probably hold up better.
Agreed about the cotton over linen if you want to avoid wrinkles. Linen suits are sweet if you’re the type who can feel totally relaxed in a suit. But yes, they do wrinkle like crazy. You just have to embrace it which can be difficult at a wedding. Glad those suits worked out so well for you guys! (And I feel bad for the groomsmen)
Thanks, for sharing Bryan.
As for on white, it’s all relative. Down here in Miami it’s very common to see white in weddings, parties, etc on guys but that’s coming from a city that is a melting pot of different cultures and more so my experience as latino. Not the same everywhere, yeah, I would probably not wear white in a wedding up north just to play it safe.
What’s up with Kenneth Cole? I think it’s a bunch of out of college marketing & design kids in that department trying too hard.
My feet hurt just looking at this sockless wonder. And, then I’m thinking about how hot and sweaty it gets at summer weddings here in the Midwest.
Meanwhile, I know women take a dim view of other women wearing white to a wedding. Should men have the same thought process when considering wearing a white suit?
With a light colored suit, the sockless bit works well. I did it yesterday and got complements on my no-socks. Usually I wear colorful socks with patterns and get complements on that, so when I wore no socks it was also taken very well.
I would at least bring a tie though. Take it off at the reception maybe.
I too was just at a wedding on the weekend. I wore a charcoal linen suit ($100 H&M), white shirt ($12 Marshalls), red pindot tie ($15 The Tie Bar), rich-colored brown Allen Edmonds shoes ($50 ebay), and charcoal socks with dark purple stripes. Everyone was quite impressed.
I managed the dark suit because the wedding was at night, but it was outdoors so it was still warm, but the linen suit breathes very well.
I’ll be at a daytime wedding in August, so I got a khaki linen suit for that. I’ll probably go sockless.