I’ve mentioned that I have some fun wedding activities coming up – my brother and his fiancée are getting married in September and then my sister and her fiancé are getting married in December (and yes, I googled when to use fiancée vs fiancé ). I’m in both weddings and will be wearing a long bridesmaid dress for one and a short bridesmaid dress for the other. The problem is… dressing Travis and Jack!
Travis very, very rarely dresses up and doesn’t even own a suit that fits. We actually bought him one from Target about 13 years ago, but that one is way past due for hitting the donation pile. I’d like to find him a well-fitting suit and maybe 2 – 3 shirts that he can switch in and out for the two weddings, rehearsal dinners, and any other suit-related activities that come up over the next few years.
Husband Suit Inspiration Board:
Sources: suit, top dress shirt, bottom dress shirt
I’m leaning towards a navy blue suit, possibly with a super subtle pattern. Here are our suit-related challenges: my husband is 6’4” tall, so in shirts I usually have to buy him an XL-Tall because his torso is so long. He does sometimes fit in a ‘regular’ XL when it comes to coats though… so maybe we will get lucky. I did some online research and checked places like Jos. A. Bank and Men’s Warehouse, and it looks like men’s suits run $400 – $700, which is giving me some massive sticker shock.
Here’s where I can totally use your advice… where can I find a relatively reasonably priced man’s suit?
Right now I’m leaning towards Nordstrom Rack, because they have some nice options online and I believe since they are a Nordstrom store they do alterations too. I’m certainly open to other ideas though!
Next up, is Jack. Jack is the ring bearer in my brother’s wedding in September and is also attending my sister’s wedding in December. He doesn’t have a special outfit for his ring bearer’s duties, so we decided to go with trousers, button up shirt, suspenders and bow tie.
Here’s what I’m thinking:
Ring Bearer Inspiration Board:
Sources: boy’s shirt, boy’s pants, crab bow tie, chambray bow tie, suspenders, shoes.
We already have the shoes and it should be pretty easy to pick up suspenders. There are so many adorable bow tie options on Etsy that I want to buy them all. I mean, LOOK at that cute crab tie?! The shirt and trousers will be where I’m looking for deals. Jack will most likely only wear them for the two weddings and then promptly grow out of them!
Advice time: where is a good place to get reasonably priced kids’ dress clothes? And yes, I’ll absolutely be checking thrift stores!
I have plenty of time to find everything we need, so I figured I’d start early to allow us to take advantage of any super awesome sales or clearance events. If you have any stores you swear by or tips for the best time to buy, let me know!
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Try K&G for men’s suits. They are kind of a TJMaxx type of place but mainly for men’s dress clothing (though they have some women’s and kids stuff). They carry brands like Calvin Klein and Hugo Boss etc. They even have the suiting separates, which is sometimes easier for someone who doesn’t fit as easily.
Thanks for the recommendation! I’ve never heard of K&G, but it looks like there are a few within an hour of us. =)
Do you have Kohl’s where you live? They have lots of dressy options at great prices (and you can usually find discount codes and/or printable coupons online!). I shop for my husband and son there!
We do have a Kohls and I’ll have to check it out!
You might want to ask when their next sale is at K&G. I saw a commercial recently, for men’s suits, a buy one get one kind of thing.
Will do, thanks!!
My husband has to wear suits most days to work (ugh), and we have really great luck at Dillard’s. The regular prices there are SHOCKING (like $800-1000/suit), but they occasionally run 40%-50% off marked down items sales…so if an $800 suit is marked down 50% ($400), it would be an additional 40% off that. For high quality suits, their prices are hard to beat.
My kids wear dress clothes a good bit, and we have great luck at Belk for their clothes. Not sure if that is an option for you locally, but you can also order online. Good, high quality clothes that are very reasonably priced. (We have occasionally found nice mens suits there, too.)
I’ll check both Dillards and Belk out. Thanks!
I also recommend Kohls. They have a very good selection of extended size options. My husband is 6’6″ as well as one son and we have found that all their dress suit options are great (as well as their regular clothing). The downside is you have to order most online so start looking now. They have a great return policy if it doesn’t work out.
I’ll check them out! Thanks!
I vote for the Dillard’s option. That is where I have gotten similar for my husband and their stuff is really classy. You need to factor in alterations. Typically a men’s suit needs it. I have no idea if the other places will do that for you so check. Dillard’s will do a great job. I think that it will be hard to get it to look nice if you don’t get some alteration done. Also consider charcoal grey. I think it will be more versatile. That all being said, consider a dress jacket only instead of a two piece suit. You might get off cheaper and the solid colored slacks that go with it can likely get use otherwise.
Thanks for the tips!