Dear ESB,
I am getting married this October in an outdoor wedding at my parents' home in VA. The guys in the wedding party will be wearing this bowtie and these socks with charcoal dress pants, a white button down, and brown oxfords.
I love the look of a cardigan with this combination of items, and I have been scouring the internet for a cardigan in something close to that shade of light purple in both the socks and tie.
I am having zero luck finding something that will work....any ideas?
*****
OMIGOD THEY'RE GROOMSMEN, NOT LOLLIPOPS
No purple cardigan. Do you read me? No. Purple. Cardigan. Also: No striped socks. Boy am I glad you emailed. I feel like we really dodged a bullet here.
Lets just shut down cardigans of any colour in this situation.
ReplyDeleteHere's your image! xxx
ReplyDeleteYES. I just laughed out loud.
Deletedon't think i didn't consider that one.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWHY YOU DELETED YOUR FUNNY COMMENT
DeleteI felt bad for being mean. Plus I have a neurosis about commenting. But I always enjoy reading!
DeleteMOAR COMMENTS!
DeleteThose socks and bowtie don't match! Are you crazy?
ReplyDeleteAnd cardigans are for the toddler set, but PURPLE CARDIGANS?! I'm going to have a heart attack.
Breathing a huge sigh of relief for those groomsmen.
ReplyDeleteYikes! Gray pants and brown shoes and purple cardigans? GOOD CALL, ESB.
ReplyDeleteI think there is a reason why you cannot find a nice men's purple cardigan...
ReplyDeletelol
DeletePerhaps she isn't old enough to be friends with a bunch of breeders, but trust me on this - that outfit is the standard uniform for male wedding guests under seven years old.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the help ESB...I am embarrassingly lost when it comes to men's clothing. Would love some helpful suggestions from you opinionated ladies on acceptable attire. My sisters are picking not matching dresses in any shade of purple they want, and the ceremony is outdoors and fairly low key (so no tuxes).
ReplyDeleteAlso, FYI...one of my bridesmen picked out the bowtie and socks. I would never want to make them wear something they hated.
DeleteWhat is the groom wearing? I think groomsmen usually look best wearing a toned-down version of the groom's outfit.
DeleteWe don't know yet.
DeleteGood example of groom/groomsmen looking put together, plus the color palette is similar to yours!
DeleteIf they picked out the ties and socks, I say leave it to them to put the rest of the outfit together. (though I don't really trust their judgement, so you could send some pics of outfits you like to give some direction?)
DeleteIt sounds like they already have the outfit?
DeleteWhite shirt
Grey pants
Purple tie
Purple socks
Brown socks (and PLEASE tell me brown belts)
Are you just worried they need something to wear on top, like a jacket? I think they'll look fine as is.
If you/they are worried, send them to Put This On.
I'm also getting married this October. Because the ladies are choosing their own knee length purple dresses, the guys are wearing grey suits, either ones that they have, are going to buy or are renting from suit/tux places. I'm not totally decided on their ties yet, but I think we're going with purple ties, either ones they choose or ones we'll give to them. For shoes and socks: black is classic for a reason.
DeleteI'm personally not a fan of the shirt/tie sans jacket look for weddings. Plus keep in mind that with white shirts you can always see the sleeve lines of the undershirt underneath.
Deletethe boys don't need a cardigan or even a jacket if you prefer the more casual look. remember - boys get sweaty and October should be nice and crisp and perfect weather in VA for long-sleeves only!
ReplyDeletehow about the men dress like MEN and not BOYS.
ReplyDeleteEh, I don't get all the hate. This seems appropriate for Virginia. But my notion of Virginia is basically rich south/ pearls on women/ bowties on men. At any rate, I don't think it's terrible, OP, just go without the cardigans.
ReplyDeleteCan we all agree that there is nothing sexier than a man in a suit? So give these guys a shot at getting laid at your wedding and let them just wear a really awesome suit (make them match if you must).
ReplyDeleteBut i think we can all also agree there is nothing LESS sexy than a man in a cardigan (unless it's Ryan Gosling........)
-jess
Let me add an additional NOT HOT.
Deleteoops, this was supposed to be a reply to Hillary S. But this is not Ryan Gosling so I guess it works here too!
Deletere: groomsmen:
ReplyDeleteHOT.
NOT HOT.
HOT.
NOT HOT.
I don't think it has to be a SUIT, but a jacket is pretty much the only way to go.
(and, again, that tie and those socks do not match)
spot on. just say no to cardigans
DeleteNUMBER 3 FTW!
DeleteGOT it. Cardigans = bad. Thanks for your kind and constructive input, Hillary!
DeleteLook at the fit of the pants in #4! it looks like he is wearing a diaper, hahahahah! Worst suit ever.
Deleteoh dear god I cannot believe both those NOT HOT options actually happened YIKES
DeleteThe second HOT is fucking hot.
DeleteThe second HOT is fucking hot.
Deletealso "NOT HOT" looks like the bride's idea. "HOT" looks like the guy's ideas.
DeleteI feel like the only person in the world that thinks cardigans are just fine and the first NOT HOT is actually babin'. Then again I have a thing for the whole cuddly indie librarian schtick that probably makes all ESB-readers want to blow their brains out, so whatever, self.
DeleteCan we get a post on why people should never rent tuxedos for their wedding party? I can't believe so many people still do this when it's expensive and looks bad!
ReplyDeleteOk--I generally agree-but it seems like the easiest option? Or am I crazy? Basically I need to figure out what the men in the wedding are wearing (obviously with the grooms input, but he could give a shit about fashion)..soo I guess I might need to write in to ESB! Or hijack this question!
DeleteRenting is definitely not as easy as it seems...poor dude has to go in for sizing, go pick the thing up, wear a suit/tux that looks awful on him, return it, yadda yadda. And it isn't always cheap.
DeleteI personally think the "easiest" thing to do is pick a common suit color--gray or navy are good--and tell the guys to wear that. Many guys will already have a gray or navy suit in their closet, and if they don't, they can usually a) find one cheap (like $150), b) have it tailored to actually FIT them, and c) have a piece of clothing that's actually useful.
No, they won't be exactly matching, but that's "ick" anyway.
I don't understand why you are letting the bridesmaids choose their own dresses but you're not letting the men choose their own suits. You already landed on a nice bowtie that one of them suggested, why not treat them like adults and let them choose their own suits.
ReplyDeleteYes, this is exactly what I was going say. Unless that outfit was picked because they actually are under 12, I'm sure they can manage to dress themselves.
DeleteWhile i agree that nothing is sexier than a well fitting suit, i can understand not having a jacket for a super casual wedding, especially if you've had to deal with the man-bitching over them for every formal event you attend. but what about something more like
ReplyDeletethis?
i have it as an idea for our guys, my thought is to have them in whatever pants/shirt etc they have with matching or complimenting ties. its a little less cutesy that the cardigan/stripes combo
I just want to submit that a man-cardigan (or a mardigan, if you will) can be deployed well, if done carefully. My FH rocks a full-zip mock-neck cardi:
ReplyDeleteHot IMO
but still not appropriate for a wedding, necessarily, and def not in purple. That is A LOT OF LOOK for a group of men.
I just feel that a blanket ban on mardigans is a bit harsh, just saying.
I agree. My husband looks damn good in a cardigan. But not a purple one, and not for a wedding.
DeleteI would class that as a zip-up sweater, not a cardigan (it's even labelled as a pull-over)..
Deletethis is a cardigan and I just cannot dig it. luckily my man doesn't wear them!
There should be a ban on the word mardigan. Just saying.
ReplyDeleteI'll second that.
DeleteFine, but the point still stands.
DeleteThese posts are the best PSAs, I swear. I shudder to think that I almost strong-armed our groomsmen into wearing white shirts with gray vests (ack, waiter-land). I got the sense knocked into me a) when I saw what that looked like on in real life and b) after reading ESB days before our wedding.
ReplyDeleteLong story short, my husband wore a grey suit with a dark purple tie, and the groomsmen happened to all own the same black Banana suit and wore lavender ties. Crisis averted!