Black tie suit for uni student
One of the societies at my uni is having a ball that I’m going to, it’s black tie and the only suit I have is navy. Renting one is around £80 and there may not be availability. Should I buy a cheap one from H&M for a similar price or is it worth investing more (am a student so not very rich at the moment but I also understand that a black tie suit would be worn several times so may be worth investing). Pleases let me know thoughts (UK based).
6 Replies
if you are still growing i would say just rent it for now
First off, I would say whatever your budget is, stick to that. Even if you end up renting, it's not worth going beyond your means for something like a tuxedo. Not to mention, the rental would probably have things like the shirt, shoes, cufflinks, bowtie, etc. that go beyond just the coat and pants.
Secondly, I (and I think most folks on here) would suggest looking at second hand vs a larger format retailer. I'm not sure what the UK used market looks like but I see used coat/pants sets in the US for $125-$200 from brands like Brooks Brothers, Christian Dior, Hugo Boss, etc. From there you should budget something for tailoring to make sure you have a good fit. You'll do better with this tuxedo suit than the cheapest one from Charles Tyrwhitt.
From there you could slowly build into the tuxedo. If you really wanted to, I'm sure you could wear the tuxedo suit with a standard dress shirt & black necktie with black leather shoes and get away with it for this first event, allowing you to compile the "tuxedo" versions of these items together at your own pace.
Again this is just my opinion and I don't know much about the UK, but I hope this helps!
Unfortunately I believe I have stopped growing
That’s really helpful, thanks a lot. The ball is too soon to try and find a second hand suit so I will most likely rent one with the shoes and everything, I will look out for a good quality second hand one that I can get tailored in the future
when you do start shopping for black tie the guide on the substack will help https://malefashionadvice.substack.com/p/black-tie-guide
Black Tie Guide
by u/zachinthebox (2011)
there's also several guides for buying things secondhand in #fashion-guides
I brought an m&s one for about £120 when I was in your boat. It got me through uni and postgrad but this was over ten years ago. It wasn't that nice but was more cost effective than renting or buying something nicer (it ultimately got binned after a night out post ball).
I don't think there much need to put effort into maximising getting best secondhand for this purpose unless you enjoy that process. Out with a small handful of professions in the UK black tie is a fairly rare professional need later in life too.