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NWR but could be: buying suit separates

So H does not have a suit.  He's never really needed one.  For our wedding, he bought a nice pair of black dress pants/slacks/suit pants/whatever you want to call them and we did the vest and tie with no jacket thing.

We're attending an event for Valentine's Day that is semi-formal/formalish. I'm planning to wear a floor-length gown. I've been told by people who've been to this even before that about 1/3 of the ladies wear gowns and the rest wear nice cocktail dresses.  As far as I know, no one wears tuxes.

I was thinking we could get away with just buying H a basic black suit coat. Do we have to worry about the pants and coat matching? Will they look odd together? We can't go to a store to buy one, we will have to order online.

Re: NWR but could be: buying suit separates

  • I would strongly advise against trying to match a jacket to his pants. There are many different shades of black, plus textures, grains, etc. Trying to make your own suit is always obvious and never looks good imo. If he can't afford a suit, I think wearing a different pant + jacket combo would look better (like khakis + a brown jacket). That, of course, is less formal, but I doubt people would care (I went a wedding recently that was around the same formal level as the one you describe, and many men wore outfits like that). 

    But I also think that no one regrets having a regular suit in their closet for special occasions/emergencies. He might end up having a job interview, etc. If you can afford it, I'd get a suit. Nordstrom Rack and Men's Wearhouse have some good sales. 
  • This sounds definitely like a suit occasion, so yeah you need to worry about matching. Were the pants purchased recently? You could try finding a matching jacket from the same store. If not I think you're stuck buying a whole suit. A non-matching black pants and jacket won't cut it.
  • I'm also of the opinion that every man needs a decent suit in a dark neutral because occasions like this will happen. Matching blacks is not easy, and I think wearing jackets and pants in contrasting colors is significantly less formal.

    Khol's is another budget-friendly option.

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  • CMGragainCMGragain member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    edited February 2015
    The jacket is the more expensive part of a suit.  The trousers are relatively inexpensive.  You should definitely buy the two matching pieces together while you can.  A jacket worn with contrasting pants is called a sports jacket, and it is not appropriate to wear this at a formal event.
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  • Thanks for the advice, ladies.

    Perhaps I worded it poorly. We aren't wanting to get a contrasting jacket for H. (I would love it if he had a sport coat for some things, but certainly not for this event!) Rather, I was wondering if I bought him a black suit coat that I made sure was just black, no pin stripes or anything, and tried to get the same material, if it would be obvious that they weren't bought together with his black pants.

    I figured that the blacks would be the same or at least similar enough it would not be noticeable that it wasn't one suit.
  • No you worded it fine! I just think the unfortunate answer is that it will be noticeable.
  • Yeah...spending the money on a jacket and not having matching pants is a bit of a false economy, because down the road the next time he needs a suit, he's still not going to have matching pieces and you'll have spent a bunch of money on a coat that doesn't go with any of his pants. The pants are the cheap part so I'd try to budget for both pieces...because it will be obvious, more than likely. Even if they're both black and a similar fabric, matching them exactly is going to be really hard with such a variety available.

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