To rent or buy suits?!?

Lindsey012

Hi! For our wedding, we want the groomsmen to wear grey (or linen) suits, minus the suit jacket. So really just the pants, vest, shirt and tie. It seems to be when you rent, you get the whole kit and caboodle. Regardless if you want it all, you are paying for it. Plus, I am having a hard time finding a place to rent suits, not tuxes (we are in the Pittsburgh, Pa area!). Can anybody offer any suggestions where to rent suits, or where to buy them for an affordable price? Thanks!! 

southernbelle0915

DON'T DO LINEN. It gets wrinkly and looks terrible. 

You should be able to get a la carte suit items at Macy's, JosABank and pretty much any department store. 

CMGragain

Lindsey012 said:

Hi! For our wedding, we want the groomsmen to wear grey (or linen) suits, minus the suit jacket. So really just the pants, vest, shirt and tie. It seems to be when you rent, you get the whole kit and caboodle. Regardless if you want it all, you are paying for it. Plus, I am having a hard time finding a place to rent suits, not tuxes (we are in the Pittsburgh, Pa area!). Can anybody offer any suggestions where to rent suits, or where to buy them for an affordable price? Thanks!! 

Why do you want your groomsmen to be half dressed?  The reason you are having trouble finding this is that it isn't proper wedding wear.
I suggest a  two-piece grey suit (without a vest).  You will be happier with your wedding pictures twenty years from now.  If warm weather is an issue, the guys can remove their jackets after the ceremony.  Vests fit close to the body, and are uncomfortable in warm weather.  They are not meant to be worn without a jacket.
Good places to buy men's separates:  J. C. Penneys, Kohl's, Macy's.

http://www.kohls.com/catalog/mens-grey-dress-suits-clothing.jsp?CN=4294723349+4294902466+4294719809+4294719810

CTYankeeBride

I agree with @CMGragain that it's best to look into a two-piece suit. Vests can be uncomfortable and difficult to fit. Very rarely have I seen the "no jacket" look pulled off and that's usually for very casual/ beach weddings. For our wedding the groomsmen are going to wear dark (black or charcoal) suits that they already have and we purchased them matching ties. My FI wants to buy a new suit (and certainly our GM's are welcome to purchase a new suit if they wish but it isn't a requirement). One GM has a suit from Jos A. Bank and he swears by them for all of his suits. My father has a suit from Macy's that he loves.

CMGragain

When I see a man wearing a vest instead of a jacket, I assume he is a waiter.

caitlinmca

Not to change the complete subject but @CMGragain what are your thoughts on the wedding party guys in suspenders? We aren't doing them, but I recently came across a wedding shot done by the photographer whose doing my wedding and that party had suspenders, it looked cool as they did away with the vest but still had the jacket and bowtie, socks, shoes and such.

CMGragain

Suspenders are customarily worn with tuxedos, since tuxedo pants have no belt loops.  There is nothing wrong with wearing them with a suit.  They should be covered by a jacket.

caitlinmca

@CMGragain This was taken by the same photographer that I plan on using for my wedding, we already did our e-photos with him. I cropped out the photos for privacy reasons as I don't know this wedding party.

Currently, our guys are wearing jackets, vests, shirts, pants, socks, shoes, and bowties. But I like this look of the suspenders instead of the vest, didn't know if that was a no no or not.

CMGragain

The argyll socks are definitely a no-no.  These gentlemen appear to be wearing tuxedo shirts.  I only hope they wore the rest of the tux at the ceremony!
Suspenders are not a problem.  They are never worn with a belt.  It is an either/or thing.

jenna8984

I respect Cmgragain's opinion, however I disagree. Dude, do what you want. Men not wearing jackets doesn't hurt anyone. My fiance and his men are wearing the below outfit. He doesn't want a jacket and that's fine with me!! He didn't pick out my dress so I'm not going to pick out his suit. 

We bought the outfits at Men's Warehouse but they were about $200 each, so the same cost as renting a full suit/tux. I'd suggest you buy them somewhere cheaper like Burlington Coat Factory. 

RebeccaFlower

I think it's pretty much pointless to rent when you can buy for the same price. I agree that two piece suits are wayyy better than just the vests. 

CMGragain

Your guys can wear a two piece suit for many occasions long after your wedding is over - like job interviews, other weddings, funerals.  The same cannot be said for pants and a vest.

ahyatt87

DH really wanted to wear a suit to the wedding. He is at the age where he is trying to launch is career and only had one really cheap suit, so he thought it would be better to buy a suit rather than rent a tux. When his groomsmen asked him his thoughts on attire, they all mentioned that they could a use a suit for the same reason. He got their budgets individually and two of them went shopping with him to figure out looked best and what they liked. The third groomsman was sent pictures. After taking their feedback into account, he selected a suit and they all bought the same one. They all looked great and were happy to have a two piece suit in a classic colour they could wear to job interviews, weddings, funerals, etc.

I should mention DH looked extensively for places that rented suits, just in case there were some groomsmen who did not want to purchase a suit (this was obviously not a problem), but they did not exist. I do not think it is common to rent suits, and the tux rentals were similar to the price they paid for the suits.

aggiespartan

I agree that buying is better than renting. I also don't see a problem with doing just a vest or just suspenders. Some weddings are not super formal and don't require all pieces, so do whatever you want. At most places where you would buy the slacks and vest, they also carry jackets in the same style. Each guy would have the opportunity of buying a matching jacket if they really wanted it. I actually love the socks for a touch of color and fun if you want. Every wedding and venue is different, so do whatever you want.

Lindsey012

I'm in the same boat as @jenna8984. I love that look and that's what my fiancé wants, so I'm not debating jacket vs no jacket. Thanks to everyone who left suggestions on where to look for suits; I definitely think we will buy instead of rent. Thanks again to everyone!