• WORDS: L. HOLMES
Now that this year’s weddings are back on the horizon, you might be thinking about what you’ll wear. Whether you’re a humble guest or taking centre stage as the groom, you want your outfit to feel worthy of the big day – this might be the first chance you’ve had to dress up in months, after all!
So how about embracing a more tactile fabric, like tweed? Once the go-to textile for the high-born country living set, today’s tweed translates as well to city celebrations as it does a knees-up in a traditional stately home.
Wearing a tweed suit to your own big day is a piece of (wedding) cake. As some of you may already have noticed, we’ve got something of a soft spot for this hardworking fabric right now.
And why wouldn’t we? No longer just for the stiff-upper-lip set, tweed has successfully managed to shrug off its dowdy reputation and is full of character and heritage – ideal for the main man of the day. As the groom, wearing yours as a three-piece will have more impact, and all you’ll need to do is pair it with a shirt in a complementary shade and perhaps a floral tie and pocket square to contrast with the tweed.
Indeed it does. We’ve also given this traditional textured fabric a contemporary spin in shades of raspberry, blue, oatmeal or sage. It’s a modern riff on a timeless classic if ever there was one and is definitely something to consider for the more adventurous grooms out there.
Set off your tweed suit by contrasting it with a plain white shirt and a soft-hued tie, or double down on its bold colour by wearing it with patterns in the same shade, like a striped shirt or polka dot accessories – today’s tweed is nothing if not versatile.
Either – the choice is yours depending on your budget. Buying a tweed wedding suit means more of an investment, but it’ll take you all the way through wedding season by styling it differently each time you wear it. Keep yours smart with its matching waistcoat and a tie for one wedding, try it with a slightly more casual button-collar shirt for another and then dress it down with just a printed shirt or lightweight knit for a more relaxed big day.
If you hire tweed, however, you can experiment with a different tweed suit for each set of up-and-coming nuptials without the expense (or guilt) of buying a new piece every time. Win-win.
Definitely. If you still have any lingering reservations about wearing say, sage tweed to your own wedding (and BTW you absolutely can) consider hiring rather than buying especially if you know that you’re only going to wear the suit just the once. Spending less money on yourself – or your groomsmen for that matter – should be incentive enough to encourage you to take that leap of faith while also leaving a bigger budget for that open bar you’ve promised your nearest and dearest.
