Groomsmen Suits: How to Dress a Wedding Party Well

Dressing one man well is a matter of cloth and patience. Dressing six of them, of six different builds, so that they look like a party rather than a line-up, is a different problem, and it is one most grooms meet for the first time about four months before the wedding.

We dress a good many wedding parties at 221 Culver Blvd. This is how we think about it, in the order the decisions usually arrive.

Matching or coordinating

There are two honest ways to dress groomsmen, and both work.

Matching means every man in the same cloth, the same cut and the same tie. It is the traditional answer and it photographs beautifully, because the eye reads the party as one shape and goes straight to the couple. It suits formal weddings, evening weddings, and any party of more than five.

Coordinating means the men share a colour family but not a garment: three shades of blue, say, or the same grey in a two-piece for some and a three-piece for others. It is more relaxed, it suits daytime and outdoor weddings, and it is kinder to a party of very different builds, because each man can be put in the cut that flatters him.

What does not work is the halfway house, where everyone is told to wear "a navy suit" and arrives in six different navies bought in six different years. Under daylight no two navies are the same colour. If the party is going to coordinate, it needs to be chosen together, from cloth laid side by side.

How the groom stands apart

The groom should be recognisable at a glance, and the difference should be one of degree, not of kind. The quiet ways are the best ones:

• The groom in a three-piece, the groomsmen in two-piece suits of the same cloth.
• The groom in a deeper or lighter shade of the party's colour.
• The groom in a tuxedo, the groomsmen in dark suits that echo it. We have written separately about choosing between a tuxedo and a suit.
• The same suit throughout, with a different tie and buttonhole for the groom.

One of these is enough. A groom who differs in cloth, cut, colour and tie all at once tends to look as though he belongs to another wedding.

A cloth that suits six different men

A colour that flatters the groom may not flatter his brother. For a matched party the safe ground is the middle of the range: a mid navy, a charcoal, a medium grey. These sit well against almost every complexion and every build. Very pale cloths, strong checks and anything with a sheen are best kept for one man rather than six.

Weight matters as much as colour in Los Angeles. A party standing in the sun in Malibu or Palos Verdes in August wants a lighter, more open cloth than a party in a hotel ballroom downtown in December. Tell us the venue, the month and the hour of the ceremony and we will bring out the cloths that make sense.

Bespoke, bought or hired

It is worth being plain about this. Hiring is a perfectly reasonable choice for a groomsman who will wear the suit once, and there are good hire houses in this city. Buying off the peg and having it altered is reasonable too.

The case for bespoke is the men themselves. A wedding party is rarely six men of the same build. There is usually one who is very tall, one who is broad through the chest, and one whose jacket size and trouser size have nothing to do with each other. Hired suits are cut for an average, and it is those men who look uncomfortable in the photographs. A bespoke suit is cut from a pattern drawn for the man wearing it, from around thirty measurements and three photographs, so the tall one and the broad one look as settled as everyone else.

The other case is afterwards. A groomsman who is given, or buys, a navy or charcoal suit made for him will wear it for years. It is a better present than most.

Who pays

There is no fixed rule and couples settle it every way imaginable. In our experience it is most often one of three: the groomsmen each pay for their own, the groom pays as his gift to the party, or the cost is shared. What matters is that it is said clearly and early, before anyone is measured, and that the cloth is chosen with the answer in mind. If the men are paying for themselves, choose something they will be glad to own.

What it costs

Every garment the house makes is full canvas and fully bespoke, made by hand in our atelier in Brittany. A two-piece suit starts at $1,795 and a three-piece at $2,045, and the price is set by the cloth, not by the making. Garments commissioned for a wedding party are discounted by twenty per cent. Unlimited fittings and a year of complimentary alterations are included for every man, which is worth having when a groomsman's shape changes between the measuring and the day.

A deposit of half is taken when the cloth is chosen, and the balance on delivery. The wedding page sets out how a party commission works.

When to start

For the groom, six months before the wedding is ideal and three is comfortable. A party should work to the same calendar, because the slowest man sets the date. Suits in domestic cloth take four to six weeks to make and imported Italian or English cloth takes six to eight, and there are fittings to come after that. Six weeks is possible as a rush, at a surcharge of twenty-five per cent, but it is a tight way to dress six people. There is more on this in when to order a wedding suit.

The simplest thing a groom can do is get everyone into the room on the same day. We would far rather measure a whole party in one sitting than one man at a time over a month: the cloth is chosen once, with everyone looking at it, and nobody is left behind. If some of the party live elsewhere, pick a date when they are in Los Angeles anyway and book that.

The first consultation takes an hour and costs nothing. You will meet Robb or Ben, look at cloth with the prices in front of you, and leave with a plan for the whole party. Book a consultation, or call 310-503-3592.

Questions we are often asked

Do groomsmen have to match exactly?

No. Matching is the traditional choice and suits formal and evening weddings. Coordinating within one colour family works well for daytime and outdoor weddings. Either is correct, provided the cloths are chosen together and not left to chance.

Should the groom wear the same suit as his groomsmen?

He can, with a different tie and buttonhole. More often the groom is set apart by one thing: a waistcoat, a different shade, or a tuxedo while the party wears dark suits. One difference is enough.

How much do bespoke groomsmen suits cost?

A fully canvassed, fully bespoke two-piece suit starts at $1,795 and a three-piece at $2,045. Wedding parties are discounted by twenty per cent, and unlimited fittings and a year of alterations are included.

How far ahead should groomsmen be measured?

Three to six months before the wedding. Making takes four to six weeks in domestic cloth and six to eight in imported cloth, with fittings afterwards. Six weeks is possible as a rush.

What colour suits most groomsmen?

Mid navy, charcoal and medium grey flatter the widest range of complexions and builds, and all three are suits a man will wear again. For a warm-weather wedding in Los Angeles, choose a lighter weight of the same colours.

Who pays for the groomsmen's suits?

There is no fixed rule. Most often the groomsmen pay for their own, the groom pays as a gift, or the cost is shared. Decide before anyone is measured, and choose the cloth accordingly.