Thursday, May 9, 2013

JGIC Product Review: Spring Wedding

A big "thanks!" to J.Crew Guy In Canada who is graciously reviewing Men's items from J.Crew with us.
Dressing for a spring wedding is a tricky bit.  Dressing in your best wool suit, mmmm too business, linen too soon.  Wool and cotton; just like that famous break and enter gal said "Just right".

So I'm going to a spring wedding, what do I wear?  As mentioned it's going to be a wool and cotton combo.  Navy blue Ludlow, two button blazer #21509.  Possibly the most perfect blazer for the money.  Light enough to work as a jacket if it's somewhat cool, yet not too warm that I'll immediately ditch it once I'm inside.  The jacket fits beautifully off the rack.  The only tailoring I needed was to shorten the sleeves ever so slightly to allow the shirt cuffs to peek out a half inch or so.

Since it's a Ludlow blazer might as well keep it all in in the family and go with the Ludlow point collar in end on end cotton in fairweather blue #11856.  The crew at 'crew are showing several shirts in the spread collar.  Nice enough shirt, but I feel a point collar is sharper, frames a wider variety of faces better and looks more polished with narrower ties.  This powder blue number will play well with the blazer and even better with a cotton tie.  Being more conservative I'd pair the shirt with #01328 in aegean (blue) with a wide repp stripe.  The more adventureous might try the Liberty tie in Hurrel floral in warm poppy #39033.

Ludlow pants in chino will keep that spring/summer look and feel,  #66332 in wheat.  Classic cut is my preference, but if you're on the slimmer side try #66323 in the slim cut.  The wheat colour will work well with the navy and keep the outfit from looking too serious and like you just came from work.  The downside to this Italian chino fabric are wrinkles.  After opening the package I knew I needed to steam them.  That worked but after wearing them for a few hours lines and wrinkles appear in all the expected places.  Just like tanning too much, these pants develop wrinkles quickly too.

Finally it's warm enough to do the sockless look and pull it off without looking like you're trying too hard.  Either suede shoes like the Kenton #43275 in boulder or Preston #55755 in dark chocolate.  A pocket square in while with a piped edge is the way to complete the look.  J.Crew does a nice linen one for close to $50; but if you look around *cough* Tie Bar *cough* you can much better for far less.  Now what to buy the happy couple?
Another fantastic review! "Thanks!" again to J.Crew Guy In Canada for his view on Spring wedding attire.

Spring can be such a tricky season for many parts of the country. Where I live, we have been experiencing some unseasonably cold temperatures for the first half (and now we are facing some warm and wet weather). Thus, making it difficult trying to figure out in advance what outfit to wear for that Spring wedding.

I always thought guys had it easy when it came to a Wedding (no matter what time of year), because the choice is always a suit. But thanks to J.Crew Guy In Canada's great review, I can see you guys are in the same boat as the ladies.

What are your thoughts on post? Are there items from J.Crew that are a must to wear at any Wedding? :)

11 comments:

  1. Thanks again for another wonderful review! Your ideas are great, but I don't know if I can get my husband to wear them. When it comes to clothes, he doesn't like to think about it at all. He always grabs for the black suit. We have a few functions to attend this spring, maybe I can convince him to try a few of your ideas :).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Sun, why not slip a few items into his closet and then when he tries them tell him how great he looks. Possibly ease him into a navy blazer since it's not too much of a reach from the old reliable black suit. Powder blue shirt and gray pants and he'll look like a million.

      Delete
    2. He's not one to shy away from compliments =). So I may try that. Blue and gray is a lovely combination!

      Delete
  2. It's refreshing to hear there are some men out there who know how to dress for a wedding :) I've attended far too many events where basic khakis or black polyester pants paired with an ill fitting dress shirt and a polyester tie with too much sheen are the standard "uniform." And let's not forget the casual black leather shoes with rubber sole. I'm not saying every man needs to look like they've stepped out of a catalog, but a bit of effort and attention to fit/detail really make a difference.

    After some sisterly badgering, my brother has finally started paying attention to these things, and he stands out (in a good way). His friends always jokingly comment on how he makes them look like slobs now ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. jennifer, shouldn't that nasty shiny polyester be made illegal? Looking good doesn't = spending tons, but it does require effort and time.

      Fit is everything; too many guys are wearing clothing that are too big. Simply wearing the correct size makes a huge difference. Once a guy sees how good he looks in the right fitting items he'll stick with the right size.

      Delete
    2. Couldn't agree more on your comment that most men wear over large clothing. I think it's a macho self-image thing. I see the man thinking to himself: " *me*, a small? Pfff, no way. I'm definitely a large..." :)

      Delete
    3. Maqsad, I completely agree with you; funny how we all want to think that number inside the garment shouldn't mean anything; yet it seems to be important to some.

      Delete
  3. We attended a wedding last December and my 20 year old son wore his ludlow three button jacket and ludlow slim pants with a steel coloured shirt and no tie. I thought he looked smashing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wish I was that sharp that young. Your son must be so proud of being that stylish so early in life.

      Delete
    2. It's sounds sharp unless people knew his Mum bought his his suit on shhhhh.....eBay.

      Delete

Dear J.Crew Aficionadas & Aficionados: Please feel free (and encouraged) to share your thoughts and opinions. :) However, please note that this is still a personal blog. So comments that are considered inappropriate (e.g. obscene, racist, homophobic, personal attacks, rude, and just plain mean) will be removed.

And now back to J.Crew! :)