Weddings, eh? With any luck, you’ll only have to do yours once. Unfortunately – sorry, I mean happily – there’ll be a period of your life when it seems like a friend is getting hitched every other weekend. (Or even more irksomely, your partner’s friend.)
Suddenly the most important garment in the wardrobe isn’t your favourite shirt or the jacket you found in that vintage shop in Madrid. It’s your wedding suit. That bad boy will basically become a second skin over the summer months – so you better ensure you have a good one.
Enter Charles Tyrwhitt. The menswear brand offers a range of beautiful suits at remarkably accessible price points. Quality garments you nonetheless enjoy wearing – rather than cowering in the corner of the gazebo in case somebody spills a drink down the dinner jacket you had to remortgage the flat to purchase.
Better still, Charles Tyrwhitt offers private appointments for chaps who know they require a wedding suit but are less certain on what wedding suit they want. Since my sister was getting married in early May, a visit to the store seemed very much in order.
The whole experience is enjoyably baller. Head into the executive lounge, a secluded space in the store with sofas and magazines and private fitting rooms. Get this – they have their own beer! Treat yourself to a bottle of Tyrwhitt Pilsner during your fitting.
Visit on a special occasion and you might do even better. The store’s assistant manager Chris recently gifted a bottle of prosecco to a customer for his 30th birthday. The guy’s girlfriend had surprised him with a linen suit as a present. He better marry her.
I’m sure every employee is fantastic but I count myself lucky to have been looked after by Chris. He’s sweet and charming and might actually be a genius. Certainly he goes full Sherlock while taking my measurements, correctly identifying which shoulder I typically sleep upon. (It slopes lower, you see.)
Chris also tells me that being right handed means my pelvis is approximately a centimetre higher on my left side. This is to do with infanthood apparently, leaning towards our dominant side. “I bet you look at yourself leftside on in the mirror,” says Chris. He's absolutely right. I do.
Uncharacteristically, I know exactly what suit I want: a green linen number that I’ve coveted for years but always seems to sell out by early May. However I have zero clue what to wear with it. Chris takes me downstairs to choose a shirt, tie and even a pocket square. “You’ll want ivory,” he says of the shirt, firmly.
Typically I’m one of those people who likes to leave the decisions to the experts. It means visits to the barbers can be interesting but overall it’s best to let the Chrises of the world do their thing. I lack the imagination to pick out the beautiful tie that he found, all rich colours and swirly patterns that added a certain gravitas to the overall look.
The adjustments are made, and everything is ready to pick up the following week. A funny postscript: at my sister’s wedding, I notice my cousin wears a very handsome green suit that bears a passing resemblance to mine. It’s literally the same suit – good taste, Freddie. No wonder Charles Tyrwhitt sell out that model every year.
Obviously, you needn’t be near a nuptials to make the most of a good wedding suit. Mine will soon reappear for days at Queens, Ascot and a few summer parties. And yes, there’s another wedding in September. Bring it on.
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For more information, see Charles Tyrwhitt
