never rent a tux
it'll fit worse, smell worse, and cause you headaches. never rent a tux.
I do not understand the tux rental business.
I understand that tailoring in general is expensive, and that not everybody can afford what I like. A decent suit, new, by my standards, will probably run you $300, if not more. Most people can’t afford to spend that for a single night, and they’re not sure they’ll ever wear a tux twice. And most people can’t or won’t thrift. (That’s a shame, you should, I bought a vintage Brooks Brothers tux for $60, but… let’s pretend that’s not an option). I’m not going to judge you personally for anything you wear, but… I’m struggling with the math, here.
The cheapest tuxes at Men’s Wearhouse cost about $140 to rent with a $12 “damage & handling fee” that I assume is charged in every case. These are polyester tuxes, nothing good, believe me. I’m seeing pure wool closer to $180, but still fused, and aesthetically awful. The options at Generation Tux, at a glance, mostly range from $140-160. The Black Tux, $160-180. Joseph A. Bank’s rental page is exactly the same as that of Men’s Wearhouse, because they’re owned by the same company now. They will all brag about the quality of their tuxedos. It’s all nonsense. Why would anybody rent a high-end tux? You won’t even have enough time to get it tailored…
Back to Men’s Wearhouse. Their cheapest tuxedo, new, appears to be this one at $150. $10 more to buy vs rent. You get to wear it when it’s new, and doesn’t smell. You can buy it a month or a year before your event rather than waiting and hoping that it will ship at the right time. You don’t have to deal with return shipping. You have the option to get it tailored, if you so choose. You can do whatever you want with it. You can turn around and sell the tux you wore once for, hell, $20. Oh, yeah. Renting is more expensive.
It comes in black, as opposed to most of the rental tuxes which come in confusing colors like… mid blue and mid gray? Why would anybody want such a thing? Maybe rental tuxedos only exist for those weird wedding parties who insist “no, you have to wear a forest green tuxedo, the whole wedding party is wearing forest green tuxedos, no you can’t wear a black tuxedo.” But… well, please don’t do that, don’t make people get a green tux just for you, that sucks.
That $150 tuxedo is also just plastic. It has a notch lapel, which I just find silly on a tux. But it is a tux. It gets the job done. Or… we can do better.
If you do have a little more to spend, here’s a pure wool, half-cnavassed tux for $319. The jacket is a pretty solid cut, with decently wide notch lapels and covered buttons. The pants are still pretty slim, but, at this budget, yeah, there’s slim pickings. Oh, and this brand—Rowe & Taylor—is an offshoot of Spier & Mackay, a well-reputed darling of the menswear world for budget tailoring.
I still prefer a higher-end tux. Grand le Mar’s ready-to-wear tuxes cost $698, which… I don’t think is too expensive, and the one they made custom for me punches well above its price point. But I get it, I am fortunate to have this kind of money to spare.
The rental tuxes might charge you a fee for cleaning, or a late fee if you don’t return it on time, or whatever other hidden fees they feel like charging once they have your credit card info down. No such issue if you buy a tux free and clear.
But to top it all off, you know what does it for me? You own a tux now. You don’t think you’ll wear it, but that’s the wrong mindset. You have a tux, go out there, do tux things. You get invited to a black tie optional wedding? Take the option. You get invited to a ball or a gala? Yeah, sure, live it up. What about New Year’s Eve? Wear a tux then, some people do that, that’s nice. Hell, next time you go out to dinner with a couple of your boys, if they have tuxes? Hit the town. You’ll never forget that night.
Eveningwear feels different. It’s not a stuffy old business suit. A tux makes you feel like James Bond in the best way. A tux says you’re here to party. When you say you only expect to wear it once, what does that say about the life you expect to live? I wish you better than that. I really do.