iaquilter

Does anyone have any suggestions? He needs it for choir and I haven't the slightest clue what to get...wool, wool/poly, poly, #of buttons, etc. Or where to get it. He didn't get much info from the college and all I can tell from a prior year's picture is that it looks like they are of the "notched collar" variety and they are black.

Thanks in advance for any help.

weenie

My son bought his (for orchestra) at a tux shop (Tuxedo Junction). I think they sell their "old" ones. It has worked perfectly well and was inexpensive. I have no idea what it is made out of - all I know is that he hauled it around Europe jammed in a suitcase and it was never wrinkled!!! LOL

Chedva

A tux shop would certainly be able to tell you what material to buy (so could a tailor), and then if you have one near you, buy it at Sym's for a lot less!

Bigredmed

What he does should depend on if he wants this to be a tux that he's going to have for the next 10-15 years (ie he's done growing; he'll have opportunity to wear it at least 6 times - which he will; he'll take good care of it, etc) or just to get him through the next couple years he's in the choir.

If it's long term - have to go wool, tropical wool if you can find it (lightweight enough to be comfortable in summer, but not a problem in winter). If it's just for the choir, then go ahead and buy an old rental, but normally the quality of rental tuxes is really poor. If he's still growing a lot, or you think that even though he's not getting taller, he's going to expand, a former rental wouldn't be bad as usually they have adjustable waistbands.

Other than that, a good quality tuxedo shirt with french cuffs and certainly don't forget the accessories - needs to find out what type of studs/cufflinks are appropriate, whether they wear cummerbunds or vests, bow ties or neckties, and so on. If he's a really big kid, I (and GQ) think suspenders are a great idea - he can avoid belts and just float the waist of the pants so they're always in the right spot, avoiding that whole pants go over/under his belly.

Obviously all black is the only option.
Classically you can never go wrong with a two button, notched lapel with center vent (or no vent). Classically tuxedo pants should have a full break in front, no cuffs. While flat front pants are all the rage right now, and I'd normally recommend them for a young guy buying a suit, a tux is one case in which a standard two pleat front is always appropriate (just remind your son that pleated pants absolutely must sit higher than his jeans do - almost to the belly button - that way the pleats lay flat). All your other major suit rules then apply - the outside edge of the shoulders should form a line that just grazes the outside of the arm, jacket length should be long enough to "fall" just barely on to cupped fingers, jacket sleeves should be short enough to show a 1/4 inch of shirt cuff, the back of the pants should come about 1/2 way down the heel of the shoes he's most likely to wear with the suit...and so on.

Finally if you do go for the high quality tux to last him a while, avoid dry cleaning it after every use. Take it to the cleaners and have them steam press it when it needs crisping up - puts a lot less wear and tear on the material.

thumper1

My son has a wool tux jacket and a pair of not wool (probably a poly of some sort) tux slacks. The wool slacks just itched too much. Believe it or not, we got two of his tuxes at Goodwill of all places for $25 each. I second the motion for Syms. That is where DS's dinner jacket came from (wool). The wool jackets hang much better than the poly ones...and the fabric "breathes". However DS LOVES his poly pants....they don't itch. He also has all the accessories above...several bow ties, studs, cuff links, several shirts, cumberbunds (in a variety of colors), and even a vest and top hat. He has gotten a lot of use from these garments (but he's a music major...so he needs them). He also has a set of tails.

bookworm

Birredmed
Thanks for all the info. When s bought a suit this year (1st in 7 years), relied on salesman. I'll save your info for future reference.

The Mom

I bought my S a tux online via eBay a couple of years ago. Brand new, cheap, not wool, but satisfactory for his college winds group performances twice a year. I just searched for tuxedo.

violadad

Like thumper's, my son was a performance major. We got his tux "used" from a local tux rental. We paid $150 for it, I felt a bit steep at the time. In hindsight, it was a great deal. It was a Christian Dior wool blend, and they threw in a shirt and alterations.

It's been 5 plus years through countless performances later, and looks as good now as the day he got it. And he is not easy on his clothes in general and performance clothes get a workout. One very minor seem repair last year.

There are numerous online sources that have very reasonable prices.

Goodwill is a great source, but it's all luck.

I would definately recommend buying the wing collar shirts on-line. Son prefers the permanent press cotton blends, finds them far cooler than performing in polyesters. If he performs frequently, I'd suggest 2 to 3 shirts minimum.

binx

My S owns 3 tuxedos - black, white, and tails. He got his first tuxedo in 9th grade for concert band. He has worn it 4 years of concert band, 4 years of school orchestra, 2 years of community orchestra, 3 years of youth symphony, two summers of festival/camps, various gigs, and 4 years of college (when not wearing white or tails). In addition, he wore it to two proms, and his brother wore it to one. It is polyester, has an adjustable waistband, and still fits. We bought it through the high school, and paid $119 for it. I think we got our money's worth. As far as I know, it seems to be indestructable.

He bought his other tuxedos from these sites:

http://www.premiertuxedos.com/tuxedos56K.html

http://www.awesometuxedo.e-businesse...oduct=under200

Concerning fabric - since all the kids in HS got them from the same place, they all had polyester. That must be de rigor around here, because the youth orchestras, etc, have all been similar. In college, their main concerts are in tails. He has never expressed any concern over fitting in, so I guess he has what most have.

iaquilter

Thank you all for your help! I took the plunge and ordered the tux from e-bay. It is new, 100% wool and came with shirt, tie, cummberbund, and all the other stuff. We will see how this works out, but for $64.98 including shipping it is not too expensive a gamble.

jym626

do a search on cc-- there was a long thread on this issue last year.