Fashion Blogs

While future brides-to-be scroll through Pinterest boards and wedding-dress websites and pack their Saturdays with appointments at chic bridal boutiques full of pink Champagne and roses, their male counterparts can hardly begin to seek out their own personal style without confronting a paucity of less than optimal options. Take my husband, for example: a classic jeans-and-tee guy who spent a half-year good-heartedly listening to me bitch about what wedding dress to buy. In turn, I spent all of a half-hour by his side in a suit store rolling my eyes while he was desperately trying to figure out the difference between a single vs. double-breasted jacket and the anatomy of a lapel buttonhole. Although most men won’t cop to the fact that they hope to channel the style hybrid of Muhammad Ali and Paul Newman circa Cool Hand Luke on their wedding day, your groom most likely does. How then, can a bride help her sartorially askew mate from looking less Ben Stiller in Zoolander and more Brad Pitt in Mr. and Mrs. Smith when saying “I do”? Brice Patterson, fashion director of The Black Tux—an online suit rental service—shares the five things you should never do:

Don’t Encourage Him to Try a New Style

Just because you’ve always wanted your clean and coiffed counterpart to embrace the overslept/undershaven mountain man bedhead look, this is not the time to send him down the aisle with a fashionably scruffy shadow and shaggy hair. “The goal is for him to look like his most refined, authentic self,” says Pattison. “If he usually has some stubble, then it’s fine for him to have stubble. If he shaves every day, then he should shave the morning of the wedding. Best to always get a haircut at least a week before—not a day before. It takes about seven days for a fresh haircut to settle. Remember: These photos are going to last forever.”

Don’t Over-Accessorize

“Too often men get excited about shoes and socks and pocket squares and bowties and boutonnieres and they wear everything all at once,” says Pattison. “It’s not a good look. Fine if he wants to wear dress shoes on the altar, then change into slip-on Vans for the dance floor, but at the end of the day, his look should be elegant and minimal.” In other words: Keep it simple, stupid.

Don’t Expect Him to Turn Into a Style Expert

Ignorance is bliss. If your man thinks that Tom Ford is a new type of car, then who’s to correct him? If he doesn’t know or care about all things fashion, then tell him to swallow his pride and to elect his most fashionable groomsmen to help shepherd him through his options. “If none of his groomsman give a goddamn,” says Pattison, “then the bride should be the one to take the reins.”

Don’t Choose His Ring For Him

Platinum or gold, thick or thin, brushed or shiny, the options are endless and every bride as a lot to say about them. But unless he asks your opinion, you’re better off keeping your thoughts to yourself. Most likely, this is the first piece of jewelry he has ever purchased for himself, so don’t undermine his decision by asserting what you think is best. Instead, encourage him to look around for himself. “It really comes down to a gut choice,” says Pattison. “Tell him to pay attention to the wedding rings of other guys he knows that he admires and base his decision on that. When in doubt, think classic and iconic: What did his grandfather wear?”

Don’t Let Him Leave His Alterations ’Til the Last Minute

“If you’re renting a suit,” says Pattison, “make sure you are working with a company that’s reputable, has good customer service, and ships out at least two weeks in advance of the wedding date. Also, if you’re purchasing off the rack, definitely allocate at least one to two hundred additional dollars for alterations.”Read more at:formal dresses | short formal dresses