Couple questions about formal wear

[sherwin]

Hi all,

Thanks for this great forum. I just had a few questions about dressing formal to a wedding.

1) Are slim ties informal? I'm not talking super slim, but 2-3" at its widest.

2) I'm thinking about wearing a gold Valentino tie with a white French cuff shirt, and a black Boss 3-button suit w/ faint white pinstripes. I wanted to wear a pocket square -- should I wear a white one, or gold (to match the tie), or some other color? I like just making it square rather than puffy, but would this be informal?

2a) Regarding the white French cuff shirt -- what other aspects of a shirt make it more formal? What type of collar, pocket or no pocket, placket? Sorry, I know next to nothing about shirts.

3) the wedding is in May, in Phoenix (hot), and I believe the ceremony will be outdoors in the afternoon/evening and the reception inside a large house/mansion, and I am 22 in case any of this matters.

Any other tips would be appreciated.

Thanks and hope I'm not being a huge newbie right now.

 

[sherwin]

...Nobody?

 

[dah328]

If you read through past threads here, you will find answers to all your questions and more. The following are brief answers to your questions. Elaboration on all of them can be found in the archives.

1) The formality of a tie has to do with its weave and pattern (do a search for grenadine ties or something) although excessively skinny or wide ties look costumey and therefore informal.

2) A white linen pocket square in a TV or puff fold (search for it) is the most formal square. You shouldn't match a pocket square to your tie.

2a) You can't get a whole lot more formal than a white FC shirt for a suit. The other shirt details are relatively insignificant in determining the formality of the shirt.

3) You can't do much about the heat. A lighter-weight suit fabric will be cooler than a heavier weight, but anything will be hot in the Phoenix sun. I was in one last July there and it was not pleasant.

 

[sherwin]

thanks dah