<p>DS has gotten by in high school with a black suit. Now it is time to bite the bullet and invest in his first real tux. The conservatory hasn't given us strict requirements - just a black tux. What are most guys wearing these days? ie. vests or cumberbunds? Tails? Etc. </p>
<p>Any recommendations are welcome - especially any advice from what is "standard" in the New York and surrounding areas!!</p>
<p>You can often find one in a thrift or consignment shop. Also, some tux rental places will sell used tuxes. You probably want a fairly standard tux–not tails. I would think a black cummerbund as opposed to a vest. Black bow tie. Simply white tuxedo shirt. Plain black shoes (patent leather not necessary).</p>
<p>I got a recommendation on here years ago for uniformalwearhouse.com for very inexpensive formal wear. It’s a great place to buy extra cufflinks and studs, which always seem to get lost.</p>
<p>Depends on your son’s build and frame.
If he is thin, J. Crew, H+M, Zara fit better than tuxes for beefier dudes.
Suggest he try on a different tuxes from a few stores.
Knew what I wanted and got it on ebay.
Took it to own tailor for fitting.</p>
<p>Do pay attention to the shoes though! I have to admit that I detest observing a top orchestra where the men are dressed in tails and wearing scuffed, dull, black leather shoes. So if your son is not going to go with patent shoes (it really never hurts to be dressed properly), send him off with some good shoe polish and the advice to use it before each event!
At this time of year, check with the tuxedo rental stores to see if they’re selling any stock. You can look at pics of his college orchestra on line and see that some of the guys are wearing wing collars (even the string players!) while others have spread collars, so that would be your son’s personal preference. If you get the tux now, take in to your local tailor so the necessary alterations can be made in time.</p>
<p>tuxedodiscount.com has good prices and a lot of inventory</p>
<p>Thank you for all the helpful suggestions! I knew this would be the right place to check!</p>
<p>So we stopped at the local rental shops but nobody is selling used tuxes right now in our area. I was hopeful…</p>
<p>He is thin so many traditionally cut tuxes look ridiculous on him. He is also quite tall. The guy at the store says he is a 38Long and says it is a tricky size to find. Many of the online sites mentioned aren’t available in Long. The only tuxes we found that looked decent were the slim fit styles.</p>
<p>We did find one from Jos A Bank that is on sale for $275, but it would need some minor tailoring. Alas it is on back order until Sept. 1st. Then we’d have to ship it to him at school and he’d need to find a tailor there. </p>
<p>We found one other option at Jos A Bank for $450 (50% off!) that we could get in time to have him fitted before he leaves. </p>
<p>Do you think these are decent options or could we do better?</p>
<p>They do have a deal at Jos A Banks right now if you buy one at full price you get two more for free!! Anyone else need a tux?</p>
<p>@ Mezzo’sMama</p>
<p>He really could use a new pair of shoes! I’ll put that on the list along with a shoe shine kit!</p>
<p>I know this doesn’t help now, but our local tux rental place has a warehouse sale in February. It’s their slow time. My DS bought tux for all-state and prom, plus orchestra concerts going forward, but he got pants that barely fit and now they are too small! His black dress shoes were purchased in 9th grade for a production of Brigadoon!</p>
<p>Is there a Men’s Wearhouse near you? I think they carry tuxes. (Too bad Sym’s is gone.)</p>
<p>Lesson learned! We should have started this months ago. I was holding out in case of specific requirements from the school. </p>
<p>Our local tuxedo rental store has amazing deals at their Fall sale of used tuxes–we were able to buy a used tuxedo plus a new tux shirt, bowtie and cummerbund all for under $100. However…when college rolled around and the old one didn’t fit quite so well anymore, we sprung for a brand new tuxedo which we hope will last for a long time. We bought it through the same local tuxedo rental place and it was actually quite reasonable–quite a bit less than the prices quoted above. So, in our experience it is definitely worth checking into buying from your local formalwear store, either used or brand new.</p>
<p>We bought one of son’s tuxes at JC Penney. I’ve ordered online from Simco Formalwear in the past, but their website appears to be down. Shame, very affordable and good quality. </p>
<p>We’ve had success at both Men’s Warehouse and JC Penney for suits for our very tall, thin son - he’s really a 38 X Long but those sizes are hard to come by so we get the smallest X Long and have it tailored. </p>
<p>Men’s Warehouse is good in that they will re-tailor (no charge) any suit you buy from them if something needs to be let out or taken in. Also, they offer complimentary steaming of the suit anytime you bring it in - great after a suit has been tossed in a bag and left there after traveling! One son caught a pocket of the suit coat on a stair at school and it tore. I brought it back to Men’s Warehouse to see if they could fix it (it was a pretty bad tear). The salesperson first tried to locate another suit coat in inventory. If they had one, he was just going to swap the new one with the torn one! Nothing in stock so they fixed the pocket and they did a great job.</p>
<p>Our other son - the music major - needed a tux with tails. Fortunately, his music school arranges for a formal shop to come measure the students and they offered a good price. He insisted he didn’t need formal dress shoes (he tried to get away with wearing his black slip on shoes that he’s worn for years for HS band/choral concerts). Needless to say, after a couple of pointed comments from a professor, he agreed to a pair of patent leather shoes. A much better look with a formal tux! Since he didn’t have a lot of time to shop, I ordered a couple of pairs via Zappos so he had a couple of options. He got them the next day and returned the pair he didn’t want.</p>
<p>I think a tux at men’s warehouse was 150 for us and got alterations done that afternoon. I’d take the josa banks deal and would buy a few suits along with the tux. </p>
<p>I just bought a dinner jacket (for music festival) and new tux for S, 6’3, inseam 36, arm length 37, weight 165 by mail through tuxedosforless. S is also impossible to fit. Tuxedo places have pants to fit him but the sleeves on the jackets aren’t adjustable, and I got tired of listening to the employees tell me that jackets that are clearly too short in the sleeves “fit.” This site had a chart that figured in inseam, arm length, neck size, weight, etc. and then spit out a size. I think S wore a 40 extra long. The prices were cheap–material was too, I think, but it was good enough for now and really nice to have a tux that actually fit him. So tired of looking at competition photos where he looks like Lurch from the Addams family. Sounds like you might have a son with a similar build. Here’s the link:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.mytuxedodirect.com/mens/formalwear-suits/tuxedos/?mkwid=s1tTO8RnG&pcrid=24505499300&pkw=tuxedos%20for%20less&pmt=e&gclid=Cj0KEQjw3cKeBRDG-KKqqIj4qJgBEiQAOamX_T6b-BAahbAvLrsoM3bxQdc1UCWXYO4StLL3Mmwmku8aAmow8P8HAQ”>http://www.mytuxedodirect.com/mens/formalwear-suits/tuxedos/?mkwid=s1tTO8RnG&pcrid=24505499300&pkw=tuxedos%20for%20less&pmt=e&gclid=Cj0KEQjw3cKeBRDG-KKqqIj4qJgBEiQAOamX_T6b-BAahbAvLrsoM3bxQdc1UCWXYO4StLL3Mmwmku8aAmow8P8HAQ</a></p>
<p>Oh–and tux arrived quickly and when promised.</p>
<p>Just wanted to say thanks @dec51995 for the link you provided above. Ordered a tux for my S and it came very quickly and everything fit perfectly (we followed their measurement instructions and size charts)! As you note, they aren’t the best quality but when your child is still growing the price can’t be beat. </p>
<p>Yay!</p>
<p>Not the best place but great in an emergency. Son’s music school is in a rural area with the nearest mall over 30 miles away. Incredibly, the local Walmart carries tuxes. etc. It has been a lifesaver for many of the students since ties, etc start to get lost as the semesters pass. And sometimes they don’t always hang the tuxes up and throw them into balls in the dorm room</p>
<p>S’s new white dinner jacket, bought expressly for this summer’s festival, ended up in his bike chain as he swerved to avoid being hit by a car on the way to a concert. At least he made his call time. And that’s why I buy the cheap stuff.</p>