The suit is bought, fitted and pressed. What is left is the last two weeks, and the morning itself, which is where a good day gets quietly ruined by a missing cufflink. This is the list we hand grooms before they leave the shop, from the final fitting to the moment the jacket goes on.
Two weeks out
- The final fitting. Put the whole thing on at once: shirt, trousers, the shoes you will wear, the jacket. This is when a hem gets a last quarter inch or a sleeve gets taken up, and it is far easier now than the week of. If anything has changed about you since the first fitting, say so; that is what the fitting is for.
- Shoes, worn in. New leather soles are slippery and new uppers are stiff. Wear the shoes around the house for a few evenings, then polish them properly the week before. A long shoe horn keeps the heel counters from breaking down on the day.
- Decide the neck. Tie or bow tie, and if it is a bow tie, learn to tie it now, not at eleven in the morning with a photographer waiting. Our ties and pocket squares are online; bring the swatch if you are matching a colour.
- Gather the small things in one box. Cufflinks and shirt studs if the shirt takes them, collar stays, a belt or braces, dress socks in the colour of the trousers, the pocket square, the waistcoat or cummerbund if you are wearing one. Everything the outfit needs, in one place, so nothing is being hunted for on the morning.
- The shirt. If it is new, wash and press it once so it sits like a shirt and not like packaging. A tuxedo shirt with a pleated front or a wing collar wants a careful press; ours will do it if you bring it in with the suit.
The night before
Hang the suit somewhere it can breathe, jacket on a wide hanger, trousers folded over the bar along the crease. Lay the rest out beside it in the order you will put it on, and check the box: links, studs, stays, socks, square, belt. Put the rings, the vows and the speech in one named envelope and give it to the best man, tonight, not tomorrow. Then do not shave. A shave the morning of, right before you dress, is cleaner for the photographs and kinder to whoever you are about to kiss.
Eat something decent and go to bed. The day is long, and most of it is standing.
Top button done, bottom button never. The jacket goes on last and comes off while you sit.
The morning of
- Breakfast first. A real one. There will be a drink in your hand before there is food in front of you, and the ceremony is not the place to find that out.
- Shower, shave, and go easy on the scent. There will be flowers in the room and perfume on everyone you hug. One light pass of cologne at most; clean skin and a fresh shirt are the smell of a well-dressed man.
- Dress in order. Socks, shirt, trousers, then shoes while the trousers are still unhooked so you do not stretch the waist. Studs and links before the tie. Tie, then waistcoat, then the jacket last, and only when you are about to walk out the door.
- Button rule. On a two-button jacket, the top one and only the top one. On a waistcoat, leave the bottom button open. Unbutton the jacket when you sit, do it up when you stand.
- Pockets. Breast pocket for the square and nothing else. Inside pocket for the phone, switched to silent. Mints in the trouser pocket. Nothing bulky anywhere; a suit that fits shows every wallet.
The best man's kit
One small bag, carried by someone who is not the groom: a lint roller, a stain pen, safety pins, a spare set of studs or a spare shirt button and a needle, a clean handkerchief, a shoe cloth, blister plasters, and a copy of the timeline. Nobody will need most of it. Someone will need one thing from it, and that is the whole point.
After
Hang the suit the night of, even if it is late. Air it for a day or two before it goes anywhere near a closet, brush it if you have a clothes brush, and only dry clean it if it needs it; cleaning is hard on wool and a good suit should see the cleaner a few times a year at most. Shoes go on trees. Then wear it again, which is the part that makes buying the suit worth it. If it needs a press or a small adjustment before the next occasion, our tailors are in the building seven days a week.