Cummerbunds and Tails???

Recently I was posed with a question over what is acceptable attire for a specific social event. I was sitting with the Best Man of an upcoming wedding and was looking at the tux that was chosen for the groomsmen. To my surprise, it was a tux with tails....


I immediately asked him, well what time is the wedding scheduled for? He wasn't sure, so we headed to the wedding website of the couple and found out that it is scheduled for 2 pm. Do we continue to focus on the social stigma of semi-formal, after five, formal, white / black tie....OR for our events and the accompanying attire matter simply on what we like and want?

If we are focusing on what is 'correct' attire for the occasion, then tails on a tux at 2pm in the summertime would be ALL WRONG! For a daytime wedding, even though a wedding is a formal event and you should ALWAYS be in Sunday's best, you would be ok in wearing a tailored suit, light or dark colored, and the tails, cummerbund, bow tie isn't necessary.

However, there are daytime formal weddings, which would incorporate tails or other formal dress such as long bridesmaid dresses and a formal wedding gown.

For guests, what would you wear or what is acceptable attire to such an occasion? In order to determine the formality of the wedding or special event, the first place to start is to consider the invitation. If the invitation is on heavy card stock, with calligraphy, then you can expect at least a semi-formal affair. If you are receiving an invitation via Evite, then it screams casual.

Whatever you do, make sure that you research the formality and are prepared for the occasion. If you have questions about do's and dont's for attire you can reference this site.