Perplexing wedding guest attire question

[Albert]

Lol. Well, according to that description you'd be fine to with any suit you choose. You'll most likely be the best dressed one there.

[Jelks]

Thanks for all the responses and suggestions. I will check those out--

I spoke to the bride-to-be, and she said that "cocktail attire" was mostly there to prevent in-laws from showing up in shorts and sandals, haha.

[greg_s]

I was recently in Banana Republic and they had a great looking navy 2-button blazer. It was either a cotton/linen blend or 100% linen. Obviously not the cheapest of options, but it looked pretty rockin right off the rack and would likely require minimal tailoring. If I had more reasons to wear it, it would have been mine.

[dahonam]

Look in the latest issue of GQ magazine towards the back. They have a couple page spread about weddings and attire whether your in the wedding or a guest of it... They give a couple outfits (none of them are cheap), but you can take their ideas and work off them.

[Albert]

I second the "Check with the powers that be" suggestion. I think the planners might not fully understand what "Cocktail attire" means.

[wheresmytuna]

A cotton or linen blend suit in navy?


Cocktail attire is specifically stated even though it's outside and hot (I'm in CA also so I understand)

Maybe you need to clarify with the bride, she is probably making sure no one shows up in shorts or sandals.

[Jelks]

So, the wedding invite reads "cocktail attire"-- for 4:30pm on a Saturday in late June, outdoors in a California vineyard.


Does the "cocktail attire" part supersede the blazing hot afternoon outdoors part, and require a dark suit? Or can I (hopefully) get away with something more casual?


I'd love to find a blazer that I can dress up to be more "suit-like," since I rarely have occasion to wear a suit. Any good, affordable options out there?


(oh, and if you're gonna suggest an awesome chino/khaki suit/blazer, been there tried that. Doesn't work with my pale coloring. Oh, but how I wish it did).


Thanks, this forum is great!