Prick my wedding suit and it bleeds memories: of doing the conga line to You Can Call Me Al, of wincing when my best man compared me to Mel B, and of sporting 2007’s favourite hairstyle (or was it 2001’s? I can’t remember. Carlos D from Interpol, aka the hipster Phil Oakey, was definitely involved).
My wedding day outfit was flecked with those late noughties style staples, too: the knitted tie, the skinny fitted jacket, the uncreased white shirt. Due to sheer laziness when it comes to visiting the dry cleaners, it still smells vaguely of spilled cider and cranachan pudding. The suit wouldn’t look out of place now, but that’s more to do with the fact that men’s fashion moves at a glacial pace – and men’s suit fashion is basically frozen in time.
Which is why, when tailor Charlie Casely-Hayford collaborated with Topman for a wedding-themed line, his words were filled with hope: “Why not go for a bit of colour?” he asked in an interview. “Why should women have all the fun?”
What place does “a bit of colour” have in the traditional wedding guest’s wardrobe? Isn’t it high treason in the chapel of dull and duller? The cold, hard truth is that men tend to share the exact same dress code at weddings. And that dress code is: You’ve Entered A Time Machine And, Oops, Ended Up At A Nascent Meeting Of The Bullingdon Club.
I’m not going to mince words, the suit jacket I’m wearing here looks a bit crackers: it’s a (deep breath) souvenir jacket cum kimono complete with millennial-friendly logos. At first glance, it’s something Spiders From Mars-era David Bowie might have considered a bit much. But if modern wedding etiquette is a reflection of the sleeker, more groomed (read: greasier) male, then Casely-Hayford’s might be less out there than we assume. When worn, it’s disarmingly comfy (it feels a bit like you’re wearing luxury pyjamas); and looks less experimental than you think it will.
So if you wear this to a wedding this summer, how will you fare against the Moss Bros crew? Who knows? But it feels right to push the boat out of such trad waters. That is, until the bride sends you a note before her second wedding, saying, “Pls can you dress down this time? Thks” (no kiss).
- Priya (above) wears jacket, £180, and trousers, £60, both by Charlie Casely-Hayford for topman.com. Shirt, £20, riverisland.com. Trainers, Priya’s own
