I'm with V-Tail on this.

This may have been his Captain's uniform in the cockpit every Halloween.

quote:

Originally posted by bdylan:
Navy blue or charcoal gray.

^^^
This. You can wear a black tie to funeral with either color. A black suit is nowhere near as versatile and you run the risk of looking like a mortician. This from a former haberdasher.

A nice navy blazer (not sport coat) is a great option as well. One caveat, do NOT wear your suit coat with a different pair of pants and act like it’s a sport coat. It’s not, it’s obvious, and you’ll look silly.

I’m personally partial to dark grey, but for a single suit navy will work better with other slacks. If you only want a single suit to be worn as a suit and you’re not worried about the versatility, I think dark gray looks better for all occasions.

Dark charcoal for me. Combined with whatever shirt, tie, shoes and belt are handy.

With my last suit I bought a second pair of pants. Really glad I did. If you don't buy them at the same time as the suit, you risk not getting a perfect match.

An old Three Stooges joke:
I bought a suit with two pair of pants and then I burned a hole in the coat.

I think V-Tail’s suit is what any SigForum member should wear to the funeral of another.

I own only one suit that still fits me, and it's Navy Blue. With some stripes of another shade of blue.

An Armani sartorial charcoal shadow stripe. Three fittings.

Navy Blue or Charcoal grey solid if you’re going to own only one.

I have two week long work events where I have to wear a suit 4 days in a row.

Based on this I own 5 suits:
Medium Navy solid
Light grey solid
Dark Charcoal muted plaid
Sand/tan solid
Black solid (used for funerals and super formal events)

I do often wear sport coats and have probably 8-10. I actually really like the casual style sport coats from Duluth Trading.

quote:

Originally posted by darthfuster:
I have five suits. All variations of dark gray

No wonder that you woke up in a hospital, not knowing how you got there.

Dark blue.
On the advice I got here I bought a Hart Schaffner Marx 2 years ago for my anniversary. I’ve lost 55 pounds since. I just had my 25 year old suit tailored last week. Go figure.

I can't speak for urban areas but here in the mid-west the casualness at funerals and weddings is down right astounding.

I've been living here for over twenty years now and (sadly) have gone to many funerals and weddings. I have never seen a suit outside of whoever may be officiating it. In the winter or fall months I occasionally would wear a sport coat, usually herring bone, charcoal grey with a white shirt and black slacks.

The wife would sometimes look at me and tell me I was over dressing again.

FWIW I sold Men's Suits earlier in my life.

A dark charcoal gray suit works for all occasions from weddings to funerals. A navy blue blazer in addition is a reasonably inexpensive addition that provides a lot of options for events where a suit is not necessary but are more formal.

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:
The number of guys wearing jeans and sweatshirts was astonishing as well as the "ladies" wearing yoga pants. My Dad goes to quite a few funerals per year and had warned me about the casualness.

quote:

Originally posted by Bassamatic:
I can't speak for urban areas but here in the mid-west the casualness at funerals and weddings is down right astounding.

I've been living here for over twenty years now and (sadly) have gone to many funerals and weddings. I have never seen a suit outside of whoever may be officiating it.

Our side of the family is fairly traditional in appearances, manners and speech, first time experiencing 'the other side' was when we traveled to Denver where the black sheep side of the family lives. My sister and I were blown-away at the number of jeans, t-shirts and sneakers that filed-in for my uncles's funeral. We were absolutely over-dressed compared to the rest of the attendees, at a minimum you'd expect collared shirts and/or a nice blouse. The topper was seeing every 5-6th person delaying the viewing line in order to lean-over the casket to take a picture of my uncle. That weekend was quite the education, I don't remember the name of the place but I believe the post-service 'reception' was at Golden Coral or something similar.

Birthday...

Birthday?
Meh, the up front cost is affordable but the county clerk’s office isn’t getting any cheaper.

quote:

Originally posted by Bassamatic:
I can't speak for urban areas but here in the mid-west the casualness at funerals and weddings is down right astounding.

Dont get me started on folks in the midwest bringing drinks to a gathering then taking them home afterwards.

Black. Then dark blue and gray.

I currently have just one suit and it is black. I'm 71 years old and go to funerals more often these days. I have a navy blue blazer that works well enough for most other occasions.

Navy Blue Pin Stripe, aka "Banker's Suit".

Hart Shafner and Marx

You cannot go wrong with yellow, it always redirects the attention to me when I walk in the room. Add some white patent leather shoes to the mix and any hat with a feather to round off the look.