What Men Wear to Weddings Now

The cocktail attire dress code first appeared in the 1920s and 30s, when cocktail parties became fashionable pre-dinner affairs, and British GQ still calls it menswear's most confusing dress code. Wedding invitations have only made it harder. Conde Nast Traveler reported in April 2025 that couples now ask for things like cowboy cocktail, Met Gala festive or black-tie neutral. GQ's 57 rules for wedding style, from April 2026, put it bluntly: if your dress code requires its own Pinterest to decipher, it is too complicated. They also say not to rent a tux and to buy one. I agree with both. So start with the jacket, because it decides everything else. Mr P., Mr Porter's own label launched in November 2017, makes a double-breasted wool-hopsack jacket in ecru, a good starting point for a daytime ceremony. Officine Générale's Arthus wool-fresco jacket in navy comes from Pierre Mahéo, who calls his point of view beautiful normality, which is the right attitude for a wedding. And Favourbrook's grosgrain-trimmed tuxedo jacket is the one for black tie. What I would skip is the NN07 Jordin double-breasted yellow linen blazer for an evening ceremony in a church, because it belongs to a garden party.

A wedding shirt should be forgotten by noon, which means good collars and a fabric that does not fight you. Zegna's convertible-collar linen shirt in white comes from a house that began as a wool mill in Trivero in 1910, and the collar works open under a jacket or buttoned with a tie. Drake's camp-collar linen shirt in beige is relaxed in the way London makers can be, from a label founded in 1977 by three former Aquascutum employees. TOM FORD's classic-collar cotton-poplin shirt in white is the sharp one, from a label announced in April 2005, and I would wear it with a dark suit and nothing else. Slowear's Glanshirt oxford is a good, calm shirt from an Italian group whose roots go back to the trouser maker Incotex in 1951. Mr P.'s striped green organic cotton-poplin shirt is the one with a little personality. Keep the shirt white or pale if the jacket is loud. What I would skip is the Frescobol Carioca Vidal polo for any invitation that says jacket required, because a polo is for the day after.

Trousers are what people notice when you stand up to dance, so the break and the drape matter more than the label. Canali was founded in 1934 by brothers Giovanni and Giacomo Canali in Triuggio, and its beige straight-leg linen suit trousers are the obvious partner for a navy or brown jacket. Slowear's Incotex pleated linen pair in beige comes from the maker that started the group in 1951, and pleats here are a comfort, not a trend. Caruso's navy twill suit trousers come from a company founded in 1958 by the Neapolitan tailor Raffaele Caruso, and Rubinacci's Manny pleated brown linen pair is from the house Gennaro Rubinacci founded in Naples in 1932. For dark evenings, Brioni's Trevi wool and mohair-blend pair is the choice. Brioni began in Rome in 1945 with the tailor Nazareno Fonticoli and the entrepreneur Gaetano Savini. Match the trousers to the jacket's season and stop there. What I would skip is the NN07 Kay wide-leg herringbone pair with a slim, short jacket, because the proportions will fight.

If you only get one thing right, make it the shoe. VINNY's founder Virgil Nicholas started the Copenhagen label in 2019 because he was tired of seeing men wear sneakers with suits at celebrations, so the Yardee burgundy penny loafer is made with that exact moment in mind. George Cleverley's Bradley II penny loafer in burgundy comes from the house that George Cleverley started on Cork Street in 1958, and Edward Green's Polperro suede penny loafer in navy comes from a Northampton workshop founded in 1890. Gucci opened in Florence in 1921, and its horsebit loafer in woven brown suede builds on the 1953 horsebit loafer that became one of the house's codes. Tod's makes the Gommino driving loafer, named for the 133 rubber pebbles on its sole, and its black full-grain penny loafer is the dressy sibling. Wear loafers with a thin sock or none at all. What I would skip is Manolo Blahnik's Padstow raffia loafer in green for a winter wedding, because the material is a summer one.

Finish with the small things, because they are where a guest outfit starts to look chosen. Anderson's has made belts only in Parma, and Carlo Valenti named the firm after the Savile Row tailor Anderson and Sheppard; its 2.8cm brown leather belt is the plain, correct choice. Montblanc was founded in 1906 in Hamburg and launched its Meisterstück line in 1924, and the 3.5cm Sartorial leather belt in black is the one for evening. Brunello Cucinelli started the company in 1978 with colored cashmere, and its green printed silk pocket square carries that taste for color. Drake's cream gauze pocket square is the softer one, and Ralph Lauren Purple Label's Wimbledon silk-twill square in brown is the quirky one. For sunglasses, Zegna Eyewear's gold aviator-style pair suits an outdoor ceremony. Match the belt to the shoes, not the jacket. What I would skip is Mikia's emerald and sterling silver chain bracelet if you already wear a watch, because two wrist details compete.

A wedding guest outfit is a small project, and it works best when you build it in the right order. Begin with the shoes, because they decide how formal the rest can be. Then pick the jacket and trousers as a pair, and take the shirt from the lightest tone in the outfit. Last, add one small thing that is yours: a pocket square, a belt you love, a bracelet. If the invitation is confusing, read the venue and the hour. Daytime and outdoors call for linen, beige and brown, while an evening ceremony calls for navy, wool and black loafers. Buy the black tuxedo jacket once if you think you will be asked again, since GQ is right that renting a tux is a bad habit. Everything else in this edit mixes with what you already own. Wear it well and no one will remember your outfit, only that you looked like you belonged.

A wedding outfit is easiest when you start with the shoes, so I put the loafers first. George Cleverley's George penny loafers and the Tod's City Gommino are the dressier pair, and the VINNY's Yardee in lizard-effect leather is the one with a bit of nerve. For the suit, the Paul Smith linen and wool-blend twill jacket and the Mr P. wool, silk and linen-blend jacket both suit a daytime ceremony, with the De Bonne Facture linen lounge trousers or the Slowear pleated pair underneath. Add the Zegna linen shirt, the Brunello Cucinelli leather belt, the Zegna Eyewear tortoiseshell sunglasses and, if the invitation says evening, the TOM FORD polka dot silk tie. What I would skip: the sunglasses at an indoor ceremony, so keep them in a pocket until the photographs.