Wedding suits
Cloth for a wedding in the heat
Weight, weave and how it photographs. What to wear for an outdoor Thai wedding without ruining the pictures.
- 4.8 from 22 Google reviews
- Tailoring in Bangkok since 2011
- Suits from 6,000 THB
Weight decides whether you are comfortable and weave decides how the suit photographs. Those are two different choices, they are usually confused with each other, and in Bangkok the room matters more than the month — an outdoor ceremony and an air-conditioned reception happen on the same afternoon.
01
Weight first
Cloth weight is quoted in ounces per yard, and the number is a shorthand for how much wool is in a given area. Lighter cloth moves more air and creases sooner. Heavier cloth hangs better, holds a press, and is warmer to stand in. That is the whole trade, and there is no weight that wins both halves of it.
The useful instruction is the older one: put your hand on it. Weight is one of the few things about cloth that an untrained hand judges correctly within seconds, and the books are on the table. A summer wedding in Bangkok makes this trade constant rather than seasonal, because the heat does not let up.
02
How it photographs
Every photograph of your wedding is taken in light you did not choose — a bright ceremony, a dim reception, and a photographer’s flash across both. Cloth behaves differently in each.
- Mid-tones survive everywhere. Mid-grey and navy hold their colour and their detail in daylight and under tungsten.
- Very dark cloth goes flat indoors. A black or near-black suit loses its structure in a dim room and reads as a silhouette.
- Smooth finishes catch the flash. A high sheen that looks rich in the shop can blow out in a direct flash.
- Tight weaves keep their line. Open weaves are cooler and rumple faster, which shows by the reception.
Colour in strong sun
Strong Bangkok sun lifts everything a shade. A cloth chosen under shop lights will photograph lighter outdoors, which is why mid-tones are the safe answer and why it is worth carrying a length of it to the window before you decide.
Creasing
Creasing is a function of weave and weight together, not of quality. The car, the chairs and the hours are what crease a suit, and the answer is a cloth with enough body to recover rather than a promise that it will not happen.
Cloth is chosen early because everything after it depends on the date: when to start a wedding suit.
03
An outdoor ceremony
An outdoor ceremony changes the brief rather than the suit. You will be standing in direct heat for perhaps half an hour and then sitting indoors for several hours, so the cloth has to be bearable at the worst moment and correct at the longest one. The practical answers are a lighter cloth, an unlined or half-lined jacket, and a colour that does not turn into a mirror in the sun. If the whole party is outdoors, this is a decision to take once for everybody — see dressing the groomsmen in one cloth.
04
What the shop carries
The cloth here comes in books, and the books on the table are Sirano, Cavani, Luiciano and Lord & Taylor. Come in and go through them — tailoring a wedding party has the timetable that follows the choice, and father of the bride covers the rest of the family.
Our wedding work
Questions people ask
- What cloth is best for a hot wedding?
- A lighter weight in a mid-tone, in a weave with enough body to recover from a long day. Weight decides comfort and weave decides how the suit photographs, and the two are usually confused. Handle the cloth in the shop: weight is one of the few things an untrained hand judges correctly in seconds. Carry a length of it to the window as well as looking at it under the shop lights, because the colour you choose indoors is not quite the colour that appears in the outdoor photographs.
- What weight of cloth do you carry?
- Weight is best judged by hand, and every book is on the table. Come in and feel the cloth. The difference between a light and a heavy cloth is obvious the moment you handle both. Weight is also the one property you can judge by hand within seconds without any training, so handle two of them side by side.
- Which cloth books does the shop have?
- Sirano, Cavani, Luiciano and Lord and Taylor, all on the table in the shop. Write the name of the book your cloth came from on the order sheet.
- What colour photographs best?
- Mid-grey and navy. They hold their colour and their detail in daylight, under tungsten and against a flash, which is the full range your wedding photographs are taken in. Very dark cloth flattens into a silhouette in a dim reception, and a high sheen can blow out under direct flash. If the whole party is in one cloth, this decision is taken once for everybody rather than per person, which is another reason to choose it together.
- Will the suit crease during the day?
- Some, and any tailor who says otherwise is selling something. Creasing comes from the car, the chairs and the hours rather than from the quality of the cloth. What you can choose is a weave with enough body to recover, which is a genuine difference between two cloths that feel similar in the hand. If the day involves a long drive between the ceremony and the reception, say so when you choose, because that is the hour that does the creasing.
- Should the jacket be lined for an outdoor ceremony?
- An unlined or half-lined jacket is noticeably cooler and is the usual answer for a ceremony held outside. The trade is a little structure: a full lining helps a jacket hang and hides the inside of the construction. It is worth deciding with the cloth chosen, because a light cloth and no lining is a different garment from a heavy cloth and a full one. Half-lining is the usual middle answer and it keeps some structure through the shoulder while losing most of the weight through the back.
- Can the whole party use the same cloth outdoors?
- They should, and outdoors it matters more rather than less. Strong sun lifts every colour a shade and exposes any mismatch between two cloths that looked identical under shop lights. Choose one bolt for the party, and take the weight decision once for everybody instead of per person. A party in one cloth at one weight photographs as a party, which is the entire reason for choosing together.
- Can I see the cloth before committing?
- Yes, and you should. The books are on the table and nothing is ordered until you have handled them. Carry a length to the window as well as looking at it under the shop lights, because the colour you choose indoors is not quite the colour that appears in the outdoor photographs. Going through the books properly is a reasonable way to spend an hour rather than something to rush at the end of a visit.
Visit the shop
BTS National Stadium Station Exit 3 & 4, Rama I Rd, Wang Mai, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330.Open 10am to 9pm, every day.