10/07/21 – Jeff from San Francisco asked:

“I will be attending a wedding in Saltaire 2 April 2022. Since I live in San Francisco and will be travelling for a month prior in Morocco I would prefer NOT to haul fine garments around with me. If I send you my measurements could you have something suitable for me to wear at the wedding for hire. I will be arriving on 31 March 2022. And I don’t have a clue what folks deem appropriate for a male wedding guest to wear in England. Thanks! Jeffrey Jones”

We Answered:

Sure we can certainly help.

The guest suits for weddings here in the UK can be either a:
1. Morning Suit ideally black tailcoat with grey waistcoat and grey striped trousers (please see it here https://www.hirefive.co.uk/product/ascot-premium-black-morning-suit-weddings/)
2. Or you can do the same with a Navy Tailcoat (https://www.hirefive.co.uk/product/gallant-premium-navy-morning-suit/).

Other than a morning suit, you can opt for a standard suit in Navy or Grey. Here are the two recommendations:
1. Our Premium Navy Suit in 3 Piece with Matching Waistcoat  – https://www.hirefive.co.uk/product/swell-premium-french-navy-suit-hire/
2. Our Silver Grey Suit in 3 Piece with Matching Waistcoat  – https://www.hirefive.co.uk/product/swank-light-grey-wedding-suit/

Once you’ve decided the suit choice, you can then send us your measurements via this form.
https://www.hirefive.co.uk/self-measurements/
When we receive your measurements, we can send you an invoice for you to pay or you can pay directly via our website. As for the collection and return, we give the suits our 2 days before the function (sometimes 3 days subject to availability and our discretion) and expect the suits to be returned 2 days after. We may charge late return fee after the agreed date of return, which is £10 per suit per day.

Please let us know if the following dates work for you.

Collection: Wednesday 30th March 2022
Return: Monday 4th April 2022

We can always ship the suit to a UK address to arrive on the 30th if you wish and a can also arrange a collection (return of the suit). If you decide that you’d like us to deliver and collect the suit via post / Courrier, we can do so at a cost. Your refundable security deposit, however, will be £300 instead of our standard £200 that we will ask you to pay at the time of collection. The security deposit is refunded 3 days after the suit is returned safely and undamaged.

10/07/21 – Joe from Surrey asked:

“Our wedding has been postponed three times due to Covid so now that it’s actually allowed to happen we are getting things done. I am looking to purchase my suit as the groom and then rent 4 further suits for best man and groomsmen (although your suits are amazing so they might actually opt to buy them) plus my father wants to get a suit as well. I appreciate that it’s late notice compared to most people but do you think you would be able to meet us for a fitting/make this in time at either Guildford or Basingstoke? I am especially interested in the Navy Tweed Suit. If you think the time frame is okay then please let me know and we will sort getting everyone in one place :)” – Wedding date 18/09/21

We Answered:

Sure we can help no worries. The rule is still the same, the earlier you book and provide us the measurements for the groomsmen, the better will be the availability of the suits that we can offer you. Are you available next week on Wednesday, Friday, or Saturday?

A day out at Ascot is special and dressing for the occasion is an important part of the raceday experience. Please read on for a guide to what to wear for a day at the racecourse.

Royal Ascot is synonymous with sartorial elegance. This is upheld by our dress code, which invites guests to contribute to an occasion heralded as a major fashion event in its own right. We are delighted to bring you a selection of looks put together to guide and inspire you what to wear to the Royal Meeting.

ROYAL ENCLOSURE

It is a requirement to wear a black or grey morning dress which must include: a waistcoat and a tie, Black or Grey Top Hat, Plain Black Shoes

A gentleman may remove his top hat within a restaurant, a private box, a private club or that facility’s terrace, balcony or garden. Hats may also be removed within any enclosed exter

nal seating area within the Royal Enclosure Garden. The customisation of top hats (with, for example, coloured ribbons or bands) is not permitted in the Royal Enclosure

Overseas visitors are welcome to wear the formal National Dress of their country or Service Dress.

QUEEN ANNE  ENCLOSURE

The Queen Anne Enclosure gives you access to the Grandstand and the surrounding lawns with restaurants and bars. Dress wear is not essential, but you will see lots of men still plump for the full morning suit. It’s not often you get to dress up like this, so feel free to do go all out.

Otherwise, the rules say you need to wear a matching suit with a shirt and tie. If you decide against morning dress, our pick is a tailored 3-piece in Blue or brown with a silk tie and pocket square and polished oxfords.

VILLAGE ENCLOSURE

The Village Enclosure offers brilliant views of the race alongside pop-up restaurants and bars, with live DJs and bands continuing the day’s soundtrack into the night.

The dress code is more relaxed so you don’t have to wear a full suit. That means more opportunity to style some tailored separates together. Brave the British summer with your quintessential British look to match the Village’s vibrant atmosphere with a light weight tweed jacket and navy trousers.

You do still need to wear a tie here though. Try our beautiful Libert Print Cotton Ties to work a great charahcter into the mix but keep it in a similar shade to your jacket so the overall effect still reads as refined.

WINDSOR ENCLOSURE

The Windsor Enclosure is perhaps the most accessible way to be part of this famous event.

No formal dress code applies here, though you’re still encouraged to dress smartly. It’s a rare occasion for most of us to attend such a glamorous event, so we advise grabbing the opportunity to wear something sharp.

A neatly tailored jacket will work well for the occasion teamed with smart chinos and a crisp shirt. You can skip the tie here but we suggest you tuck in a patterned pocket square for a final styling flutter.

Sunday the 18, 2018 was a bright cold day but more importantly a day when we launched our two new suits for 2018 wedding season at the beautiful Surrey venue – Foxhills. The suits are called Devon and George. Devon is 100% pure British wool Tweed Suit in mid Blue and can be worn in many ways. George on the other hand will join ranks with our premium classic slim fit suits. It is made with extremely delicate fabric and cut in a way that the top part gives a look of tails and bottom of a lounge jacket.

The launch was at the amazing Surrey venue Foxhills. Foxhills is a 19th century manor house club and resort with a golf course near Ottershaw Surrey. The event was organized by Gemma Starr of Little Star Events Wedding Fayers. Around 40 well known suppliers from Surrey and Hampshire took part in this very successful Wedding Show. Manic Stage Productions was behind the catwalk show and provided all the amazing models. Laura from Lahu Studios did the photography. Important to mention the images in this post are from our mobile phone and as soon as we get some photos from Lauren, we will share

Devon

Devon has been created at the back of a huge demand for a tweed suit in the current wedding market specifically for hire. We have been doing tweed waistcoats for a couple of years now however we were asked many times by our customers if we did a full tweed suit or Tweed Jackets; so, we decided at the end of last season that we will work on creating a tweed suit to hire, purchase, and made to measure. As we do with all our suits, we chose the most authentic British Tweed fabric and the best in kind tailors to produce the suits. There are many options to wear a tweed suits such as a full three-piece suit and tweed waistcoat with a formal suit however we launched Devon Jacket and waistcoat with our Premium Navy Trousers and there are two reasons why we did that. A) the formal slim navy trousers give the ensemble a more formal look than when it is worn as a three-piece suit with matching trousers and it wouldn’t get very hot in the summer weddings, and B) by doing that we enhance the visual appeal of the tweed jacket and waistcoat even more – actually more than when it is worn as a three piece. We recommend a classic crisp white shirt and a range of our floral ties and hanks made of iconic Liberty London Fabric.   

George

George is made with a view that there has to be suit that can stand out as THE Wedding Suit. As the men’s wedding suit industry has transformed into a proper fashion industry in last three years, there are no rules and no strict etiquettes of what a wedding suit look like. You can wear a lounge suit or tails or tweed suit however this influx of choice of garments has somehow taken the special look and feel that a wedding suit should give to the groom. You can wear suits to your wedding and the same suit you can wear to work so there hasn’t been such a thing as The Wedding suit specially if you do not want to wear Top and Tails. So, we created George – a unique suit cut in a slim silhouette with a premium textured fabric that’s too subtle to standout and too obvious to fade away in so many other suits that look more like work suits. We have given the from top part of the jacket exactly the same shape as of our premium tailcoats and the bottom of the jacket is cut short to the length of a lounge jacket but just a touch longer than a lounge jacket that you would wear for work. The options of a waistcoat to go with it are limitless but as a set we have introduced a contrasting steel bluish grey waistcoat and matching blue waistcoat. Best worn with classic white shirt and steel grey cravat and hank.

Here are some armature images that we took as behind the scenes pictures while Lauren captured the moods and outfits professionally. We will surely share the professional images once we have them.

Top Tips to recreate the look

• Don’t worry about exactly matching the colours – the beauty of using shades of other colours with Blue is that they will all go together!
• Use colour or a pattern where it might not be expected – a floral or patterned tie and hank is unusual and striking and help communicate not just your personality but the theme of the wedding
• Not everything has to be matching – using everything in matching colours creates predictable monotonous themes that visually do look good however to bring a wow factor you need some contrast and unexpected colour introduction into the ensemble; for example, a pale-yellow hint of a colour in your tie while your whole outfit is pretty much geared to showcase blues and greys will also add interest.

• Tell all your suppliers about your colour theme – this allows the colour palette to be incorporated throughout your day from your invitations right through to the cake cutting.
• Use contrasting textures to add interest – the silk wedding dress and tie contrast beautifully with the groom’s tweed waistcoat. Mix and match your tableware to create a unique look.

Behind The Scenes Video

The Power Team

Photography: Lauren https://www.lahustudios.com/about

Stylist: Gemma Starr, Little Star Events Wedding Fayers www.littlestarevents.co.uk

Venue: Foxhills www.foxhills.co.uk/‎

Dresses: Surrey Brides surreybrides.co.uk/

Cars: Ultimate Classic Car Hire ultimate-classic-car-hire.com

Make Up: Gemma Louise Bridal www.gemmalouisebridal.com

Suit: Us  hirefive.co.uk

Models and Production: Manic Stage Productions www.manicsp.co.uk

Thanks for reading.

Stylishly Yours

Simon Prince

HIRE5 Style Team

Allow me to in interrupt your day, to show you this elegant dove grey inspired multicultural wedding shoot superbly done by very talented Hannah Larkin  who brings to life the ideas and story conceived and directed by amazingly creative Gilly Keat of Amore Star Events with the help of other select suppliers alongside us – spectacularly amazing!

15th century historical hidden gem That Amazing Place was their backdrop for the shoot. A beautiful venue in Essex, recently refurbished for couples who enjoy that luxury and modern touch and an exclusive use wedding venue. Enjoy these romantic images from Hannah Larkin and a behind the scenes video to give you a sneak peek by Jay Anderson Weddings.Read on to find out more about the inspiration behind the shoot and some ace tips on how you can recreate this look for your own wedding from Gilly and Hannah!

Inspiration behind the shoot

We were really keen to create a styled shoot that showcased and inspired couples from diverse backgrounds, says Hannah; and for Gilly it was about creating a wedding theme that has consistency with a simple, minimal look all featuring shades of dove grey. She says, the theme and the shoot was created around and inspired by the bespoke designer Ailsa Munroe’s beautiful grey silk wedding dress ‘Elin’ that we wanted to show that shades of grey can be used to create a stylish and memorable look.

At HIRE5 Menswear, we are privileged to be able to provide the groom’s outfit and chose a grey suit paired with a our signature tweed waistcoat, silver tie and matching pocket square. A simple buttonhole from Browns Blooms & Balloons, silver ring and sandcast cuff links from Justin Duance finished off the look.

Gilly chose an intimate setting as the shoot’s backdrop in the beautiful grounds of That Amazing Place, A single round table was set up in the gazebo, which lends itself perfectly for an intimate celebration. Sheltered from the elements, but open-sided, the gazebo allows views of the lake and former monastery and provides a light and airy feel.

Top Tips to recreate the look

• Don’t worry about exactly matching the colours – the beauty of using shades of grey is that they will all go together!
• Use colour where it might not be expected – a coloured wedding dress or veil is unusual and striking, opting for coloured nails instead of a traditional French manicure is an easy way to add colour, whilst coloured glassware helps continue your theme through the drinks reception.
• Not everything has to be grey – using a pale grey table runner on a white table-cloth creates an elegant look and incorporating white and green with flowers and succulents also adds interest.

• Tell all your suppliers about your colour theme – this allows the colour palette to be incorporated throughout your day from your invitations right through to the cake cutting.
• Use contrasting textures to add interest – the silk wedding dress and tie contrast beautifully with the groom’s tweed waistcoat. Mix and match your tableware to create a unique look – we used slate place settings, mother of pearl cutlery and silver patterned glassware.
• If you’re on a budget keep your décor simple – single roses or small succulents in pots combined with tea lights is a simple but effective way to decorate your table.
• Vary the height of your table décor – a low centrepiece works well on a round table allowing all your guests to see and speak to each other, whilst you can add variations in height by using a combination of tea lights and pillar candles.

Behind The Scenes Video

https://vimeo.com/209796864

The Power Team

Photography: Hannah Larkin hannahlarkinphotography.com

Stylist: Gilly Keat, Amore Star Events amorestarevents.co.uk (assistant styling Jenni Payne)

Videography: Jay Anderson jayandersonwedding.com

Venue: That Amazing Place thatamazingplace.co.uk

Bridal Accessories: Headpiece, bracelet & necklace: Donna Crain donnacrain.com

Cake: Sugared Saffron sugaredsaffron.co.uk

Dress: Ailsa Munro ailsamunrodressmaker.com

Hair: Brides Personified bridespersonified.com

Flowers: Browns, Blooms & Balloons brownsbloomsandballoons.co.uk

Make Up: Makeupology makeupology.co.uk

Nails: Got Nails Got Beauty gotnailsgotbeauty.co.uk

Rings & cufflinks: Justin Duance Jewellery justind.co.uk

Shoes (bride): Emmy London emmylondon.com

Stationery: Suzanne Oddy Design suzanneoddydesign.com

Suit: Us  hirefive.co.uk

Tableware: Couvert Bespoke Event Hire couvert.co.uk

Veil: Sash and Veil sashandveil.co.uk

Gorgeous Models: Ariana Gomes instagram.com/ary_model & Pavel Diaz www.instagram.com/pav.de

Thanks for reading.

Stylishly Yours

Simon Prince

HIRE5 Style Team

What’s secretly cropping up in the men’s wedding fashion is rather unusual but a lot more pleasing. Grooms today are  glowingly liking the splash of colours and imaginative designs when it comes to their ties and hankies.

Gone are the days when grooms and groomsmen were expected to sport only solid colour accessories while the girls would wear any colour, any pattern, and any style of dresses and accessories. Today’s grooms and more adventurers and do make an effort to look around to keep abreast of the fast changing wedding fashion market. In a no social media environment a few years ago boys were limited to UK based fashion magazines and what the wedding suit shop told them. The rise of social media has helped bring many cultures together and this has resulted in British Groom to look beyond the never changing greys and blues solid colours to more creative floral autumnal designs and rich multi coloured accessories.

95% of our grooms booked shoes that were not black. Our most popular colours for 2017 weddings were tan brown brogues and Ox Blood brogues by far. The only time we sold black shoes were when customers bought or hired black tailcoats or black suits.

Another big wave of wedding trend is use of tweed fabrics in groomsmen attire. be it waistcoats or full suits, tweed fabrics with classic English Racing Green or browns are at the forefront while Greys and blues are are also very popular. Tweed ties have seen some love too but not as much as the waistcoats and suits and again mostly accessorized beautiful spring summer and autumn coloured floral prints.

When it comes to summer wedding and overseas weddings, cool fabrics and colours have always been popular and 2017 has not been any different. Cotton/Linen mix suits have seen a great rise in the wedding fashion as today’s’ weddings seem to be more about casual and relaxed yet stylish elegance than super formal uniform look. Classic paisley patterns to help strike a balance between casual and formal have been greatly used.

Lastly big check have been in big time both in tweeds and wools. The look is cool and still extremely smart as the fit of these suits have the slimmest we’ve seen in years. Younger grooms and groomsmen are specially lured by this look as they see the wedding an occasion of fun not formality. It helps them express their individuality much better than wearing standard uniform look of formal attire.

We hope you enjoyed our brief analysis of today’s men’s wedding fashion and we would love to hear what you think and how you see the fashion changing in coming years. Leave a comment or question if you see the world differently.

Thanks for reading.

Stylishly Yours

Simon Prince

HIRE5 Style Team

Our first bespoke/boutique wedding of 2017! and it went superbly well as Ginny Marsh tells the story of Brett and Laura’s Big day – spectacularly amazing!

We call it bespoke/boutique wedding because we worked for Brett (the groom) and Laura (the bride) to make their vision of how the groom’s party should look a reality! Brett’s suit was designed, cut, and made to fit keeping his vision of simplicity, elegance, and timeless British Class at the centre of his wedding suit making while also blending some subtle emotional flavour to the mood of the outfit; and then finally to match up his suit to his party and the overall theme of the wedding and the setting of the wedding venue.

We absolutely love the moments and moods in the images that Ginny Marsh Wedding Photography has expertly captured as they truly show the emotional side this fairy tale.

I first met Laura and Brett when Brett came to get measured for a suit that he was hiring for his friend Jag’s wedding last year (2016) and then again when Laura and he came to discuss their wedding suits with me. It was a great pleasure to see Brett Brett and Laura as a repeat cutomer is an assurance that you’re doing something right!

Laura and Brett have been together for around 10 years now, and met at University. Laura works in HR, and Brett is a lawyer for an insurance company in London. They like the outdoors, biking and running. They discussed a few ideas of how Brett’s wedding outfit should look and feel like such as what colours, what’s too much or too less and that if a subtle introduction of traditional african patterns and colours in the outfit would be good; as Brett is originally from South Africa.

Here are some more images for you and the list of the amazing wedding suppliers who made Laura and Brett’s big day even more special.

Life Capturer –  Ginny Marsh – Ginny Marsh Photography

Wedding Venue: www.oldthorns.com

Toast Master – Richard Linton

Music – String Trio (Adelaide Trio)

LOVE letters – Virtual Events

Music – Band (The Revival), via Emma Holmes from Tailored Entertainment

Sweet trolley, Chair covers, Arch – Vanessa Hudson (nee Carter)

Florist – Clare Dridge – Nursery Fresh

Wedding Stationery – Wish Upon a Card

Suits – us 🙂

Thanks for reading.

Stylishly Yours

Simon Prince

HIRE5 Style Team

We’re often asked if it’s worth getting your old suits tailored that are still in a fantastic condition, or not? The answer is “YES”. It’s well worth it.

The next question you can guess! how much it costs to get a suit – or other basic menswear items – tailored. The answer? Well, it depends. Alterations and tailoring services vary depending on the tailor, their location and the quality of their services.

However, if one thing is certain, it’s that the cost associated with alterations is always money well spent.

Here is a general price list for common suit jacket/blazer, pants and shirt alterations in London and Surrey areas. This could vary depending where you are in the UK or US. and we’re talking about good tailor obviously who may be slightly expensive but again you pay for what you get!

Suit Jacket Alterations

Shorten/Lengthen Sleeves: £30

Shorten/Lengthen Sleeves (with functioning button holes): £45

Let Out/Take In Side Seams: £35

Let Out/Take In Back Seam: £30

Shorten Jacket: £40

Reduce Shoulders: £40

Reline Jacket: £90

Replace Pocket Linings: £25

Replace/Tighten Button: £2-5

COMING SOON: A Guide to Suit Jacket Alterations.

Suit Trousers Alterations

Hem: £10-15

Hem with Cuff (Turn-ups): £15-18

Taper Leg (Two Seam): £21

Taper Leg (Four Seam): £35

Adjust Waist/Seat: £15

Replace Zipper: £15

Add Hem Guard: £12

COMING SOON: A Guide to Suit Pants Alterations.

Shirt Alterations

Add Darts: £15

Taper Sides : £20

Taper Sides (French Seams): £35

Shorten Shirt Tails: £15

Shorten Sleeves: £20

Move Collar Button: £2-5

Our favorite story of the “money well-spent” aspect of suit alterations is the story of one of our customer’s Pal Zilari Suits. Mr. Bennett found us online and thought we would would give him the right advice for his beautiful suits that fit a little less well than they did a few years ago – the jackets were a bit tight around the waist plus the jacket sleeves were a little long and wide as well and the trousers were classic 1990s wide  – We knew that it wouldn’t take much for our Mr. Tailor to whip it into shape.

Our advice was to Mr. Bennett was obvious – it’s well worth get the suits altered rather than buying new ones! Mr. Bennett’s suit’s main “selling point” for us was that the shoulders fit immaculately. (N.B. Reducing a suit jacket’s shoulders is major surgery. I would never buy a suit or blazer – vintage or otherwise – if the shoulders didn’t fit. It’s simply not worth the hassle, expense, or potential headache if it doesn’t come out right.) So at it was a well worth a try.

So £120 in alterations later, Mr. Bennett had the suits that we’d say he’s gotten more than his money out of.

Thanks for reading.

Stylishly Yours

HIRE5 Style Team

From £299 for a two piece “Tailor It!” lounge suit when you buy minimum of 5 suits – that’s £150 per suit saving on our standard prices (prices according to actual charge in September 2016). Many options of our wedding suit fabrics, linings and trimmings. Our Standard Terms plus deal terms apply. Please ask for more details.

Our half hand made bespoke suits offers luxury of world class bespoke tailoring.

Our half hand stitched suits are made by highly skilled suit makers. They stitch, finish, and press the suit by hand resulting in a immaculate and beautifully fitting garment.

This suit has a half canvass and the chest is padded by hand. With a web of stitches, the canvass builds a curvature into the chest unlike a machine made canvass that would hang flat. This greatly improves shape, fit and the silhouette of the suit.

The suit is finished by hand too with a beautiful hand raised lapel button hole and subtle hand stitching on the lapel, jacket edge and pockets. Your suit will clearly stand out from the rest.