Men's suit for Formal Night

[comeon530]

Does a man's suit have to be dark on the formal night or is a lighter color ok? My husband has a very nice suit, but it is sort of a wheat color. Is this acceptable?

[CDRMark]

It does not HAVE to be dark; dark is more formal.

Most cruise lines that still have "Formal" have dumbed it down to mean coat-and-tie.

Cheers

Mark

[cb at sea]

Formal MEANS dark suit or tux....

[Curt Jerome Wild]

Does a man's suit have to be dark on the formal night or is a lighter color ok? My husband has a very nice suit, but it is sort of a wheat color. Is this acceptable?

First of all, click on this thread/link here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=773735

It's got lots of pictures and discussions on more modern suit options.

I'll try to post pics from it here, in the next post...

But - Suit and Tie "formal" is definitely evolving for modern men.

For summer formal (and that would include Caribbean and Mediterranean cruises year round) light suits are now considered formal.

What color is a perfect example of this.

It's a young, modern, and evloved summer formal look.

Dark does not equal "formal" in all situations and events now.

The rules, they are a-changing.

That being said...

Pair it with a nice crisp white shirt, and a nice black tie, throw a white or black pocket square in there - and it's will look very sharp and smashing.

Also, if your countdown clock is the indication...

You're going on a Carnival Cruise to the Caribbean?

So Carnival is Elegant Night now (not Formal Night), so he will look very appropriate; and it's the Caribbean, so summer formal is also appropriate.

It's a perfect option, and I will post some example pictures in the next post - so I don't loose this post here.

[Curt Jerome Wild]

Now, to give you visuals on what I think are some good options - I'm going to present a few suits with many various ways to dress them up or down.

 

So we'll start with Khaki/Wheat. Great way to dress it up is white shirt and black/ties and accessories. This is the new summer/spring wedding attire for the past few years, and is only continuing to increase in scope.

 

Note the white pocket square also dresses it up great for Summer Formal" or "Elegant".

As we look left to right here, colored shirts and brown accessories make it a bit more casual or business-like, so stick with the white shirt/black tie option for the most formal look.

__________________

[CDRMark]

Formal MEANS dark suit or tux....

Formal used to mean white tie

To me it still means tux, at a minimum (black tie)

...to the cruise lines, something else again

OP's suit will easily meet their criteria. We can discuss the criteria at another time.:)

Cheers

Mark

[Jane110]

Curt,

 

I'm gonna disagree with ya' on this one.

 

A khaki suit, even with a black tie, isn't formal looking.

Even looking at the gorgeous models with the hot bods, none of them look formal. One is sitting at his desk making a business call.

 

That said, if the OP is going on a Carnival cruise which no longer has formal nights, then a wheat colored suit will be fine. And as we've read on this board, some guys won't even bother to put on a jacket, so the guy in the wheat suit will still look better than them.

 

However, his wife should plan on a casual pretty dress. She would look silly in a gown or a formal short beaded cocktail dress with her husband in a casual wheat suit.

Couples don't need to match clothing, but they do need to match in their level of dress.

[Keith1010]

Most cruise lines on Formal night call for either a tuxedo, a dinner jacket or a dark suit. I am not sure what you mean about acceptable. I am sure that he will not be asked to leave if he is wearing a light suit but that is not usually what the recommended attire is.

 

Keith

[BroncosFan2010]

Unless you are cruising on a luxury line (SilverSea, Regent), your husband's suit will be fine. Cruising is a lot more casual these days (although there is debate as to whether or not it should be!), and he will fit in fine.

 

If you do have a darker suit for him to wear, I would suggest it over the Wheat colored suit.

 

I miss the days of tux's and true formal wear.

[comeon530]

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. I appreciate it. Thanks Curt for the pics. I'll check out the thread you mentioned.

 

Maybe wheat wasn't the best way to describe the color. It's more of a dark taupe. 100% silk, with a nice nubby feel to it.

 

Again, you all have been very helpful.:)