Wedding Invite Says "Cocktail Casual"????

Hello, Everyone. I'm emilyt and this is my first post. My husband and I have been invited to a spring afternoon wedding/evening wedding reception outdoors in the desert and the wedding invitation says "Casual Cocktail - No Jeans." I have my cocktail dress, jewelry, shoes, etc. all ready but I am stumped by what my husband should wear to a "Casual Cocktail" event - he says, "Honey, just choose a shirt, etc. for me." He has a formal black suit (too stark, so that's out), a navy blue blazer (one of the colors in the wedding is navy blue, so that's out, too), a black blazer, dark khaki dress pants, light khaki dress pants, and dark charcoal dress pants. I do know that "Casual Cocktail" means that he isn't required to wear a tie. We're on a budget right now, so the shirt and/or the sports coat or the blazer may be the only expenditure(s) we can afford, and I would like to find what he needs at a sale or on clearance or at a men's high-end consignment store. I found out from calling the department stores and men's fashion stores in our area that the spring 2015 collections will be displayed in a couple of weeks. My questions are: What is the general meaning of "Casual Cocktail" (the Internet is no help whatsoever with a definitive answer)? Would the black blazer look good with the dark khaki pants and/or the dark charcoal pants? What colors and/or patterns in the shirt would look best with these combos? Would it be better for me to look for a herringbone or houndstooth sports coat to pair with the dark khaki dress pants or light khaki dress pants, and forget the black blazer all together? If so, what color and/or pattern of sports coat or blazer should I purchase and what would look good with the dress khaki pants? Would a nice-looking brown leather jacket without lapels (not a moto) be appropriate with the dress khakis pants? Any other suggestions? Help, please! Thank you so much.

10 years ago

rachylou

Veteran

I'd go with the khakis, light or dark, and black blazer. I think the key issue here is the shirt. What have y'all got in the shirt department?

I like the idea of a houndstooth sports coat, but you have to know your crowd. That might be a bit flash for some.

emilyt

Member

Thank you - don't have the shirt yet - any color or pattern ideas, please?

Hmm... Spring, wedding, desert... Going black and tan on the outer items... Afternoon/evening... A very preppy take would be a solid pink, but a lot of American men would be squeamish about pink. It's classic tho and goes from afternoon to evening in a way that befits a wedding, in
a way a check can't quite match. A check is very afternoon/evening on the town after work.

I don't favour plain white and no tie, because to me it looks like you haven't finished dressing come night. Unless maybe you do a certain gunmetal blue jacket instead of black.

The international marketing manager classic is black suit, no tie, and that *French* blue shirt. The one that's deep blue. This look or check at night is dicey IMO if you're not a gym rat or tend to get a little rumpled.

Other pastels would work, except light blue. Same problem as white.

retailgirl

I think your husband could absolutely wear the navy blazer. A navy blazer is a staple and the perfect thing for " cocktail casual" , whatever that is. The only thing you don't want to match at a wedding is the bride's white dress! A navy blazer is not as "heavy" as black and would look good with either khaki pant and a blue shirt would be perfect. If you aren't doing a tie, a pocket square would be a nice touch.

Jenny H

I also think it would be fine for your husband to wear navy. Navy is a neutral like black is and so I expect you'll see a lot of non-wedding party men wearing the color.

But take my word with a grain of salt because I once went to a wedding in pretty much the same dress as the bridesmaids. Same color (also navy), same style. I had no pre-knowledge of the wedding colors/what the bridesmaids were wearing. To make matters worse, the groom was my ex-boyfriend. It was hilarious and it is a very good memory.

gryffin

Emilyt - I think navy blazer or black blazer with khaki's would be awesome. I think you have a number of choices for shirts. Striped or plain collared polo shirt, nice casual not white shirt - again complimentary stripe or solid - I like stripe for casual. Okay - I'm going to get lambasted on this one but I have a major thing for my husband in what we call the "tom cruise" look. Nice heavy grade tee, waffle knit or texture for added points. For that kind of nice casual he ofter wears a gray or black waffle tee - for example - black blazer, black waffle tee, light khakis or gray pants; black jacket, gray waffle tee, black pants. Say what you will a tee shirt and blazer just makes my heart go pitterpat, go figure!! Anyway I would think if you pull things out of your husbands closet you will probalby come up with a lot of outfits he can wear wtihout spending a dime. The important thing is to have him try it on so you can make sure fabric and proportions work. Good luck!!

jackiec

I'd do navy blazer,khaki pants, dress shirt in a colour or pattern, no tie. Actually, I'd interpret cocktail casual as dress pant or khaki with a dress shirt, and no blazer or tie. But I'd bring his jacket and assume he could take it off or leave it in the car. Just my interpretation. I like it when DH does navy dress pants, patterned dress shirt (I like fine checks, almost like small gingham), blazer. Sounds like your DH has everything he needs.

Mary Beth (formerly LBD)

(website)

I asked my boyfriend, who is a pretty stylish guy in his own right. I read off the description, and said, "What would you wear?" And he replied, "The same thing I wear to work".

His style is similar to the type of outfits Daniel Craig wears as the more casual James Bond in the film franchise: crisp button-down shirt, slacks or very nice khakis, and a fine-gauge sweater, and polished dress shoes. This is his go-to for a lot of casual cocktail stuff we go to, and he fits in whether I'm wearing denim and high heels, or a beaded skirt and some fancy shoes.

The BF has a pretty neutral color palette for his slacks and sweaters, but if he wants some color, he will wear a pale aqua or clear light blue button-down underneath.

I hope that helps! If you're on a budget, I would only buy something your husband can get a lot of use out of, for work, or church or other social events.

crutcher

Hey, my heart is also going pitter patter over gryffin's Tom Cruise look...I love a tee and a blazer on a guy...This would be such a cool look for a cocktail casual wedding...I also think he could wear and be quite comfortable in the navy blazer...
I am sure you can scout his wardrobe and come up with a wonderful combination without spending..
Good luck and hey, have fun....

chadya

Completely OT and showing age, and not helpful but why does a wedding have to be casual.
"Casual Cocktail - No Jeans." People wear jeans to a wedding?

I think the answer for a man is easier, a nice blazer and pants with a shirt, style of shirt could run to polo to nice tailored one,

Chadya....I agree with you! I am sad at how casual society has become. A wedding should be all about dressing up and looking your best! You are celebrating one of the most important days in a loved one's life. And yes, people wear jeans to weddings. But probably a subject for another place and time.

But a blazer, shirt and pants would be fine for emilyt's husband.

Retail Girl
thanks for the feedback, was not sure if I was on track or not.

My daughter recently went to a wedding in Texas where jeans were worn but I think that is the norm ☺

If you can't get dressed up for a wedding then when else?

Zibbets

Another vote for navy jacket with khaki pants. I'd add a buttondown shirt in a bright pastel, perhaps with a pattern. Something like this:
https://www.jcrew.com/mens_cat...../B6482.jsp

Casual may read "no jacket" to some men, so the shirt needs to be fab enough to stand on its own if he decides to leave the jacket in the car.

VernieJane

Active Member

I agree on a few points above: I don't think navy blazer is off limits. That said, depending on temperature, will he even be wearing in the whole time? With a casual environment, a lot of guys might not even wear a jacket...

That said, the dark blue shirt with black trousers sounds nice too, but may be a bit heavy for a spring afternoon. Honestly, I would probably go for something simple, like khakis and a blue shirt. For me the shoes would be the hard part!!

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