Long Island grooms are getting tuxedo rental boxes delivered to their doors

When Jeff Bloom selected groomsmen for his May 22 nuptials at Sea Cliff Manor, there were no worries about how, where or when everyone would come together for their wedding suit fittings, even though the men live in different states.

Bloom, 36, of Brooklyn, had it all figured out from when he was in his cousin’s 2020 wedding. The groom and groomsmen rented their tuxedos online — a fast-growing trend in the wedding industry for those not married to the traditional way of getting fitted for a tux or wedding suit. Virtual services from online measurement and style consultations to at-home try-ons are now available as well as a larger selection of styles than might be found at a local shop.

"I was the best man at my cousin’s wedding and it was as easy as it gets," says Bloom of the rental process. "He used The Black Tux so that’s what I used when it came to my wedding, and they already had my measurements."

HOW DOES A BOX RENTAL WORK?

Everything needed to complete a tux or wedding suit outfit, including shirts, ties, shoes, socks, pocket squares and other accessories can be rented virtually and some sites offer free fabric swatches that are sent out to help make selections. Customers are also given time after they receive their tuxedo in the mail to send it back for any last-minute alterations.

In addition to The Black Tux (theblacktux.com), others on the ever-expanding list of companies now offering online tuxedo rentals range from relative startups to well-established menswear brands and retailers and include Men’s Wearhouse (tuxedo.menswearhouse.com), David’s Bridal (davidsbridal.com), Nordstrom (nordstrom.com), Generation Tux (go.generationtux.com), Menguin (mengin.com) and Stitch & Tie (stictchandtie.com).

The Black Tux also has its own brick-and-mortar locations for those who want to have their measurements taken in-person or do a try-on before an outfit is sent out, and the company has affiliated locations inside Nordstrom and David’s Bridal stores on Long Island.

WHY BOX RENTALS?

Andrew Blackmon, 35, who cofounded The Los Angeles, California-based The Black Tux, says he got the idea for an online tuxedo rental company while planning his own wedding. "There seemed to be two distinct formal wear options," he says. "Brand name designer tuxedos were relatively expensive and out of reach for most people, and that option felt like a lot to ask of my groomsmen."

Blackmon adds the other option wasn’t always a good fit for everyone either.

"Renting a tux was certainly a more affordable option, but with big trade-offs," Blackmon says, citing the challenge of finding updated styles that fit.

In 2013 Blackmon started The Black Tux with one of his groomsmen, Patrick Coyne, 35, to offer what they say are more "unique style options" and "designer-quality fabrics."

'QUICK AND EASY'

Brittany Garguilo, 26, stumbled upon the online tuxedo rental option for her Oct, 24 wedding to fiance Walter Houston, 28. She was trying to find a particular wedding suit for her groom and his groomsmen — the Café Brown Suit by Allure Men — and was pointed in the direction of Stitch & Tie.

"I contacted Allure and they said they couldn’t find it on Long Island because it wasn’t released on the East Coast yet, so they connected me with Stitch & Tie." In a virtual style session Garguilo says she and Houston, of Holbrook, could view colors and combinations for the tuxedo style choices.

James McDade, 33, of North Bellmore, will be renting his tuxedo online from Generation Tux to be best man for the Aug. 28 nuptials of Long Beach residents Jessica Boily, 36, and Patrick Hackett, 34, at the Bridgeview Yacht Club in Island Park.

"This was the first I’d heard of it," he says of renting tuxedos online. "It was very easy, quick and straightforward during an extremely stressful time last year. The process alleviated a lot of stress because you didn’t have to be fitted in a store." He adds, "It was as simple as logging on, answering a couple of questions and everything else is taken care of from there."

Soleil and Rosanna Guercio, both 30, of Maspeth, Queens, were married on Oct. 12, 2020, in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania and got "everything except the bow tie" for the groomsmen from The Black Tux. They were fitted at The Black Tux in Nordstrom at Roosevelt Field. Her father-in-law, who lives in Ormond Beach, Florida, got his jacket and pants from The Black Tux and did all of his ordering without visiting a store.

Rosanna Guercio says her father-in-law is proof that online tuxedo rentals can work even when the wearer is more old school.

"My father-in-law is very Italian and old-fashioned and likes going into a store," Guercio says. Renting online "was a good experience for sure."