School Formal Edit 2023

It’s time to start thinking about your school formal fit & we’ve got you covered. We know there is a lot going on with end of year exams, 18ths, end of school celebrations and planning what you want to do next year so let us take your school formal fit off your to do list.

We have the largest range of suits in Newcastle & the Hunter Valley, with new spring/ summer season suits arriving in store everyday, on trend fashion looks and expert fitters on site to style you up for you to make an impact at your school formal. Whether you want to buy a ready-to-wear suit, get a custom made-to-measure suit or formal suit hire, let’s walk you through the options & dress codes.

DRESS CODES:

SEMI-FORMAL / SMART CASUAL

The semi-formal dress code for a school formal strikes a balance between style and comfort, allowing students to look sophisticated while still feeling at ease. Typically, this dress code suggests wearing attire that is less formal than traditional black-tie dressing but more refined than everyday casual wear. For guys, this might entail a well-fitted suit worn with an open collared shirt & sneakers like Seany B below or a sports coat paired with chinos and a fun patterned shirt like the pink striped Motion shirt from Gibson below.

It’s a dress code that encourages students to showcase their personal style, ensuring everyone looks polished and put-together for this special school event.

COCKTAIL

The cocktail dress code is a little more formal, usually involving a 2-piece or 3-piece suit. A 2-piece suit (if you aren’t sure) is simply a suit comprised of a matching jacket and pants, while a 3-piece is a jacket, pants, and a vest. Cocktail (like semi-formal) is similarly versatile, but with a bit more sophistication. To experiment with a cocktail dress code, you could wear a two-piece suit with or without a tie, pair mismatching separates, or try a suit in a patterned fabric. Check out the new season Joe Black, Uberstone & Gibson suiting we have in store. These can be dressed-up for job interviews or graduation dinners, or dressed-down for 18th’s or 21st’s so you’ll definitely get your wear out of them.

FORMAL

The formal dress code steps up your style game another notch and demands a sharp and classy look. This means opting for a well-tailored 2 or 3-piece suit, a crisp dress shirt, and a tie or bow tie that complements the suit, paired with dress shoes. While there is less room for interpretation with a formal dress code, there is still plenty of ways to infuse your personality into the look. Some options include choosing a statement coloured ready-to-wear suit like one of our brand-new arrivals in store below, a bold jacket like our gold patterned formal suit hire Hollywood jacket or adding a fun patterned tie like Harry’s Gibson monkey print tie or a bold printed Peggy & Finn bow tie. You can accessories with hats, lapel pins, tie bars and watches, the options are endless. Come and have a chat to us and we can style you up so that you look and feel great.

BLACK TIE

If you want to get real fancy, consider investing in a dinner suit; an essential part of the black tie ensemble. In Australia and the UK, we call them dinner suits, but in North America they’re called tuxedos. Whatever you call them, the defining feature is their shiny satin lapel. A dinner suit is a classic option for formal occasions. The style is timeless, meaning you’ll be able to wear it again and again, especially for more dressy events like balls, galas or weddings. Also, black tie doesn’t mean wearing black is compulsory – dinner jackets and suits come in many colours, some of our ready-to-wear dinner suits are available in blue, red, maroon, and ivory.

SUIT OPTIONS:

So now you know about the different types of dress codes, let’s explain the different options for getting you in a suit. Rundle Tailoring offer 3 different types of suits – ready-to-wear, formal suit hire, or made-to-measure. The decision between these will ultimately come down to your budget, as each option sits at a different price point. You can mix and match pieces too; such as combining a hired suit with a purchased dress shirt. For more information on our suiting options, read on below.

Ready to wear/ off the rack

These two terms mean the same thing and refer to suits we carry in store from local and international designers. The suit doesn’t need to be specially made, therefore it’s ready-to-wear. These suits are available to buy, and we can also tailor these to perfectly fit you with competitive alteration rates for our purchase suits.

Formal Hire

Our school formal hire suits are a great option for any dress code, as they can be easily styled up or down, and can show a lot of personal taste through their styling. Our hire suits are available in a variation of colours. There’s black tuxedo style, or in either a two-piece or a three-piece style, we carry black, charcoal, grey, dark navy and blue. We offer minor alterations on our hire suits, all completed instore, to ensure you a perfect fit. To read more about our hire suit, click here.

Made-to-Measure / custom / bespoke

When we use these terms at Rundle Tailoring, we are referring to garments custom-made specifically for an individual. Rundle Tailoring have been creating made-to-measure suits in Newcastle for over 100 years, so trust that we know how to make a really good suit. These options are great if you have a specific idea, fabric, pattern or look you’re going for, and are willing to go up a price point. Or, if you don’t have a specific idea, we can show you samples from the best international fabric houses to help create a look that’s uniquely you.

We look forward to helping you create your dream look for your end of year school celebration. Come into Rundle Tailoring and experience the difference.