In recent years, grooms have been taking their wedding day attire much more seriously, which has led to a massive expansion in the range of suits available. Gone are the days of limited options, with endless cuts, colours & styles now available. With this in mind, we caught up with Craig, co-owner of Black Tie Showroom, who tells us exactly why they are leaders in this area, as well as an offering an insight into the menswear trends set to make an impact next year.

Craig, tell us the history behind The Black Tie Showroom. How was the company formed?

The Black Tie Showroom was formed approximately 9 years ago by Peggy Doherty (owner of The Bridal Showroom), as a stand alone business specialising in men’s wedding and formal wear hire. The business was located on The Strand Road, just on the outskirts of the city centre of Derry, where it still resides today. Myself and my mum Sharon Appleby now own the business. My mum was one of the first employees of the business who then proceeded to manage it for a further 5 years before acquiring ownership in January 2014. Since that time the business has gone from strength to strength and has developed a very strong customer base and a solid reputation for presenting both quality and service on all levels of the business!

What makes you different from other menswear companies?

The Black Tie Showroom is differentiated from other menswear companies by the fact that we are a family owned and run business and we pride ourselves on exceptionally high levels of service and standards. We take great care and put a lot of thought into helping each and every single customer from grooms to young men’s formal. We strive to ensure each and every customer leaves our shop feeling good about their choice and the service that was offered during their time with us. We go to extra lengths for all our customers and have started offering a home suit fitting service for those grooms wanting to ensure each and every man is looking perfect on their wedding day. Attention to detail in The Black Tie Showroom is unrivalled and we pride ourselves on this and our growing reputation in the North West region.

What styles are popular with the more traditional groom?

This year there are a few popular choices that stood out for a lot of grooms. Three-piece slim fit and fully tailored suits in a range of navy and royal blue shades with crisp white slim fit shirts accompanied with our Liberty Of London designer tie ranges worked very well for various grooms. Going into the 2016 season, the shift is towards tweed waistcoats for the groom with a plain or knitted tie. This was touched on slightly towards the beginning of the year but is a much stronger trend for the 2016 season. We also have a select number of grooms parties choosing full three-piece tweed suits, which are available in a range of fabulous colours and comes in a fully tailored fit with excellent detailing. We also launched brand new colours in our full length tailcoat range which is already proving a major hit for summer 2016. A more traditional look but a very modern cut suit!

 

Wedding suits have seen a shift towards slimline tailoring in recent years. How do you accommodate this trend?

At The Black Tie Showroom we like to stay up to date and often ahead of future trends! We achieve this by using a number of different suppliers for our suit, shirt and waistcoat ranges. By doing so we have achieved a very comprehensive range across the board which includes everything from three-piece slim fit and tweed to the more traditional herringbone weave suit. This season alone we have introduced at least 12 brand new ranges of suits and we are awaiting arrival of our new lines for 2016 due this February.

Ideally, when should the grooms party begin their search for their wedding day attire?

In past seasons grooms tended to leave the search for the right suit to very close to their wedding dates i.e 3-6 months prior. However this year and going forward couples are choosing to shop with us much, much earlier. One of the main reasons being that we have a far bigger selection of suits available than ever before and grooms are looking to ensure they get first choice of the exact style they want. Our season is extremely busy from April right through to the end of the year and a lot dates can be fully booked months in advance. Therefore my advice to any new grooms out there would be to prioritise their suit shopping to somewhere between 8 to 12 months in advance if possible.

What finishing touches really set a suit off?

Ensuring each and every groomsman is fitted correctly is one of the main points of call. We fit, measure and alter each individual man so that they get a perfectly fitted suit for the wedding day. We also tie all the men’s ties as standard and our suits are professionally dry cleaned and pressed before leavening the shop. Our silk tie and pocket square range is very impressive and this adds a nice touch to the quality wool suits that we offer. In recent months tie pins and other accessories have become popular for the more modern groom who wants a little extra detail.