Rental Tuxedos: How Bad Are They? – Honest Reviews of Men’s Wearhouse, THE BLK TUX, Menguin/Generation Tux

Owning a tuxedo is certainly better than having to rent every time you need formal wear. However, if you’re unsure of making the investment, is renting a worthwhile option? In search of a definitive answer, we gave it a try. Find out what we think about rental tuxedos in today’s video!

Review Transcript

Sven Raphael Schneider: For today’s video, we did something I thought we’d never do.

Preston Schlueter: We rented tuxedos.

SRS: So why on earth would we do that?

PS: Well, we wanted to see if you could get something that fits reasonably well, just by ordering from different locations.

SRS: Or if you’re just better off buying something and having it tailored so you actually look the part. I was under the assumption that it’s always better, because something that you own that you can tailor [will be better no matter your] budget, even if that means it’s secondhand, versus something that’s rented and ill-fitting.

PS: Right, it’s always better to have your own formal wear, if for no other reason then it’s just going to be more cost-effective to buy once than to rent continuously.

SRS: Even if you think you’re just going to wear it once, I still think you can find something very inexpensively and have it tailored. It’s maybe a little more expensive at the end of the day but you actually look better and you can always sell it afterwards.

PS: True! Cost-per-wear is important too; upfront cost may be higher, but if you can wear it over the years, that’s going to be a lot better than continuously renting.

SRS: I mean once you have a tuxedo, you are much more likely to wear it again.

PS: Absolutely, yeah! I’ve got a couple of different black-tie ensembles now and I wear all of them fairly frequently.

SRS: I guess you’re an exception though, because you’re a jazz singer so there’s more use for that, anyways.

PS: This is true!

SRS: And you work for the Gentleman’s Gazette so…

PS: Right, two good reasons. Now, in fairness, part of the reason we did this today is because the industry has made strides over the last decade or so. It used to be you would have to go into a brick-and-mortar location, you’d have to get fitted, that might be a continuous process–but today, there are several online companies that just do back and forth through the mail.

SRS: Yeah, most notably Menguin, The Black Tux, and even like traditional [outlets like] Men’s Wearhouse now offer online rentals.

PS: Right!

SRS: So with that being said, there are a bunch of major pitfalls to renting, right? And the biggest one of all of them is not being able to tailor something exactly to your needs.

Renting Prevents an Exact Fit

PS: Right, I mean everybody has slight differences in how things are going to fit them. The fact of the matter is most rental garments are kind of fitting into a general mold and they’re symmetrical but humans are naturally asymmetrical, we’ve all got little differences in how we’re built.

SRS: Exactly. I mean, my right shoulder is like two inches lower and everything. you have fitting issues, and even people who don’t think they have any issues in terms of symmetry, they just don’t realize it yet. Once you actually look at it with a critical eye, you’ll see everything.

PS: Yeah, I happen to have long arms for my build. I’ve got one leg that’s decently shorter than the other. So there are all kinds of things that you’ve got to be aware of that you’re probably not going to pick up on until you see how poorly something like a rental garment might fit you.

SRS: True, I mean in all fairness, you could argue that you can adjust the sleeve length and maybe your inseam length but that’s just a start and if you’re asymmetrical, that will still show in wrinkles on your garment.

PS: And another big issue with several of these offerings from any of the various tuxedo rental companies is a lot of them just fail to actually nail down with the basics of true Black Tie really are.

SRS: That is true and you can find all these out there adventurous combinations, right? They have mixed black watch tartan and stripes and very light colors but it’s very hard to find the classic Black Tie tuxedo as outlined in our Black Tie guide. I mean information is all there, right? and you can check out all the details because it’s a very extensive guide but the basics are, you know, peak lapel, no vents, a nice galon strip and then you have either a flat front, traditionally, like a pleated front. That single button, you don’t have any flaps but even that, it’s already so difficult and for black-tie, right, it’s just something where you choose something that’s very traditional. It’s the quintessential time, especially if you just wear once or twice or you go classic. There’s no need to wear this bright orange dinner jacket.

PS: And unfortunately, because they don’t really offer this quintessential classic style by and large, it ends up falling into trends which may look good now but as we all know, if we’ve looked back on wedding pictures from the past, you’re going to regret some of those trends because they haven’t stuck around.

SRS: Yeah and I mean even now, I would say they look bad. Some people just may like it because it’s different, right? Those contrasting silver vests with a matching long necktie, stuff like that it’s just maybe with a notched lapel tuxedo and flaps, it’s just not good because tuxedos should be a little different right so you have the silk face lapel. Oftentimes, I think with those, it’s just like polyester faced because silk is just too expensive. Overall, it just makes you look like you’re going right to prom and it screams like I either can’t or I don’t want to buy a tuxedo and instead I am wearing this kind of polyester crap that’s just not properly sized to my built.

PS: And another piece of that, too, is if you’re wearing something that is very obviously not your own, it’s often going to be communicated in how you’re holding and carrying yourself. You’re probably just going to look stiff and out of place and like you’re in clothes that you’re not used to because that’s what’s happening.

SRS: Yeah, they’re also not as comfortable as if you get something that really fits so it makes you look uncomfortable and out of your skin.

PS: So with that said, even though we think the cards may be kind of stacked against renting, we wanted to give the experience in the industry a fair shake so we still went ahead with it.

SRS: So that meant we got three different tuxedos, we got one for Men’s Wearhouse, one from The Black Tux and one from Menguin, which was bought by Generation Tux.

PS: They’re both owned by the same holding company now, Generation Tux and Menguin are. So they’re essentially offering the same product at this point. Both of those companies are overseen by George Zimmer, who used to be the CEO of Men’s Wearhouse, but he is no longer in that position.

SRS: Got it! By the way, this video is a hundred percent not sponsored, we just ordered them just like you would. I went to their website, you know put in our information, our credit card information, and got the tuxes.

PS: We wanted the truest experience as possible so we could have ultimately the same fair result as any of you might.

SRS: Otherwise, if we show up there and say we’re from Gentleman’s Gazette, they’ll probably treat us slightly differently and we didn’t want that. So to start, when you rent your tux, there are basically two options, these days, right? There’s a free home try on where they send something out to you and before the event, if you don’t know when it’s going to be and then you have to send it back within 48 hours.

PS: I think the other option is they’ll essentially just send it to you sight unseen and you hope that based upon what measurements you get, that’s what you’re going to wear for the event itself and you hope it fits.

SRS: Yeah but I think some of them sent it early enough so you can exchange it, in case something goes wrong, right?

PS: I believe that is the case, yes.

THE BLK TUX

SRS: So without further ado, let’s jump right in and go through the tuxes. The first one is THE BLK TUX.

PS: Correct, that’s the model that I am wearing here. This was a midnight blue model. Out of the three that we ordered, we wanted to have one that was a little bit different in that regard, so this one is midnight blue instead of black.

SRS: Well, you know they call it midnight blue but honestly, it’s more like a navy.

PS: I think I would agree.

SRS: Because it looks, maybe the idea of midnight blue is that something looks blacker than black under artificial lighting versus this, looks navy under artificial lighting.

PS: I think so. I think it’s a trend among a lot of these tuxedo companies these days to want to accentuate the fact that the tuxedo is blue but as a consequence of that, it becomes so light that it’s really more just almost like a navy suit with tuxedo styling than actual midnight blue.

SRS: Yeah. Talking about trends, they also have the double vents which traditionally, was not something you had in a tuxedo. I think these days, side vents are very popular because they’re comfortable, you can put your hands in your pockets, at the same time, I think the tuxedo is already rather similar to a suit so why make it even more similar, even though you want a special garment? Makes no sense to me.

PS: Right. I would agree. I think, probably the reason that a lot of these companies will go with side vents is because part of the reason of having a ventless jacket is that it provides that perfect silhouette and it fits your body just the way it should but that probably isn’t super cost-effective from that sort of “one size fits most” perspective that the rental companies have. It’s going to be harder to fit multiple men and their different body types with a ventless jacket.

SRS: Especially, people with a big bum like myself.

PS: You said it, not me! [Laughs]

SRS: So styling wise, we got you a single breasted peak lapel with a single button closure.

PS: That’s right and honestly, on this one, I thought all of that was decent; the the lapels have a nice sort of satin sheen to them. I liked the width, the button placement here seemed good. I would say the the downside, at least, in this area, is that there was some collar gapping that was fairly visible there.

SRS: Yeah and if you compare satin to your bowtie, you can tell it’s not a rich deep like silk satin and it looks more like gray, in a way, so we can tell it’s not the utmost in quality, right. The other thing I thought was funny was there were no buttons on the cuffs. I don’t know if they, looks like there’s a lot of fabric on the inside, I don’t know if they kind of actually opened it up and changed the sleeve length based on their needs or how it works but I could see how having actual cuff buttons would be more of pain for them, of course, it’s a classic look and it’s something you’re not getting by renting a tuxedo.

PS: Another thing we noticed with this tux in regard to the pants is that the stripe down the side here, the galon, was actually sewn into the side seam rather than being sewn over the top.

SRS: Yeah, I found it on my tuxedo, as well. Maybe that’s just a cost-effective way to do it for them, these days, I don’t know but it’s not the proper way to do it and it’s just a cheap workaround.

PS: This was also a feature that we found in the Menguin tux, as well, so all three of them were guilty of that particular style element.

SRS: Now, let’s talk a little bit about the website of the whole ordering process. I think THE BLK TUX tries to make it really simple to the point where it’s extra quite vague, there’s no way to kind of see what size they pick for you, and you can’t even make adjustments. It pretty much assumes that you’re like a child, you don’t really know what fits you, and they’ll just take care of it for you.

PS: I think probably they’re coming at it from a perspective of the average guy who might not know a lot about formal wear. They want to get him through the process as quickly and painlessly as possible so the website is pretty simple but the downside of that is for somebody who is actually passionate about formal wear and cares about the details, as you say, the website is almost overly simplistic to the point of being vague and you know, you don’t really get to see a lot of those details that you’d want.

SRS: And you know, I guess they know their customer and so it’s easy for them to say we just focus on that part of the demographic but if they don’t end up looking great, what good is that? Now, personally, I was positively surprised by the fact that they’re all made of wool or at least that’s what the label says. Sometimes, they have like a super 100, it’s like in Men’s Wearhouse or I think super 140s. Now, it doesn’t tell you what weaver the fabric comes from so it’s meaningless because it’s not a protected term but at least, it’s a step up from a 100% polyester tux.

PS: Absolutely. Out of the three that we got, I did notice that this model from THE BLK TUX does actually have a label on the inside of one brand.

SRS: That’s trying to kind of provide some high quality stuff. Okay, it is not a well-known brand, it’s not like Vitale Barberis Canonico or Cerruti, it’s just a smaller mill probably but at least, they are trying.

PS: Yes, and that’s important.

SRS: Now, when it comes to construction, they don’t share whether it’s glued or padded. At this price point, it feels like it’s glued.

PS: That would be my assumption, as well, yes.

SRS: What are your thoughts in the construction, otherwise?

PS: Generally, I thought this model from THE BLK TUX was not bad, certainly as compared to the others. I didn’t happen to see any loose threads or odd or uneven stitching, any thing of that nature. So at least as far as covering those more simple bases, that was done fairly well.

SRS: I mean in terms of fit, it was pretty good considering it was just an off-the-rack thing. The pants seemed to be the right length, right? You’re a slim guy so it’s harder to fit you, in general. The jacket was okay. I think it was that maybe a little on the long side for you.

PS: Yeah, it was a little long, not only in the torso but also directly visibly in the arms, there was definitely more length than needed to be there. As we already mentioned, there was a little bit of collar gapping and I think some extra room, generally, in the in the torso of the jacket.

SRS: Which I guess is something you experience most of the time when you get something off the rack. That being said, the sleeve length is something you can always correct. For a rent tuxedo, you want to have a little bit of cuff showing about the same amount you can see in the back in the collar. If that’s not the case, it just looks odd.

PS: So out of all of the tuxedos we rented, I think I was most pleased with this one. On a scale of zero to five, I think this one might go maybe as high as a three, I would say. I think that’s, overall, where I would place it and in fairness too, this was an at-home try-on model so in the ideal scenario of how it would work, I would send feedback to the company with how this fit and then theoretically, further alterations would be done on the finished tux that I would get for an event.

SRS: If that is possible. Because they also have the option that you just rent a tux and then you get it and then that’s basically what you get.

PS: True.

Men’s Wearhouse

SRS: So like with anything in life, if you plan ahead, you will ensure that you get better results. Next up, let’s talk about Men’s Wearhouse. It’s kind of the 800-pound gorilla in the tux rental business. If you just Google tuxedo, it’s the number one search result. Even though what they provide is actually quite disappointing, in my opinion. Overall, I have to say, you know, I had high hopes, because the packaging has improved and I just thought maybe they just have a better product by now that was especially reinforced when we went to the website. I mean they were the only ones who wanted to know what the inseam was, what the waist measurement was, so I had hoped they would actually like nail it. But even though I told them my inseam is 31, it came out to be wrong.

PS: I think 27 and a half or so, which is just a very big difference.

SRS: Three and a half inches on an inseam length, I mean that’s terrible, right? Apart from the fact that my pants make me look like a clown, the opera jacket which is different because the pants are made in China, the opera was made in Mexico, it has a Calvin Klein label, 44 regular, and it’s the typical tuxedo jacket you think of when you think of rental, right? How would rate the fit?

PS: Well, I think, as you said, the pants are very short but in addition to that, they are full to the point of being a little bit baggy and I think the jacket is, as well. Of course, traditional styling, you know, if we’re talking about a drape cut or what have you, there’s a little bit more fullness but this just really looks more like a potato sack than anything fitted.

SRS: They have a fabric here, there’s room in the sleeve but still, when I moved, everything moves with me and so it’s not even comfortable. At the same time, it looks s****y. And here, we have the same issues right? No cuff buttons, like there was a lot of fabric in here but it’s too long when I stand yet it shows a lot of cuff when I sit, which is just less than ideal.

PS: It’s kind of the worst of both worlds, really.

SRS: Now, the lining is polyester which makes you more prone to sweating which is also not ideal but overall, this makes me extremely uncomfortable wearing it and it has all these flaws even though stylistically, right? Peak lapel, single button, that’s good. It was the only vendor that had no vents which is nice but it still didn’t have a flattering cut which is the point of the no vent and then it has these flaps which are not traditional and the pockets are full like on any other jackets. The problem is if you have a full pocket, you can’t even tuck the flaps a way to create a classic look, right? So it just sucks.

PS: So with all of that said then, what do you think you would rate this Men’s Wearhouse tux?

SRS: You know, that tux I received out of the box I’d give it like a zero out of five because there’s no situation I would ever wear this and I’d rather skip the event than show up wearing something like this. Now that being said, once we received this and reached out to Men’s Wearhouse, they were like, “We’re sorry, will either send you something else or we’ll refund your money.” Now, that’s good customer service in the sense that they take responsibility and they want to make it right. At the same time, I mean we all know how much “fun” it is sending back packages numerous times, right?

PS: Yeah.

SRS: And then also, when I have an event where I need it by, I want to know that they send me something that fits especially if they ask for or measurements. I don’t want to hope that something arrives and then it’s completely different then I have to take care of it again. I mean, it’s time, it’s money, and it’s going to UPS and FedEx. I mean I don’t want that.

Menguin

PS: The remaining company from which we ordered was Menguin, of course, as we said, also owned by the same holding company as Generation Tux, and we were a little bit surprised to see that it came in a Menguin box but the inside of the jacket did have a Generation Tux label so the products are fully integrated at this point.

SRS: Yeah and it was kind of a funny style because we wanted to get a shawl collar style because it’s also a traditional style. Their understanding was very fashion-forward, like it was extremely slim. They also, the way they ironed it was kind of funny.

PS: Yes, I definitely thought so. Not only were the lapels very skinny to start out with but they were lopsided and kind of mismatched. It looked like the jacket had maybe been sent back to be ironed or pressed one too many times and one of the lapels just looked very strange.

SRS: Yeah so when you ordered on the website, what kind of stuff did they ask you?

PS: They were also not terribly specific with the measurements they asked for. They wanted height, weight, general build, and then my waist size but that was it.

SRS: So no jacket sizing or inseam length?

PS: Nope.

SRS: Okay, I mean that’s a very low standard.

PS: Right! As far as the materials of that one were concerned, it was, again, made from wool. I’m not necessarily sure of the grade or the quality of the wool.

SRS: I mean they say super 140s or something but again, you know, it means nothing and it can feel extremely cheap.

PS: Right! And in my personal experience out of the box of the three that we have here, that one definitely felt the cheapest to me.

SRS: Okay, interesting! What do you think about stylistic and fit choices on the Menguin?

PS: I think in a similar fashion to how the lapels were very slim, other details were also slim and small too. For example, again, it had side vents but they were very short vents in the back and the jacket itself was also on the shorter side.

SRS: Well, typically, it’s something that you do on a less expensive jacket because a shorter vent means it gaps less no matter what the bum size is so it’s just a easy way to hide certain things but it’s not the proper way to do it.

PS: And additionally again, the sleeves on that jacket had no buttons either.

SRS: I guess that’s what they do. They may adjust the length of the sleeves to get it right and so they can’t really put buttons on without damaging the rest of the fabric.

PS: That would make sense.

SRS: I think it also had that galon strip sewn in in a weird way and overall, it was rather slim so if you like a slim fitting tuxedo, it was probably the slimmest of the bunch and it was also on the shorter side, in terms of length, but if it would have been longer, I think maybe would have bunched up.

PS: Yes, I think so. Specifically in regard to the trousers, they were definitely on the short side almost kind of an ankle level but because of how narrow the opening was, if they had been any longer, they probably would have puddled in an unattractive way around my shoes.

SRS: So what do you say, what’s the rating for this one?

PS: This one, I think I would probably just say a 1. In addition to not necessarily liking quite how it looked in terms of the styling and also how it felt, the construction felt like it was lacking a little bit. I did find some loose threads, it was just a cheap experience, overall, I would say. So I wouldn’t rank it any higher than a 1.

SRS: And I also think you know, this kind of tuxedo, you can buy off of eBay, right? Sometimes, they sell rental tuxedos or new tuxedos and sometimes you get a really great quality for you know 50, 70, 80 bucks. I remember on my wedding day, my best man didn’t have one so rather than renting him one, I just bought him on eBay for 100 bucks, 50 bucks in tailoring, and he looked pretty presentable. If you look at the waistband of all those pants, they’re all very adjustable which makes sense for a rental. You wouldn’t have that on your personal tux but I think I would like some suspender buttons because if something is too wide, having the buttons will make sure it stays at the same level all day long.

PS: Right, again, I was a little bit more impressed with the offering from The Black Tux. It does have suspender buttons–of course, there’s no fish tail in the back. It’s just a straight waistband all the way around but the buttons are there and also, there are side adjusters on this pair of trousers, as well. So that allows for a little bit more of a zeroing in on fit. Whereas with the Menguin model, there was just a piece of elastic running around the inside of the waistband.

SRS: Oh interesting. Men’s Wearhouse also had the side adjusters but no buttons. So yeah, once again THE BLK TUX is more comprehensive than others but on the overall scale, still, just average.

PS: One additional note for the trousers of THE BLK TUX, they do also have satin around the waistband of the trousers themselves. I think this is more of a modern innovation, if you’d like to call it that for guys who would either choose not to wear a waist covering or wouldn’t know to wear one. So there’s a little element of visual interest there but of course, you should most traditionally wear a waist covering with black tie anyway.

SRS: That means vest or waistcoat or a cummerbund. So it’s kind of a superfluous feature but I guess that’s what these companies do. In terms of boutonnieres, I think the Menguin didn’t even have a whole my Men’s Wearhouse had one but no like flower holder so you need a little pin to get it there. How about yours?

PS: Same thing here with the Black Tux. This one does have a functioning buttonhole in the lapel but it doesn’t have any sort of loop on the reverse to hold the stem. So in terms of a final verdict, how bad were the tuxedos we rented? Overall, they were pretty bad. If you take our ratings and put them all together, that’s an average rating of only one and a third out of five. Definitely, not a passing grade!

SRS: Exactly. So even the best out of the bunch, THE BLK TUX, is just three out of five and again, bear in mind, the sleeve length is not right, you know, it may gap. You don’t get the buttons and all the details that you want to in a traditional tux. So yeah, if you just want to look good and I think that’s the point of wearing black tie formal wear, then renting is your worst option.

PS: Right! I would agree. Rather than going with renting, it’s probably better, if you can afford it, to get something made but even if you don’t want to go to that high of a price level, find something vintage or second-hand. Spend a little money having it tailored and you’re going to have something that fits you better and you won’t have to go through this rigmarole of the renting process.

SRS: Exactly! A great place to start is eBay. I think eBay.co.uk has cool vintage tuxedos but even in the US, you can sometimes find old Polo or old brands like Belvest or Loro Piana. It pays to know your measurements that are ideal for you so you can buy something that is very close to what you want. Especially, areas like the shoulder width where it’s harder and more costly to do alterations but in that case, I also suggest you check out the video on how a suit should fit because those same things apply to a tuxedo and once you know that and armed with that knowledge, you can then go out and shop and again, if you have more time, you can actually look for a longer period. You can probably get a better bargain and end up with something that ultimately can remain in your closet, doesn’t cost much more than a rental, and it’s still rather convenient.

Conclusion

PS: Yeah. In terms of searching for knowledge, once again, we will say that our Black Tie guide is a comprehensive resource on everything you would want to know for how a tuxedo should fit, how it should be styled, the different hallmarks you’ll be looking for, it’s really a one-stop shop for everything you need to know about tuxedos and black tie, in general.

SRS: Yeah and hands-down the most comprehensive guide in the world and I’m not saying that bragging, it’s just what it is. No matter if you buy or rent your tuxedo, upgrading it with some high-end black-tie accessories will always make you stand out from the crowd. That means getting the right bowtie, the right neck size for you that you can untie just like this one or getting the right boutonniere, getting a pair of nice silk socks, a pocket square and everything else that you need including cufflinks and shirt studs, please head over to our shop here where we provide a really extensive selection of Black Tie tuxedo accessories.

What do you think of rental tuxedos? Let us know in the comments section!