Suit Up With KASHIYAMA

The big day has finally arrived—the day when you will marry the love of your life. All eyes are on you and your 12 groomsmen. While your bride’s dress may conjure up images of fairy tale romance, your suit should convey sophistication and style. You’re the Cary Grant to her Grace Kelly. A rental tux may fit the bill for the day, but a custom tuxedo of your own lets her know that the fairy tale will go on long after you’ve said your “I dos.”

For not much more than the cost of a tuxedo rental, you and your groomsmen can invest in a custom-tailored tuxedo, suit, or shirt from Japan’s top made-to-measure suit clothier KASHIYAMA. Expanded to the U.S. in 2018, KASHIYAMA provides customers with the highest standards of comfort and fit. The concept combines the expertise of experienced stylists with the utilization of a complex body measurement database and the technology to tweak various patterns to produce a completely customized suit with precise measurements and personal style preferences. KASHIYAMA opened in Uptown Charlotte last year and recently moved into a new showroom in SouthPark. 

Starting at $600, KASHIYAMA’s tuxedo line combines timeless style and a custom fit, offering 18 standard and five high-grade fabrics to choose from for the classic tux. Additional customization options, ranging from lapel styles to button selections, allow for further personalization of the classic formalwear. The brand’s suits are available in over 800 different fabrics and 34 customization options—sure to create the right look and the right fit. To set the tone for the day—modern, timeless, formal, or casual—grooms can round out their look with a made-to-measure shirt, a new line KASHIYAMA recently launched. Among the options for shirt customizations are 11 collars, five cuffs, four backs, three monogram styles, three plackets, and three button styles; and all 100 fabric options are 100% cotton.

“Many grooms that we have fitted in the past year have come to us because, just like their brides, they want a wedding look that reflects their individual style,” according to John Azar, KASHIYAMA’s marketing manager. “Fortunately, KASHIYAMA’s made-to-measure brand offers a variety of tuxedos, suits, and shirts so no matter the formality of the wedding, there’s something for all grooms and groomsmen to be stylish, coordinated, and comfortable.”

Timeless Style and Modern Sensibility

If searching for a formal look, Azar advises grooms to select a tuxedo that conveys a classic, timeless style and opt for customization that highlights a modern sensibility for a distinguished, dapper look.

Among Azar’s top recommendations for customizing a tuxedo:

• For a truly debonair look, stick to dark colors for your tux. “While KASHIYAMA offers 23 fabric options for a tuxedo, there are only three colors that our customers can choose from—black, blue, and gray,” explains Azar. “Those colors serve as a canvas for our customers to express their individual sense of style through our customization options. They also evoke elegance and tradition.”

• KASHIYAMA accents their tuxedos with a black satin lapel and piping along the pants. “We offer two lapel style options for tuxedos—peak and shawl,” said Azar. “Both lapel styles work well for formal affairs, but pairing them with a blue fabric interjects a creative black tie feel without venturing into novelty.”

• Remember that a pleated placket (reinforced fabric that runs down the front center of a dress shirt) is only one option for a tuxedo shirt. Two popular styles for tuxedo shirt plackets include a plain placket front, with rows of buttons running down the front center of the shirt, and a French front placket, where the buttons are concealed. “Both these placket options give a clean and streamlined profile to the groom,” says Azar. “It is a modern and yet classic look all at once.”

• When selecting a pleated tuxedo shirt, opt for a covered placket hiding the buttons. “A covered placket on a pleated tuxedo shirt eliminates the need for studs,” explains Azar. “While studs are a nice detail, they can be difficult to manage (and I always lose one at some point). And as I mentioned before, the covered placket makes for an elegant update to a traditional tuxedo look.”

• KASHIYAMA offers a standard welt pocket (small, flat pocket commonly used on the exterior and interior breast on a man's suit jacket) on their tuxedo jackets.  “A welt pocket offers a clean, stylized look,” says Azar. When paired with a fitted tuxedo and plain placket tuxedo shirt, it really lengthens the body’s silhouette.”

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