School Formal Edits 2022 (2024)

The school formal season is coming up fast, and this time of year can be a little overwhelming. Between assessments, 18th’s, exams, graduation events, and post-school life looming, suit shopping shouldn’t feel like part of the HSC. So Rundle’s have your cheat-sheet for buying a suit like a boss, even on an intern’s budget. Our storewide sale on ready-to-wear suits continues until July, so buy your school formal fit now for discounted prices across our entire range!

If you’re confused by the difference between formal, black tie, and co*cktail, we’ve got you.
If you don’t understand what constitutes ready-to-wear, made-to-measure, and hire suiting, stay with me now. We’ll give you the low-down so you can express your own personal style in a suit, and not feel like you’re still in uniform.

DRESS CODES:

SEMI-FORMAL / SMART CASUAL

Your event invitation says “semi-formal” – but what does that actually mean? A “semi-formal” dress-code isn’t quite as chill as “no shoes, no shirt, no worries”. Semi-formal can mean many different looks, as it allows for more flexibility than simply matching pants and a jacket, button-up shirt and tie. So get creative! You could wear a mismatching blazer and chino’s combination. Your outfit could be a suit with a t-shirt, polo, turtleneck or singlet underneath, like how Tim (below) wore his made-to-measure suit. Or if you’re looking to hire, our hire grey suit with a polo shirt from John Lennon by English Laundry would look great. Alternatively, smart trousers with patterned dress shirt and a open collar wouldn’t be out of place. You could consider one of our ready-to-wear linen jackets, combined with a neutral trouser. There’s a lot of options available for you to play with when navigating a smart-casual dress code. However if you look smartly dressed and well put together, your outfit is sure to be a hit!

co*ckTAIL

The co*cktail 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. co*cktail (like semi-formal) is similarly versatile, but with a bit more sophistication. To experiment with a co*cktail 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. Checkered print suiting remains very on trend, and can be dressed-up for job interviews or graduation dinners, or dressed-down for 18th’s or 21st’s. This Joe Black checkered suit is currently on sale and won’t be around for long, as it’s a limited release ready-to-wear piece and in high demand!

FORMAL

For formal wear, the dress code is more dignified again, and consists of either a 2-piece or 3-piece suit, complete with a tie. There’s less room for interpretation with a formal dress code, but still plenty of opportunities to infuse your own personal style into the look. If ties aren’t for you, try a bowtie, or a patterned or textured pocket-square. Experiment with colour; add a vest in a different shade than your trousers and jacket, like Harry did below in his green made-to-measure 3-piece suit. Go bold with one of our ready-to-wear suits in a non-traditional colour like rust red, olive green, beige or a bold check print. Accessories can take an outfit to a whole other level, so experiment with a tie-bar or tie pin for that Mad Men look, or if you’re wearing a vest, finish the fit with a pocket-watch chain like the guys on Peaky Blinders. If you’re taking a female date, you could wear a flower in your lapel (called a boutonniere) to match your partner’s corsage. Hats are also a great piece to add some individual flavor, as shown by Jake below, who wore this grey 3-piece suit to his formal, complete with excellent accessories.

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, 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. For a limited time only, our ready-to-wear suits are also on sale! We have up to 50% off on select brands, with all brands on sale to varying degrees until July.

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 hope this article has helped inspire some ideas for your upcoming school formal fit, and hopefully cleared-up any of your confusion about dress codes, buying, owning and styling a suit. We look forward to helping you create your dream look for your end of year school celebration. Come into Rundle Tailoring before July to purchase a suit during our sale for savings that can go towards the schoolies budget!