The Manor, the second room at Farmington Hills Manor, holds 350, and at some point in the night 350 people put down their forks and look at one man. The best man stands up with a glass in one hand and a folded page in the other, and for four minutes he’s the only thing in the room. The groom’s suit was fitted for an aisle. The best man’s has to be fitted for an arm in the air.
The raised arm
Lift a glass in a jacket that’s tight through the back and the whole jacket lifts with it: the collar climbs, the button strains, the cuff runs halfway up the forearm. Ask the consultant to fit it with your arm up. Hold it there. A half inch of room through the back is invisible standing still and everything at the toast.
The sleeve and the shirt
The jacket sleeve should stop where a half inch of shirt cuff shows, and that half inch is what holds when the arm goes up. Too long, and the hand disappears into the sleeve on every gesture. Roman, master tailor at Lincoln Tailor, on site in our store, sets the sleeve to the cuff. Ask him whether yours is a while-you-wait job; if it isn’t, he quotes the job and confirms the completion date before he starts, so come in well ahead of the wedding, with the shirt.
Whose suit it is
The party rents from one rack on one order, so ask about group pricing for parties of five or more, and the best man can rent with them. If he’s the brother, and the next ten weddings in the family will find him at a microphone again, he buys: half-canvassed, $300 to $500, fitted once for every toast after this one.
Also for Farmington Hills: The Farmington Room, 600 Seats: A Suit From Behind. More on wedding suits, or plan your visit to our Oak Park showroom.
