Special occasions that require a tuxedo may be few and far between, but if you think you'll have reason to wear a tux at least two times, you're probably better off buying.
Dealnews crunched the numbers to find out how quickly a tuxedo pays for itself and concluded it's the second time you wear it:
The average cost of renting a wedding tux is $185, which sounds like a lot, until you consider that suits are, generally, pretty expensive... or are they?
In fact, we see penguin suits (metaphorically) around the $80 mark fairly often. You'll also need to buy a tuxedo shirt, for around $23; cufflinks and buttons, for around $13; bow tie and cummerbund, for around $10; and those super-shiny oxford shoes that you only see at weddings, for around $30. Then, to avoid looking like you're wearing a tuxedo bag, you're going to need to get that suit fitted to your body, which will add another $50. The grand total? $206! For only $21 more than renting, you can be the proud owner of James Bond clothes.
Of course, our build-your-own tux was put together using the absolutely lowest-cost items we could find. Will it all fall apart in the rain? Possibly! Another thing to consider is that suit styles change over the years and today's tux might look out-of-fashion in five years' time. However, we must look at the bottom-line and it does show that you can buy a tux for about the same price as renting one, so the purchase will pay off the second time you wear it. (And we're going to assume that if you own a tux, you're gonna find many more occasions to wear it "just because"!)
So if you think you're going to be in at least two wedding parties or going to two grand galas, buy a used, conservatively-styled tuxedo instead of renting.
When Do These 10 Purchases Pay for Themselves? | Dealnews
Photo by Kent Wang.
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