Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Freshman usually don’t attend formals

Wrong. My freshman had a class formal and then rushed and had his fraternities formal. They could get invited to a girls formal. Even clubs had formals, such as sports clubs and acapella groups.

+1. UVA son bought a tux the first year and used it all four years. He was not in the Greek system but active in debate and other groups on grounds that did have

I should add that I have (contrary to the laundering instructions) washed kid's dress pants in the washer. He wore them often in high school for speech and debate and is a messy kid. But I would not trust him to do that himself.

Make sure they know to hang up suit and tie immediately after wearing and that they need to be dry cleaned.

Get easy-care/iron-free dress shirts and explain about removing it from drier after 10 min and hang immediately.

I bought something like this https://www.walmart.com/ip/Protege-48-Garment-Carrier/999638162 for suit being moved to campus. Hoping that the suit will go into the carrier when belongings are moved to summer storage.

Depends on the event. Fraternity formal in TX, freshman S wore dark suit, no tie. Will attend a sorority formal this weekend, tux was requested, though I'm not sure whether he ended up renting - seems like a needless expense.

Schools in the north, especially if the student does not plan to participate in greek activities, may be less likely to have a formal event.

Freshman boy in the north, no Greek, has worn his suit on a few occasions, mostly career-oriented events.

For any freshman boy, I would plan to send them to college with a suit, or jacket and dress pants, with two shirts and at least one tie. Belt and shoes. Even if not needed for formal events, there's always a possibility of career fairs, etc.

Hawes & Curtis or Moss Bros. darker-colored suits bought on sale by Mom

j crew ludlow suits (wait for a promo)

get a nice pair of shoes from Saks Off Fifth (under $100)

Get a blue dress shirt and white dress shirt and a couple of ties that go with both and boom! four outfits (Nordstrom brand is economical).

Agree with above re one nice solid blue blazer to wear with both jeans and nice shoes (see above) or khakis.

Depends on the college

Dark colore suit for semi formals, a tuxedo for formals

Anonymous wrote:Freshman usually don’t attend formals

Wrong. My freshman had a class formal and then rushed and had his fraternities formal. They could get invited to a girls formal. Even clubs had formals, such as sports clubs and acapella groups.

If he's planning to rush send him with multiple blazers, lots of khakis and shirts. With regard to formals, they usually just wear either a suit or a blazer and khakis.

Anonymous wrote:DS heading off to college this fall. What do guys wear to formals and semi-formals?

Blazer, trousers, oxford shirt, loafers.

Anonymous wrote:Pants that are too tight and too short.

Ha ha. What is with the too short, tight khakis?

Shoes with no socks

Pants that are too tight and too short.

Freshman usually don’t attend formals

DS heading off to college this fall. What do guys wear to formals and semi-formals?