The moment a close friend asks you to be his best man, two things happen at once. There is the quiet weight of what the role actually means, which lands first. And then there is a slower, more practical thought that often lands later: what am I going to wear? The best man is not the groom, and the day is not about him. But he is also not an ordinary guest, and the outfit has to recognise both of those facts at the same time.
Use up and down arrow keys to resize the meta box pane.
This guide is about mastering best man style with the role in mind. Not a template of rules borrowed from the groom’s own planning, and not the generic advice given to groomsmen either. The specific wardrobe thinking that belongs to the specific role of standing next to a close friend on one of the most important days of his life.
Most of the wardrobe mistakes best men make come from believing one or more things about the role that are not quite true. Clearing these up early makes the actual decisions much easier.
Myth: Just wear whatever the groomsmen are wearing
Half true. In many weddings the best man wears the same suit as the groomsmen, which does simplify the question. But the best man is not interchangeable with the groomsmen. The role is distinct, and the outfit traditionally marks that distinction through small details rather than through a completely different suit. A different tie, a different pocket square, a different boutonniere. These small differences are not optional embellishments. They are how the role is made visible to anyone looking at the wedding party.
Myth: You should dress identically to the groom
Not true, and this is one of the more common wardrobe errors at weddings. The best man should coordinate with the groom’s palette and formality level without matching him so closely that the two of them read as a pair in photographs. The groom is meant to be the visual focus; dressing to blend into him blurs that distinction. Coordinate, do not duplicate.
Myth: The role is simple so the wardrobe does not matter
Not true. The best man appears in dozens of the most closely watched photographs of the day: the ceremony, the party photos, the group shots, the toast. These images will live in the family albums for decades. The specific outfit is going to be looked at carefully across the whole lifetime of the album. Dressing carelessly for a role this visible is a decision you will see every time the album is opened.
Myth: Anything dark will do
Not true. The colour and formality level have to coordinate with the groom’s suit and the overall tone of the wedding. A black suit at a daytime beach wedding reads as mismatched. A light grey suit at a formal evening reception reads as under-dressed. The best man’s choice has to fit the specific wedding, not just be generally dark.
Once the myths are cleared away, the actual job of the best man’s suit becomes much more specific. It has to do three things at once.
Every wardrobe decision for the best man can be checked against these three things. If a choice supports all three, it is probably correct. If a choice undermines any of the three, it is probably wrong.
The first conversation for any best man is with the groom about the dress code of the wedding and how the wedding party is being coordinated. Some grooms have a clear vision they want everyone to follow. Others leave more latitude for personal choice within a broad framework. Either way, the conversation has to happen early, well before the fitting process starts. For best men working with a best tailor Patong, Phuket on a bespoke suit, this conversation ideally happens before the first consultation, so the tailor can build the suit around the specific coordination requirements of the wedding.
Two coordination approaches are common.
Same Suit, Different Details
The groom and groomsmen (including the best man) all wear the same suit, with the best man marked by one or two different details. A different tie or bow tie. A pocket square in a different colour. A boutonniere that echoes the groom’s rather than the other groomsmen’s. A slightly more considered pair of cufflinks. The role becomes visible through accumulation of small marks of distinction.
Coordinated but Different Suit
For weddings where the groomsmen have more individual latitude, the best man may wear a suit chosen to complement the groom without matching the groomsmen. In this case the coordination comes from colour and formality level rather than from identical cloth. The best man’s suit sits in the same tonal range as the groom’s but is clearly its own garment.
Unlike the groomsmen, the best man usually delivers a speech. The speech is one of the most photographed and filmed moments of the whole wedding, and the wardrobe is doing visible work the entire time. A well cut suit that looks correct from every angle, a quality shirt with a collar that sits properly, a tie knotted neatly, shoes that are maintained. All of these details are in the frame throughout the speech. The best man who dresses carelessly undermines his own speech before the first joke lands.
For best men who want the wardrobe to hold up through every moment of the speech and the day around it, exploring a suit shop in Patong, Phuket and the quality of bespoke work available there is often a smarter investment than accepting the off-the-rack compromises that show in professional wedding photography.
Best man wardrobes should be decided and fitted well in advance of the wedding, alongside the groom’s own timeline. This is not a decision to leave to the final weeks. Ideally the conversation with the groom happens as soon as the role is accepted, the coordination approach is agreed, and the fitting process begins several months out. For destination weddings, the timing becomes even more important: the best man needs to arrive at the wedding location with a correctly fitted suit, not with a last-minute compromise.
Wedding parties have been coming to us in Patong for decades. Johnny and Nitu set up Exclusive Tailor as a family business long before destination weddings became a fixture of the island, and in the years since we have cut suits for grooms, best men and groomsmen from every corner of the world. What a best man needs from us is slightly different from what a groom needs, and we treat the difference seriously. The coordination with the groom’s own suit, the small marks of the role, the way the whole wedding party will read together in photographs: all of this gets worked out at the first fitting, not left to be reconciled at the last one.
If you have been asked to be the best man and would like to explore a bespoke suit for the day, you can book a consultation at our Patong showroom. We recommend starting the process alongside the groom’s own fitting timeline so the coordination can be planned properly from the beginning rather than reconciled at the end.
Should a best man wear the same suit as the groomsmen?
Often, yes, with one or two different details to mark the specific role. A different tie, pocket square or boutonniere are the traditional ways the best man is distinguished within a coordinated wedding party. The role should be visible through small differences rather than through a completely different suit.
Should a best man dress identically to the groom?
No. The best man should coordinate with the groom’s palette and formality level without matching so closely that the two of them read as a pair in photographs. Coordinate, do not duplicate.
Can the best man wear a different suit from the groomsmen?
Yes, for weddings where the wedding party has more individual latitude. The coordination then comes from colour and formality level rather than identical cloth. The best man’s suit sits in the same tonal range as the groom’s but is clearly its own garment.
What colour should a best man wear?
Coordinate with the groom’s palette. Navy works for most weddings and is the safest default. Mid grey suits daytime and garden weddings. Charcoal reads as slightly more formal and works for evening receptions. Lighter colours work for beach and destination weddings.
Do best men need bespoke tailoring?
For a role that will be photographed intensively across the whole day and that includes a speech, bespoke tailoring reduces the fit compromises that off-the-rack suits force into every photograph. The investment is proportionate to the significance of the role.
What is the most common best man wardrobe mistake?
Dressing more formally or more loudly than the groom, which tilts the visual balance of the wedding party. The best man should always sit slightly below the groom in visual weight, so the groom remains the focus of the ceremony and the photographs.
Mon-Sat 10:30 – 22:00
Sunday 16:00 – 22:00
