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wedding, fun, price-shopping, Tux trends, Uncategorized, vest colors

Who (really) has the region’s largest selection of men’s formalwear?

Wedding tuxedos in Southeastern MassachusettsWith all of those crazy claims you hear out there, who really has the widest selection of men’s formalwear on the SouthCoast?Seems like a simple question, right? Let’s sort this out.

The Big Box Shops?
They specialize in retail, but some box shops offer a limited selection of rentals, which you’re expected to choose from a website or kiosk. Rental inventory is warehoused out of state, and they are shipped to your local chain store days before your wedding. In-house tailoring services are limited or nonexistent.

The Catalog Showrooms?
Here, you may encounter a showroom of tuxedos and suits, but few (if any) products except samples are kept on site, and your tailoring options are very limited because these companies often don’t employ tailors. Routinely, these stores have an exclusivity contract with a single supplier and can only offer styles from just one catalog. Retail offerings are generally scarce for couples who want to purchase.

Main Street Formals.
Suits for saleWe’re somewhat like a hybrid between the Big Box and the Catalog Store, but we’re also a lot more. For starters, we have three showrooms (a rental formalwear showroom, a retail suit showroom, and our Casual Friday showroom, which features a large selection of sportcoats, dress shirts and trousers), and we carry rental inventory so that when you’re ready to shop, you can come in and try things on. But if you want something we don’t stock, we have many catalogs to special-order hundreds of other rental styles. Furthermore, we stock hundreds of retail suits in stock, with thousands more available by special order. Most important, we have a fully-staffed precision tailoring department with skilled full-time tailors to ensure our formalwear fits like a glove. Somehow, we manage to throw in dazzling group specials, and prices that everyone loves.

Discover it for yourself: Take a short ride to the countryside, and visit the Biggest Little Tux Shop in New England!

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Uncategorized, fun, Neckwear, wedding

The tuX Files: What’s new at Main Street Formals?

Well, 2018 was a whirlwind year for us at Main Street Formals. Let’s take a look back, and then a look ahead!

Our remodeled formalwear showroom featuring everyone’s deer friend, Bogart. (See what we did there?)

Our new farmer’s porch.

KEEP MOVING FORWARD
Continuing on the success of our recent formalwear showroom remodel, we pressed on with our capital improvements to help us provide a spectacular and unique customer experience. As our loyal customers know, during peak seasons, seating has always been a challenge, so we added a farmer’s porch to create a spacious outdoor seating area, and our enormous new suit showroom (more to come on that below) offers even more seating! No more feeling like you’re packed in a fishbowl. Complimenting this, we installed an overpowered new HVAC system to keep you cool when the thermometer rises. Are you feeling the love yet?

Our new office, from which Robert operates his graphic design and marketing business.

Our huge new showroom allows us to stock more suits for all of you Last-Minute Larrys. Mostly, it’s just here to look pretty!

NEW SUIT SHOWROOM
Next, let’s talk about our magnificent new suit showroom! With this new space, we can now stock roughly 400% more inventory at a time when our competitors are scaling down. (Wow!) How are customers responding to our new man cave? Well, our new office is located off to the side of this new space, and we giggle every time a couple walks into the new space and whispers, “Holy ****.” (Incidentally, you’re all a bunch of potty mouths.) While it took seemingly forever to get the space up and running, we are positively thrilled by how well you’ve received it. If you ever want to just sit by the fireplace and relax with a copy of Let Me off at the Top by Ron Burgundy, you are welcome to visit as long as you’d like.

You asked, and we delivered. Come see our new selection of sportcoats and dress pants!

Plaid is rad, don’t be scared of wearing some color!

NEW BLAZERS, PANTS, SHOES, & MORE!
The addition of the new showroom freed up our existing, smaller, suit showroom, so we are now able to offer you some pretty exciting new products! We now stock hundreds of amazing new sportcoats and blazers, and we also run a gorgeous new line of slim-fit dress trousers in sizes 28-44. Furthermore, we’ve added a selection of fabulous retail dress shoes and a growing collection of men’s dress shirts. As always, our in-stock selection of neckwear and accessories is unrivaled in the region, at prices you’ll love.

NEW TAILOR SHOP
And we’re not done! By moving our office to the addition, we were able to transition our tailor shop to a much bigger space on our first floor. We added two industrial machines and industrial pressing equipment (which stunningly, someone actually noticed!). The new tailor shop is bigger and better equipped than ever before, and we’ve added climate-control for the staff so that they can be comfortable as they work. It’s not like we were running a sweatshop before, but it got pretty hot upstairs. It’s practically like a resort in the new space now! 😉

What color do you like best?

What’s left? We still have to paint the building this spring, and then add some snazzy signage. Parking improvements are under consideration as well, namely the removal of more trees from our overflow lot. We’re not paving the lawn unless you’re paying for it.

As you can see, we crammed a ton of NEW into the customer experience for 2019, so please come down and say hello, and let us know what you think!

SPECIAL THANKS
Main Street Formals extends a heartfelt message of gratitude to these talented and dedicated individuals who moved heaven and earth to get this done for us:

  • Ray Lague, the unflappably calm master carpenter who built our addition and the porch. We have to give him credit, but we wish we could keep him anonymous so that we didn’t have to share him with everyone else.
  • Guillotte & Sons, who built our foundation (and who repointed our old brick steps more times than we can count). Amazing local business.
  • Brian Miranda of Miranda HVAC, who installed our new system and is always there when we need him. Salt of the earth.
  • Tim Major, our electrician, who always gets the job done on time, and who even brings us venison jerky and homemade maple syrup!
  • Eversource, who came through on our meter and gas service relocation, when we feared it was going to derail us.
  • The Town of Acushnet, who were exceedingly patient as we completed each stage of construction.

 

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March192018NOCOMMENTS

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Uncategorized, price-shopping, Tux trends, wedding

The tuX Files: Should I rent or buy?

Let’s compare both options so that you can make an informed decision.

Jake and Geno model the Allure Bartlett in heather gray and slate blue. Photo: ImageMakers

RENT YOUR WEDDING OUTFIT

1) IT’S EASIER If renting your formalwear, you only need to take two fittings. The first fitting takes five minutes and should be done at least 4-6 weeks before your wedding. We carry tons of product in house, and when we need more during peak seasons, we can simply call for back-up from our countless suppliers, so “running out” isn’t really a problem. Your second fitting (60-90 minutes 1-2 days before the wedding) is also easy. If anything doesn’t fit, we fix it while you wait, and then you take it home on the same day.
2) SIZE DOESN’T MATTER. Rental formalwear is convenient. Every rental tux and suit style is cut down to a Boy’s 4 (sometimes even smaller), and up to a 70R (sometimes larger), so no matter what size your attendants, they can all match.

The Sandstone Brunswick by Allure

3) IT’S AFFORDABLE. The Number 1 reason people rent? It’s

 

affordable. Consider: The MSRP on most rental ensembles is about $600-900. You have a personal stylist helping you make a selection. We expertly measure each man’s body. Every rental includes an average of $50-75 in complimentary custom tailoring. And then we clean everything between rentals. (Naturally.) So, soup to nuts, it’s like wearing a $800-1000 ensemble for $150 or so. Good deal, right?

Indigo blue suit. Photo: ImageMakers

PURCHASE YOUR WEDDING OUTFIT

1) WE NEED LEAD TIME. It’s like the process you probably used with your bridesmaids’ gowns. We don’t order the suits for your group until we have collected ALL of your measurements. Don’t procrastinate, or your first choice might be sold out before the order is placed. The first fitting takes 5 minutes or so; ideally, these would be completed 3+ months in advance, although we’ve worked some miracles in short time spans.
2) NO GUARANTEES. No selection is guaranteed until our suppliers confirm all of the required sizes are available in time for your event. Later, when the suits have arrived at the store, each man returns for a second fitting, which takes 30-60 minutes. Ideally, these second fittings are completed at least four weeks before the event, to allow time for tailoring, which is a separate fee.

Main Street Formals’ owner, Robert, makes adjustments on a retail suit worn by his son, Baylen.

3) SIZE MATTERS. Retail suits have limited size scales. Most are made as small as a 36S and up to a 54L, but we can get many traditional sizes in a broader range. However, if the suit you desire is made up to a 54 and your best man is a 58, you may have to decide on an alternative suit (or an alternative best man).
4) BOYS SUITS. In most cases, suits companies that manufacture suits for adults do not manufacture suits for children. Therefore, if you decide on retail, any boys in your wedding party will not be able to wear the exact same suit as the adults. We match them from our boy’s suit suppliers as best we can. Accessories are not included and can be rented or purchased separately. Boy’s suit purchases do not count toward your head count for your wedding special package.

 

For more fashion, follow us on Instagram: @mainstreetformals

5) IT’S MORE EXPENSIVE. We believe our retail suit program offers tremendous value, but it is a lot more work, and skilled labor isn’t cheap. All labor is priced a la carte, and many customers elect to include rental or retail accessories, which are priced accordingly. We permit three fittings on retail suits: the first two, explained above, and a final fitting on pickup day, 1-2 days before the wedding. If you are on an Atkins diet, Crossfit, etc., and we have to re-tailor your suit because your body changed, you will be charged for the extra fittings and the extra labor.

 

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March92018NOCOMMENTS

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fun

The tuX Files: An offer you can’t refuse

Have we ever done you a favor? Well, then, today we’re calling one in from you. Main Street Formals has been nominated as “Best Men’s Clothing Store,” and if we don’t win it again, then some of the staff fears they might be sleeping with the fishes. So, please take two minutes of your time, and visit this link to vote for the Biggest Little Tux Shop in New England. We’re nominated in two categories: Best Men’s Clothing Store (that’s the important one), and Best Place to Work (which we have no business winning, because we all know Robert is a hot head like Sonny Corleone). Donna at Acushnet Creamery deserves that one.

You could even win some dough just by participating in the contest!

Not sure if we’re the best men’s clothing store? We’re working really hard right now to earn your vote. We have new products, new specials–there are negotiations being made that are going to answer all of your questions and solve all of your problems. That’s all we can tell you right now. (Don’t worry. Robert doesn’t like violence. He’s a businessman. Blood is a big expense.)

Sure, winning in 2017 was great. But we can’t rest on our laurels. Times have changed. It’s not like the Old Days — when we can do anything we want. We need your vote. A refusal is not the act of a friend. So don’t ever take sides with anyone against the Family again. Ever.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation. If you’re not going to vote for us, please tell us right away, because Robert is a man who insists on hearing bad news at once.

 

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February282018NOCOMMENTS

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fun, Uncategorized

The tuX files: Main Street goes to the movies

Since the days of silent movies, the public has admired film stars for their frequently exquisite sense of fashion (or at least for the fashion predilections of their stylists). In this post, we look back at some of some famous (and infamous) formalwear moments on the silver screen.

Casino Royale
One moment he’s juggling martinis and poker chips, the next he’s kicking some bad-guy butt. Whatever the mission, Daniel Craig personifies the spirit of élan as Agent 007. To anyone who believes that Connery was a better Bond, you’re what we like to call, “utterly and completely mistaken.” Craig is more ruggedly handsome, more physically fit, and a better actor. His subsequent appearances in the Bond franchise are all solid, but Casino Royale was still the best. Many of our customers reveal their man-crushes when they’re shopping for suits, pulling out a cell-phone photo and hoping we can style them like Ryan Gosling or Brad Pitt or whomever. For customers over the age of 40, it’s almost always Daniel Craig. You had us at “hello.”

Wedding Crashers
In our book, Wedding Crashers (top) is right up there with Citizen Kane. “You and I both know I’m a phenomenal dancer!” For much of the movie, a hilarious Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson don penguin suits and woo unsuspecting women like modern-day libertines–until that magical moment when Cupid’s arrow strikes and they realize the true meaning of love. With early career appearances from Bradley Cooper and the lovely Isla Fisher–plus an outrageous cameo by Will Ferrell, Wedding Crashers definitely earned the sequel that is in talks now.

Dumb & Dumber
Seriously, it might have been funny the first 984 times (actually, it wasn’t), but please stop calling to ask if you can rent an orange tux for your prom. Prom is an opportunity to step into the sometimes glamorous and elegant (less so every day, it seems) world of adulthood, and when you show up in what is ostensibly a clown costume, you’re setting the table for what we can expect from you later in life. Don’t be that guy, you’re better than that. Put on your big boy pants…or, as we call them, “trousers.”

The Godfather
Our selection for the greatest film of all time, Coppola’s epic opens with wedding wear. With the exception of Michael (who is smartly attired in his Marine Corps Class A’s), all of the Corleones look Hollywood chic—even Fredo. Damn you, Fredo, damn you. You broke our heart. Let’s go fishing.

The Sound of Music
Actor Christopher Plummer has paid the bills by playing all sorts of characters, but in our minds, he will always be Captain Von Trapp. Dressed in white tie and tails as he clasped a firm hand around Julie Andrews, this dashing Canadian defined fashion for a generation of moviegoers. You will never be as cool as Captain Von Trapp, but you can try.

Titanic
We used to be aficionados of the Titanic story until this sentimental claptrap spoiled it for us. The writing? Meh. The acting? Please. The effects? Okay, those were good. But if it weren’t for a handful of 11-year-old girls who saw this film 900 times, that smarmy James Cameron never would have won the big one. Oh, and the tuxes? Yeah, Leo looked pretty as always, but that’s why he makes the big bucks. Don’t even get us started on Celine Dion. But because we’re trying to see the glass half-full today, in the interest of finding something positive in this leviathan cinematic torture device, we give you two words: Billy. Zane.

Casablanca
It’s true, Humphrey Bogart was probably not a very nice guy, but dressed in his white dinner jacket, black trousers and bowtie he played a remarkably convincing hero in this wartime classic. Rife with existential angst, Bogart takes the high road and (spoiler alert) gives up the girl to save the world. Great film, worth watching over and over. If you’ve never seen the scene where the patrons of Rick’s American Cafe sing La Marseillaise, you’re missing out on one of the best moments in cinema. Here’s looking at you, Kid.

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February272018NOCOMMENTS

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clothing care, fun, Uncategorized

The tuX files: Washboard blabs

Violating probably every labor law (and if you listen to him, maybe the Geneva Convention), Robert’s son Baylen builds character by scrubbing rental shirts, circa 2011.

Monday is “return day,” at Main Street Formals, so much of the day is spent laundering shirts from the weekend’s rentals. How do we keep our shirts so clean? It’s not as simple as you might think. First, we spot-treat rental shirts for obvious stains and blemishes. Then, we soak them for hours in a piping hot solution of water, detergent, and a whitening agent. Then, we wash the shirts with standard detergent in hot water again. And then, we send the shirts out to be spot-treated and washed again by a professional laundry service. Finally, they starch and press the shirts, which we then inspect for stubborn stains before they are returned to our rental inventory. Yes, we do this to EVERY shirt. During last prom season, our (former) laundry service dropped the ball and couldn’t turn our shirts around for us, so we were at the shop through the wee hours of the night, hand-pressing shirts for our prom rentals. However, making lemonade from lemons, we are grateful we had to grunt it out, for the experience ultimately led us to our great new laundry company, Bush Cleaners, who has been fantastic!

You might ask: Why do we go to such great effort and expense to keep our rental shirts pristine? Well, to us, it’s not “just a rental shirt.” It’s the foundation of your formalwear ensemble, the canvas upon which your sartorial work of art is painted. And so if the shirt doesn’t “pop,” neither will your tuxedo. You’re paying for the “pop,” and we’re committed to delivering it. Even if it is, as we say in Southern Massachusetts, a wicked lot of work.

 

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