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Over the weekend, our largest competitor announced they have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and as they restructure their debts, they will be closing some 500 store locations. We extend our deepest sympathies to the employees—and the brides and grooms—who will be affected.

Given the size of this retail giant and the international scope of their operations, it seems inevitable that Main Street Formals’ operations will be affected as well. Historically, we have always witnessed a surge in new clients whenever our competitors have reduced their market footprint. While that prosperity is always received with deep gratitude, we must manage it carefully, for when a company’s growth outpaces its ability to serve its customers, it leads to failure.

This moment signifies a historic “perfect storm” in wedding menswear. At present, we are well supplied and amply staffed to handle current market requirements, which have been artificially suppressed by COVID19. However, 2021 is predicted to be a record year for weddings, for it will combine the “normal” 2021 events with a huge number of events postponed from 2020. To service this unprecedented demand, we may need to recruit and train a new generation of menswear stylists and tailors.

This is where your input is tremendously helpful.

If you will be shopping for wedding suits or tuxedos, and you intend to honor our company with the opportunity to earn your business, PLEASE let us know as early as possible so that we can generate reliable forecasts for our staffing and inventory requirements. By registering online, you are not committing to anything—you are simply helping us to understand the size of the local market, which helps us to plan and serve you better. As Tom Cruise famously implored Cuba Gooding Jr. in Jerry McGuire, “Help ME help YOU.”

The year 2020 has been a wild ride, and there’s still nearly five months to go. However, despite COVID, murder hornets, and the imminent disclosure of recovered alien technology, people are still getting married. Because no matter what the universe throws at us, love (and Main Street Formals) will endure.

As we ease into Phase Three in Massachusetts, Main Street Formals is pleased to announce that we have expanded our hours to six days per week (essentially a return to the hours we held for most of the last 15 years). Appointments are still strongly encouraged, and they are REQUIRED for any business that necessitates the use of a dressing room. Per MA law, face coverings are still required.

Effective June 8, we will be reopening by appointment, with best availability on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays 10-6. To schedule an appointment, please message us on Instagram or Facebook, email info@mainstreetformals.com or call (508) 995-0200. Please note, we are asking you to only bring those members of your party who are essential to the decision process, as we are required by law to limit the number of people in the building. According to Massachusetts law, all customers are required to wear a face-covering unless you have a medical condition that makes this practice dangerous. If you don’t have one, we have them available for purchase.

For those customers who are accustomed to walk-ins, we will make every reasonable effort to accommodate you. If you are a walk-in, when you get to the shop, we will require you to call the shop, and if we have the appropriate staffing and building capacity to let you in, we shall. Appointments are strongly recommended.

It’s a given that there are going to be a few bumps along the road, so please be patient as we adjust to the new operating paradigm.

Thank you.

This couch should not be empty in May.

On Monday, May 18, Governor Baker held a press conference in which he revealed his long-awaited, much-ballyhooed, four-phased preliminary plans for reopening the Commonwealth’s economy.  Governor Baker and his proxies reported they will release industry-specific guidelines on opening dates, safety protocols, procedures, and best practices; astonishingly, few of these details (i.e., those pertaining to retail) were made available today, with the small exception that during Phase 1, retailers could reopen for remote fulfillment and curbside pickup, effective May 25. As a customer-focused service-oriented clothing store and tailor shop, Main Street Formals primarily falls into Phase 2, meaning the earliest we will be permitted to host customers inside our shop is June 8.

Considering the paucity of information released to us thus far, we do not know much. We do not know if June 8 is written in stone. We do not know whether we will be permitted to accept walk-ins, or if we’ll be operating by appointment. We do not know if we’ll be wearing business suits or Hazmat suits.  (But rest assured, if we are compelled to wear Hazmat suits, ours will fit better than our competitors’. ) Furthermore, without explicit new guidance on the relaxing of the size limitations on gatherings (presumed to stand at 10), it seems likely that most/all social events planned in the near future (up to Phases 3 and/or 4) will be postponed or canceled, and so for the foreseeable future, Main Street Formals will continue to follow the following policies:

RENTAL ORDERS: We will issue 100% refunds on all rental orders canceled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Please contact us by email as soon as possible if your event has been postponed to a later date. We do not accept cancellations and/or order changes by phone, for we require written documentation for posterity.

RETAIL ORDERS: If you ordered any retail clothing and wish to postpone your order for a later date, please contact us by email as soon as possible.  If you are canceling a retail order, we may issue a refund on your deposit, but that decision will be made at our discretion on a case-by-case determination. If the garment has already been tailored, there will be no refund, as the garment is permanently custom-tailored to you and cannot be resold.

ALTERATIONS: If we have some of your clothing, or a tailored suit waiting to be picked out, we will endeavor to reconnect you with your clothing after May 25 in a manner that comports with the governor’s order. As always, the best way to contact us is by email.

These policies are subject to revision as the situation evolves. Please continue to visit this page or our social media feeds for more information as it becomes available.

On Wednesday, May 13, Governor Baker held a press conference in which he explicitly confirmed that the reopening guidelines for nonessential businesses in the Commonwealth would not be revealed until May 18, which effectively prevents our company from reopening on that day, for we are powerless to determine what operational protocols we will be legally compelled to follow, and we will be ignorant as to what supplies we will need to comport with same. Consequently, our entire operation will continue to be limited to answering your inquiries remotely.

Furthermore, without explicit new guidance on the relaxing of the size limitations on gatherings (presumed to stand at 10), it seems likely that most/all social events planned in the near future will be canceled, and so for the foreseeable future, Main Street Formals will continue to follow the following policies:

RENTAL ORDERS: We will issue 100% refunds on all rental orders canceled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Please contact us by email as soon as possible if your event has been postponed to a later date. We do not accept cancelations and/or order changes by phone, for we require written documentation for posterity.

RETAIL ORDERS: If you ordered any retail clothing and wish to postpone your order for a later date, please contact us by email as soon as possible.  If you are canceling a retail order, we may issue a refund on your deposit, but that decision will be made at our discretion on a case-by-case determination. If the garment has already been tailored, there will be no refund, as the garment is permanently custom-tailored to you and cannot be resold.

ALTERATIONS: If we have some of your clothing, we regret we can no longer make private arrangements to get it to you, for such an action would stand in contravention to the governor’s order. We’ll keep your items safe until everything is back to normal.

These policies are subject to revision as the situation evolves. Please continue to visit this page or our social media feeds for more information as it becomes available.