Wedding Dress vs. a Tux

by Amy Conley

Why is it that women spend hundreds, even thousands of dollars on their wedding dress alone while men can rent their entire outfit, including their shoes, for $150.00 ?

For a woman, the wedding dress is supposed to be one of the most important parts of the wedding. The man is simply supposed to show up in something clean! It is assumed that on big social occasions, it is more important for women to make a fashion statement than it is for men. It is a strong assumption, but it is also one that most people find plausible. A woman does not want to attend her wedding wearing the same dress that her best friend wore to her wedding. She wants her dress to be unique, one that no one else has, something rare! It would be titled as “disaster” if a woman had the same dress that someone else wore to their wedding. On the other hand, to a man this is not important. He does not care if he has the same style tux as his friend, or if the tux is unique. Things are even drastically different when it comes to buying the right dress versus renting the right tux. For example: once a woman has chosen her wedding dress, the gown is ordered and she has to attend at least 3 fittings, if not more. For a man, one measurement is taken, and then he tries on an outfit that is the same size. In regards to the vest: he is given a group of ¼ vests on a binder ring, and then he picks the one he wants; much like you would pick out a paint color for a room. With that being said, it becomes a little more clear as to why women and men handle wedding appearances differently, and why a company could not profit from renting wedding gowns. Furthermore, for a rental company to enable a bride to make a fashion statement, it would have to carry an enormous inventory of gowns in various sizes --- maybe over 500. If we are going to be honest, each gown would be rented infrequently, for fear that the dress was worn at last week’s wedding. Another disadvantage is that in order to cover its costs, the rental company would have to charge fees in excess of the purchase price of the gown. In that case, it would be cheaper to buy a gown, leading to the simple fact that no one would rent. This would make it nearly impossible for a company to run a successful business renting wedding gowns. In contrast, a rental company that can serve men, who really do not seem to mind wearing the same style tux that many other men wear, can have an inventory of a few styles in various sizes. This makes it a great deal easier to rent to men as opposed to women. Each suit can then be rented multiple times a year, making it acceptable for the company to charge a rental fee. Furthermore, it’s a win win situation. The men renting the outfits save on enourmous expenses, and the rental companies make money, and build a successful business. Men are willing to rent their tux wheras women are not willing to rent their wedding dress. I believe that is what this really comes down to --- what we, as individuals, are willing to do.