We just found out last night that my husband is going to be a pallbearer at a funeral tomorrow. My husband works in scrubs everyday and we have never invested in a suit for him. We knew about the funeral but just thought we would be in the crowd...he has slacks, shirt, and tie and just planned on wearing his black wool coat over it.
Now that he is a pallbearer, I feel like he really needs to wear a suit. The problem is, I don't think it is even possible to buy a suit for tomorrow...don't they usually have to be tailored?
I got desperate last night and went to target to look at those suits, but they all look pretty cheap and he happens to be just in between the pant sizes, one too tight, the next too loose.
Can he pull off a sport coat with pants? I thought a black blazer and try to match the pants as best I can? What should I do? I can't even start shopping until after work today and the funeral is tomorrow morning.
This is just one person's opinion, but I think that a poorly-fitting suit is your best option at this point. I just don't think that a sport coat or blazer fits the occasion. Either buy something cheap like the one at Target for one-time use or buy something nicer in wool from a department store with the intention to tailor it after the funeral.
A tailor may be able to do a quick, temporary fix on a suit to make it fit slightly better. My husband bought a suit the day of my uncle's funeral a couple years ago and the tailor at the shop quickly fitted him and pinned the pants and sleeves so he could wear it that day, then my husband took it back later for proper tailoring.
I really think a suit is a must for this occassion. You might just get lucky and find one that fits pretty well. I think the idea of taking it to a tailor to pin is a good idea, too.
I think a suit is most appropriate but I do think he can get by with a black blazer and some black pants.
As a side rant... I recently went to a funeral and could not believe that several people actually wore jeans!!! At least they wore black tops. I just am amazed at what people deem acceptable attire.
okay, i guess i am against the grain, and it really depends on how formal your city/family is but my brother has been a pall bearer in two funerals and just wore a sportcoat (actually i'm not even certain he did for the second one).
I'm with Erin, actually. Dress pants and a sportcoat, shirt and tie would probably be fine. I'd rather see that than an ill-fitting cheap suit, which would be obvious. If the pants and jacket are dark (like gray pants, black sportcoat) he should be fine.
Funerals are usually so last-minute that I find people usually are fairly uncritical. (I agree that jeans probably aren't appropriate, which is an example of why people need more than just jeans in their closet. I sense the people wearing jeans to a funeral would also be wearing jeans to a good restaurant, a theater, and so on.)