Looking for "Formal Wear" for a 3 Year Old Boy.

How formal is this wedding? A children's second hand store would have suits and suit jackets as these never wear out since kids grow out of them before having to wear them again. My son is a giant - and always has been. He was a ring bearer in his cousin's wedding and we had to rent a tux. It was $100 but came with shoes. My niece offered that he could wear a suit - but we knew he's have no need to wear it again so we just rented it. In the month between the fitting & the wedding he grew and the tux barely fit him!

For my other niece's wedding he wore dress slacks, a nice collared shirt and tie - no jacket. It was pretty formal - at a catering place. But it was in the the Summer and I knew most men would have their jackets off within 10 minutes. So I decied not to spend $100 for 10 minutes.

He's now 13 yrs old and 6'2" and my mom is in hospice now so we are planning her memorial service and again, I don't think I'm going to get a jacket for him since I know he'll never wear it again. Even shoes - ! Maybe I'll call the mens shop that we rented the tux from...

Try Once Upon a Child or other resale shop. Items like these are barely used so you can get a deal and they are in good condition. I agree with Patty though, be careful not too go too overboard or you will have a miserable 3 year old.

http://www.kidsformal.com/

Or try Sears or JC Penny's or Macy's

Or try a thrift store. Sometimes you can find barely used items there for a fraction of the cost. Kid wore it once and they gave it away after the event.

If you want formal, google "boys eton suit". They come in all sorts of colors and fabrics. If it is for a summer wedding the shorts (instead of long pants) suits would be great.

I love the look of Seersucker suits on little boys in the summertime. You can get one with pants, or with shorts, and they just look so cute.

I'd check Sears or Macy's for kids' formal wear.

http://www.sears.com/clothing-boys-suits-dresswear&5/...

Children's Place has blazers that are reasonable and pretty well-made. You could also check Sears and JCPenney. They usually had toddler "suits" as well!

At that age, you could go with dark slacks, white button down with a tie and either a sweater vest or long-sleeved sweater (depending on weather). Add dark shoes and you're all set.

My boys got their dress pants, shirts, and ties from Kohl's for my sister's wedding in November. Great quality and very affordable.

We also got them button down shirts and sweater vests from there for family pictures the year before. Also a formal look and it was great.

Not sure how much time you have, but this link might help.. we have used it several times.

http://www.butterflyxc.com/

Ross, that is where I got my sons suit for easter. it was $8.00.

Hope this helps.

I agree with Seersucker! So adorable.

Don't forget about eBay. You can get a great bargain.

For a 3 year old. Navy blazer, shirt and khaki pants. He will be at least somewhat comfortable. Anything more formal than that, will be a disaster.
Very uncomfortable.

I have always had good luck at JC Pennys for this kind of stuff.

I always have good luck at Burlington Coat Factory

Unless he's actually IN the wedding, I really don't think anyone will care all that much! It seems like a lot to invest for something he will likely wear just once and then outgrow. Most people don't even invite small children to weddings since the kids don't appreciate or enjoy it, so there's not going to be a huge expectation that he will be "formal", is there? Unless this is close family and there's an expectation that he will be in the photographs.

I would think a blazer with a pair of khaki pants and a little clip-on tie would make him look adorable. He'll probably not want to keep the tie on all the time, so try to be flexible and just have him wear it while arriving at the wedding and for any photos. I wouldn't worry about whether something is extremely well made - it's not going to get a lot of wearings.

The other thing is to try to borrow from a friend (who probably also faced the same issue - buy it and then do what with it?), or try some consignment or thrift shops, which are often full of similar one-time purchases.

Another option would be a nice sweater vest (depending on the weather at the time of the wedding) or a regular vest made out of suit fabric.

You can also rent these things at any tuxedo rental place - might not be cheaper than buying something for a one-time use, but look into it. Lots of weddings feature ring bearers who wear some sort of formal outfit. You might also get some ideas for something you can purchase on your own.

We found regular black slacks and a button down shirt at Target then ordered online a bow-tie suspender set in red for my son for my sil wedding (he was ring bearer). He was adorable and comfortable. He never would have kept a jacket on so we didn't even try, it was a summer wedding.

Burlington Coat Factory.

I'd dress him for comfort and know that basically anything you put him in will be fine. I'd go with dark slacks and a dress shirt and tie. While a blazer or vest would look cute you want to make sure he's comfortable. Try consignment shopping or ebay because you can usually pick up cute stuff that was worn once or twice before it was outgrown.

All good suggestions.. You can also rent suits at Tuxedo shops.

http://suitmart.com/home.php?cat=264

http://suitmart.com/home.php?cat=298

If you're looking for true formal wear go to a bridal shop and see if they have any rentals for sale. They often sell last years tuxedo's and suits for pennies on the dollar when they get new styles.

We bought all the tuxedo's for our wedding for about $30 each, both pants and jackets....then rented the cumberbuns and ties.

I have several suits from places like Penney's or some other sort of nicer store and now a tuxedo that I bought at resale shop.

I got my son his jacket for being a ring bearer in my friends wedding at Penny's. I had to have a black one and the only thing I could find in other places were navy or pinstripped.
I found navy and pin stripped at Kohls.