The great white/ivory tux shirt debate

[split_shank]

Yesterday our bridesmaids dresses came in *yea!* and as one of the consultants was going through some of our info she stopped and said, ''whoa. You have white shirts picked out for your tuxes." Yeah....so? "Your dress is diamond white, you should get ivory so your dress doesnt look ''dirty''". Huh? So out come the swatches and we are holding up white and the ivory up to my dress, and there is no clear winner, other than I don''t really like ivory(because then FI would have to get an Ivory vest and no. Will this even be noticable with the jacket on? If the jackets do come off it will be later in the evening, dark out, and no one is going to be able to tell. The white does make my dress a tiny bit darker, but the ivory is darker than my dress (still with me?) So it comes down to who is going to look a little darker. I didn''t think it mattered a whole lot, and I thought I read somewhere not to do the ivory with diamond white blahblahblah, but just wondering if you guys had any suggestions!!!

 

[Sabine]

The ONLY thing I hate about my dress is that it''s ivory. Now the tux shirts, church bows, table clothes, flower girl dress...everything else is ivory...and all the ivories don''t exactly match...trust me, making FI''s shirt ivory is opening a Pandora''s box that you DON"T want to do!!!! Diamond white is hard to match, I say, go with everything else in white and look smashing standing out a bit yourself!

 

[zoebartlett]

Can you post a picture of your dress and maybe the shirt you''re talking about? I''ll tell you what we did. It''s not quite your situation but I''ll share anway. My dress is ivory with champagne accents. We first ordered white shirts for the tuxes but then we were told that ivory shirts would look better. They said that the white shirts would look dingy next to my dress. So now our guys are wearing ivory shirts, vests (with a small pattern), and ties.

As for whether the vest is noticeable under the jacket, I''d say it depends. It might depend on how many buttons the tux has and how it''s cut.

 

[split_shank]

This one gives you an idea of how lighting really makes the dress look different. In the mirror, with weird lighting, it looks a little more ivory. Get anywhere near a camera and it is very white. To complicate things a little further, the 3-edged bottom and the satin band across the bodice is in a cafe. The ivory is between the two, making an ivory tux and the dress 3 different colors. I don''t have a picture of the shirt colors. The tux covers alot, so you would only be able to see right on the sides of the tie and the collar. It would be more noticable obviously if the jackets were off.

 

[split_shank]

The front, with a bridesmaid dress. The bridesmaids dress has a white (actually the name is ivory, but lets not go there right now!) sash that goes around and drapes in the back. I think the ivory shirts would actually clash more with the bridesmaids dresses than with my situation.

 

[Fancy605]

We had the same debate, and I honestly can''t even remember what color shirts we ended up with. I think they were white because the ivory''s may have been too yellow or something. Either way no one even noticed at all, and I have not noticed as I look through our pictures at all (which is very unlike me because I am big on color). I really think it will be fine to just go with white. It''s such a small area on your FI''s outfit that will be exposed that no one will be able to tell.

 

[Haven]

I always prefer white, but it really comes down to personal preference.

 

[karasue91]

I say go with white everything, especially since your dress photographs more white than ivory. A white shirt with a tux is always classic, I kind of think that an ivory shirt would look dirty, not your dress next to the white.

 

[split_shank]

You are all thinking the same as my original thought. I will feel more conifident going in there and saying, no thanks, staying with the white. Thanks everyone for the opinions!!

 

[sumbride]

Go with white! We did and my dress was champagne. The ivory shirts at my tux place just looked dirty. It wasn''t a look I liked. Your dress is the color you wanted it to be, so it won''t look bad in comparison to the shirts... and really, the part of the shirts that are visible are so small it won''t even matter in the long run! White is just easier.

 

[SarahLovesJS]

Date: 3/29/2008 9:59:47 AM
Author: Sabine
The ONLY thing I hate about my dress is that it's ivory. Now the tux shirts, church bows, table clothes, flower girl dress...everything else is ivory...and all the ivories don't exactly match...trust me, making FI's shirt ivory is opening a Pandora's box that you DON'T want to do!!!! Diamond white is hard to match, I say, go with everything else in white and look smashing standing out a bit yourself!

Ditto! My dress is kind of a diamond white, also.

ETA: Your dress is beautiful, by the way!

 

[basil]

My dress is a fairly dark ivory with a champagne colored underlay. So it''s not white at all. Originally, I wanted to get ivory tux shirts, and to have fiance wear an ivory tie/vest. But since fiance bought a tux, it''s been so difficult to find an appropriate ivory things! So I think we''re probably just going to go with white.

 

[Courtneylub]

I''m going through the same thing. My dress is diamond white with champagne accents and I still think I want him to wear an ivory shirt. I guess I know for sure once we go to the tux shop.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

my dress was a very light ivory and thought that a light shade of ivory for tux shirts would be ideal. I can promise you that in pictures there is no difference at all, white looks the same as a light ivory. My vote is to just do whatever is easiest for you.

 

[cara]

Please please please order white shirts for the men.

We bought my husband''s tux and ordered several ivory shirts online for him and they were all yellow - much more yellow than my dress. Same with the shirts at the tux rental place. Yes my dress was ivory, but it didn''t look dirty next to their white shirts. Especially as their shirts were generally right next to their black tuxes, the contrast with the tux was more pronounced. Given the picture of your dress and the fact that it is "diamond white" it will be much whiter than most ivory shirts. Plus there is more selection in the white shirts.