The Black Tux offers stylish suit and tuxedo rentals—is the service worth it?
Credit: Reviewed / The Black Tux / Leslie Kay Lim
Written by Anthony Palliparambil, Jr., style editor, lifelong shopping enthusiast, fashion scholar, and educator.
Updated March 26, 2024
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Whether you're getting prom ready or planning your fit for the next wedding you're attending, buying a suit can be a challenge. Unlike the rest of your wardrobe, buying a suit sometimes requires knowledge of a slew of different measurements to get the fit just right. Moreover, if you have multiple weddings to attend in one season, you may not want to wear the same suit to each event. Thankfully, the ill-fitting suit rentals of yesteryear are a thing of the past. The Black Tux is an upscale suit rental service that doesn't just have an impressive array of suiting options, but also takes a lot of the guesswork out of the suit rental process.
This medium blue suit was timeless and classic, without feeling dated. Most importantly, it fit like a glove.
at The Black TuxRecently, as I prepared to attend an out-of-town wedding, I gave The Black Tux a test drive. The brand offered to let me wear their Royal Blue Suit, which you can rent from $149, or purchase for $375.
The Black Tux makes it easy to rent a tuxedo or suit for your next big event.
The Black Tux was founded in 2013 by Patrick Coyne and Andrew Blackmon. After less-than-stellar experiences renting suits for Blackmon's wedding, the pair set out to provide an alternative to the traditional tuxedo rental process. The company makes it easy to shop for your next rental from the comfort of your home, offering a Fit Survey and detailed instructions on how to take your own measurements for an accurate fit. If you prefer to get fitted in person, The Black Tux has its own storefront in Brooklyn, NY, and has also partnered with Nordstrom to offer an in-person showroom experience at 26 locations around the country.
Suit and tuxedo rentals from The Black Tux start at $149, and prices go up when you add on elements such as shoes, dress shirts, vests, cufflinks, ties, and other accessories. Rentals are delivered up to one week before the date of your event and can be exchanged within 48 hours of receipt. After your event, you can slap the included shipping label on the box and take the package to any UPS drop-off location for easy returns.
The Black Tux makes it easy to rent a suit, and the delivery fits right into standard-size suitcases for travel.
Since I had easy access to their Brooklyn showroom, I popped into the shop three weeks before the wedding. There, they took quick measurements of my chest, arm length, and outseam and then brought out a sample tuxedo for me to try on. After pinning the sample into place so it would fit my body properly, I was given time to look through their many options to select the suit I wanted to wear. Since I just needed a suit and would complete the outfit with my own shoes, tie, and shirt, it was quick and painless. All-in-all, I spent about 20 minutes in the shop.
The suit was delivered to my apartment a week before my event, and thankfully it fit as I had hoped it would—though you have 48 hours from delivery to make any exchanges if the fit isn't right. The suit arrives in a black garment bag, carefully packed into a slim cardboard box that is necessary for the return. Since the wedding I attended was across the country, I'd worried that this would be an issue for the flight, but thankfully the box fit snugly into my checked luggage.
