So, you’re finally getting hitched. Congratulations!

You are without a doubt thrilled beyond belief and want everything about your wedding to be perfect.

But, let’s be honest: You don’t really want to throw a lot of money down for a tuxedo that you are only going to wear once.

I mean, think of everything else you could buy with that money. It could go towards your honeymoon, a fancy dinner, or tickets to a basketball game.

You could always rent a tux from a store, but that process can be a pain. You have to wait around, go to the store multiple times, and when you go to pick it up the day before your wedding, there’s a chance it might not fit properly.

Luckily, there are other options. If you’ve heard of online rental services like Rent the Runway for formal dresses, the same thing exists for tuxedos.

One in particular, is called Generation Tux. They advertise modern, affordable and convenient suit and tuxedo rentals for any formal occasion. We’re going to take a closer look at this service to see if it’s worthy of your special day.

What is Generation Tux and How Does it Work?

Like we said, Generation Tux is an online tuxedo rental service founded by George Zimmer, the former CEO of Men’s Warehouse (you know, the “You’re gonna like the way you look. I guarantee it” guy), with the mission of providing, affordable, fashion-forward tuxedos to make sure you look great on your wedding day. Generation Tux actually offers formal wear for any occasion, but we’ll focus on its wedding service.

Zimmer has been working in the tuxedo rental industry for a while, but this newest venture aims to bring the tuxedo rental experience into the digital age. It’s fast, easy and high-tech.

The process is quite easy, as a matter of fact. Simply browse the site to find the style you like, complete your “Fit Profile” by answering questions about your height, weight, shoe and jean size, and then check out. Orders typically arrive via UPS about 14 days before your wedding date, but you can always keep an eye on your order status on your account’s rental dashboard. Generation Tux will also send automatic e-mail updates to you and anyone else in your rental group.

For wedding customers, Generation Tux offers a free, 48-hour home try-on program so you can determine if you want to use the service for your tuxedo rental and to avoid potential fit issues as your wedding day approaches. But if there are still issues once your official suit arrives, they will send you free replacement garments. Once your wedding is over, you have three days to return your suit using the prepaid return-shipping label included with your order. That’s it.

All of the suits are designed and manufactured in-house for their exclusive brand Seven-26 – basically because Generation Tux wants to be in complete control of the quality of their garments. The company only uses 100% premium 130s-140s wool, satin-faced lapels, and bespoke lining to craft its tuxedos. This route leads to flattering, natural fits that poly-wool blends are unable to achieve. You can also rent individual items from the site with the exception of jackets and pants, which are only available as a matched set.

Plus, there are a variety of fabrics and colors – of which you can avail of free swatches – to make sure everything coordinates with your wedding theme. You can design a unique look to fit your wedding using the GenTux Style Studio, which allows you to mix and match hundreds of items.

As we mentioned before, Generation Tux requests that you complete a Fit Profile to ensure you get the size you need. Using the information you provide, the company’s eTailor fit technology will figure out what is right for you. Once you’ve submitted an order, you can still make changes to your Fit Profile by logging into your account. However, if you need to make changes less than 16 days before your wedding, you will have to contact Generation Tux directly.

Suits are available in sizes 3T through men’s 66L for most styles, and slim fit styles are available in up to 46XL for jackets and vests, and 40-inch waist for pants. All pants are also designed with a hidden adjustable, Flex Fit waistband that can expand up to one inch on either side. Similarly, you can adjust your shirt collar using the same Flex Fit technology. The pants on their tuxedos do not have belt loops and only accommodate clip-on suspenders.

You can use Generation Tux to arrange suits for all your groomsmen, as well. When you first create your account, just choose “Wedding” for the event type, create wardrobe profiles for everyone in your party, add their contact info, and then invite them. From there, each groomsman can create his own account and fill in a Fit Profile. And if there are six or more people renting, then the groom rents free! It’s a pretty sweet deal.

Pricing

The cost to rent a complete suit starts at $139. For individual items, there is a flat rental rate for each category. Ties are $10, jacket and pant sets start at $79, and all shirts, shoes and vests are $20. Generation Tux also includes free socks, cufflinks, and stud sets with every outfit rental.

As for payment, Generation Tux does not collect any deposit fees but payment is due at the time of check out. If you are renting tuxedos for a group (i.e. all your groomsmen), you can pay all at once as the group organizer. Shipping is free with a minimum order of one tuxedo or suit, and the only time GenTux will charge rush fees is if you report fit concerns beyond the 48-hour period and need expedited replacements. A $25 late fee is also charged for each day that you keep the rental beyond the three-day return window.

How Does Generation Tux Compare to its Competitors?

Generation Tux is by no means a unique service. There are plenty of similar online tuxedo rental companies you can turn to for the perfect wedding outfit.

Some of these companies include The Black Tux and Menguin. At first glance, all of these online tuxedo rental services seem incredibly comparable. The overall ordering processes are more or less the same, they use algorithms to help you find the best fit, and offer home try-on with free exchanges to ensure you walk down the aisle in the best fitting suit possible.

However, just from browsing these three different websites for just a few minutes, we are far more impressed with Generation Tux and The Black Tux. Though Menguin’s service is similar, their website feels far less thorough, which makes us a bit hesitant right off the bat. The level of information provided by both Generation Tux and The Black Tux makes you feel confident that you will end up with a well-fitting tuxedo, and that you will have excellent service and control along the way.

Menguin offers 20 different suit styles to choose from, but it is not clear if you are renting the complete look or just the jacket and pants. They do not explicitly advertise their fabric choices like the other two sites do. But after clicking on a few, many of them use 100% Super 130s or 140s wool. The Black Tux and Generation Tux, however, explicitly state the fabrics that they use which gives us a bit more confidence in the quality of their tuxedos.

The Black Tux offers 29 complete outfits for rental that start at $150 – but they all cost more than $150. It is definitely the most expensive out of all of them with complete outfit prices as high as $225. However, it does seem like all of the accessories with each complete outfit are made with equally high-quality materials. For example, the Baltic outfit from The Black Tux includes a satin bow tie, a cotton shirt, a linen pocket square, patent leather shoes with a wood sole, suspenders, and silver pearl studs and cufflinks. So, admittedly, you are getting a lot for your money.

Similarly, all prices listed on Menguin are “starting at” prices and they vary depending on which suit style you choose. The final price depends on how you customize your look, but you cannot browse the customization costs without creating an event for your rental. So, it’s difficult to say how much you will actually end up spending. It certainly lacks the transparency that we see with the Black Tux, where you know exactly what you will pay before you sign up.

If you remember from above, Generation Tux advertises that you can find complete look rentals starting at $139. So, right off the bat, it’s less expensive than The Black Tux. There are potential customization costs, but Generation Tux has advertised in the press that they will not bring you above $150. If you don’t plan on customizing, expect to pay that $139.

That lower cost point is reflected in the materials Generation Tux uses for their accessories. The majority of the ties are polyester, perhaps with satin finishes. However there are a handful of silk ties available, which is perhaps where the customization costs come in and bump your overall total. Many of their pocket squares are also made with polyester, and they only offer a leather shoe in brown – the black ones are made from synthetic leather.

So, though the services of these three companies are overall quite similar, it’s in the small details that you really begin to see the differences between them.

Public Perception

Generation Tux ranks very highly among consumers. We’re talking 5-star ratings on average.

The company was picked for WeddingWire’s 2018 Couple’s Choice Awards, where you will see extremely high ratings for quality of service, responsiveness, professionalism, value, and flexibility. Skim through customer reviews on the site and you will find so many people raving about how well the suit fit right off the bat, and those few who did need different sizes were thrilled at how quickly the replacements arrived. Many users also love how slim-fitting and modern all of the tuxes are.

People also had an overall wonderful customer service experience and were thoroughly impressed at how fast everything arrives once you check out. Some customers ordered their tuxes just two weeks before their weddings, and got them with plenty of time to spare.

Inevitably, there are some customers who were not pleased with their Generation Tux experiences. There have been documented fit issues, people being sent the wrong size, and consequent displeasure when they find out they have to pay extra for expedited shipping to get their proper fit on time. Nevertheless, these negative reviews are few and far in between as evidenced by the extremely high average rating.

What We Think

Three words: go for it.

We think Generation Tux is a great service to use for renting your wedding tuxedo. Based on the thoroughness of their website, the excellent reviews and the convenience it offers, we will definitely recommend the site to all of our family and friends (especially considering the affordability of it all).

After browsing their collection a bit, we are also seriously impressed with how stylish and sleek all of their tuxedos are. Plus, there are a wide variety of styles that will accommodate anyone’s sense of style as well as the look of your wedding.

Admittedly, we were also very impressed with The Black Tux, particularly the quality of their accessories. But, like we said, it’s the most expensive option. So our advice to you is this:

If you want super fine, luxurious accessories for your tuxedo, go with The Black Tux. If you are cool with wearing a polyester tie, then definitely use Generation Tux because the actual suits are just as modern and high quality as The Black Tux’s, at a much lower price point.

Go with Generation Tux and your bride will say, “Who’s that GQ model waiting for me at the altar?”