Issue 31

Could I make up my mind? Could I hell. First I was set on tails. But then we/she vetoed the whole hymns and Bible thing so out went the option of a morning suit. Black tie then. Black tie always looks smart, great in photos. No, black tie is for charity dinners – eveningwear, clue’s in the name. Keep it simple. Business suit. Yeah. Grey. No. Washes you out. Blue. Has to be. Dark blue. Navy. Yeah. Sorted. Bit boring? Hmm, yeah, maybe. How about double-breasted? Oooo, now we’re talking. Double-breasted could be cool. Old school. Proper. Done. How you gonna dance? Good point. Great point. Carrying a bit more timber now, too. Might split. Christ. By this point she’d already sorted her dress, the flowers and the bridesmaids.

I ended up getting married in a three-piece tux, with exaggerated shawl lapels and a deep-cut U-shaped waistcoat, a piqué bib-front shirt (I bought a ruffle-fronted one but bottled it last minute), and a slightly too-big-looking-back hand-tied bow-tie. The lady in the shop had tied it for me and, for fear of not being able to re-tie the thing, I left it tied until the night of the wedding, when we both passed out.

I loved working out what to wear for our wedding. More so than my wife (no surprise there). Not as much as my Dad (no surprise there). Trudging down Savile Row with the old man felt like a rite of passage. I’ve tried to share the tips imparted to us by the great and good of the street that day in this issue’s Wedding Supplement. (NB. I went high street in the end; Dad looked far better in his Ede & Ravenscroft). If you happen to be planning your own big day, we asked the UK’s leading wedding planner and London’s top dress designers to proffer some advice. We hope they can help.

If you’re not getting married, are married, or have no interest in ever getting married, fear not, this issue is packed full of plenty of other stuff too. People like Bridgerton’s Luke Thompson, who’s about to bring Hanya Yanagihara’s A Little Life to the stage; Downtown Abbey’s Hugh Bonneville, who’s just written a memoir; and America’s Michael Kors, who’s not been off the runway for 20 years. Plus, there are places like 7Pines Ibiza, which is attracting a new type of punter to the White Isle; St. Lucia, where two visionary hoteliers have transformed accommodation on the Caribbean island; and an exploration of that most maligned and misrepresented of Italian cities, Naples.

Also: private islands, nice yachts, fast cars, restaurants you’ll want to book, plays you’ll want to see and exhibitions you won’t want to miss.

Enjoy the issue. Good luck with the wedding. Bring on the summer.

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