A woman received a late invite to a wedding, and with just three days to prepare, she turned to the internet for help.
Percia Verlin (@percish), 30, who works in digital media production in Brooklyn, New York City, was attending four weddings over 30 days, including last-minute guest invitation to a wedding with a "formal" dress code, and she was determined to avoid buying a conventional outfit.
"I hate buying dresses. I find it very difficult, and also wasteful," she said in a video about her sartorial dilemma, in which she showed four dresses she already owned, including the one she wore to her own wedding reception. The video received over 724,000 views and hundreds of comments from viewers weighing in on which was the best options, with many saying none were formal enough for black tie.
Two days later she posted a follow-up video explaining that as she didn't think she had an appropriate dress for the wedding which was three days away, so she decided to try styling a suit she already owned. She showed her selection of ties, discussed rolling sleeves and experimenting with proportions, and considered shoe options including flats, boots, and heeled shoes. The clip received 18,700 likes and 208,000 views.
"Since we have so many weddings in September I was keeping notes so I wouldn't forget, I wrote down 'Formal! Dress: floor length, or jacket and tie. I decided to make some short-form videos about trying to figure out what to wear to all these weddings," Verlin told Newsweek.
Verlin told viewers the suit needed some tailoring, and she hadn't previously worn it with a tie. With advice from friends in real life and TikTok users, she found a formal dress shirt, silk cufflinks, and a silver tie pin, all from a thrift store for $26.
TikTok users weighed in with style advice.
"The pink, black, and cream abstract tie is the best. The rest are too prep school," said Jacques.
"Pink abstract tie and heels would be so cute. Also the sleeve rolled with the white sleeve peeking out is perfect," added another user.
"What about a silk under shirt and tuck in the neck," suggested Daniela Rodriguez.
"Do the heels!! try the pink tie, also i like the rolled sleeves but worry that it makes the suit less formal," said Maggie.
"Red lip, pointy heel or pop of color heel to pull the color from one of your ties," shared another user.
The final look included Rachel Comey heeled boots, the secondhand Emporio Armani suit, the white dress shirt with French cuffs, silk cufflinks, a silver tie pin, secondhand silver rings, and her grandmother's hand-me-down Peugeot watch.
"The first reaction I got was from my neighbor. My husband and I walked out of the house to take the subway to the wedding and he yelled, 'Are ya'll the CIA?' It didn't help that I was holding a briefcase-esque black leather bag so I could bring a pair of sneakers for the trip home," Verlin added.
While she received a lot of suggestions on how to make the suit appear more feminine, she emphasized that wasn't her goal.
"I certainly do like playing with both masculine and feminine pieces in a single outfit, but I wasn't thrilled with the amount of suggestions or the tenor," she said.
Overall, she said, the reaction was positive. The brides themselves were pleased, noting that the couple appreciated Verlin's outfit choice and attention to the dress code—especially as the wedding colors were pink and green, which matched Verlin's tie and her husband's suit.
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