Looks worth considering

For: Nigerian wedding, as a guest who does not want to outshine the groom

Deep chocolate rather than the usual navy or white-and-gold, with tonal embroidery only. It reads ceremonial from ten feet and quiet from three — which is exactly what a guest should want.

Shorter frames should cut the sleeve drop higher; a full-length agbada on a compact build swallows the shoulder line.

For: Owambe / traditional engagement where you are part of the celebration

Rust is the colour I would take to an owambe before any of the obvious ones. It holds warmth under British light and it does not compete with the family cloth.

Tall frames can take the full sleeve drop; anything under 5'9" should fold it higher.

For: The white wedding or the church service, as close family

Aubergine sits between ceremonial and discreet. Worn among a family in cream and gold, it is the one that holds the photograph together without taking it over.

Long, lean frames should keep the tunic long so the robe does not float.

For: Naming ceremony / traditional engagement / Sunday of a wedding weekend

Olive with a worked chest panel is the most useful agbada I know for daytime. It photographs beautifully in flat British light, which gold and white simply do not.

Indicative UK market range: £550–£1,000

Compact frames should raise the sleeve fold and keep the panel narrow.

For: Owambe / Sunday best / an evening where navy would be lazy

A senator suit is the most reliable thing a Nigerian man can own in Britain. In terracotta it stops being a uniform and starts being a choice.

Indicative UK market range: £350–£700

Full-figured builds should take the trouser slightly straighter — a tapered leg exaggerates the top half.

For: Daytime wedding / church / a lunch where you want to be the best-dressed man

Olive is the colour I recommend most often to men who think they only suit navy. Cut without padding, it flatters a heavy chest more honestly than any suit will.

Indicative UK market range: £400–£800

Broad builds: no padding, deep vents, and the shape comes entirely from the cut.

For: Evening wedding / traditional engagement / any room with a receiving line

A long kaftan over a matching trouser is the most under-used silhouette available to tall men. Nothing else gives you that much line for that little money.

Under 5'9" the tunic must come up to mid-thigh, or the leg disappears entirely.

For: Daytime wedding / naming ceremony / summer owambe

Stone is the daytime alternative to white, and it is far kinder in photographs. Cut short in the body and high in the rise, it adds height to almost anyone.

Indicative UK market range: £380–£720

Compact builds get the most from this: short body, high rise, no break.

For: Any occasion where you want to be correct and comfortable at once

Navy is the default, and defaults are only boring when they are badly cut. Straight through the body with no waist suppression, this is the most comfortable formal thing you can own.

Indicative UK market range: £400–£850

Full-figured builds: straight body, no waist seam, and a straight trouser.

For: Evening owambe / milestone birthday / late dinner

Burgundy is the colour to reach for when black would be predictable and rust too warm. The long body over a tapered trouser is the most flattering evening shape I know.

Indicative UK market range: £320–£650

Broad builds should keep the armhole deep and the body straight.

For: Sunday best / naming ceremony / a christening you are standing up in

White is unforgiving and worth it. Unlined, in a dry cotton, with the trouser cut straight — it is the one thing that makes a Sunday morning look considered rather than dutiful.

Indicative UK market range: £250–£520

Keep everything one tone; a contrast trouser halves your height in white.

For: Owambe / traditional engagement / naming ceremony

The best value in occasion dressing. A well-cut kaftan with restrained embroidery does more for you than an over-worked agbada at three times the money.

Tall frames should lengthen the body rather than widening the sleeve — otherwise it reads like a borrowed piece.

For: Evening wedding / milestone birthday / premium party

Relaxed enough to feel contemporary, but the tonal handwork gives it enough presence for a room where everybody has made an effort. Black on black is the safest way to be the most interesting man there.

On a broad frame, keep the coat open and unstructured through the chest — the length does the work, not the shoulder.

For: Premium party / milestone birthday / late supper

The most modern thing on this page. Volume in the trouser, restraint everywhere else — it works because nothing else is competing for attention.

Indicative UK market range: £400–£700

Broad or muscular builds get the most from this: the trouser volume balances the upper body.

For: Second outfit at a wedding / garden reception / destination event

The change of outfit most men skip. Ivory after a heavy first look resets the whole evening, and it is the rare occasion piece you will wear again outside the occasion.

Indicative UK market range: £450–£800

Full-figured builds should avoid a fully open shirt front here — a half-placket keeps the eye vertical.

For: Daytime wedding / summer occasion / a lunch that runs into the evening

The suit I would buy first if I had to start again. Stone linen with a soft shoulder works from a church at noon to a marquee at nine, and it never looks like a work suit.

Tall, lean frames should take the jacket slightly longer and the trouser fuller.

For: Garden wedding / summer reception / a party that starts in daylight

Cream tailoring is a nerve test and it passes every time. Kept unlined, with a shirt worn open, it looks generous rather than formal — which is what a garden asks for.

Indicative UK market range: £550–£1,000

Broad builds should keep it entirely unstructured and leave the jacket open.

For: Owambe / afternoon reception / a 40th where you want colour

Strong shoulders, clean pockets, colour that photographs beautifully in British light. The most useful entry point if you want presence without commissioning bespoke.

Tall and lean? Ask for a slightly longer jacket and a wider trouser — the standard cut can look boyish on height.

For: Black tie / gala / awards dinner

Midnight blue reads blacker than black under photographers' lights. If you own one Western evening piece, this is the one worth spending on — it will outlive three trend cycles.

Muscular through the chest? A one-button front and a lower gorge stop the jacket looking strained.

For: Black tie in a grand room / winter gala

A shawl collar is softer on the face than a peak and easier on a heavy neck. In matte black barathea under chandeliers, it is as correct as evening dress gets.

Broad builds: take the lapel out toward the shoulder and close one button only.

For: Summer black tie / destination gala / a terrace after dark

Ivory over black trousers is the one liberty black tie allows, and it is worth taking once. Mid-weight mohair holds its shape outdoors when linen collapses.

Indicative UK market range: £800–£1,500

Keep the shoulder natural — ivory shows every ounce of padding.

For: Black tie where you are allowed to be interesting

Brown evening tailoring is still rare enough to register and old enough to be correct. Keep the shirt and shoes disciplined and nobody reads it as a costume.

Indicative UK market range: £750–£1,300

On a shorter build, keep the lapel medium width — a wide shawl shortens the torso further.

For: Aso-ebi at a wedding, traditional engagement or naming ceremony

When the family has chosen the cloth, the only thing left to decide is the cut — and that is where most men lose. I had this made as a straight top and a plain-front trouser in the same champagne lace, no shoulder structure, no extra panelling. It sits with the group and still looks like it was made for one person.

Ask for the top hemmed to the group standard, then adjust the length for your own frame rather than the photograph in the family group chat.

For: Aso-ebi where the family standard is a full robe

When the group cloth is a pale lace and the standard is a full robe, the only decisions left are the sleeve drop and the hem. Get those right and you look separate from the group without leaving it.

Under 5'9" the sleeve fold has to come higher than the tailor will suggest.

For: Aso-ebi in a heavier cloth / winter family celebration

Damask is the cloth families choose when lace feels too delicate, and it is much kinder to a fuller frame. Straight top, no waist seam, one tone through to the trouser.

Indicative UK market range: £300–£650 to make up, cloth excluded

Full-figured builds: no waist seam, side slits, and one tone top to trouser.

For: Aso-ebi where you want a two-piece rather than a robe

The version I would choose when the family cloth is strong and the room is warm. A senator cut from the group cloth reads as part of the set from across the hall and as tailoring up close.

Indicative UK market range: £280–£600 to make up, cloth excluded

Broad builds: no padding, and keep the button stance clean down the centre.

For: Rehearsal dinner / after-party / the day after the wedding

Nobody plans the second night, and everybody needs it. Separates in one tone, good shoes, no embellishment. This is the look that makes the whole weekend feel considered.

Indicative UK market range: £300–£600

Shorter builds: keep the jacket short and the trouser rise high. The proportion matters more than the cloth here.

For: Destination reception / warm-weather second look / a terrace at golden hour

A cream linen shirt and a full brown trouser is the least effortful thing in the catalogue and one of the strongest. It only works if the trouser is properly cut.

Indicative UK market range: £220–£480

Full-figured builds should keep the shirt untucked and the trouser straight.

For: Reception after a ceremonial first look / late supper / a party indoors

An unstructured ivory jacket over a black trouser is the fastest change of register there is. It reads evening without asking you to wear evening dress.

Indicative UK market range: £350–£700

Tall frames should keep the jacket long and the trouser clean at the shoe.

For: Daytime reception / rehearsal dinner / the second day of a wedding weekend

An overshirt in a good cloth over a full cream trouser is the most useful thing in the catalogue for a man who has one occasion and three days around it.

Indicative UK market range: £200–£450

Compact builds should keep the overshirt short and the trouser high.

For: The white wedding or the church service, as the groom or close family

Ivory on ivory, with the embroidery worked in the same tone as the cloth. It is the hardest colour to wear well and the most convincing when the cut is right.

Broad frames need soft cloth and a narrow worked panel, or ivory widens the chest.

For: An evening reception or a wedding where the ceremony ran into the night

Navy so deep it reads black under lamplight, with the beadwork held to a vertical placket. The most useful evening robe I know for a man who does not want colour.

Indicative UK market range: £700–£1,300

Tall frames carry this best; compact frames should raise the hem and the sleeve fold.

For: A church wedding, a christening, or any daytime service in Britain

Charcoal flannel with a waistcoat is the most useful thing in a British wardrobe. It survives a cold church, a long photograph line and a lunch, and it never looks like a hire suit.

Indicative UK market range: £1,100–£2,200

Compact frames should shorten the jacket slightly and keep the waistcoat high.

For: A garden wedding, a naming ceremony, or the day after the main event

A belted safari jacket in olive gives you a jacket without a suit's formality. It is the most photographed thing I own at daytime events, and the belt is what makes it work.

Indicative UK market range: £650–£1,200

Full-figured frames should leave the belt off and wear it straight.

For: Black tie — an awards dinner, a gala, a winter wedding after seven

Midnight blue reads blacker than black under chandeliers, and a silk-faced peak lapel is the one detail worth paying for. This is the correct answer to a black-tie invitation.

Indicative UK market range: £1,400–£2,800

Broad frames want the peak lapel wide and the shoulder left unpadded.

For: Black tie in summer — an outdoor dinner, a destination wedding after dark

An ivory jacket over black trousers is the only real variation black tie allows, and it is for warm evenings only. Matte cloth, shawl collar, and nothing in the buttonhole.

Full-figured frames should keep the quarters open and the lapel narrow.

For: Family aso-ebi where the cloth is hand-woven and chosen for you

Hand-woven indigo aso-oke cut as a plain buba and sokoto. When the family cloth is this good, the tailor's job is to stay out of the way — no embroidery, no shine.

Indicative UK market range: £450–£950 for the making

Broad frames need the side slits cut deep and the sleeve stopped at the elbow.

For: Evening aso-ebi at an owambe or a traditional engagement

Deep forest damask with the beadwork held to the neck placket. Damask under evening light is where most aso-ebi goes wrong — this tone absorbs the shine instead of throwing it back.

Indicative UK market range: £500–£1,100 for the making

Full-figured frames should keep the sleeve wide and the body straight.

For: The reception, the garden drinks, or the day-after brunch

A camp-collar shirt and a wide linen trouser in the same oat tone. It photographs as a considered outfit rather than separates, and it survives four hours of a marquee.

Indicative UK market range: £320–£700

Compact frames should tuck the shirt and raise the trouser rise.

For: The evening reception, after the ceremonial change

A short silk-cotton kaftan in terracotta, cut with deep side slits and worn with sandals. It is the most comfortable thing you can wear to an evening reception and still look deliberate.

Indicative UK market range: £400–£900

Broad frames should keep the shoulder clean and the slits deep.