Looking more professional, a fashion thread

[The DaveR]

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I find pleats comfortable. They expand when one sits. Wearing one over the other is generally just a style preference unless you wear suspenders. Trousers with suspenders typically get a slew of design changes (higher, split back, higher rise) to look their best and one of those changes are deep pleats. Also, the "Ivy League" look is actually post WWII. You really should leave J Press behind. Their jackets are drab and shapeless and terribly, terribly dated.

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I actually like their three button suit where the lapel is pressed over. And although you may find J Press dated I am only a 21 year old, and as much as I would love a bespoke suit, it may be a few years. I am a better formal dresser than anyone else I know a this age. Assuming I am going to be buying 2-3 more suits in the next year, what would you recommend in the J. Press and Brooks Brothers price range. The thing is that I can get a pretty sharp (I don't care about fashionable at all, just something that will always look good) Super 120's suit for $600. I can get the same from Brooks on sale. What else should I be looking at in that price range?

I will probably get some custom shirts from Brooks, but I don't know about suits yet. I am a 46 XL who needs 38 or 40 at most waist trousers and a 17.5/36 shirt, so I am pretty difficult to be fitted. For instance I first looked at a Brooks Super 120's blazer, but it just did not fit my frame right whereas the J Press fit great.

So in lieu of the fact I will be in the market for a charcoal, and a navy pinstripe suit for sure, what would you reccomend?

Also, I currently have Alden's maroon/cordovan color loafers and blakc captoed lace ups. I will probably get a pair of loafers in black and captoad maroons. Anything else I should consider? Brands other than Aldens in the $350 a pair range?

Obviously this will all be necessary for the boardroom.

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This is a huge topic.

First, 3 button jackets with a long lapel roll are not hard to find. Italians are quite fond of them and I just bought a sportcoat made in Naples with that configuration. J Press just happens to use that as their standard model. Second, you're going to expand 2 pants sizes in the next 3-5 years. That's just life, so the problem you have with the drop in most suits (drop is the diff b/w the chest and waist in a suit) is going away. Third, don't be enamored with labels for Supers. The number refers to the width of an individual fiber and that's it. It tells you nothing about weave density, weave construction, or any number of other things that affect how the garment drapes, wears, and resists wrinkles, or it's ability to handle extended wear. Bespoke suits are rarely made out of Supers. As far as suits I'd get solid navy, solid charcoal, a couple stripes and then it really doesn't matter. I like nailhead and birdseye so I have a couple but that's just my preference. Every suit I own is either blue or gray and I don't think that's changing given my job.

As for what to buy, what do you like about the Press suit? Is it how it fits? Is it that it fits at all? I suspect some of the reason you felt that way is because it's a sack. They're designed to fit everyone by having zero shape. If you're a savvy shopper you can find better quality for the prices you want but you sort of have to devote your life to it, shopping discount places like Filene's or Century 21, or being good with sales at Barneys or Bergman. But to do this you're going to have to learn a lot and get very good at spotting quality immediately, as well as knowing what flatters you. The basics are that Press (in addition to what I said before) and all but Golden Fleece at Brooks are fused and if you care about what you look like in a suit you want to get a fully canvassed jacket. Basically the difference is that one has a layer of canvas glued to the outer layer of wool and the other has it machine or hand stitched so the canvas can move. Canvassed will last longer and wear better. There are places where you can learn about this and www.askandyaboutclothes.com and www.styleforum.net are two good places to start.

For shoes, I think dark brown suede is just about the best thing you can wear with suits but I would get dark brown calf before you get maroon or cordovan. Take care of your shoes--get cedar shoe trees and alternate days--and they'll last. Aldens are great--I have a pair--and at that price I'd get some Allen Edmonds too. In NY you will always look fine in black Gucci loafers but I suspect that's not your style. I would look very hard for a pair of Crocket and Jones or Edward Green on sale. They're English, constructed impeccably, and they look much more distinguished than their American counterparts.

Also, if you really want to stick with Press you should go there this week. I'm pretty sure their sale is ending Friday.

EDIT: Sales at most good stores are late July/early Aug and late Jan/early Feb. Remember that.

[NajdorfDefense]

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This thread's a little long for me to read, but I remember GQ ran an article of the 10 best suits under $500 several months ago.

The brands they had were

Nautica
Perry Ellis
Armani Exchange
Tommy Hilfiger
Calvin Klein
United Colors of Benetton
Clairborne
H&M
Target Men
Express design Studio

They also seem to be pretty big fans of Jcrew and Banana Republic suits.

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Those who can go to the Barney's Warehouse sale this month will see Giorgio Armani, Hickey Freeman, and the like at $500-600 and less. Much better quality and feel than the crap GQ mentioned paying full boat for.

[NajdorfDefense]

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great advice. i esp like the advice on collars. There's nothing worse that an otherwise great shirt ruined by a [censored] up collar w/ rounded edges or too narrow or button down or it's white and my shirt is blue. WTF? I'm not casting for Wall Street 2 here.

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You laugh now, but the Wall Street look will make a comeback ....Tell me this doesn't look good:



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It's a standard look that has been around longer than WallSt has been the center of finance. Yes, it became more popular after the movie but it has been one of the classic styles for centuries, and will remain so. And it's not like it has to be solid blue only with contrasting collar.

Listening to the popular media tell you when and what to wear in a given year is terrible advice for those trying to dress professionally. In 10 years you'll need 8 different styles of everything: regular ties, fat ties, skinny ties, solid ties, paisley ties, rep ties, ad infinitum.

[econophile]

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Based on the advice in this thread, I picked up a couple pairs of Allen Edmonds at Nordstrom yesterday (they were each $100 off list price because of anniversary sale). One pair is black and the other is a lighter brown (chesnut to be exact).

The next step in building my wardrobe is getting some trowsers. I already picked up one pair of dark charcoal trowsers. I want to be able to alternate each day between my black and light brown shoes. What other colors of trowsers would be best for this?

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ok i'm thinking of going with 2 pairs charcoal, 2 pairs light grey and 2 pairs navy. maybe i can get 1 pair of each color in solid and the other in pinstripes. the black shoes should go with everything, and the brown shoes should go with the navy and light grey.

[The DaveR]

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Based on the advice in this thread, I picked up a couple pairs of Allen Edmonds at Nordstrom yesterday (they were each $100 off list price because of anniversary sale). One pair is black and the other is a lighter brown (chesnut to be exact).

The next step in building my wardrobe is getting some trowsers. I already picked up one pair of dark charcoal trowsers. I want to be able to alternate each day between my black and light brown shoes. What other colors of trowsers would be best for this?

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ok i'm thinking of going with 2 pairs charcoal, 2 pairs light grey and 2 pairs navy. maybe i can get 1 pair of each color in solid and the other in pinstripes. the black shoes should go with everything, and the brown shoes should go with the navy and light grey.

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I'd only get one pair navy. Navy trousers have the bad luck of always seeming to look like orphaned suit trousers out for a night on the town.

I'd get lots of grey in different weights (and dark brown) and, if you live in a cold weather climate, or just a place with winter, some flannel.

[gusmahler]

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I would look very hard for a pair of Crocket and Jones or Edward Green on sale. They're English, constructed impeccably, and they look much more distinguished than their American counterparts.


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You can get C&J shoes at http://www.plal.com/crockett.htm (don't let the prices on the web site scare you--they are given in Malaysian dollars. So the 1199 shoes are actually $346 US and the 1499 shoes are $433.)

I was very tempted to get the Westfield in brown. But now that I'm in a more casual work environment, I think I'll put off new shoes for a while.

[LetItBe]

I was shopping around Nordstrom today and saw some shirt/tie combos that I thought looked great. I really like one that was basically a striped shirt paired with a paisley-like tie that would match one of the minor colors in the shirt (I realize this may sound like a horrible combo...but it looked good in the store, I swear!).

So anyway, my question is whether this is a look that will get old/go out of style/look bad in a year. I am not a trendy dresser, and am pretty conservative in my clothes, so I am looking to change it up a little. But I also don't want something that is just a quick fad/trend/whatever (if it could even be called that).

I am an almost attorney (waiting for the bar results) and my office is business casual (no suits!), so I don't even need a tie that often, but am sick of what I have now.

[oe39]

you want it to pay off where it counts: in the boardroom

[Thug Bubbles]

Excellent thread! Curious about this shoe/sock business. Is it wrong to wear black socks with khakis? Should I only wear tan/brown?

It always seemd that the contrast between black and khaki went well together, but I'm just now learning this stuff so my tastes certainly aren't always in line with "the rules".