Dressing Better Vol 2.0

[beezylocks]

real life...
for a wedding do i have to wear the jacket from the suit?
its gunna be like 80 degrees
i was thinking dress pants, oxfords dresshirt and a tie... no jacket

My personal opinion, if you're ditching the jacket ditch the tie. Ties with no jacket looks juvenile. like you work at a cell phone store.

real life...

maaaaan

what about just a vest

 

[beezylocks]

real life...

what am i supposed to ask the tailor for when it comes to my shirt...?

you see i have broad shoulders and a wide chest, but a like square stomach... so my shirts are usually tight up top and loose at the bottom... and when i tuck them in they are loose in the chest area and just dont look right...
so chest fits cool buy its loose in the stomach area... ( ill try and get pics )
and my arms are skinny...

want my shirts to fit like wj4 or k steezy

 

[beezylocks]

Shirt and pants - JCrew
Loafers - Cole Haan

I actually like the color combination, but I think it would look killer with white sneakers and the shirt sleeves rolled up. The shirt can be better fitting though. The shirt, overall, looks too full and the length of the sleeve is too long. Keep on goin', my man!

real life...

this is how my shirts fit... full and big sleeved but the chest fits ok,

do i ask for tapered sleeves and take in the shirt?

 

[ksteezy]

real life...
this is how my shirts fit... full and big sleeved but the chest fits ok,
do i ask for tapered sleeves and take in the shirt?

Try sizing down first and buy slim cut shirts, try the 1MX slim fits from Express and go one size smaller than you usually do....as long as the buttons are not pulling you should be good...let the shirt silhouette those pecs bruh.

 

[beezylocks]

real life...
this is how my shirts fit... full and big sleeved but the chest fits ok,
do i ask for tapered sleeves and take in the shirt?

Try sizing down first and buy slim cut shirts, try the 1MX slim fits from Express and go one size smaller than you usually do....as long as the buttons are not pulling you should be good...let the shirt silhouette those pecs bruh.

real life...

for sure...
i know it shouldn't be pulling when im just standing there but what about when i like extend my arms back or something

 

[ksteezy]

I'm sure you can get your sleeves taken in and do all types of alterations, but you might end up spending more on that than the actual tag of the shirt, if it's minor pulling when you extend your arms I wouldn't worry about, try those shirts I told you, if the shirt fits like bammas, I would say sizing down will solve your issue....I think his shirt is a bit big for his frame.

 

[omgitswes]

So I took this from SF, it was posted on their homepage and I feel like it could apply to some of you guys. A lot of what's in here has been said before by various members in this thread.

Ok so let me preface this by saying, I don't really know you or live with you (), don't know your day to day routine and what your style is so I am going to give you some generic style advice with a bias towards what I wear/like. This type of advice is never meant to be taken word for word, but rather as a template into which you input your needs/desires and ideally come out a bit better than you went in.

It sounds like we dress in a similar fashion, probably most guys here who work in an office dress in a manner in which you described. So my first piece of advice is a navy sportcoat or two, a winter fall weight and something lighter, neither of them worsted wool. A navy coat is one of those things that you can wear 3-4 times a week, changing the shirt/tie/pants, and no one will think you are wearing the same thing. Another color that I suggest is brown for a sportcoat, something with texture and in a weight/fabric that you can wear 8 months of the year. Again, very versatile and changing the shirt/tie/pants, it won't look like you are wearing the same thing. I would further suggest getting more basic solid color or smal patterned jackets, different fabrics, until you have 4-5 or so. So there you have a stable of coats that you can wear with none being so in your face that everytime you wear it, everyone remembers the last time you wore it. After you have that, then you can go towards louder stuff.

Shirts/ties: You seem to like patterned shirts, which is fine. And you say that you wear a dress type shirt seemingly everyday. My preference for a shirt worn tieless with a sportcoat is a button down collar shirt, but I realize that is not to everyones taste. I would suggest not wearing spread collar shirts that have short to medium points tieless as they tend to disappear into a coat and also tend to make one's face look more rotund. With a tie, I wear both BD collars and regular collars. If you preference is to patterned shirts, your ties should lean to solids and micro prints. Solid ties sound boring but there are many great fabrics that provide good texture and accentuate the shirt/sportcoat. In terms of shirt colors, I would stay away from yellows, greens, purples and any solid dark colors or "odd" colors (taupe etc). Tie colors, I would stick with blues, greens, browns and red/rust.

Pants: You don't have to wear wool pants with sportcoats but I like their versatility. I would start with multiple solid grey pants (different shades/fabrics ), a brown or two, some textured stuff in browns/blues/greys (calvary twill, donegal, linen blends). In termsof khaki's, I would want to have 3-4 "dress" pairs, meaning nice fabric cotton or cotton blend pants that wear like wool pants. You can also get browns/greys in cotton/cotton blends. If it has a leather patch on the back or comes with the leg hemmed/finished, don't wear it with a sportcoat.

Shoes: I think sportcoats call for more "casual" dress shoes, meaning not super sleek, shiny shoes. NST's, brogues, boots, in suedes, dark leathers, grained etc. Sleek, formal shoes look good with suits (I don't like them but that is neither here nor there), but when you wear a pair of something very sleek with cotton pants and textured sportcoat, it looks silly to me. By the same token, don't wear cream/white suede shoes with rubber soles with grey wool pants, it just looks off.

So, all this stuff is subject to your intepretation and your style, you might not want or need multiple grey pants, or solid color ties but the basis behind this advice still stands, start off with versatile, classic basics and build out from there. If you have more patterned pants than you have solid, thats not good (assuming suit/sportcoat wardrobe). Same thing with sportcoats. Once you have the navy and grey suit, the mulitple white and blue shirts, the multiple boring ties, then you can branch out into the stuff that you think is fun. Its like anything else, build on the foundation and you'll find yourself with much more overall outfits as you'll be able to combine almost everything.

When I read on the forum someone just getting into dress shoes buying double monks or their first suit be a peak lapel slim suit or only buying unlined ties with hand rolled tips and throwing around all the buzzwords, I see someone heading into trouble. I don't know/think this because I'm some savant or incredibly knowledgeable about clothing and style but because I went through the same thing. I was the guy buying everything in sight that was an SF approved brand or trend, particularly if it was on sale. Never gave thought to how something I was buying works into my wardrobe or lifestyle. Eventually you look at your closet, full of clothes but you have a hard time putting together a good outfit. Then the purge starts.

 

[melofan15]

I'm looking to buy my first couple of suits now that I'm going to be interviewing for jobs pretty soon.
Can you guys recommend any good spots? I'm not trying to spent too much but I do want to invest in a good high quality suit.
I think I read from the first DB thread to stay away from places like the men's warehouse?
Any help is appreciated

 

[wj4]

I'm looking to buy my first couple of suits now that I'm going to be interviewing for jobs pretty soon.
Can you guys recommend any good spots? I'm not trying to spent too much but I do want to invest in a good high quality suit.
I think I read from the first DB thread to stay away from places like the men's warehouse?
Any help is appreciated

What is your price budget? I would only get one suit at this point if I were you.

 

[omgitswes]

I'm looking to buy my first couple of suits now that I'm going to be interviewing for jobs pretty soon.
Can you guys recommend any good spots? I'm not trying to spent too much but I do want to invest in a good high quality suit.
I think I read from the first DB thread to stay away from places like the men's warehouse?
Any help is appreciated

I'd look into Indochino or Suitsupply, both offer some pretty affordable suits.

Indochino is made to measure so you send in your measurements and they'll make it. Suitsupply seems to have better suits than Indochino (from what I've seen) but you'll probably need to take it to a tailor to get the fit you want.

 

[jumpmankb]

I don't have a JCREW card but I want to take advantage of that 25% to get these

Can anyone help me out?

 

[melofan15]

I'm looking to buy my first couple of suits now that I'm going to be interviewing for jobs pretty soon.
Can you guys recommend any good spots? I'm not trying to spent too much but I do want to invest in a good high quality suit.
I think I read from the first DB thread to stay away from places like the men's warehouse?
Any help is appreciated

What is your price budget? I would only get one suit at this point if I were you.

Around $700. Maybe more for something of good quality that'll last me a while.

I'd look into Indochino or Suitsupply, both offer some pretty affordable suits.

Indochino is made to measure so you send in your measurements and they'll make it. Suitsupply seems to have better suits than Indochino (from what I've seen) but you'll probably need to take it to a tailor to get the fit you want.

Thanks, I need to get my measurements taken but I'll look into those

 

[wj4]

Also can someone help me out with a brand that makes good oxford shirts? I just want one in white and the the standard light blue, wouldn't mind a few other colors. Price doesn't really matter I'd like to keep it below $100 though. Thanks.

Kent's oxford shirts are around $105. You can also do made to measure at no extra charge. I had one, and quality is great., way better than Brooks Bros and Band of Outsiders as he stated.

http://www.kentwang.com/shirts

 

[wj4]

Around $700. Maybe more for something of good quality that'll last me a while.
Thanks, I need to get my measurements taken but I'll look into those

At $700, you can get a good fully canvassed suit with all the minute details such as functioning sleeve buttons.

My first two choices would be Thick as Thieves, their suits range from $500-600 depending on the fabric, and Kent Wang, which is a tad bit higher than $700.

I've had great experience with both firms.

http://www.kentwang.com/suits

http://www.thickasthievesla.com/

You can also look at sales from Brooks Bros. A lot of people wait for the big sale that happens about 2 times a year when suits are knocked down 40% and stock up.

If it's your first suit, go with a modern 2 button set up in navy or gray. Lapel should be 2.5-3" wide.

 

[nycgame]

real life...
this is how my shirts fit... full and big sleeved but the chest fits ok,
do i ask for tapered sleeves and take in the shirt?

That's the American Chain brands man. 

I brought one Express shirt that fit my torso well and my arms are so-so.

H&M even thought the quality is shotty at least their sleeves are puffier than missy elliot in a trash bag suit.

 

[nycgame]

Brooks Bros is a traditional store that use traditional terms. She was probably dumbfound as to why you only wanted to buy just a jacket and not the complete suit. Blazers AKA sports coats were initially made of heavier fabrics in looser cuts for sports...hunting sports so layering can be worn, ie a sweater/cardigan under. In the recent years, the cuts have gotten more slimmer to accommodate the current trend.
A lot of people also misuse the terms. People just use the word "blazer" for all jackets they see that don't have the matching trousers. Blazers are orphaned pieces, and usually have brass buttons for a more casual vibe
You need to check out the Milano cut from BB, it's pretty slim. I'm a pretty skinny guy and the Milano fit is great on me.

Thanks 

She did tell me The blazer's are the one's with gold and metal buttons ect.

That's the look I want.

 

[lyonbc1]

DB fam,

I've had some beeswax Clarks for almost 2 yrs now and I love em but I've beat the soles up a bit and was wondering if you guys had any suggestions for other types of desert boots or slimmer chukkas with a little more structure, especially on the sole...i like the one Sebago boot but I dunno if that's the only option....I'm looking to keep it under $125, thanks

 

[Extrait de Minimalisme]

Jesus! this has Swag Lord written all over it.. I just couldn't see my self wearing it anywhere outside of a Nordic winter.

 

[dukeben18]

Kent's oxford shirts are around $105. You can also do made to measure at no extra charge. I had one, and quality is great., way better than Brooks Bros and Band of Outsiders as he stated.
http://www.kentwang.com/shirts

Part of the beauty of a Oxford Cloth - Button Down shirt is the thicker material, chest pocket, and full placket because they are meant to be more casual. While Kent makes great dress shirts, I don't like his OCBD selection.

 

[melofan15]

Around $700. Maybe more for something of good quality that'll last me a while.
Thanks, I need to get my measurements taken but I'll look into those

At $700, you can get a good fully canvassed suit with all the minute details such as functioning sleeve buttons.

My first two choices would be Thick as Thieves, their suits range from $500-600 depending on the fabric, and Kent Wang, which is a tad bit higher than $700.

I've had great experience with both firms.

http://www.kentwang.com/suits

http://www.thickasthievesla.com/

You can also look at sales from Brooks Bros. A lot of people wait for the big sale that happens about 2 times a year when suits are knocked down 40% and stock up.

If it's your first suit, go with a modern 2 button set up in navy or gray. Lapel should be 2.5-3" wide.

Thanks, I'm going to check out my local Brooks Bros and see what I find. I'm a little iffy about ordering my first suit online

 

[storm2006]

Jesus! this has Swag Lord written all over it.. I just couldn't see my self wearing it anywhere outside of a Nordic winter.

Info? I needst that....

 

[wj4]

Part of the beauty of a Oxford Cloth - Button Down shirt is the thicker material, chest pocket, and full placket because they are meant to be more casual. While Kent makes great dress shirts, I don't like his OCBD selection.

You can probably email Kent to have those features added when you go MTM route.

I agree on the placket look. Most of my collar shirts are from www.mytailor.com because they're somewhat local so I can go check out the swatches in person and I can customize toa fair degree, ie choose collar style/size, thickness of buttons, etc. I also go with a single cuff button on the OCBDs. However, I don't like a chest pocket...only like that with sports shirts.

 

[wj4]

Info? I needst that....

It's from the LV pictures I posted on my blog and linked in this thread last night. I believe it retails for about $5,000. I liked it as well and wanted one, $5k is a bit steep for me at the moment though.

 

[wj4]

Thanks man just got the 14.5 in blue. I'll see how that fits before ordering the other two colors.

If you need to make adjustments, you can do that as well.

I know for sure that the size I got would be too small. I just told Kent that I wanted an extra inch in the chest, .7 inch on bicept width, the length to be 2 inches longer, etc. I sent back the initial shirt and got a newly revised one several weeks later.

 

[1stwitit]

thanks for the heads up lyon. they do run super big, i sized down from a 10.5 to a 9