Okay, I have been lurking on the site for about a week or so now. Specifically I have been looking at the MC forum, and trying to follow/keep up with the WAYWN III thread. It has been quite the experience honestly.
Anyway, I am interested in both updating, as well as branching out my style to incorporate a more polished look. Unfortunately, until recently my needs regarding professional attire were few and far between. However, I am currently in a graduate Physician Assistant program and we are required to dress in professional attire daily. However, as this has been a new frontier for me I have been learning as I go and as is probably the case with most of us, relying on the critique of the fairer sex.
Now, in my program we are not required to wear jackets/blazers and while I would definitely consider it, I also live/go to school in Florida and AM required to wear my PA White coat while at school (about 8-9hours 5 days a week). That being said, I do have several vests that I previously bought as separates and do put them into rotation every so often.
Most of the clothing (pants and shirts) have thus far come from Express. Specifically the 1MX slim/extra slim fitted line. I try to stay away from the more extreme of colors (hot pink and the like) as they are not really my style. The ties have come from Macy's and Express, are typically of the skinny/slim variety though I may be misunderstanding what the exact measurements of that type of tie is. There are a few shirts from KC, Tommy Hilfinger, and Alfani that were purchased during one sale or another.
For reference I am about 5'10 and 160lbs. From where I wear my pants with a slight to no break it measures about 30" and judging from fit, my shirts seem to be a 15" neck and 33-34" sleeve (I am not sure if these are in inches though I assume so). I currently have essentially shit shoes. I am looking at moving up to Aldens (McAllisters specifically) eventually and may grab a similar pair from Johnson & Murphy due to cost (read: grad student). Most of the wardrobe I do have, and I honestly hesitate to call it such, is centered around greys, charcoals, with a couple pairs of brown/khaki pants. Shirts are blues, whites, a dull red (merlot?), greys, whites, pinks, and blacks. Mostly solid colors though a couple check, gingham, striped/lined are mixed in as well.
My questions are:
1. While I know there is a big faux pas regarding the matchy-matchy, how does one incorporate this regarding merely a shirt tie combo or with the incorporation of a vest (color pattern combos would be great if pictures are shown)?
2. What are some vendors, online or otherwise, that would sell quality shirts (that are not quite expensive ~$50-$75 maybe) that are slim fit that would allow me to extend and diversify my wardrobe?
3. Spread collar vs pointed collar?
4. Assuming a button cuff, about where should the sleeve fall on my wrist and how much, if any should it fold just before the cuff. (assuming OTR shirts as I have not found a reliable tailor as of yet and am not sure what to ask for exactly)
5. Bow-ties, do they follow the same rules as normal ties? Assume with and without a vest for the purposes of the question. How do they relate to question 1?
Attached are some of the photos of me, recent ones but not the typical "fit" photos I see on here. Unfortunately I do not have any of those currently. I understand that critique and criticism (hopefully constructive) will be given and to that end I welcome it. I have seen a lot of really nice fits on here and hope to one day in the not so distant future be able to post some of mine. I especially think that the guy that goes by "Spoo" is by and large well put together to my very inexperienced eye and a lot of what I seem him wearing is where I would like to go.
Thank you for reading my wall of text and I apologize for any misspellings/incorrect wording. Thanks again.
The knot is a FIH but I have since began using a double FIH for a seemingly more aesthetically pleasing look. And I apologize for the non-normalized critique pictures.
