Wardrobe Upheaval - A Few Questions - AE Shoes, Suits, etc.

Hi. I am in the process of a wardrobe upheaval. I'm in my early 30s and finally make enough money to warrant a new wardrobe and do away with my 10 year old Jos A Banks suit, Banana Republic shoes, etc.

A few questions:

My charcoal suit is in great shape, so I first want to replace my shoes.

I like what I've seen (and read here) from Allen Edmonds, but open to other suggestions as well. I wear scrubs to work, so the only work related functions would be parties and interviews down the line. I do like to wear a suit to dinner, nights out, and of course all the other times when it's appropriate. I am torn between:

AE Park Ave.
AE 5th Ave.
AE Strand

Color?

I'm looking for something classy, versatile, and a bit of a wow factor. I really love the Strand in walnut, however I'm unsure if this pairs well with the charcoal suit.

Next - need a good suit. Will replace the charcoal one with another of the same color. Looking to spend $600-800 or so. What brands should I target for the best style and quality? I'm average build 6'0 & 185 lbs.

Last, how do I find a great tailor?

Thanks and happy new year!

Your shoe choices are fine, though if you need a do it all shoe, then you might want to focus on the PA or the FA. The Strand is awesome, but not as formal. I'm a big fan of the FA which, in my limited opinion, is more flexible than the PA in terms of use (it can be dressed up or down some, more so than the PA).

Hit Brooks Brothers today until the 4th and you can score an awesome Fritz suit for just under $700, maybe less depending on the style.



Stylego said:

Your shoe choices are fine, though if you need a do it all shoe, then you might want to focus on the PA or the FA. The Strand is awesome, but not as formal. I'm a big fan of the FA which, in my limited opinion, is more flexible than the PA in terms of use (it can be dressed up or down some, more so than the PA).
Hit Brooks Brothers today until the 4th and you can score an awesome Fritz suit for just under $700, maybe less depending on the style.

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+1. Well said. Depending on the shade of your charcoal suit the walnut Strand can work but as mentioned above the PA and FA are more versatile.

etherscreen said:

Hi. I am in the process of a wardrobe upheaval. I'm in my early 30s and finally make enough money to warrant a new wardrobe and do away with my 10 year old Jos A Banks suit, Banana Republic shoes, etc.

A few questions:

My charcoal suit is in great shape, so I first want to replace my shoes.

I like what I've seen (and read here) from Allen Edmonds, but open to other suggestions as well. I wear scrubs to work, so the only work related functions would be parties and interviews down the line. I do like to wear a suit to dinner, nights out, and of course all the other times when it's appropriate. I am torn between:

AE Park Ave.
AE 5th Ave.
AE Strand

Color?

I'm looking for something classy, versatile, and a bit of a wow factor. I really love the Strand in walnut, however I'm unsure if this pairs well with the charcoal suit.

Next - need a good suit. Will replace the charcoal one with another of the same color. Looking to spend $600-800 or so. What brands should I target for the best style and quality? I'm average build 6'0 & 185 lbs.

Last, how do I find a great tailor?

Thanks and happy new year!

Click to expand...

1. Don't fixate on AE; buy only when you can try on in real life. Or be prepared to take $50-$150 penalty for buying shoes on B&L or eBay.

2. Wait 6 months till RL or BB half annual sale in late May and August respectively. Or check eBay/B&S for deals. 6' 185lb doesn't say much about your body type, but you are probably a 40R borderline L.

3. Don't throw away your junk suits/tailor clothing; they are great to as experiment material to test out your alteration tailors.

EDIT: don't get light color shoes right away; they don't anchor well and you will most likely look like donald ******* duck, especially with dark suits.

A dark brown 5th Ave would be a versatile shoe that would go with your suits and can be worn more casually. Or get the PAs and then get the walnut strands later on.

Stylego said:

Your shoe choices are fine, though if you need a do it all shoe, then you might want to focus on the PA or the FA. The Strand is awesome, but not as formal. I'm a big fan of the FA which, in my limited opinion, is more flexible than the PA in terms of use (it can be dressed up or down some, more so than the PA).
Hit Brooks Brothers today until the 4th and you can score an awesome Fritz suit for just under $700, maybe less depending on the style.

Click to expand...

+1 AE FAve in Walnut would be incredibly versatile (suit / jeans). Although I too still ponder brown shoes with a grey suit. IMO it's best done when you toss some blue into the suit. I snagged some great purchases @ Brookes Bros as their sale is great atm.

In terms of a tailor ask on here regarding your area or use yelp.com.

The slim thing is overdone ^ but you get an idea of the color scheme I was talking about. I'm not sure how well dark brown shoes would go with a medium / charcoal grey suit.

I pimp them every time this topic comes up, but if you're checking out BB, check out SuitSupply.

I have both the walnut strands and the brown fifth aves. I wear my strands a lot more casually (with jeans and chinos on the weekends or when I'm in class/strolling around campus). The fifth aves are reserved for more formal days. I only wear these when I'm wearing a full suit and tie. Most of the time when I "dress up", I wear a sport coat with a sport shirt, jeans/chinos, and sometimes a tie. In this case (being very business casual/smart casual, I'm tore between which shoe to wear because I think either one would work. The strand would bring a slightly more casual look whereas the fifth ave would bring the slightly more formal look. Finally, I'd suggest getting the fifth ave instead of the park ave because, in my opinion, the park ave (style) is a lot more common then the fifth ave. The fifth ave will you give a very subtle "wow" factor.

Regarding suits, I recently did the same thing as you. I think everyone needs three suits (navy, grey, and black). Getting a charcoal suit is a good idea, but i think, since you already have a charcoal suit, you should consider buying a navy suit first. I'd recommend taking a look at indochino.com. I've recently seen ads for them and glanced at their site and they seems very good and VERY well priced.

Since everyone loves pictures, here's a picture of my brown fifth aves and a picture with my fifth aves, strands, and a pair of RL loafers:

unbelragazzo said:

I pimp them every time this topic comes up, but if you're checking out BB, check out SuitSupply.

Click to expand...

Looks to be a great site! Bookmarked.