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post #16 of 32
6/15/12 at 9:32am
Spend your money on condoms and beer.

skip the suit.
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post #17 of 32
6/15/12 at 9:34am
Wow, everyone's already given great advice, but is no one else impressed/shocked at a 19 year old med student? What's the story behind that man? You'll be entering your residency and just be turning legal to drink. Bad ass and congrats on what I'm assuming is hard work.
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post #18 of 32
6/15/12 at 9:39am
For sizing, my advice is to find an old school tailor in your quaint little college town (I guarantee there will be at least one). Walk in on like a Wednesday morning when no one's around and tell him/her you want to buy an off the rack suit and you want make several alterations to it to get it to fit just right. Ask them if they will measure you properly so you now which size to buy. Tell them which brands you are considering. A good tailor will have likely come across all the common brands in the low to med price range. He/she might even have suggestions for your particular frame. Tailor's taking a gamble on you, time for future business. It will help if you give them some business up front to gain their trust. Take a pair of pants with you that you need hemmed for instance.

This is what I ended up doing and it worked out really well for me. I ended up with a really well fitting suit after making several visits to my tailor. I even took a couple of different sizes along with me and had the tailor choose which one would come out best.
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post #19 of 32
6/15/12 at 11:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by hyakku View Post

Wow, everyone's already given great advice, but is no one else impressed/shocked at a 19 year old med student? What's the story behind that man? You'll be entering your residency and just be turning legal to drink. Bad ass and congrats on what I'm assuming is hard work.

I just assumed pre-med.
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post #20 of 32
6/15/12 at 11:21am
"Wow, everyone's already given great advice, but is no one else impressed/shocked at a 19 year old med student? What's the story behind that man? You'll be entering your residency and just be turning legal to drink. Bad ass and congrats on what I'm assuming is hard work."

No location is given on his profile. I don't know what level of accomplishment that may be for every country. If the medical training in some other country is a curriculum path that starts in the second year of college then it may be a great accomplishment to be there but not a one in 500 million person accomplishment.

To Italian Polo: If you are in the US or other country where you have already completed a 4 year degree and are going into medical training to be a doctor I applaud you greatly. I am already impressed that you worry about your appearance at your age.

I also agree with the navy suit as a great choice with its possibility to use the coat as sports coat for less dressy use.
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post #21 of 32
6/15/12 at 10:44pm
All the blue suit advice is very sound. However, I do not know anything about your social
activities, but for most occasions, a blue blazer with grey slacks will suffice. If you already own the
appropriate trousers, you can save money by just getting the blazer.
Edited by comrade - 6/16/12 at 10:16am
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post #22 of 32
6/15/12 at 11:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by italianopalo View Post

Hi, first time posting here so I'm assuming this is the right place to ask questions, did some searches to no avail.
As a 19 year old college student in medical school, should I purchase a suit first, or a 'formal', navy blazer/sportscoat?
I have a khaki blazer and black corduroy cotton blazer that I wear a few times a week to classes and 'no dress code' events but I thought I needed something more formal so I was thinking of buying a more expensive, wool navy blazer but for the same money, I could also get a decently wearable OTR suit. The most formal of events I plan to attend is my faculty's ball, a yearly event. Everything else would be things like medical conferences, seminars etc

Get the navy blazer in a mid weight wool. You can wear it year round for all sorts of uses.

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post #23 of 32
6/16/12 at 12:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by cptjeff View Post

Another vote for the suit. Better to be overdressed then underdressed, and you can always just wear the jacket of the navy suit you'll be getting. And you'll also have it for interviews and such, where a blazer would be acceptable, but a suit would be much better.
Also remember to get it tailored. Set aside a little money to get the sleeves shortened and (if the suit you find is generously cut) waist taken in. Hemming for the pants.

You haven't even seen the thing and you're giving dopey advice about alterations. My advice is to try on a number of different styles and brands and find one that fits off the peg.

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post #24 of 32
6/16/12 at 12:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Snedley View Post

You haven't even seen the thing and you're giving dopey advice about alterations. My advice is to try on a number of different styles and brands and find one that fits off the peg.

Sleeves are typically cut long, because it's a lot easier to take fabric in then to make some where none exists. Even if you buy a jacket the right length, the sleeve usually needs to be shortened a bit. Also, a lot of suits these days are cut fairly large to accommodate fat people, especially cheaper ones. As a result, it's often best to take in the waist a little. And pants typically come unfinished, so yes, they'll need to be hemmed.

Even if you get a suit that fits off the rack, it will still benefit from a visit to the tailor. I listed off alterations that will virtually always need to be done with the hem and sleeves. Jacket waist often should be done if you're young and slim.

As for your advice about the blazer, you're right that a blazer can be worn in a variety of situations. But in just about any situation that calls for a blazer, a suit would be perfectly appropriate. The jacket from a navy suit could double as a blazer, should push come to shove. But there are a number of occasions when a blazer really isn't enough- and interview, for example. A blazer wouldn't get you kicked out, but the step up to a suit would give a much better impression. A conservative suit can also work for formal events- say, black tie optional. A nice wedding or reception, which isn't out of the picture for college/med school. There, a blazer absolutely would not work, but a navy suit would. Since the OP is thinking of this as an either/or, the suit is pretty clearly the much better option.

If you're going to imply that I'm an idiot, you'll have to bring a lot more to the game than that.
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post #25 of 32
6/16/12 at 10:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by cptjeff View Post


Sleeves are typically cut long, because it's a lot easier to take fabric in then to make some where none exists. Even if you buy a jacket the right length, the sleeve usually needs to be shortened a bit. Also, a lot of suits these days are cut fairly large to accommodate fat people, especially cheaper ones. As a result, it's often best to take in the waist a little. And pants typically come unfinished, so yes, they'll need to be hemmed.
Even if you get a suit that fits off the rack, it will still benefit from a visit to the tailor. I listed off alterations that will virtually always need to be done with the hem and sleeves. Jacket waist often should be done if you're young and slim.
As for your advice about the blazer, you're right that a blazer can be worn in a variety of situations. But in just about any situation that calls for a blazer, a suit would be perfectly appropriate. The jacket from a navy suit could double as a blazer, should push come to shove. But there are a number of occasions when a blazer really isn't enough- and interview, for example. A blazer wouldn't get you kicked out, but the step up to a suit would give a much better impression. A conservative suit can also work for formal events- say, black tie optional. A nice wedding or reception, which isn't out of the picture for college/med school. There, a blazer absolutely would not work, but a navy suit would. Since the OP is thinking of this as an either/or, the suit is pretty clearly the much better option.
If you're going to imply that I'm an idiot, you'll have to bring a lot more to the game than that.

I assumed you knew I meant to hem the trousers but this SF so who knows. You wear a suit before altering it because it conforms to your body after wearing then alter if necessary. I've never had to shorten the sleeve once in 40 years on a suit and you certainly don't want to look like PeeWee Hermann (or perhaps you do) or unless you're a kid and thinks some girl is looking at him (wishful thinking) and she'll botice your sleeve is 1/4 " off lol8[1].gif

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post #26 of 32
6/17/12 at 1:22am

Not to threadjack this, but if the fabric is close to 150s, is there any chance it will be particularly fragile?  I'm looking for workhorse suit that doesn't need special care and those Danile/Boronis look great.

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post #27 of 32
6/17/12 at 1:28am
Super 150s will be very fragile. I personally won't buy anything over 120s if I believe that I will wear the suit more than once per week. A workhorse that will last a few years would likely be made of something between 100s and 120s. It won't feel as buttery as a finer cloth, but you won't burn though the fabric too quickly either.
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post #28 of 32
6/17/12 at 2:13am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blackhood View Post

Super 150s will be very fragile. I personally won't buy anything over 120s if I believe that I will wear the suit more than once per week. A workhorse that will last a few years would likely be made of something between 100s and 120s. It won't feel as buttery as a finer cloth, but you won't burn though the fabric too quickly either.

Ahh no?

http://tuttofattoamano.blogspot.com.au/2011/02/sartorial-mythbusting.html

As Jeffery notes they can be fragile, but there are plenty of good wearing ones.
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post #29 of 32
6/17/12 at 2:21am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Plestor View Post

Ahh no?

http://tuttofattoamano.blogspot.com.au/2011/02/sartorial-mythbusting.html
As Jeffery notes they can be fragile, but there are plenty of good wearing ones.

It is true that they can be hard-working but it is highly dependent on quality, mill and everything else. If the guy is getting just one work-horse suit there is little chance of him being able to discern the durability of a Super 150s suit in the store. Also without mentioning the price, there is a good chance that a "Super 150s" at a "highstreet" price will actually just be a fudged number and a light cloth.

As Jeffery points out, it is dependent on the cloth. I have Super 100's at 8oz that has worn through faster than a 160s at 8.5oz, but 120s in various weights that out lived both. If you're at the stage of asking a forum how durable a cloth is based on Super Number instead of wool type, weight, weave etc then its best not to try and navigate the durability minefield of a high super number cloth.
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post #30 of 32
6/17/12 at 2:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blackhood View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by Plestor View Post

Ahh no?

http://tuttofattoamano.blogspot.com.au/2011/02/sartorial-mythbusting.html
As Jeffery notes they can be fragile, but there are plenty of good wearing ones.

It is true that they can be hard-working but it is highly dependent on quality, mill and everything else. If the guy is getting just one work-horse suit there is little chance of him being able to discern the durability of a Super 150s suit in the store. Also without mentioning the price, there is a good chance that a "Super 150s" at a "highstreet" price will actually just be a fudged number and a light cloth.

As Jeffery points out, it is dependent on the cloth. I have Super 100's at 8oz that has worn through faster than a 160s at 8.5oz, but 120s in various weights that out lived both. If you're at the stage of asking a forum how durable a cloth is based on Super Number instead of wool type, weight, weave etc then its best not to try and navigate the durability minefield of a high super number cloth.

Getting say 2x2 (not 2x1) fabrics would be just as simple a summary, but far more effective...
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