Good Natured Advice Thread (improving a business wardrobe)

[in stitches]

I am not terribly picky when it comes to my collars. In general I prefer something that is spread, not cutaway and not point. As long as it falls somewhere in that area of a nice spread I'm okay.

 

[Cleav]

Is that the majority view on cutaways? And why not for you? I have a couple that don't get much wear and for me the lines drawn around neck and face make me feel like I look heavier/bigger. A spread seems to do the opposite.

 

[unbelragazzo]



Silk I thought...

If they're silk then I like them still less. The first one is a weird design to have in silk. The second one you could wear with suits but I wouldn't like it. It's not that either one would look terrible with a navy jacket, as you suggest, but basically anything will look alright with some navy jacket, and there would always be other ties I'd choose over either of these. Anyway, if you like these ties and want to wear them, then it's fine, but I still wouldn't call them "staples".

 

[DocHolliday]

Cutaways aren't very forgiving, flattering neither fat nor thin.

 

[TweedyProf]

If they're silk then I like them still less. The first one is a weird design to have in silk. The second one you could wear with suits but I wouldn't like it. It's not that either one would look terrible with a navy jacket, as you suggest, but basically anything will look alright with some navy jacket, and there would always be other ties I'd choose over either of these. Anyway, if you like these ties and want to wear them, then it's fine, but I still wouldn't call them "staples".

So, PoW ties should not be silk? I'm forgetting the designs at issue at this point, so it's a general question...

But I take your point. "Staples" or not, I am happy to have them in my wardrobe, though admittedly, I only have two, one black/grey with blue overcheck and one copper/brown that has a red overcheck...and yes, both silk!

 

[TweedyProf]

Is that the majority view on cutaways? And why not for you? I have a couple that don't get much wear and for me the lines drawn around neck and face make me feel like I look heavier/bigger. A spread seems to do the opposite.

I thought that wider faces should opt for less spread, but narrower faces for more spread. The extreme cutaways generally don't seem that nice on anyone although I have wondered if they would work well as a casual collar unbuttoned, thinking that the collars would not flop out. These days, I prefer BDs for casual shirt collars (Kamakura collars).

 

[Rudals]

Are spread collars more formal than others?

 

[unbelragazzo]



So, PoW ties should not be silk? I'm forgetting the designs at issue at this point, so it's a general question...

But I take your point. "Staples" or not, I am happy to have them in my wardrobe, though admittedly, I only have two, one black/grey with blue overcheck and one copper/brown that has a red overcheck...and yes, both silk!

For me, PoW ties should be silk, but only in black and white or navy and white. I have a black and white wool PoW, and I wear it sometimes, but I think of it as #menswear-y and trendy. PoW silk ties in other colors just look strange to me.

 

[in stitches]



Is that the majority view on cutaways? And why not for you? I have a couple that don't get much wear and for me the lines drawn around neck and face make me feel like I look heavier/bigger. A spread seems to do the opposite.

i dont dislike them, i just prefer how a regular spread looks on me, particularly with a tie. as a matter of fact, the main advantage to a cutaway for me is that it is the only non BD collar i can wear with a jacket and no tie without getting pulled down.

 

[Sundance]

...I was eyeing a soft Ivey BD

After seeing Kamakura shirts theres not any roll to this one sadly.

Also interested in this as a possible alternative to Luxire in case L2B's Kamakura replication doesn't pan out. Anyone have experience with PC's Soft Ivy collar?

 

[Monkeyface]



Also interested in this as a possible alternative to Luxire in case L2B's Kamakura replication doesn't pan out. Anyone have experience with PC's Soft Ivy collar?

No experience, but it doesn't look that nice. Luxire has plenty of nicer BD collars. Look at the collar google doc for specifics.

 

[Gianni Cerutti]

I don't want to be too prescriptive about it. But I think elongated shoes work well with what Vox might call "The Nailed Down Look". It's reminiscent of late 19th-century style, the caricatures of which show very very slim shoes, e.g.:



Those types of shoes don't work as well with the drape cut that came later IMHO.

I didn't want to write a post suggesting that you or anyone else is doing it all wrong. In particular because you have to think about the shapes of your clothes as they relate to the shapes of your body, much more so than you have to think about your complexion when choosing colors. So everyone will have to make different compromises.

But I do want to encourage people to think about the way the shapes of a coat, trouser, shirt collar, tie, and shoe work together, rather than just thinking about color and pattern combinations, or even "fit" as separate from silhouette.

That coat with cape on the right is fantastic .... great elegance.

 

[Rudals]

On my way to see Stitchie. Hope I don't get mugged on the way. Got a wad of cash on me.

 

[unbelragazzo]



On my way to see Stitchie. Hope I don't get mugged on the way. Got a wad of cash on me.

Stitch, I thought you said that was just a one-time thing you did with me because you needed the money...

 

[sugarbutch]

He says that to all the boys.