Ask A Question, Get An Answer... - Post All Quick Questions Here (Classic menswear)

Hey guys,

I am about to buy my first suit...my budget is 500~600EURO

I had my eyes on an HUGO BOSS suit which is around 700 EURO....not sure if this is the right choice.

Can I get some suggestions on how to get the most out of my budget...Thanks!

oneeightyseven said:

seriously, take it from me. I tried ging on there, because I'm a pretty heavy redditor. It's a shithole. To get your intended effect, just browse the WAYWT. I'd suggest not even posting a thing until you've browsed for 6months to a year (I didn't even make an account until lurking for a year) and after that it took me 6 months to start posting regularly. It will benefit you infinitely if you just intently observe and listen.

Click to expand...

Browsing with RES and opening all the images, you realized just how homogenous the sense of "style" is on that board.

Yeah I've been lurking for around 5 months, and I'm definitely starting to understand what I like in terms of style. Just curious as to whether or not starting with the higher end brands is a good idea.

Thanks for the help!

anyone know who makes this shirt?


or something along the lines of a slim-fit loose crew-neck/u-neck...
thanks everyone.

JubeiSpiegel said:

http://www.styleforum.net/t/287922/practical-thoughts-on-coherent-combinations-for-beginners

Click to expand...

Thanks for the link !

rcoreytaylor said:

You are right, there is an overwhelming volume of information and opinions - most good, some not - on this forum. I suggest you take a step back and visit Put This On www.putthison.com to gain some insight into the basics and then branch out from there.
Cheers!

Click to expand...

Will do, Thanks!



Triplestuffd said:

Hey guys,

I am about to buy my first suit...my budget is 500~600EURO

I had my eyes on an HUGO BOSS suit which is around 700 EURO....not sure if this is the right choice.

Can I get some suggestions on how to get the most out of my budget...Thanks!

Click to expand...

You should really try on a bunch of suits in person and be brutally honest about what fits you. There are threads on this forum that describe the hallmarks of good fit. Good traditional menswear stores are more likely than department stores to have sales associates who will be helpful, but even that is highly unlikely. What country are you in? Some traditional brands (like Caruso) may be a better value than Boss. Then again, if you're young and prioritizing fashion over traditional style, then something like Jil Sander may work better than Boss. I think a good value at that price are the suits at ehaberdasher.com, a forum sponsor. Basically, you should look for a mid- to dark gray two-button suit without extraneous details (like ticket pockets). An advantage that some good traditional brands have over Boss is that there is a canvas layer between the wool and the lining that can both give the suit a more fluid appearance and help it mold to you. However, this makes suits more expensive and its virtues can be diminished for ready-to-wear suits vs. bespoke suits. Depending on your country, your budget may allow you to get a decent bespoke suit.

What stores do people typically recommend for casual shirts (something you might wear to a bar)? I like the look of this shirt from CT:

http://www.ctshirts.com/men's-shirt...irt-?q=usddefault||CW099YBL|||||2187,||||||||

Anyone have experience with their casual shirts? Also, looking to spend $30-50 a shirt.

Can someone please link me to some examples of slim fitted suits that are well fitted? I would like to see examples of people walking or their arms up. I've read a lot of threads here about high armholes; I may be too picky as a result, but I can't find any suits in town that I think have appropriate fitting shoulders, armholes, and length. Should I not expect to be able to put my arms on my desk without having my shoulders bunch up? I would wear suits often if I didn't think it looked ridiculous on me if I moved from a standing still, arms at the side position.

Second, related question: I like this style a lot: http://www.express.com/suits-1457/index.ens. I'm curious what critiques people have of it. It is quite short, but I think that looks better on slimmer people.



Triplestuffd said:

I had my eyes on an HUGO BOSS suit which is around 700 EURO....not sure if this is the right choice.

Click to expand...

I've seen BOSS suits at less than half that price and not even sure if they're worth it. With 700 Euros I'm sure you can do much better.



sam handwich said:

I'm getting married in a few weeks and am a bit style challenged; I could really use some recommendations.

Click to expand...

Congrats. OK, As others have mentioned here, you should wear the shoes in the photo. There will be plenty of proper occasions for your fun shoes later; your wedding day is not one of them. The black shoes will work much better.

The suit is fine, but the pants are too long, so get those hemmed.

DO NOT wear a dark shirt and a light tie. If you want to have some fun with purple, maybe get a pale lavender shirt and a fun pocket square that incorporates some purple in it. Or a white shirt with light purple stripes. You don't want to screw around here. There's nothing wrong with a white shirt either.



Jay21 said:

What stores do people typically recommend for casual shirts (something you might wear to a bar)?  I like the look of this shirt from CT:

http://www.ctshirts.com/men's-shirt...irt-?q=usddefault||CW099YBL|||||2187,||||||||

Anyone have experience with their casual shirts?  Also, looking to spend $30-50 a shirt.

Click to expand...

I've actually had good luck with CT's slim fit shirts, which are good value for very little money. But that particular one looks like it fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down. Actually, most of their "casual" shirts are pretty ugly. There's nothing stopping you from buying one of their "dress shirts" in a colour or pattern you like (yellow, blue, checks, stripes, whatever) and wearing it casually. Just order single cuffs.

I know the rules about button-down with suit and tie, but what about button-down with suit?

Sometimes, collars move around, and I feel like a button-down would solve that problem.



wannabe said:

I know the rules about button-down with suit and tie

Click to expand...

A "rule" often ignored - and not necessarily out of ignorance, either.

but what about button-down with suit?

Click to expand...

Basically, you're saying that you acknowledge that there is a rule against wearing a button-down collared shirt (let's just call it a OCBD, for short, even though I suppose it needn't be either Oxford, or cotton) with a suit and tie, but you want to know if the rule applies if you're wearing a suit without a tie. That about right?

Well, let's look at the rationale behind the rule -

The rule that an OCBD isn't appropriate with a suit and tie stems from the notion that the OCBD can trace its origins to casual/sporting wear, whereas a suit and tie is generally intended to convey a more serious, often business-like, appearance. Therefore, wearing the button-down collared shirt is regarded as detracting from the suit's intended purpose.

Such being the case, one might assume that wearing an OCBD with a less formal, less "business-like" suit might well be okay. And, sure enough, many of those men who still maintain that it's wrong to wear an OCBD with a charcoal pinstripe Brooks Brothers suit and silk repp necktie for serious business purposes, have far less objection to wearing an OCBD with, say, a tan poplin suit and linen tie, when meeting some friends for a social gathering.

So, it would seem that one could extend this line of reasoning, and conclude that since a tie-less suit is, by its very nature, almost always less "serious" than a suit and tie, wearing a BD with it would be okay. At least in the eyes of most people who care about such things.

However, a great many of those people who care about such things also hold that the practice of wearing a "serious" suit without also wearing a tie, is fundamentally objectionable. Again, maybe not so much if it's a casual, summery suit (like the poplin suit, above), but definitely if it's something like the aforementioned charcoal BB pinstripe.

So what it comes down to is, if it's a serious or business suit, you're going to dismay some people simply by wearing it without a tie, even before they get to considering the collar. If it's a casual suit, being worn on a social occasion, most people will be willing to regard both the OCBD rule and the tie rule, with a fair degree of flexibility.

I'll add that (1) the "no button-down collared shirt with suit" rule was never universally accepted, and whatever authority it did once possess has been greatly reduced over the years. Also, (2) everything I've said is coming from one traditional Northeastern/Middle Atlantic US context. I recognize that attitudes about such things can differ in other places. Finally, (3) I do sometimes opt to wear OCBDs with conservative business suits. I also always a tie if I'm wearing a suit - even a casual suit. But I will, occasionally, wear a blazer or sports coat sans tie. (Related to this, if I'm going to wear a tie, I'll always wear either a suit, a blazer, sports coat, or sweater - never a "naked" shirt.) Hey, those are simply the rules that work for me; naturally, you're free to choose whichever set of rules and traditions you like, and abide by them - or violate them - as you see fit.
--
Michael

Hey guys, does somebody know, where to buy similar shoes http://www.zara.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product/uk/en/zara-S2012/189538/630628/DESERT+BOOT in dark brown color? I found just a classic desert boots, but I dont really like the look - I do not want ankle shoes. Best would be desert shoes, but not so high as desert boots. Thanks.



SlimJohny said:

Hey guys, does somebody know, where to buy similar shoes http://www.zara.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product/uk/en/zara-S2012/189538/630628/DESERT+BOOT in dark brown color? I found just a classic desert boots, but I dont really like the look - I do not want ankle shoes. Best would be desert shoes, but not so high as desert boots. Thanks.

Click to expand...

It sounds like you just want suede blutchers. Alden probably has them.



bnovc said:

Can someone please link me to some examples of slim fitted suits that are well fitted? I would like to see examples of people walking or their arms up. I've read a lot of threads here about high armholes; I may be too picky as a result, but I can't find any suits in town that I think have appropriate fitting shoulders, armholes, and length. Should I not expect to be able to put my arms on my desk without having my shoulders bunch up? I would wear suits often if I didn't think it looked ridiculous on me if I moved from a standing still, arms at the side position.

Second, related question: I like this style a lot: http://www.express.com/suits-1457/index.ens. I'm curious what critiques people have of it. It is quite short, but I think that looks better on slimmer people.

Click to expand...

If you have a slim suit that has the highest armholes in the world when you put your arms on a desk, or reach for a steering wheel the shoulders are going to bunch up and the suit will jump around on your body. It is a product of a slim fitting suit. It has to do with armholes, but just as much to do with the tightness in the chest of the suit. If you have a more generous chest the arms can move more freely.