Advice from fellow Aussies

[Gecko]

Hi Guys,

Firstly, I just want to say that I'm a complete newbie, so if I trangress any written or unwritten rules, please be gentle with me. I'm looking for some advice and I'm embarrassed to say that while I have an interest in "looking good", I am fairly clueless when it comes to style. I suppose you could say I'm a typical Aussie male.

I'm a guy in his mid 30's. I've allowed myself to get fairly overweight. I'm 6'4" (194cm) and have a 43" waist (although 42" trousers are generally comfortable and 44" are a bit too loose) and wear somewhere between a 48" and 50" jacket (depending on the cut, either size is OK).

I work in the legal profession and while I buy "middle of the road" suits and shirts (e.g. Hugo Boss, better quality Studio Italia, sometimes Ted Baker if I can find a suit that fits, Herringbone or similar shirts, Lloyd shoes), I always feel like I'm not getting good value for money and I always feel like I look a little bit dishevilled. I really want to kick things up a notch but whenever I go into a suit store, I feel overwhelmed! Most suits look similar to me and I've tended to shop by brand (which I know is not the right way to approach suit purchase, but as I said, I am fairly clueless). The other issue is that I am currently on a weightloss program, so I don't want to go out and spend thousands on bespoke suits only to find that they don't fit after 2-3 months.

So... with that in mind, I have two questions:

1. What would you recommend as a good "interim" solution - what suit styles best suit a tall overweight guy (not very overweight, I am lucky that I seem to carry it well)? I am in Sydney but travel to Melbourne regularly so could buy there if necessary.

2. Once I lose the pot belly and slim down, what would you recommend? Bespoke? If so, is there anyone good in Sydney or in SE Asia?

Any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated. I should add that I tend to prefer more classic looks, not necessarily cutting edge fashion. I like classic stuff with a bit of a twist.

If you need more description from me, please let me know.

Cheers.

 

[sochumpy]

Hi Gecko, check out the "Australian Members" thread for talking to all the aussie members directly.
For a man of your size id say you will have a hard time finding something that will fit off the rack. I myself am bigger than average and have trouble finding things that fit well.

I would suggest going MTM from the likes of PJohnson tailors in sydney as he's really easy to talk to and the price is brilliant for what you get.

 

[Henry Carter]

Hi gecko,

Welcome to the forum. Mate cut and paste this in to the Aussie thread and you'll get plenty of replies from the Sydney locals. My advice would be to keep losing the weight and save money in the mean time while you learn more about the brands that will work best for you. It will be hard to tell though until you get to your goal weight and start trying some stuff on off the rack to see. I'd check out herringbone and a few others before going the MTM/bespoke route, if they fit you well of course.

Anyway all us Aussie members are pretty friendly, so not hesitate to post in the thread.

Cheers
Jason

 

[doughboysc]

Won't don't you try Henry Bucks. Located in 23-25 O'Connell Street in Sydney. They're open 6 days a week. It's Australia's answer to Canada's Harry Rosen.