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

[Kenneth Cole Haan]

What is the quality of Hilditch & Key compared to say, Borrelli and the Italian makers? I've tried to search the archives on this but there are mixed reviews. Is Hilditch in the same league or not?

 

[CityHunter]

Clueless SW&D poster again, imploring you fine men for advice.
Just picked up a Dries suit for some weddings. It is a very faint plaid print, something that came out very pronounced in the pictures. Anyway, my gut tells me that because the suit has a pattern, I should stick with a plain shirt and tie. If true, what color shirt/tie should I go with? The more options the better...I have 2 weddings on consecutive weekends and I don't want to buy another suit, but another shirt/tie is fine

 

[cptjeff]



The gentleman asked for advice and got it: in the classic menswear orthodoxy, solid black and white is generally the preserve of evening wear.  A black lounge suit and a white shirt can be compared to a lot of things - some of which you have added helpfully.  But what it cannot usually be considered, is elegant, classic-contemporary gentleman's day wear.  But don't take my word for it.  Take a look at the well-dressed fellows on this side of the forum, in the "What Are You Wearing Right Now" and the "Good Taste" threads, for example.  It will be a fruitless search for a reason.

Black suit and white shirt has never been reserved for formalwear only. Absolutely never. The recent stupidity about white shirts on this forum is one member expressing his opinion and others taking it as gospel, and the nonsense on black suits is an iGent myth. You are not approaching this from the view of classic menswear orthodoxy, you are approaching this from the view of Styleforum and iGent orthodoxy, which is a mixture of rules, some classic, some invented, and stylistic preferences- like the preference for blue shirts over white, brown shoes over black, the distaste for black in general. Threads such as the good taste thread and the WAYWRN provide a lot of very good examples of the SF house style, but they are not comprehensive compendiums of all that classic menswear has to offer. It is elegant daywear that fits in either classic and contemporary settings- it's just not within the parameters of the SF preferred aesthetic.

There are no rules and we all choose our personal style.  I'm sure I've worn a black suit and white shirt on many occasions before now.  But when someone asks for optimum style advice, that's not mine.  There are just too many better options.  Although I will happily make an exception if you are forming a ska revival band.  Go for it. 

Not all opinions are equal. If you had just said that you would choose a navy or a gray suit, I wouldn't have cared. I would have agreed, even. I prefer those colors myself. If you had offered that you think a light blue shirt would have been better, I would have disagreed, but whatever. But you told him to avoid a white shirt, which is, by any historic rule, but any sense of color theory, by any judgement of good taste, the entirely best choice with a black suit, and the only support you offered were weakly related personal associations that you generalized to everybody else.

 

[jesPak]

Question about pressing / spot cleaning in NYC - there is another thread about this, but posts are from a ways back -

I was unpleasantly surprised after using Madame Paulette for the first time - did a nice job removing a stain from a lapel- but TERRIBLE job pressing the suit - the lapel was pressed as if it were a 3-roll-2 jacket rather than the 2-button jacket that it is.

- Anyone else have this odd problem with m.p.?

- Any recent feedback on Meurice versus Hallak, or other suggestions, preferably East/West Village, for spot cleaning and reliable pressing?

Thank you.

 

[aglose]

Can anyone recommend a good pair of boat shoes?

 

[Claghorn]

Clueless SW&D poster again, imploring you fine men for advice.
Just picked up a Dries suit for some weddings. It is a very faint plaid print, something that came out very pronounced in the pictures. Anyway, my gut tells me that because the suit has a pattern, I should stick with a plain shirt and tie. If true, what color shirt/tie should I go with? The more options the better...I have 2 weddings on consecutive weekends and I don't want to buy another suit, but another shirt/tie is fine

Right about the solid shirt, but if you get a simple solid tie, the suit will appear to float on top of them (as in it will overly draw the eye). Go with a somewhat bright (not soporific, since this is for weddings) tie with visible texture.

 

[pnin22]

I'll be a groom at a wedding in August, and the location is a classic New England coast villa with an outdoor ceremony. I am probably not going to ask the groomsmen to match outfits, and it certainly won't be a black-tie. Here's a suit that I'm thinking, and my questions are:
(a) is this a good choice?
(b) where do I get something like it?

Mid-to-light gray, all-season/summer weight wool, single breasted, peak lapels, 3pc with waistcoat. I have a very erect posture, and the best fitting OTR suit on me is a BB Fitzgerald -- after the BB tailor pulls up the entire back of the coat, it fits excellent. Also, the shoulder measurement of the 38R Fitzgerald is 17 1/8" which is perfect, while most other 38Rs are 18". About $750 is my price limit (BB semi-annual sale works). I've never tried and won't risk online MTM.

 

[Spurious]



Can anyone recommend a good pair of boat shoes?

Sebago seems to be the general recommendation.

I've been wearing Timberland 3 Eyes forever and I love them.

 

[mimo]

Black suit and white shirt has never been reserved for formalwear only. Absolutely never. The recent stupidity about white shirts on this forum is one member expressing his opinion and others taking it as gospel, and the nonsense on black suits is an iGent myth. You are not approaching this from the view of classic menswear orthodoxy, you are approaching this from the view of Styleforum and iGent orthodoxy, which is a mixture of rules, some classic, some invented, and stylistic preferences- like the preference for blue shirts over white, brown shoes over black, the distaste for black in general. Threads such as the good taste thread and the WAYWRN provide a lot of very good examples of the SF house style, but they are not comprehensive compendiums of all that classic menswear has to offer. It is elegant daywear that fits in either classic and contemporary settings- it's just not within the parameters of the SF preferred aesthetic.
Not all opinions are equal. If you had just said that you would choose a navy or a gray suit, I wouldn't have cared. I would have agreed, even. I prefer those colors myself. If you had offered that you think a light blue shirt would have been better, I would have disagreed, but whatever. But you told him to avoid a white shirt, which is, by any historic rule, but any sense of color theory, by any judgement of good taste, the entirely best choice with a black suit, and the only support you offered were weakly related personal associations that you generalized to everybody else.

Pretty hard to give advice without generalising. I respect that you do not share my opinion, It's OK, I'm giving my advice, not yours, ours, or Styleforum's. But as you've raised the issue, I usually wear black shoes for a business suit, I prefer a triangular Pratt-Shelby knot to the StyleForum schoolboy standard four in hand, I think not wearing socks with shoes is a sin, and 90% of "model" fits on SF are a size too small. I agree that there is a certain "StyleForum preferred aesthetic" on many things. But a white shirt and black suit is not the best option for daywear, in my opinion, and on this issue that opinion coincides with the "iGent orthodoxy". A white shirt looks stunning with a blue or grey suit, especially for a really business-y look. But with a black suit, I'd usually leave it for bouncers, valet parkers and ticket collectors.

This really makes you cross, doesn't it? I sympathise. Every time I see jeans, cargo pants or "sneakers" in the WAYWRN thread, a little piece of me dies.

 

[rudals1281]

But with a black suit, I'd usually leave it for bouncers, valet parkers and ticket collectors.

Holy Macaroni!
I have a black suit in my rotation and sorry to say I am none of the above LOL. Anyways, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Here's mine: I love black suits with white shirts. It's just so gosh darn traditional and solid. I usually don't go crazy with ties, just go with a light blue, red, or even royal blue and a pocket square is a must have (white silk).

 

[mimo]

Your post was brilliant until the last sentence. I don't really give a **** what your clothes cost, and even less who sold them to you. Talking about THAT sort of thing is VERY bad taste!

But apart from that, I accept and respect your points entirely, and I'm sure you look very sharp indeed. Each to his own, and it's not as if I've never worn black and white either, I'm just enjoying the privilege of sweeping generalisations and comical imagery with utter strangers on the internet, that some people find more obnoxious than others!

I'm glad you also have a sense of humour.

 

[rudals1281]

...

 

[rudals1281]

Your post was brilliant until the last sentence. I don't really give a **** what your clothes cost, and even less who sold them to you. Talking about THAT sort of thing is VERY bad taste!

But apart from that, I accept and respect your points entirely, and I'm sure you look very sharp indeed. Each to his own, and it's not as if I've never worn black and white either, I'm just enjoying the privilege of sweeping generalisations and comical imagery with utter strangers on the internet, that some people find more obnoxious than others!

I'm glad you also have a sense of humour.

Guilty as charged. I gotta stop being so chauvinistic(?). My apologies.
Anyhow, I look at black suits, navy blue suits, and charcoal grey suits, as playing it safe and it is quite impossible to mis-coordinate if you have some decent taste. However, I sometimes want to be "GQ-ish" sometimes and that's why I've ventured into buying this and other more interesting suits. I am done buying black, navy blue, and charcoal. I am going to try to be more "interesting" in how I dress. And by no means am I saying you cannot looking "interesting" or stylish in black, navy, or charcoal suits. A light blue shirt is all I need for this suit.

 

[xxxamazexxx]

Today I got the the Harris Tweed jacket I posted about a few days ago. First impression, the material is quite wonderful, and I feel really comfortable in it. Second impression, it doesn't fit perfectly. Okay, I didn't expect it to in the first place, so that's why I'm here again.






What should and can be altered so that the jacket can fit me better? I got it from eBay for cheap so I really don't mind spending on some alterations.

 

[aglose]

With my Harris tweed the single vent in the back pulls open because of my rather large buttocks. Is there anyway to fix this without making the jacket look odd when worn? It's also only a big issue when I'm walking, if I'm standing around it isn't too bad but after walking it looks like someone cut the jacket apart.