How am I doing for a 16 year old?

[mulligan]

I agree

 

[MyOtherLife]

Originally Posted by Sanguis Mortuum

Not sure about this bit, but good post otherwise.
Thank you SM, my reasoning for the 2 pair of bals was that the OP is only 16, and if he's a typical teenager; that being that he may not yet have developed the skills to take good care of his things, he'd need a backup pair of this type of dress shoe. 1 for practice, the other for needs. I did fail to mention finding good buys on the B&S here, which is also a wonderful resource for deals.

 

[Nelton]

Originally Posted by Mrshinyredplanet

Not a huge amount of clothing, and what I have doesn't conform to the idealistic staples of a men's wardrobe.

Navy blue blazer, size 36s. Picked up in a thrift store, only label says it is 120s, but the fabric definitely has a wool element to it. I'm not a fabric expert so I can't overly tell....

Pictured here, with a light blue solid, and probably the favourite tie of my rotation -

- Take that, but replace the logos with small red, embroidered ducks. May be a tad novel, but it is fun and a bit quirky. I aplogise the the collar over collar faux pas, friend wanted it like that for his photo shoot.

Probably my favourite shirt, a plum check, overtop on a black + gold striped blazer. Again, not a staple, and something I have now grown out of.


Anyway, opinions, critique, comments. Also - QUESTION. Where would someone of a 5 11", 36 jacket, 31 pant buy a suit, also bearing in mind that I come from New Zealand. Any places on here? Any on the internet? I have a budget of the slim US $300. Yeah. Thrifty works well, because i'd be able to splurge a bit on accessories.

Cheers, awaiting your opinion

I'm 16 too and pretty new to the forum, but I think ideally you should dress how you feel comfortable and if you want to try something new then go for it. Just remember to dress appropriately for the occasion, this doesn't tend to be a problem for me as I get to wear a suit everyday for college, but bare in mind that many people our age do not dress that well, so you may look out of place in a tie, I wouldn't wear one out to meet my friends unless it was a formal occasion. Just remember there are plenty of alternatives and often a pair of camel/khaki/stone chinos and a button-down shirt or white t-shirt will more than do and allow you to blend in with your friends while still appearing stylish.

Cheers Nick

 

[Superfluous]

Originally Posted by Nelton

I'm 16 too and pretty new to the forum, but I think ideally you should dress how you feel comfortable and if you want to try something new then go for it. Just remember to dress appropriately for the occasion, this doesn't tend to be a problem for me as I get to wear a suit everyday for college, but bare in mind that many people our age do not dress that well, so you may look out of place in a tie, I wouldn't wear one out to meet my friends unless it was a formal occasion. Just remember there are plenty of alternatives and often a pair of camel/khaki/stone chinos and a button-down shirt or white t-shirt will more than do and allow you to blend in with your friends while still appearing stylish.

Cheers Nick

You're 16, in college, and wear a suit everyday?

 

[lasbar]

Originally Posted by Tony Romo

You're 16, in college, and wear a suit everyday?

Might be his uniform...

Teens from the local grammar school are wearing suits instead of uniforms...

By the way , most of them wear black suits...

 

[JakeLA]

Originally Posted by Christian B

What the OP is too polite to say is: he came here looking for clothing advice, instead he got a bunch of lonely tie collectors trying to impress him with sex talk, it's creeping him out and he wishes they'd stop.

 

[Loathing]

Originally Posted by GoldenTribe

"All I was doing was encouraging him to dress well and wear what he enjoys." The only part of your post I responded to was the hilarious insult to any woman who endorses a mainstream brand. (You wrote "why would you shag a girl who's dumb enough to like branded Gucci/Ralph?") There is enough reflexive hatred of anything a non-SFer might have ever heard of on this forum, and that's among men - women generally have different tastes than men, as has been thoroughly discussed. A lot of women love Gucci, and a lot of Gucci is really quite nice. As I pointed out earlier in this thread, a lot of women idolize brands (esp. denim brands) this forum absolutely hates -- and as a matter of fact, those are the majority of women, including a whole lot of intelligent and stylish individuals.

If you only associate with women who essentially follow SF groupthink despite belonging to the opposite sex, good for you, that's your prerogative. Why tell a teenager that any girl who likes brand X (or even branding) is stupid? How does that fit into your "wear what you like and feel good about it" advice?

Now I'm "being a prick for no reason," even though you've called me names and sworn at me, while all I did was point out that what you WROTE was idiotic (it was). "Heinous" is an easy word to use correctly - as I did - especially as an adverb, but you obviously haven't the faintest clue what "bigoted" means since I haven't actually told anyone what to wear (or not) in this thread.

You're either not reading or ignoring what I've actually written, which is bigoted (bigoted: "obstinately convinced of the superiority or correctness of one's own opinions and prejudiced against those who hold different opinions"). Heinous means: "of a wrongful act, esp. a crime: utterly odious, wicked". If you use that word to describe my 'ignorant' post, then what stronger word is left to describe a genuinely horrid act, like murder or ****? And I didn't start getting rude until you described me as 'heinously idiotic'.

Anyway back to the argument: we're not communicating properly. By 'branded Gucci', I meant stuff with the logo posted all over it (e.g., belt buckle, bag, etc.), otherwise I would have just said 'Gucci'. I agree completely that Gucci makes very decent stuff and I own some myself, and would never hold it against anyone (inc. girls) who like the brand. Neither did I tell the OP to only like brands that this forum likes: I think the taste here is generally too conservative & limited (I like those Marc Jacobs sweatpants you bought, incidentally). I hope this clears up what I was trying to say and we can stop arguing -.-

Alright, keep cool, & sorry for swearing etc..

 

[37degrees]

OK I'm a bit of a creepy lurker, but feel I need to step in to help a fellow countryman.

1. Don't follow any advice to buy chinos and loafers. That look does not fly in NZ and you will get the **** beaten out of you by the 1st XV rugby team.

2. Don't buy a suit from Hallensteins. No disrespect, but you will look like a mobile phone salesman.

3. Just calm down and lose the tie. If you are wearing a shirt with a collar you will be better dressed than 99% of NZ men. For a young guy's budget and fit TopMan is a good option and they ship to NZ.

4. And yes if you are going to spend money on anything nice it should be shoes. Know your size and order online because almost all of the footwear available locally is rubbish. I'm 31 now but still have a sweet pair of Dr Martens boots that I bought when I was 14.

Good luck.

Tell your friend that I thought he was very good in the Home Alone series.

 

[fuji]

Originally Posted by Loathing

+1. Public schooled boys in England often wear sports jackets and even casual suits in their spare time and when going out.

No, they don't.

 

[lasbar]

Originally Posted by fuji

No, they don't.

Most of them don't...

Polo, rugby shirts and jeans/chinos....

 

[Loathing]

Originally Posted by fuji

No, they don't.

Oh that's funny, because I went to a public school in England and know a total of probably 50 guys who did, and I've met or seen scores of 16-19 y/os in clubs/bars wearing sports jackets or suits. What the hell did you wear when you went to smarter joints, or to a restaurant where they won't let you in without a jacket &/or tie. Most public school uniforms are suits in sixth form, so you'd have suits in your wardrobe already...

 

[Nelton]

Originally Posted by Tony Romo

You're 16, in college, and wear a suit everyday?

Yes, go to public school in London, we have a 6th form which is just an extension of the school really, but instead of own clothes we have to wear suits which I adore, as there is nothing better than wearing a suit everyday, only limiting thing is the awful tie we have to wear which rather limits our options

Originally Posted by lasbar

Might be his uniform... Teens from the local grammar school are wearing suits instead of uniforms... By the way , most of them wear black suits...

Oh and just to add, I do have a black suit, I didn't realise it was a big no no, and its not too bad, anyone care to explain why they are so frowned upon apart from being a bit boring? needs to take a trip to the tailor along with my grey Boss however. This is what you get from buying suits when you are young, you can lose 5 kg like that and suddenly your suits dont fit you any more Cheers Nick

 

[JamesX]

Originally Posted by Nelton

Oh and just to add, I do have a black suit, I didn't realise it was a big no no, and its not too bad, anyone care to explain why they are so frowned upon apart from being a bit boring? needs to take a trip to the tailor along with my grey Boss however. This is what you get from buying suits when you are young, you can lose 5 kg like that and suddenly your suits dont fit you any more

It is the strong contrast it makes to everyone's skin, especially in strong light. Which is why a lot of people say no black suits in day time, but it is ok for night time.

 

[GBR]

Originally Posted by Nelton

Yes, go to public school in London, we have a 6th form which is just an extension of the school really, but instead of own clothes we have to wear suits which I adore, as there is nothing better than wearing a suit everyday, only limiting thing is the awful tie we have to wear which rather limits our options

Oh and just to add, I do have a black suit, I didn't realise it was a big no no, and its not too bad, anyone care to explain why they are so frowned upon apart from being a bit boring? needs to take a trip to the tailor along with my grey Boss however. This is what you get from buying suits when you are young, you can lose 5 kg like that and suddenly your suits dont fit you any more

Cheers Nick

Nothing wrong with black suits - wear them if you like them, just don't raise it here as it has the unerring ability to create ill-founded disagreement.

 

[fuji]

Originally Posted by Loathing

Oh that's funny, because I went to a public school in England and know a total of probably 50 guys who did, and I've met or seen scores of 16-19 y/os in clubs/bars wearing sports jackets or suits. What the hell did you wear when you went to smarter joints, or to a restaurant where they won't let you in without a jacket &/or tie. Most public school uniforms are suits in sixth form, so you'd have suits in your wardrobe already...

Im guessing your much older then me. Yes most public school uniforms are suits or stripped blazers in the schools colours, but that doesn't mean they where them out of school, who the **** wears their school uniform outside of school. I'm guessing your a lot older then me and probably from a time when teenagers did wear suits, I'm 17 and I know probably a few hundred people who went to public schools in England and none of them wear suits out, they just where normal clothes. I don't go to "smarter joints", Im 17 I go to clubs and bars and get fucked up on mandy like the rest of your supposed hordes of 16-19 year olds. Sorry, but thats bullshit about seeing "scores" 16-19 year olds in clubs wearing sports jackets and suits. I've been to clubs all over England, including very expensive ones in London and the people you see wearing suits and sportscoats are in there 20s and professionals or they're wearing some ****** shiny topman thing. 16-19 year olds in club are either their illegally or just barely legal and are wearing either a T shirt, polo or at most a dress shirt.


Advice to the OP. I used to be into the same thing when I was like 14 or 15. I had tonnes of money then so I was able to buy very very high quality clothes and shoes and even accessories like a platinum mont blanc and an 18k longines, but it still looked ridiculous, at that age your just too young to look good in a suit. Buy some nice jeans and some nice shoes, you can wear dress shoes fine and get some nice knitwear. Also join a gym, your 16, if you eat well you can get stacked pretty quick and being in good shape will make you look better then any clothes you can buy.