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How many suits do you really NEED vs. OWN?

smittycl

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Romeomikehotel

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The easy answer is hanger project or butler luxury. But at 25-30 bucks per hanger they're not inexpensive.

But I can't justify not spending a lot of hangers when dropping thousands on bespoke.

Good point. I'll do that now, thanks.
 

smittycl

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Good point. I'll do that now, thanks.
You can always find adequate plastic versions as well. The wood ones are very nice though, particularly if you have high end suits.
 

coolarrow

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I'm afraid to count, but I have about 15-20 suits. I could wear a suit every day b/c there's always a chance I'll be called for a meeting (no suits/ties on dress down friday, though). However, I keep a navy blazer (gold buttons) in the office and always wear a dress shirt/slacks and tie (Monday to Thur).

I have your basic solid navy, grey and charcoal suits but in both lighter weight and heavier fabrics (for fall/winter wear). Added some patterned, striped suits for variety as well. Lately, I've branched out to unlined suits. I picked up 3 unlined suits this summer as I discovered a qtr lined 'brookscool' model. I quickly picked up 2 more unlined suits (different colors). I will probably get rid of my lined, lighter wool suits b/c you really can't go back to them after you wear an unlined suit in the summer.

Finally, I try to tailor some suit pants that are cuffed vs no cuffs. I will wear bluchers/derby shoes with cuffed pants. And balmorals with uncuffed ones. This explains why I have 2 almost identical navy suits with different cuffs.
 

Spark

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RE: Hangers. You can also just go to a Container Store as they have decent wood hangers with wide, rounded ends in both SC and Suit (w/trouser bar) models for about $12/ea IIRC. I think they even have them in different widths.

I've got about 15-16 suits, a mix of both summer and winter weights. I'm a senior exec in Fintech, but find that I generally trend towards a daily uniform of a SC, slacks, dress shirt sans tie. I still wear suits for speaking engagements, board meetings, more formal presentations (especially overseas where the semiotics of business dress is a bit more old school than US) etc., but am finding that those events are fewer and farther between as opposed to the 90s when I wore a suit every day.

In fact, I was thinking of digging into a major cull my rotation to reflect the new reality so if your a 44R and interested in some badass Isaia's or upper end Zegna's shoot me a note:colgate:
 

jonathanS

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RE: Hangers. You can also just go to a Container Store as they have decent wood hangers with wide, rounded ends in both SC and Suit (w/trouser bar) models for about $12/ea IIRC. I think they even have them in different widths.

I've got about 15-16 suits, a mix of both summer and winter weights. I'm a senior exec in Fintech, but find that I generally trend towards a daily uniform of a SC, slacks, dress shirt sans tie. I still wear suits for speaking engagements, board meetings, more formal presentations (especially overseas where the semiotics of business dress is a bit more old school than US) etc., but am finding that those events are fewer and farther between as opposed to the 90s when I wore a suit every day.

In fact, I was thinking of digging into a major cull my rotation to reflect the new reality so if your a 44R and interested in some badass Isaia's or upper end Zegna's shoot me a note:colgate:

If someone is in the DC area & wants some decent hangers, pm me - they're solid, but not hanger project good. Felt bar, wooden, wide shoulders.
 

smittycl

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RE: Hangers. You can also just go to a Container Store as they have decent wood hangers with wide, rounded ends in both SC and Suit (w/trouser bar) models for about $12/ea IIRC. I think they even have them in different widths.

I've got about 15-16 suits, a mix of both summer and winter weights. I'm a senior exec in Fintech, but find that I generally trend towards a daily uniform of a SC, slacks, dress shirt sans tie. I still wear suits for speaking engagements, board meetings, more formal presentations (especially overseas where the semiotics of business dress is a bit more old school than US) etc., but am finding that those events are fewer and farther between as opposed to the 90s when I wore a suit every day.

In fact, I was thinking of digging into a major cull my rotation to reflect the new reality so if your a 44R and interested in some badass Isaia's or upper end Zegna's shoot me a note:colgate:
My kingdom for a suit cull in 42L!
 

glendayle

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I have 1.5 suits. Probably need at least 2 more. My .5 suit is a black suit. Have had it for about 5 years. I wore out the slacks. I found a new pair of slacks that are close enough in texture that you'd have to look pretty hard to notice.
Which brings me to my next suit. Just bought a charcoal suit. I'm a portly fellow with the reverse hourglass figure. The guy that sold me my stir convinced me to do suspenders.
 

Alan Bee

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About time to revive this thread. Anyone??

Alan Bee
 

smittycl

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My take is a week's worth of summer suits and maybe a week's worth of colder weather suits then as many three-seasons as you can afford/store. I don't really have a fixed aesthetic and like to have different cuts around to suit the day. Hey! That's a pun!
 

Alan Bee

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@smittycl Ok, I’ll take my own bait ...

ALL BESPOKE

NOVELTY SUITS
1. Caccioppoli DB Canvas Linen Cream
2. Loro Piana Cotton Solaro
3. Holland & Sherry Dove Gray Crispaire
4. Holland & Sherry DB POW
5. Smith Botany Puppy tooth DB
6. H&Sherry light gray flannel DB
7. Caccioppoli Tan Flannel DB
8. Dormueil gray herringbone flannel
F8FE3BCE-99DE-464D-A722-D28ACAA95FAB.jpeg

Various TWEED Coats, fabric sourced from vintage dealers (1-8) & Dinner Jackets (Cream Scabal DB, Caccioppoli Midnight Velvet, Caccioppoli Burgundy Velvet Shawl Lapel DB)
BF196D03-05C0-45E2-AA39-8F37F1DE00D5.jpeg

WORK HORSE SUITS
1. Navy H&S SB
2. Drago Navy Chalkstripe DB
3. Gray H&S Birdseye
4. Dark brown Smith Botany
943A3E4C-0137-438E-97DA-6378BB6AD6F9.jpeg

SPORT JACKETS
1. Portner & Harding Glorious 12th
2. Porter & Harding Glorious 12th
3. Barbera for H. Lesser Tan hopsack
4. Barbera for Lesser Light Blue Windowpane
5. Barbera for H. Lesser Navy check
6. Smith Lamlana mini houndstooth
7. Smith Lamlana Summer DJ
8. Smith Lamlana DB SC

WINTER
9. W. Bill Donegal Brown Norfolk Coat
10. W. Bill Donegal Blue Norfolk Coat
6385043D-1938-4529-B9EC-87F227E4A776.jpeg

SUMMER SUITS
1. Smith Finmeresco SB (Patch) Steel Blue
2. Harrison’s Spring Ram Gray
3. W. Bill Tobacco Irish Linen DB Patch
4. H. Lesser 8/9 Tropical Copper Tan
5. H. Lesser 8/9 True Blue
6. H. Lesser 8/9 Tan
7. W. Bill Sand Irish Linen SB Patch

WINTER
1. Harrison’s Archive Flannel Steel Blue
2. Harrison’s Archive Flannel Chalkstripe DB
3C6FB699-6DD0-4EFB-9D13-7414FB8B5453.jpeg

DEAL CLOSING SUITS
1. Midgray Smith sharkskin Botany DB
2. Lesser 13 Navy Herringbone DB
3. Lesser 13 Navy Hopsack

BLAZERS
Winter
1. Smith Botany Navy Hopsack DB (brass button)
2. Smith Navy Mock Leno SB (brass button)

Summer
3. Smith Air Force Blue SB (silver button)
4. Royal Blue Barbera for Lesser DB
E5DE06C9-B8FF-4329-B060-7AF2C8F1E3B6.jpeg

TOP COATS

1. Ulster Coat in Harrison’s coating gray herringbone 22oz
8E0DBCFF-2409-4EDE-A8FF-5F20E706E7FC.jpeg

2. RTW Borrelli Cashmere Tan Raglan Coat
CCBA233F-5716-46FB-AA44-F0A9FA0CD543.jpeg

Total 25 Suits, 18 Sport Coats, 4 Blazers, 3 Dinner Jackets, 2 Top Coats, 1 Tux (not shown), 1 Morning Dress (not shown).

It’s seems like a lot but quite surprisingly they all see battlefield action at various times of the year and for very different reasons.

Surely, one could get along with far less and still be very well dressed. But there’s something about having a broad palette to paint with.

Alan Bee
 
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jonathanS

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@smittycl Ok, I’ll take my own bait ...

ALL BESPOKE

NOVELTY SUITS
1. Caccioppoli DB Canvas Linen Cream
2. Loro Piana Cotton Solaro
3. Holland & Sherry Dove Gray Crispaire
4. Holland & Sherry DB POW
5. Smith Botany Puppy tooth DB
6. H&Sherry light gray flannel DB
7. Caccioppoli Tan Flannel DB
8. Dormueil gray herringbone flannel
View attachment 1053720

Various TWEED Coats, fabric sourced from vintage dealers (1-8) & Dinner Jackets (Cream Scabal DB, Caccioppoli Midnight Velvet, Caccioppoli Burgundy Velvet Shawl Lapel DB)
View attachment 1053721

WORK HORSE SUITS
1. Navy H&S SB
2. Drago Navy Chalkstripe DB
3. Gray H&S Birdseye
4. Dark brown Smith Botany
View attachment 1053722

SPORT JACKETS
1. Portner & Harding Glorious 12th
2. Porter & Harding Glorious 12th
3. Barbera for H. Lesser Tan hopsack
4. Barbera for Lesser Light Blue Windowpane
5. Barbera for H. Lesser Navy check
6. Smith Lamlana mini houndstooth
7. Smith Lamlana Summer DJ
8. Smith Lamlana DB SC

WINTER
9. W. Bill Donegal Brown Norfolk Coat
10. W. Bill Donegal Blue Norfolk Coat
View attachment 1053723

SUMMER SUITS
1. Smith Finmeresco SB (Patch) Steel Blue
2. Harrison’s Spring Ram Gray
3. W. Bill Tobacco Irish Linen DB Patch
4. H. Lesser 8/9 Tropical Copper Tan
5. H. Lesser 8/9 True Blue
6. H. Lesser 8/9 Tan
7. W. Bill Sand Irish Linen SB Patch

WINTER
1. Harrison’s Archive Flannel Steel Blue
2. Harrison’s Archive Flannel Chalkstripe DB
View attachment 1053724

DEAL CLOSING SUITS
1. Midgray Smith sharkskin Botany DB
2. Lesser 13 Navy Herringbone DB
3. Lesser 13 Navy Hopsack

BLAZERS
Winter
1. Smith Botany Navy Hopsack DB (brass button)
2. Smith Navy Mock Leno SB (brass button)

Summer
3. Smith Air Force Blue SB (silver button)
4. Royal Blue Barbera for Lesser DB
View attachment 1053725

TOP COATS

1. Ulster Coat in Harrison’s coating gray herringbone 22oz
View attachment 1053726

2. RTW Borrelli Cashmere Tan Raglan Coat
View attachment 1053728

Total 25 Suits, 18 Sport Coats, 4 Blazers, 3 Dinner Jackets, 2 Top Coats, 1 Tux (not shown), 1 Morning Dress (not shown).

It’s seems like a lot but quite surprisingly they all see battlefield action at various times of the year and for very different reasons.

Surely, one could get along with far less and still be very well dressed. But there’s something about having a broad palette to paint with.

Alan Bee

Can we trade wardrobes? Lol
 

smittycl

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Pretty amazing wardrobe. Plenty here but don’t have the wherewithal for detailed photos. 25 suits, a dozen sport coats and pile of overcoats, trenches and pea coats.
 
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coldsalmon

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As a New Yorker with limited closet space, I try to get by with a very small selection. I have four worsted business suits: charcoal, navy pinstripe, mid grey, and solid navy. Then I have two glen-check linen suits which can also be worn with odd trousers. Finally, I have three sport coats: brown houndstooth, plain navy, and "fun" dark grey check. So that's six suits and three sport coats for 9 jackets in all. In the hottest days of summer, I am restricted to four of these, but that is not much of a limitation. I basically have to wear solid navy twice a week, which is fine. I feel that I don't need any more, and I'm actually stumped as to what to get next (I mean, green herringbone obviously but I can't find the perfect one).

And if I can pontificate for a moment, I feel that a small wardrobe fits better with my personal ethic of classic menswear. For me, it is less about having the perfect pairings, and more about having quality clothing that I will care for and use until it wears out. If I were to have enough clothing so that I would always have the perfect item to pair, I would need to own vastly more clothes than I could ever wear through in my lifetime. And at that point, buying durable, well-constructed clothing and shoes loses much of its practical purpose. I want my wardrobe to be grounded in practically and value, and to achieve that aim, I need to use every item I have to its fullest extent.

Every item also has its own story as it ages - shoes moreso than other items. I think the hobby of fine leather shoes is similar to having a fishtank. It looks very boring to the visitor who only sees a snapshot of the finished product, but the owner sees a deeper story of how it has changed over time. Developing a shoe's patina is an obvious example, but developing one's sense of how to wear a particular jacket or trouser can be just as deep. The different alterations that I have done to my jackets make them "old friends" that have a history with me over my lifetime. On Saturday, I just sent in the jacket that I wore to my wedding for alterations. When I wear it, I think back to my wedding vows, a family vacation, etc. I think about how I wear it differently now than I did when I first purchased it, because I myself have changed.

I like classic menswear because the items of clothing are not disposable - they are meant to be chosen carefully, worn hard, cared for, and repaired. For me, personally, I find it more rewarding to work with a small wardrobe. This is a personal preference, and I don't think it's better in any objective way compared to someone else like Alan Bee who has a large wardrobe - these are just different ways to enjoy the hobby.
 

clee1982

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Can you really repair CM studf though (except shoes but when upper start to crack it’s all just sentimental value)

I can see repairing workwear, but suits or dress pants other than changing lining if they really need to be repaired they probably need to be let go...
 

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