• Hi, I am the owner and main administrator of Styleforum. If you find the forum useful and fun, please help support it by buying through the posted links on the forum. Our main, very popular sales thread, where the latest and best sales are listed, are posted HERE

    Purchases made through some of our links earns a commission for the forum and allows us to do the work of maintaining and improving it. Finally, thanks for being a part of this community. We realize that there are many choices today on the internet, and we have all of you to thank for making Styleforum the foremost destination for discussions of menswear.
  • This site contains affiliate links for which Styleforum may be compensated.
  • We would like to welcome House of Huntington as an official Affiliate Vendor. Shop past season Drake's, Nigel Cabourn, Private White V.C. and other menswear luxury brands at exceptional prices below retail. Please visit the Houise of Huntington thread and welcome them to the forum.

  • STYLE. COMMUNITY. GREAT CLOTHING.

    Bored of counting likes on social networks? At Styleforum, you’ll find rousing discussions that go beyond strings of emojis.

    Click Here to join Styleforum's thousands of style enthusiasts today!

    Styleforum is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

How many suits is enough?

runsurfswim

Active Member
Joined
Mar 28, 2011
Messages
31
Reaction score
0
I have a three button grey suit and a heavy wool pinstriped suit. Is that enough?
 

LanceW

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2010
Messages
503
Reaction score
5
Assuming you wear a suit 4-5 days a week I would recommend adding another solid color to your rotation. Solid colors are a less memorable design and will help when your selection is limited. Giving each of your suits a second day to rest will help with their longevity too. A solid navy suit will be stand out just enough to be easily recognizable as not one of your others but blend in enough so that it allows your shirts and ties to be the main backdrop of your ensemble.
 

dragon8

Distinguished Member
Joined
Feb 19, 2007
Messages
4,295
Reaction score
72
Originally Posted by pvrhye
We know nothing of your life. If you wear a suit everyday, you probably could use more. If you only wear one when somebody dies, you probably overshot it.

Agree. Tell us more about what you do for a living.
 

SirGrotius

Distinguished Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2011
Messages
4,991
Reaction score
3,175
Not really. A three-button grey and then a heavy wool is on the stodgy side.

I'd say you'll want a lighter navy suit. Try not to do stripes. Then you're pretty good with three suits as the average guy. If you want to mix things up in the future a light brown might be nice, but those are riskier propositions.
laugh.gif
 

KObalto

Distinguished Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2008
Messages
4,213
Reaction score
84
Originally Posted by LanceW
Assuming you wear a suit 4-5 days a week I would recommend adding another solid color to your rotation. Solid colors are a less memorable design and will help when your selection is limited. Giving each of your suits a second day to rest will help with their longevity too. A solid navy suit will be stand out just enough to be easily recognizable as not one of your others but blend in enough so that it allows your shirts and ties to be the main backdrop of your ensemble.

He's a law student, both suits are pinstripe, one thrifted as a costume:
http://www.styleforum.net/showpost.p...postcount=7414
OP, if you're interning at a firm that requires suits, I would recommend getting 2 more suits, solids, in either navy, gray or charcoal. You will also require 2 pairs of oxfords, one dark brown, one black, to be worn on alternate days. Pics of the suits would be helpful in judging their appropriateness for a first year intern. Also, what kind of firm is it?
 

lasbar

Stylish Dinosaur
Joined
Oct 13, 2006
Messages
22,718
Reaction score
1,322
20 including summer ones..
 

bluesman528

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2011
Messages
616
Reaction score
1,007
When you have 6 suits for spring/summer and another 6 for fall/winter, you have enough options for every mood and weather situation. But naturally, there is room for more.
laugh.gif


Most notably with more suits, you have all the possibilities to extend the selection to colors other than plain grey and plain navy (within reason
smile.gif
) and fabrics other than four season ones. That alone adds way more fun to the game (if you choose from good qualities concerning fabric and construction, a closet full of crappy suits leads you to nothing). Instead of only reacting to the basic requirements of a job environment you can enjoy the exuberance of your own style.

Don't forget the matching shoe selection, though.
lol8[1].gif
 

gorgekko

Distinguished Member
Joined
Sep 29, 2004
Messages
2,059
Reaction score
5
Originally Posted by KObalto
OP, if you're interning at a firm that requires suits, I would recommend getting 2 more suits, solids, in either navy, gray or charcoal. You will also require 2 pairs of oxfords, one dark brown, one black, to be worn on alternate days. Pics of the suits would be helpful in judging their appropriateness for a first year intern. Also, what kind of firm is it?
Pretty much my standard advice as well. Always start off with navy, charcoal and a grey. After that you can branch out to other conservative colours and then start going off the beaten path to things like pinstripes or sober patterns. As for how many suits are enough? There is no answer. Somewhere between three and infinity. I've settled in at six but I don't wear suits to work.
Originally Posted by bluesman528
Don't forget the matching shoe selection, though.
Yeah, this is where the addiction will start. Be very careful.
 

runsurfswim

Active Member
Joined
Mar 28, 2011
Messages
31
Reaction score
0
Wow, this is legit. I've been lurking since my posts, and learning a little. Thanks guys.

When I get a chance, I'll upload some photos and get y'all a better laugh that way(I can't help but think what I got is anything but a punchline).

After wearing boat shoes with black pants and a blacker three button blazer, and learning that was a bad idea a year later, I've dedicated myself to not looking like a fool. However, since I'm going to Europe out of desperation(couldn't find legitimate work--THANK GOD i.e. I would love any excuse to be in Europe), I think I've bought myself some time, although I probably won't be able to show up to OCI in either of my suits in three months.

Wow, I didn't know how little I knew.

Also, I'll post a pic of my hat, since apparently it needs a feather.

Also, apparently I need 100 posts to get into the wealth and power forum? What's up with that?
 

WorkingOnIt

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2010
Messages
154
Reaction score
2
If you're not wearing a suit this summer, I would guess you'd be able to make do with your two until next summer. If your school is like mine, your suits will have rest time with the two day blocks of OCI interviews.

It wouldn't hurt to get a solid navy suit though. I currently have a solid navy, a solid charcoal, and a pinstripe black for fun. I think I might get another solid navy or pinstripe navy just to have three normal suits. (Evidently pinstripe black isn't seen in the office outside of California. I just learned this last year.
laugh.gif
)
 

MikeDT

Distinguished Member
Joined
Jun 24, 2010
Messages
4,272
Reaction score
282
My current needs for a suit <1 this is plenty enough.
 

MyOtherLife

Distinguished Member
Joined
Sep 30, 2009
Messages
6,468
Reaction score
522
For a student I would recommend this list:
  • 2 suits for summer (super 100's or higher)(charcoal and navy) and 2 heavier for fall/winter/spring.
  • 3 sport jackets; 1 super 100's for summer, 1 tweed & 1 tan cord. for fall/winter/spring.
  • 6 dress shirts with spread collars- 2 white, 2 French blue, 2 white pencil stripe (or 1 of each at least)
  • 1 dozen pair of dress socks- 6 Navy, 6 Black
  • 10 briefs & 10 undershirts
  • 1 dozen ties (buy them in thrifts stores for pennies)(quiet patterns & muted colours)
  • 2 pair of black balmorals so you can rotate each day (suggest Allen Edmonds Park Avenue or equiv.)
With care, you'll have all the options you'll ever need through school and into your first years of work. None of these items has to be expensive. Take good care of your clothes and they will last. Use the sport jackets for activities outside the courtroom.
 

patrickBOOTH

Stylish Dinosaur
Dubiously Honored
Joined
Oct 16, 2006
Messages
38,393
Reaction score
13,643
Suits are kind of like money. Ironically they are inversely correlated in my case.
 

Featured Sponsor

How important is full vs half canvas to you for heavier sport jackets?

  • Definitely full canvas only

    Votes: 55 35.5%
  • Half canvas is fine

    Votes: 60 38.7%
  • Really don't care

    Votes: 17 11.0%
  • Depends on fabric

    Votes: 27 17.4%
  • Depends on price

    Votes: 28 18.1%

Forum statistics

Threads
505,195
Messages
10,579,243
Members
223,906
Latest member
alphadriveusa
Top