MC General Chat

[masernaut]

^
"
"At the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, where Clemente is a professor, she sees at job fairs “baggy-ass black suits on skinny 19-year olds” who can’t afford anything else. “The suits are cheap; they look cheap. It’s one of these things in society, I wish we could just let it go,” she says."

I, too, would like to let go of this - by having some sort of education on "how to not look like you're wearing a garbage bag" and "buy clothing that fits."

 

[smittycl]

^
"
"At the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, where Clemente is a professor, she sees at job fairs “baggy-ass black suits on skinny 19-year olds” who can’t afford anything else. “The suits are cheap; they look cheap. It’s one of these things in society, I wish we could just let it go,” she says."

I, too, would like to let go of this - by having some sort of education on "how to not look like you're wearing a garbage bag" and "buy clothing that fits."

Generational breakdown? Guys were traditionally supposed to be taught how to dress by their Fathers/Grandfathers, right?

 

[WillingToLearn]

People pronouncing the death of the suit is a pretty reliable leading indicator for a recession. Inverted yield curve-esque, in my experience.

 

[UrbanComposition]

Generational breakdown? Guys were traditionally supposed to be taught how to dress by their Fathers/Grandfathers, right?

I was, but I was raised in a religious household where suits were de rigueur. Others were surrounded by such spoken/unspoken guidelines at home, boarding school, church, etc, but it hasn't been that way for quite a while.

On the one hand, I appreciate the liberation of the suit from being a formality to being worn with tees, sneakers, and in various silhouettes. OTOH you have abominations like tan brogues with navy suits, so there's that.

 

[Van Veen]

^
"Others suggest a correction is coming and suits will return in force. For one thing, there are signs of a recession. Recessions lead to unpredictability, and people seek comfort in old traditions, even expensive, uncomfortable traditions."

Not sure about that but it's comforting. I guess living here in DC skews my opinions as we all wear suits as a matter of course. The perfect equalizer if done right of course.

People who think suits are uncomfortable need to buy better suits.

 

[smittycl]

Obviously there is never a single, right answer. I'm fine with the evolution just kind of hoping suits are always in style at some level. I prefer the formality they bring to the workplace, my mindset, etc. All the usual arguments in favor.

 

[smittycl]

People who think suits are uncomfortable need to buy better suits.

Totally! I remember my first Macy's or Jos. A Bank suits compared to what I'm able to wear now. Night and day.

 

[dieworkwear]

I normally like Vox's The Good section, but that article on suits seems really superficial. Saying suit sales have declined is like the oldest news ever. You can just look outside for that. Or most people's own closets.

The suit remains not as a uniform for the powerless, but as a formal uniform for certain occasions. It's formality and tradition are what allow it to remain relevant for certain things (traditional dress in almost every culture remains through events such as weddings and funerals). But it's also because of that formality why it'll never come back in a big way. People don't want to look formal, which is why the frock coat went out of favor. Or the doublet. Or the ruff.

As always, I wish that, any time someone talks about the decline of the suit, they went back a little further than 1945, or better yet, before 1900. The decline of the suit is part of a much bigger 400-year history that has a lot more to do with political and social culture.

 

[IJReilly]

I’m hoping we’ll see the suit come back, but in a more casual way. Camoshita seems to be exploring that idea currently but isn’t quite here in my mind.

As for myself, I wear suits in standard situations: meetings, formal occasions etc. But I also like to wear them in a really casual way with knitwear, and I feel it works great. I seem to be moving away from the jacket and trousers thing ) which was my standard look), and either wear a suit or knitwear with a pair of tailored trousers. The closest I get to an odd jacket is some cardigany things from Camoshita and Batoner.

 

[Van Veen]

Totally! I remember my first Macy's or Jos. A Bank suits compared to what I'm able to wear now. Night and day.

I mean, nowadays you can get affordable suits in decent fabric from places like Suitsupply and Spier & Mackay. But most people still think a $400 suit is "expensive."

Still, the quality of even cheap department store brands now is much, much better than it was in the 80s and 90s. The fabric on old low end department store brand suits you find in thrift stores is like sandpaper.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

I will say that I don't really care what other people wear. I know that I will always wear them and that's all that really matters to me. I do think it limits me to what I would accept for employment though. I'd probably never be hired to work at a startup tech firm or something, because I want to wear a suit to work and that would probably cause drama to their precious culture.

 

[Omega Male]

Formal, around here, is now the 3/5ths. Black oxfords, suit pants, work shirt unbuttoned with no tie and the inevitable tech vest.

 

[gdl203]

Alright - which one of you guys is this?

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[dieworkwear]

Lots of Styfo members on podcasts this past week.

George from BRIO on Blamo

Greg from No Man Walks Alone on Handcut Radio

And Mark from The Armoury at Handcut Radio

I really like this quote from George.

 

[UrbanComposition]

I wore an über casual suit I got secondhand from @NickPollica for my 20 year anniversary party and everyone, from millennials to fogeys, said I looked “elegant” even though I wore a tee and CPs. One of my favorite people, an old Italian dame who dyes her hair burnt orange, went on and on about how guys used to wear suits with t-shirts all the time and it was “the thing you did.” Whatever that means.

The wonderful thing about the suit is its brainless ease, and it can be skewed casual or formal depending on myriad factors. I’m all for pattern mixing, but when it comes to looking decent enough for being in public, a lot of time is wasted on overthinking.