New Guy - - ?? Here

[atlshaun]

I have been lurking for months and last week decided to register and be an active member. This has been an awesome site for me and I feel like i am on the right path towards correcting a lifetime of unfavorable clothing choices. I have just started caring more about my presentation to the world and my curiosity is spinning out of control. My question is simple: What are your "go to" Brands (removing MTM from the equation / / we can even pretend that, for the sake of this thread, that you are forced to use a non MTM retailer) for your various selections. You could also (if you simply cannot fathom non MTM options) approach the thread with the mindset of where you might send someone for these items if he was not able to afford MTM.

Also, Age / Height / Weight would be ideally referenced.

Dress Shirts:
OCBD:
Suits:
SC:
Ties:
Blazers:
Sweaters:
Gloves:
Shoes:
Boots:
Socks:
Khaki's (chinos):
Dress Pants:
Polo's:

No doubt I have forgotten important categories, so feel free to update as needed. I just want to get a better idea of where I should look.

 

[archibaldleach]

Welcome to SF and congratulations on starting to put together a better wardrobe. It's a very rewarding process. You will probably have a lot more luck doing searches for each individual item, because then you'll get more discussion on why people choose certain brands (it will be tough to maintain a discussion on a lot of different items at once and you probably won't get suggestions that are as useful. That said, I'm 27, 5ft7 and wear a 40S jacket and a 33 waist trouser with a 30 inch inseam:

Dress Shirts: Charles Tyrwhitt ($50 and reliable / presentable, extra slim fit for me)
OCBD: Don't wear
Suits: Brooks Brothers 1818 Line (Solid value on sale, decent quality)
Sport Coats / Blazers: Brooks Brothers (though I don't love flap pockets on non-blazers / non-DB odd jackets, so MTM really wins)
Ties: I know you said no MTM, but Sam Hober (costs are in line with brands like Brooks Brothers with far better quality and you can customize)
Sweaters: Don't really love any of my sweaters / have a go to brand yet
Gloves: No idea
Shoes: Allen Edmonds / Crockett & Jones
Boots: Don't wear
Socks: Polo Ralph Lauren on heavy discount
Chinos / Other Casual Pants: Brooks Brothers / Lands End
Dress Pants: Good values on Sierra Trading Post
Polos: Brooks Brothers, honorable mention to Polo Ralph Lauren

 

[emiristol]

Dress Shirts: SuitSupply
OCBD: Kamakura
Suits: Suitsupply/Zegna
Sport Coats: Suitsupply
Ties: Drakes
Sweaters: Drakes
Gloves: Paul Stuart
Shoes: Alfred Sargent/ Carmina
Boots: Carmina
Socks: Smart Turnout/Dapper Classics/Pantherella
Chinos: J crew
Dress Pants: Suitsupply
Polos: don't buy

i like suitsupply

 

[atlshaun]

Thanks for the responses...that's what I was getting at when I made the post. I appreciate the direction.

 

[Ilovelobbs]

Dress Shirts: Any 100% fine cotton from Canali to Cornelia
OCBD: What is this??
Suits: Any suits using following cloth: Reda; Loro Piani; Cerrutti; Zegna; Scabal;
Sport Coats: Aquascutum/Canali/Loro Piani/
Ties: Any - as long as it 100% silk.
Sweaters: John Smedley/Pingle/Scott Lyle
Gloves: Has to be slim with nappa leather & cashmere lining.
Shoes: Lobbs; Carmina; C&J's; Vass; SC; EG; PC;
Boots: see above.
Socks: not fussed
Chinos: not fussed - has to be 100% cotton
Dress Pants: not fussed
Polos: Polo.



Someone else shoedrobe.....

 

[Holdfast]

I love filling out random internet surveys as much as the next guy, so I'll play along, but my real advice is that the biggest problem with off the peg clothes is finding a line that happens to already be a good fit for your body (so that alterations are simple). In other words, my answers are heavily influenced by the fact that I know the brands mentioned actually fit me pretty well off the rack, rather than necessarily being what I'd consider to be good or good-value brands on a population level.

So at most, the aggregate results of your quiz should be used only a shortlist of shop for you to to traipse around, trying things on and figuring out which work best for you. Depending on how you value your time, you might actually decide it's not worth doing that and other options, including custom, work out better in terms of value. Anyway...

Dress Shirts: pain the backside to find a decent fit off the peg, the closest I've got to a good fit are actually from budget fashion shops like The Gap (slim fit) or Zara, but obviously I tend to get casual shirts only from these sources.
OCBD: as with dress shirts.
Suits: Z Zegna, Brooks Brothers Black Fleece. And I do want to try out Suit Supply next time I'm in London to try some stuff on in person. Same goes for ehaberdasher's Benjamin line.
SC: as above
Ties: Drakes mainly these days. I still have residual fondness for Hermes for wacky, cheesy stuff even if I don't wear them much any more. Occasionally Ralph Lauren.
Blazers: As with suits/scs
Sweaters: William Lockie, The Gap
Gloves: Not fussed; whatever fits. I happen to have Ede & Ravenscroft & Ralph Lauren.
Shoes: whatever's vaguely decent, upwards e.g. I have Loake 1880, Ferragamo (esp. Tramezza), Crockett & Jones, Edward Green, John Lobb, etc, etc.
Boots: The above are all fine, plus RM Williams
Socks: Falke
Khakis (chinos): Loro Piana, The Gap (slim fit)
Dress Pants: Loro Piana, Zara
Polos: Loro Piana. At some point I plan to try out Kent Wang's polos too.

As for me, about 5'6", and a fairly typical healthy build. In reality, though, a large percentage of my suits/jackets/smart trousers & shirts are either MTM or bespoke, either from Ede & Ravenscroft or Rayner & Sturges.

 

[aravenel]



I love filling out random internet surveys as much as the next guy, so I'll play along, but my real advice is that the biggest problem with off the peg clothes is finding a line that happens to already be a good fit for your body (so that alterations are simple). In other words, my answers are heavily influenced by the fact that I know the brands mentioned actually fit me pretty well off the rack, rather than necessarily being what I'd consider to be good or good-value brands on a population level.

So at most, the aggregate results of your quiz should be used only a shortlist of shop for you to to traipse around, trying things on and figuring out which work best for you. Depending on how you value your time, you might actually decide it's not worth doing that and other options, including custom, work out better in terms of value. Anyway...

Was going to say exactly the same thing.

All the same:

Dress Shirts: Luxire, which is MTM. For OTR, TM Lewin or Charles Tyrwhitt.
OCBD: Brooks Brothers. Going to give Kamakura a shot.
Suits: Caruso, Benjamin (eHaberdasher).
SC: Howard Yount
Ties: Kent Wang, Sam Hober
Blazers: Same as SC
Sweaters: No real brand loyalty, but I do love chunky Scottish or Irish knits. William Lockie, Inverallan, etc
Gloves: Whatever fits. Too worried about losing them to go all out on them.
Shoes: Allen Edmonds. I have wide feet, and they are one of the few manufacturers that makes almost their whole line in wide sizes.
Boots: Same as shoes. LL Bean for rougher stuff.
Socks: Plain old gold toe wool socks for winter. Still trying to find the perfect summer sock.
Khaki's (chinos): Still looking for the right brand for me.
Dress Pants: Howard Yount
Polo's: Used to be Brooks Brothers, but really want to give Kent Wang a try, and will do so once back in stock.