Solid charcoal suit vs. striped Navy suit - Need your opinions

[feynmix]

I need a solid basic suit, of good quality. I am thinking of picking up one of the following: Option A) Hickeystyle Charcoal suit Option B) Hickeystyle Navy striped suit I will be attending a wedding soon, and I plan on wearing one of these suits there. I would prefer to wear the following shoes with these, as after buying this suit, I will pretty much be broke for a month or two to invest in a good pair of black dress shoes. I will be wearing a solid white shirt with french cuffs, and tie is still TBD. Any opinions would be great. Thanks!

 

[Film Noir Buff]

Solid suits are for wimps, get the stripe. I not crazy about the shoes but in this case they might actually go better with the navy. Although, the navy has a ticket pocket...
One other thing, the three button peak lapel on the grey looks bad.

 

[goodlife]

solid is probably better than strip for a wedding

 

[Brian278]

If you're getting a basic suit, get charcoal. No suit is more versatile than solid charcoal. It goes to weddings, it goes to funerals, it goes to job interviews, it goes to cocktail parties.

I didn't actually look at either of your suits so there may be other factors involved. But if your just getting one good suit, get a solid charcoal suit.

 

[feynmix]

Originally Posted by Film Noir Buff

Solid suits are for wimps, get the stripe. I not crazy about the shoes but in this case they might actually go better with the navy. Although, the navy has a ticket pocket...
One other thing, the three button peak lapel on the grey looks bad.

Both suits are two button peak lapels, with center vents.

 

[Film Noir Buff]

Originally Posted by feynmix

Both suits are two button peak lapels, with center vents.
They are? I need to put some eye drops in.

 

[feynmix]

Originally Posted by Brian278

If you're getting a basic suit, get charcoal. No suit is more versatile than solid charcoal. It goes to weddings, it goes to funerals, it goes to job interviews, it goes to cocktail parties.

I didn't actually look at either of your suits so there may be other factors involved. But if your just getting one good suit, get a solid charcoal suit.

I could probably match the chocolate shoes with the charcoal suit, but I don't think a white shirt will go well. Maybe a light blue? I would rather buy another dress shirt than a pair of black shoes at the moment.

 

[koolhistorian]

Go with the charcoal grey one, more versatile, works also with a white shirt - that will allow you a wider array of ties to choose from - including greens, purple, etc (as you are wearing both the suit and the shirt in non-colors!) The shoes are worth a good shine - see the posts on that subject, and I think that you will have a good looking outfit!

 

[GTR]

Originally Posted by feynmix

Both suits are two button peak lapels, with center vents.
Skip both.

 

[Golf_Nerd]

Originally Posted by feynmix

Both suits are two button peak lapels, with center vents.

Skip both!!!

 

[johnny_flapjack]

If you're going to spend the $ on a decent suit that you want to be versatile, don't go with peak lapels. If you wear it with any regularity it will stand out much more as 'that charcoal suit of yours'.

Look at a plain charcoal suit with notch lapels. I prefer side vents if I can get them on a suit, but you need to decide if you want flat front/pleats and center vent/side vents. The Brooks Brothers Fitzgerald suit is a trimmer cut suit, as is the HF Barrett.

There was also a thread not long ago where someone posted a 50% off coupon for the Hickey Freeman website. It was good for regular-priced merchandise, and I don't know if it worked with the HickeyStyle website or when it expired, but it might be worth looking into.

Good luck and let us know what you wind up with.

 

[feynmix]

Originally Posted by GTR

Skip both.

Originally Posted by Golf_Nerd

Skip both!!!

Originally Posted by johnny_flapjack

If you're going to spend the $ on a decent suit that you want to be versatile, don't go with peak lapels. If you wear it with any regularity it will stand out much more as 'that charcoal suit of yours'.

Look at a plain charcoal suit with notch lapels. I prefer side vents if I can get them on a suit, but you need to decide if you want flat front/pleats and center vent/side vents. The Brooks Brothers Fitzgerald suit is a trimmer cut suit, as is the HF Barrett.

There was also a thread not long ago where someone posted a 50% off coupon for the Hickey Freeman website. It was good for regular-priced merchandise, and I don't know if it worked with the HickeyStyle website or when it expired, but it might be worth looking into.

Good luck and let us know what you wind up with.

Thanks. I prefer side vents on a suit, but I am a bit hard pressed at the moment, as I need a suit for a wedding before the first week of December. I also need a slim cut suit in 38R (notch/peak lapel, flat front pants, side vents), so if you have any other recommendations for a suit for around ~$600, I am all ears. Thanks for all the advice guys.

 

[VictorC]

What are the differing vents for. For instance a suit with no vent first. A suit with middle vent second. Thirdly a suit with side vents. What are the different reasons for the vents.?

 

[Master-Classter]

Originally Posted by VictorC

What are the differing vents for. For instance a suit with no vent first. A suit with middle vent second. Thirdly a suit with side vents. What are the different reasons for the vents.?

From what I've gathered...:

One aspect is just trend/styling... so single vents were more popular 20-30 years ago, but really the double vent has/will always been acceptable and common place.

Functionally, they are a different too. The single or (heavens!) no vent make for a more streamlined aesthetic and work better on slimmer taller frames but they may not really fall/drape well all the time as the wearer moves. Frankly though, as per the top point, you probably won't see dingle or no vents all that often on current suits. I think they're pretty rare.

The double vent is generally better if you have any sort of stomach or backside to accomodate, and in general it just sort of allows the garment to stretch/compress as the wearer moves. Single or no vents would more likely make the whole jacket pull in different places as soon as you move around.

 

[JayJay]

Solid charcoal, but not this one.