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Suit for night out

changy

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All my suits are for work and im think about getting a suit made for going out at night, e.g. dinners at nice restarants/shows and such. I'm thinking

Black
Skinny peak lapel (I'm 178cm and 65kg)
Single button
no ticket pocket
**** pocket
no pleats

Thoughts? Can I wear this to a club or lounge without a tie? What are your thought on buckles and no belt loops? Also, should it be shorter than a regular suit?

Thanks!
 

ykurtz

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I have a RLBL suit that matches this. It has flap pockets, but I can just tuck them in (double besom). Works well as a 'club/lounge' suit.
 

Ianiceman

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You better watch yourself askng about black suits on this forum or the inquisitors will start lighting the fire ready for your imminent burning.

I'm like you, I like to keep 'going out' suits separate from work suits otherwise you can't feel excited about dressing up to go out cos it feels like you're heading for the office. I also like my black suit, strictly for non business. I would forego the single breasted peak lapel cos in my OPINION this is a current but passing fad that will date your suit a lot faster than if you had notches.
 

Sazerac

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Sure you could wear that to a club. We just had a discussion here about suits at clubs, specifically about suspenders. (I'm pro-suit, anti-suspenders -- unless no one ever sees them.) I'm of the opinion that you should have a dedicated "evening suit" (for lack of a better term) just for this kind of thing.

What you're describing sounds great, if maybe a little too tuxedo-like. Whether or not you have the jacket cut a little shorter is up to you and your comfort level. Myself, I think we've probably hit the very shortest the jackets will go -- unless we go to those awful 80's jackets that ended at the waist which, in that case, God help us all. If you're going to spend the money, I wouldn't go too short, lest you be left with an unfashionable jacket in a few years.

Also, why don't you try side tabs instead of belt-loops. Would look very sleek.
 

Sanguis Mortuum

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Originally Posted by Ianiceman
I would forego the single breasted peak lapel cos in my OPINION this is a current but passing fad that will date your suit a lot faster than if you had notches.

The width of the lapel will date long before the peak does. And even though peak lapels will eventually drift out of fashion, I'm not convinced they'll look 'dated' any time soon. Do notch lapels look 'dated' now, while peaks are in fashion?
 

Ianiceman

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Originally Posted by Sanguis Mortuum
The width of the lapel will date long before the peak does. And even though peak lapels will eventually drift out of fashion, I'm not convinced they'll look 'dated' any time soon. Do notch lapels look 'dated' now, while peaks are in fashion?

You see how I capitalised 'opinion'? It's because I didn't want to get I to this whole peak vs notch argument. Lapel widths change of course but if you don't go too extreme a notch lapel can move effortlessly through decades of the whims of whatever the fashion mags are trying to foist upon us.

Peak lapels have been around for decades too, but between approx 1940 and Anthony Eden till just a few years ago they were rarely if ever seen on a single breasted suit (except dinner suits). That's why in my OPINION it's a passing fad that will date a suit quicker than a medium width notch lapel.

Remember them huge padded shoulder DB suits all the NBA players did their press conferences in during the early nineties? You don't see them any more do you? I called that one back then too.
 

Matt S

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Get lapels that are on the narrow side but not skinny. Skinny peak lapels always look terrible, and peak lapels should be wider than notch lapels. Single-breasted peak lapels are not a problem and never will be. Don't go narrower than this:
sean-connery-goldfinger.jpg


And why do you want such a boring colour as black? Get midnight blue; the colour has more depth and will look darker than all the black suits around you.
 

Sazerac

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On the peak lapel issue: in a few years, designers will grow bored with them and move on. At that point your jacket will look like it came from an identifiable time-frame, say 2009-2012.

Save yourself the indignity of hearing, "hey, 2010 called and wants its lapels back...", by going with a notch lapel. Not too wide, not too thin. It won't go out of style until suits do. (Which, you know, may be soon, actually.)
 

Wideknot

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Originally Posted by Matt S
Get lapels that are on the narrow side but not skinny. Skinny peak lapels always look terrible, and peak lapels should be wider than notch lapels. Single-breasted peak lapels are not a problem and never will be. Don't go narrower than this:
sean-connery-goldfinger.jpg


And why do you want such a boring colour as black? Get midnight blue; the colour has more depth and will look darker than all the black suits around you.



Agree. Lapel width will date the look faster than whether it is notch or peak. Frankly, I've started having all my suits cut so that the lapel ends half-way between the collar and the shoulder. This middle-way seems to ride out the fashion cycle, always looking good, never inappropriate, never cutting-edge.

Also +1 on the midnight blue. While I'm actually a fan of black suits, the MB is much more versatile.
 

changy

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Thanks for mentioning to the suspenders thread, that provided a good chuckle.

And now that I think about it, I might actually go with midnight blue, though I'm assuming it will look black in dimly lit place?

As for the peak vs notched, I think I'll stay with peak since I dont forsee myself getting a peak lapel suit for work in the near future. Might as well get it casual outings when it's still a fad right ;-)
 

robinsongreen68

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sounds perfect, i have a kilgour OTR black suit w peak lapel that i wear with a white shirt (no tie) for gallery openings, dinner, etc. always gets admired. the great thing is that people dont assume youve come straight from the office. i think the peak lapels help to reinforce this impression.
 

changy

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Originally Posted by SpooPoker
lavegas104.jpg


Don't think i can pull off the look, but I am admiring the pocket square. What kind of fold is that?
 

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