Suit For Sweaty Guy

[Hobbs13]

Ok, the title says it all. I tend to sweat a lot under my arms. I have tried a bunch of things and I plan on making a doctors appointment to see if industrial strength antiperspirant will help. That said, I am being promoted into an IT manager's job that will require me to wear a suit daily for the first time in my career. Up to this point, I only needed suits for big meetings once a month. I'm coming from a business casual environment.

I am looking to buy a light, comfortable suit that breathes well without looking too cheap.
Any suggestions? I see Joseph A Banks knocked a bunch here, but their Signature Line falls into my current price range and they make a tropical version.

If Tropical not the answer, just go with a decent line like Alfani Red and botox? LOL

Be kind - 1st time poster...

 

[MyOtherLife]

Welcome to Styleforum Hobbs13.
Please provide your approximate location and budget. Chances are, one or more of the members here may live in yor area and can recommend specific locations / makes available in your area and within your budget.
That said, you may want to consider fabric weight. For example, a Super 100s will be far lighter than worsted. I am speaking of the physical weight of the materials and the fineness of the weaves. The lighter the suit in weight, the more confortable they will most likely be for you. This may mean paying more per suit, but it will aid to alleviate your problem. If possible, purchase 2 pair of pants with the suit and rotate as you wear. This will guarantee you a longer enjoyment out of each suit.
A lightweight cotton undershirt will absorb perspiration and offer some protection to the shirt and jacket. You may want to purchase 2 dozen of these undershirts. You may even want to have a spare undershirt with you at the office in case you wish to change part way through the day.
While commuting, keep your top button undone. This will allow your neck to breathe until you arrive at the office. Another tip is to keep your hair cut short. I kept my hair military short for 20 years and on the hottest days I had a facecloth with me to mop off along the way. With short hair, it was a snap.
With shirting, invest in broadcloth which is far lighter a fabric than say, oxford cloth which is much heavier. Hope this helps as a starting point.

 

[Hobbs13]

Location: Southern NJ
Budget: $300-$400 per suit (Can wait for sales/clearance)

Thanks for the term Super 100. Never heard it before so I looked it up here.

I know, the budget kills me, but I have not reached a six figure job yet (Not that close really) and I have a house, two kids in daycare etc. Reality of life I guess. At this point I am going to start building a suit wardrobe, but need to start in the reasonable cost section. I will also start looking in goodwill for those diamonds in the rough.

Also found a few guides.

Thrift Store Suit Shopping Guide

Brand Guide For Suits - Note there was one on thse forums somewhere, but I lost the link....

How much can suits be altered

Watching the Brooks Bothers sales and the Macy's Alfani line as well. If anyone has better guides or comments on these let me know.

Thanks

 

[MyOtherLife]

Free bump.

 

[Gus]

Look for 100% wool in a light tropical weight. I used to get warm very easily and wore them year round adding a warm overcoat in winter. Ditch the T shirt and wear only 100% cotton shirts. Wear mid-calf light weight thin wool socks (not over the calf). I find light weight wool cooler than cotton due to better wicking.

Yes, see a Dr, maybe more than one to get the best advice over sweat control.

My neighbor sweats very easily and in humid weather changes shirts at noon and again at 5pm if going out at night. If that is what it takes, then just go with it and you will feel comfortable and fresh.

Good luck and it might help others if you report back regarding the Doctors advice.

 

[msulinski]

Look for suits with sweat guards. Tropical weight is also a good suggestion. Look for half or quarter lined jackets too. You can have the lining removed from the pants by a tailor.

I have started wearing Uniqlo AIRism undershirts. They are supposed to keep you cooler than a typical cotton undershirt. I recommend getting 1or 2 and trying them out before buying enough for regular rotation.

 

[VinnyMac]

Congratulations on the promotion. Wear an undershirt...problem solved.

If you like the cut of Jos. A Bank suits (I don't), and you're looking for middle of the road off-the-rack quality, then JAB signature gold is actually pretty good. What makes them good is that they're consistently and significantly discounted, bringing them down to a price that I feel is more reasonable for what you're getting. Other more popular retailers sell suits of similar quality for $700-$1000 dollars each. IMO, that's an absolute rip-off for what you get.

 

[DraperNY]

Ok, the title says it all. I tend to sweat a lot under my arms. I have tried a bunch of things and I plan on making a doctors appointment to see if industrial strength antiperspirant will help. That said, I am being promoted into an IT manager's job that will require me to wear a suit daily for the first time in my career. Up to this point, I only needed suits for big meetings once a month. I'm coming from a business casual environment.

I am looking to buy a light, comfortable suit that breathes well without looking too cheap.
Any suggestions? I see Joseph A Banks knocked a bunch here, but their Signature Line falls into my current price range and they make a tropical version.

If Tropical not the answer, just go with a decent line like Alfani Red and botox? LOL

Be kind - 1st time poster...

Odaban works very well for stopping sweat. You spray it at night before you go to sleep. In the morning use something like Old Spice body spray for odor. Though even without a body spray, you won't smell much. As someone who has suffered from the same thing as you, Odaban has been a miracle.

 

[E TF]

+1 on Uniqlo technical undershirts. I have bunch and wear one whenever I have to wear a suit and tie on hot summer days. They wick perspiration and prevent it showing through your shirt or jacket.
Also linen or linen-cotton mix shirts are great. Linen suit would be too, but maybe a bit casual for your purposes.

 

[LeviMay]

I've used DriSol for years now. It comes in a liquid dab-on. You put it on at night and wear a t-shirt to bed to prevent it evaporating; do this for a week-long loading phase, and then once every two weeks or so after that. It sometimes burns or itches a bit at first, but I haven't sweated from my pits in years.

 

[Hobbs13]

Thanks for tips. Really appreciate it

 

[Hacking jacket]

Your budget makes some of the following ideas a bit tricky, EXCEPT even I know US Black Friday sales can be just incredible and would be within budget.

Idea is to have breathability throughout.
Suits: Super 100s and above, basically mostly Italian suits. I found Armani to be the best of the light weight suits I have in terms of being super fine and incredibly breathable (other lightweights for comparison Boss Selection [Italian], Ede and Ravenscroft [Savile Row], RL Black Label [Corneliani?]). Besides 'labels' even in London you could buy Italian suits within budget.

Shirts; 170s, e.g. Thomas Pink Imperial, Grasmere (Acorn fabrics) for bespoke shirts or linen. Problems, 170s would be out of budget here and linen shirts chew cash on the dry cleaning bill (I dont advise it). A linen shirt that didnt need dry cleaning would be ideal, perhaps a linen/cotton blend (???).

Undrshirts; I considered but never tried cotton undershirts as a solution, because I thought I'd sweat more not less. Anyway I considered cotton mesh eyelet vests (undershirts), ie something highly breathable that could absorb sweat.I am really interested in the suggestion of Uniqlo. A linen/cotton undershirt blend could work but might not stretch enough to be viable.

Shoes: I always use all leather shoes with full leather soles. I tried several pairs of Geox .... a shoe brand that makes holes in the base of the shoe for breathability (it sounds crazy but they work) . anyway I didnt like the quality and felt leather soles were just as good.

 

[E TF]

^^ Don't get cotton undershirts, get the ones made from man-made fibres.

Also I've never had a linen shirt dry cleaned in my life, always just laundered them at home like anything else. No problem.

 

[Hacking jacket]

Why man made fibre, surely this would be less breathable... or is that the idea?

Regular washing linen items should cause it to shrink heavily, but I always had mine dry cleaned so I cant comment

 

[E TF]

These are the undershirts that I and msulinski were recommending, made from polyester and spandex. They're magic. They wick sweat way better than cotton, and dry way quicker. Same thing athletes wear basically (they should be reasonably figure-hugging to work properly). Cotton will absorb sweat until its saturated and then stay damp all day, which will only exacerbate the problem. A light weight merino t shirt would also work, though would be warmer.

I guess my shirtmaker pre washes the linen and also cuts the shirts to allow for a little more shrinkage thereafter. But I used to buy RTW linen shirts and never had much of a problem with shrinkage either; I suppose they were pre washed too. I mean for centuries, prior to the arrival of cotton, there were only linen shirts and they didn't have dry cleaners back then either...