Suitable suits for sales.

[garyi]

Hello all. I Have just found this forum and look for ward to contributing.

However right now, I am a noob. Or more fairly on myself have not taken smart dress seriously in the past.

I am moving into a sales role now, quite a step from my previous profession and am getting some good feedback from the sales guys in terms of do's and don'ts.

However I do find the general clothing worn throughout my particular business varies wildly from just outright bad through to really smart, and I want to be seen at the upper end, but in the short term on a very very tight budget.

Now I am going to come right out and say I am doing the charity shops right now and have picked up a few decent cheapy suits such as ted baker and ben sherman, in my size and in good nick. These are standard tones, dark grey and near black, clear business use, not problem. I also own a ted baker already but this was when I had no clue so its a bit baggy.

So really I want to get a feel for what the boundry is in terms of first meetings with potential clients. I work in the catering industry so its not exactly banking. Never the less looking professional is essential.

Today for instance I picked up a lovely suit, saville row, probably from the 80s I would say, but its more of a country suit, being lightish brown, possibly a tweed, but clear business use I think. I don't know really. What I do know is, its like it was made for me. Back home I tried it with a nice pink double cuff shirt and blue tie, and to my eyes it looks bloody smart.

But would I be a plank stepping out in that for client meetings?

Also I think I must be odly shaped or something, 34 waist, 40 chest but most shirts are too long for my arm and my big fat neck means 16.5 shirts tend to be like a tent on me.

Any tips here, baring in mind 300 quid tailored ones are out of the question at the moment (I'll wait for my first big win )

 

[tgt465]

I can't say anything about your brown suit without first seeing pictures or understanding exactly who your clients are. But I will say that brown has historically been typically seen as country wear, and not entirely appropriate for business situations. Today's standards are more relaxed, however it may be better to err on the conservative side. It may well look good on you, but that might mean saving the brown tweedy suit for weekends or other social events.

You can take shirts to tailors for alteration to make them less tent-like. I don't know what prices are like where you live, but I would guess 30 pounds should be more than enough to fix up a shirt that already fits well in the neck and shoulders. Your baggy suit can likewise be fixed up, although alterations for suits will cost more than for shirts.