bluemagic
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As I said last night, I really want to buy a solid navy suit in my size, which I thought was 38R. I went to NYC for a few hours today to check some things out.
I first went to Madison Avenue, starting at J. Press. I first tried on a navy blazer. Tom suggested 39L (a surprise to me) after some trying on, but after consulting with the tailor, said that the house cut did not suit me. I believe there were issues with the button stance among other things. He suggested that 39MediumLong, perhaps at Paul Stuart, might be better, though Paul Stuart's price range would be more of an investment.
I didn't go to Paul Stuart. Instead, I dropped by Brooks Brothers at 346. The salesman on the 4th floor said that the 39L Fitzgerald fit. They didn't have solid navy in 39L, however. I went down to the 3rd floor to try on Black Fleece; BB2 (40 in the body) seemed to fit fairly well. I asked about the length; the salesman said that the technical answer was that it was a little too short, but implied that there is a variation of interpretations to such questions; a far cry from J. Press' absolute truth/fit. The Black Fleece suit certainly felt very nice, but even at 1/2 off it is really too expensive for me.
I also went to Soho to look for some casual wear or shirts, but didn't buy anything there either. I was planning on getting something from Uniqlo or Muji, but I found something wrong with everything. Uniqlo had a $130 navy blazer, but I couldn't stand the fused stiffness. I was thinking of buying one of their light blue oxford cloth button downs, and the fit was ok in Small for me, but the color was pastel, not icy blue, and looked really bad on me. Now that I've read Color for Men and am a believer, the dual categories of fit problems and color problems make it very hard to buy something. This is a good thing, since I am less likely to buy unloved items. This also explains why I didn't buy anything (there wasn't anything good anyways) at the Daffy's or Filene's Basement I went to.
A summary without the narrative:
1. How does excess weight affect sizing? If I lost some weight (I am currently not overweight, but I have some fat around the midsection, embarassingly), would I become a 38R?
2. I am more aware than ever of the consequences of the different approaches of The Rules (Mantonism, I suppose) and relativism (SoCalism, I guess).
3. I would really like something canvassed, and wish I had enough money to buy bespoke. But I don't.
I am thinking of posting pictures of me in the two articles of tailored clothing I have, both bought pre-SF, that I had thought fit me. One is a Hickey Freeman 38R suit; the other is a Nick Hilton 39R sportcoat.
Tomorrow I will go to Nick Hilton's store and see if his RTW cut fits me or not.
There's so much involved in really buying clothes! I don't want anything fancy; I would be content with a "uniform" of solid navy suit+icy blue button down/striped "mafoofan" button down+burgundy captoes for the highest level of formality, navy blazer+same shirts+wool/cotton pants/loafers for the next level down, and same shirts+1 pair of selvedge jeans+loafers for the next level down. But it's hard to find the right items for each...
EDIT: Pictures below.
I first went to Madison Avenue, starting at J. Press. I first tried on a navy blazer. Tom suggested 39L (a surprise to me) after some trying on, but after consulting with the tailor, said that the house cut did not suit me. I believe there were issues with the button stance among other things. He suggested that 39MediumLong, perhaps at Paul Stuart, might be better, though Paul Stuart's price range would be more of an investment.
I didn't go to Paul Stuart. Instead, I dropped by Brooks Brothers at 346. The salesman on the 4th floor said that the 39L Fitzgerald fit. They didn't have solid navy in 39L, however. I went down to the 3rd floor to try on Black Fleece; BB2 (40 in the body) seemed to fit fairly well. I asked about the length; the salesman said that the technical answer was that it was a little too short, but implied that there is a variation of interpretations to such questions; a far cry from J. Press' absolute truth/fit. The Black Fleece suit certainly felt very nice, but even at 1/2 off it is really too expensive for me.
I also went to Soho to look for some casual wear or shirts, but didn't buy anything there either. I was planning on getting something from Uniqlo or Muji, but I found something wrong with everything. Uniqlo had a $130 navy blazer, but I couldn't stand the fused stiffness. I was thinking of buying one of their light blue oxford cloth button downs, and the fit was ok in Small for me, but the color was pastel, not icy blue, and looked really bad on me. Now that I've read Color for Men and am a believer, the dual categories of fit problems and color problems make it very hard to buy something. This is a good thing, since I am less likely to buy unloved items. This also explains why I didn't buy anything (there wasn't anything good anyways) at the Daffy's or Filene's Basement I went to.
A summary without the narrative:
1. How does excess weight affect sizing? If I lost some weight (I am currently not overweight, but I have some fat around the midsection, embarassingly), would I become a 38R?
2. I am more aware than ever of the consequences of the different approaches of The Rules (Mantonism, I suppose) and relativism (SoCalism, I guess).
3. I would really like something canvassed, and wish I had enough money to buy bespoke. But I don't.
I am thinking of posting pictures of me in the two articles of tailored clothing I have, both bought pre-SF, that I had thought fit me. One is a Hickey Freeman 38R suit; the other is a Nick Hilton 39R sportcoat.
Tomorrow I will go to Nick Hilton's store and see if his RTW cut fits me or not.
There's so much involved in really buying clothes! I don't want anything fancy; I would be content with a "uniform" of solid navy suit+icy blue button down/striped "mafoofan" button down+burgundy captoes for the highest level of formality, navy blazer+same shirts+wool/cotton pants/loafers for the next level down, and same shirts+1 pair of selvedge jeans+loafers for the next level down. But it's hard to find the right items for each...
EDIT: Pictures below.