Suit Buying Top 10 Top Tips

What are everyones top 10 top tips for trying on a suit, what do you look for, how do you know what is right etc. ?

Wow a top 10 tips for suits. If only every other website and writer in the world had already written one of these.

Use google, you might be surprised at what you find.

Originally Posted by Blackhood

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Wow a top 10 tips for suits. If only every other website and writer in the world had already written one of these.

Everyone has different opinions, thought it might be interesting

1. highest armscye possible

the price obviously

you get what you pay for

2. Dual vents

Originally Posted by t210029

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Tip #7: Dry Clean All of Your Tailored Dress Shirts

I used to wash and then iron all of my dress shirts for the first few years I managed the suit store. I figured that dry cleaning was just a waste of money. Then I found out that dry cleaning was actually cheap ($2) for dress shirts and that they extended the life of the shirt by 3-4 times. You can wear a dress shirt two times before it needs to be dry cleaned again. So, if you work 5 days per week and have 5 dress shirts...you would only need to take these 5 dress shirts to the cleaners twice per month. Find a place that does them for $2 a piece and it only comes out to $20 per month! Your dress shirts will look much more crisp, last longer, and you won't have to iron your shirts.

T210029 - don't you mean "launder" rather than "dry clean" your shirts? For 2/shirt, it's an efficient way of managing one's self. Braised

This is why rules don't work:

Originally Posted by t210029

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Tip #2: No Pleated Pants

Strictly a fashion choice. In 10 years we'll be laughing about feminine/"gay" flat front pants. A properly done pair of pleated pants can be just as elegant.

Tip #3: Get Pants With a Lower Than Average "Rise"

Personal preference. It's starting to get ridiculous with the low rise pants.

Tip #4: Don't Cuff Your Pants

Where does this stupid "rule" that cuffs go with pleated only come from? Cuffs add weight to the bottoms of the trousers, and makes everything fall down better. A more appropriate rule would be cuffs for suits only.

Tip #5: A Proper Fitting Coat Will Feel Slightly Constricting

No, it should feel fitted. You should be able to move around and even sit with the jacket buttoned (though you shouldn't).

the argument that pleats are more elegegant, classy, or classic is moot. Flat front pants have been around longer than pleated pants. Same goes for cuffs. Just because your grandfather and father wore them doesnt mean that they are classic or timeless.

I do agree with low rise pants though. I am 23 and I think low pants on a suit look marsupialed. You dont HAVE to wear them high up on your waist, but wearing them on your hips looks dumb. It may work with jeans, but not with a suit

Why is pleats an issue when buying a suit? It's not noticeable when your jacket is buttoned. It's a very small concern when buying a suit. Making sure it fits is what counts.

Regarding cuffs, they all come unhemmed, so that's not an issue when buying the suit, that is a tailoring concern.

1. Quality counts
2. Fit matters most; but remember garments can be altered
3. Buy suits that can withstand the test of time -- keep away from faddish styles
4. Salespeople lie
5. Don't bring your spouse/GF with you when you shop
6. Color matters: stick with dark blues and charcoal.
7. Consider the occasion: keep in mind when and wear you'll wear this clothing
8. Buy one good book on men's style -- probably Flusser
9. Take good care of your clothes once you've made the purchase
10. Post pictures on this Forum so you can be ridiculed

Originally Posted by t210029

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A 3 button suit isn't a "deal breaker" like pleated pants...but get 2 button when possible for the hip James Bond look.

So many SF-ers lost their chance to have the hip James Bond look.

Originally Posted by t210029

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Tip #7: Dry Clean All of Your Tailored Dress Shirts

I used to wash and then iron all of my dress shirts for the first few years I managed the suit store. I figured that dry cleaning was just a waste of money. Then I found out that dry cleaning was actually cheap ($2) for dress shirts and that they extended the life of the shirt by 3-4 times. You can wear a dress shirt two times before it needs to be dry cleaned again. So, if you work 5 days per week and have 5 dress shirts...you would only need to take these 5 dress shirts to the cleaners twice per month. Find a place that does them for $2 a piece and it only comes out to $20 per month! Your dress shirts will look much more crisp, last longer, and you won't have to iron your shirts.

[A good brand name that has the elements of the James Bond suit without the $4,000+ price tag is Hugo Boss. If you look hard you can find these suits in the $500-$800 range. You can go cheaper, but just make sure you get the features I talk about in this post.]



Where do I begin?

1. You must have been washing them wrong. Shirts will last far longer if you wash them in cold water, inside out, with all the buttons undone and then air dry. Dry cleaners use heat which over time inevitably ruin shirts. If you don't believe me, read the writings of Alex Kabbaz, one of the best shirt-makers in the world.

2. You must meet a lot of very polite people, because if you are using shirts 2 days at a time, you must have some sort of foul smell emanating from your shirt, unless you somehow don't sweat...

3. No cleaner on earth can press a shirt the same way you can hand iron a shirt, unless they are hand ironing the shirts, in which case they are going to charge you for that service and it no longer becomes financially logical.

4. If you are stating that Hugo Boss makes good suits, especially when compared to the current crop of MTM James Bond Brioni suits, and that you are willing to pay upwards of $500 for them, you are just going to sound very, very ignorant; in real life and especially on SF.

In fact, that only 'elements' that a Brioni and Hugo Boss share is that they are both suits, the similarities end there.

Originally Posted by Iand

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So many SF-ers lost their chance to have the hip James Bond look.