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lennier

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Originally Posted by Smudge
That'll teach me to rely on iphone spell checker / auto correct
teacha.gif

You should have retaliated by pointing out that the word is pedant
smile.gif
 

bhall41

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Originally Posted by Smudge
That'll teach me to rely on iphone spell checker / auto correct
teacha.gif


Lol. Popped out to buy the Australian, and am reading "Wish" mag now. Good to see Patrick Johnson featured on page 29, amongst other MTM tailors and tailoring services.

Has anyone from Melbourne tried Captains of Industry, who are also featured (on p 28). I have read about them previously, and was curious. They do MTM suits and bespoke shoes. Suits start at $1,200 and shoes $1,000.
 

bhall41

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Originally Posted by lennier
You should have retaliated by pointing out that the word is pedant
smile.gif


fight[1].gif
He certainly should have!
 

fxh

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Originally Posted by kickstart
Quick question from a noob.

Can I wear a dark charcoal suit to a cocktail party? (Blue shirt, dark tie)?

Recommendations/appropriate combinations welcome!


Depending which part of Oz you are in you may well be overdressed.

In theory a cocktail party is 5 pm for 5.30 pm till 7.00 pm. And it is supposed to be a transition - you are coming from somewhere and going some where - true cocktail parties don't kick on - they finish at 7 pm on the dot and importantly don't serve a full meal - although if you are sneaky you can often scoff enough nibbles to make up a meal.

In theory also - you will be dressed for where you are heading to AFTER the cocktail party . Except if it is home to loll about on the couch watching Biggest Loser.

You may also be dressed influenced by where you are coming from - say work - but not if its working on the IT Help desk in the basement in cargo pants and grubby hoodie.

Like a lot of life the theory of the cocktail is filled with contradictions. - The main contradiction is that it is the place to wear the cocktail dress for women - the Little Black Dress - which by definition is NOT something to wear to work.

The male should endeavor to dress as a background and flattering palate for the female cocktail attire.

A charcoal suit with blue shirt and dark tie seems to fulfill all the criteria - coming from work and a sensible dressed up palate.

I'd make it a white shirt though - looks a bit more of an evening attire and dressed.

The purpose of the cocktail event is to circulate and initiate brief conversations amongst as many people as possible during the hour and a half - not to stick with those you know and hang back.

Exchanging business cards at a cocktail do is not a faux pas

edit:: one of the secret joys of cocktail parties is that you are expected to have drink in hand and it is possible to slosh down a lot without the effect becoming apparent until well after you leave. You can dress up, go out and drink a lot free without the complication of getting half blotto in front of others.

Have a sherry for me.

edit:: Cocktail is usually all standing up and circulating - with very few if any - seats. And any seats will not be behind a table. Hence clothes that work well standing up are called for - or even clothes that only look at their best standing up - one of the reasons that the short Little Black Dress works - no need to sit down. In addition people will see your outfit from all angles not just the upper front as is usual with say dining or meeting experiences.
 

Prince of Paisley

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Originally Posted by fxh
Depending which part of Oz you are in you may well be overdressed.

In theory a cocktail party is 5 pm for 5.30 pm till 7.00 pm. And it is supposed to be a transition - you are coming from somewhere and going some where - true cocktail parties don't kick on - they finish at 7 pm on the dot and importantly don't serve a full meal - although if you are sneaky you can often scoff enough nibbles to make up a meal.

In theory also - you will be dressed for where you are heading to AFTER the cocktail party . Except if it is home to loll about on the couch watching Biggest Loser.

You may also be dressed influenced by where you are coming from - say work - but not if its working on the IT Help desk in the basement in cargo pants and grubby hoodie.

Like a lot of life the theory of the cocktail is filled with contradictions. - The main contradiction is that it is the place wear the cocktail dress for women - the Little Black Dress - which by definition is NOT something to wear to work.

The male should endeavor to dress as a background and flattering palate for the female cocktail attire.

A charcoal suit with blue shirt and dark tie seems to fulfill all the criteria - coming from work and a sensible dressed up palate.

I'd make it a white shirt though - looks a bit more of an evening attire and dressed.

The purpose of the cocktail event is to circulate and initiate brief conversations amongst as many people as possible during the hour and a half - not to stick with those you know and hang back.

Exchanging business cards at a cocktail do is not a faux pas

edit:: one of the secret joys of cocktail parties is that you are expected to have drink in hand and it is possible to slosh down a lot without the effect becoming apparent until well after you leave. You can dress up, go out and drink a lot free without the complication of getting half blotto in front of others.

Have a sherry for me.

Take some free advice - this is all very true.

Though I can't remember the last time sherry was served at any cocktail hours I've been to!
 

blahman

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Originally Posted by fxh
Depending which part of Oz you are in you may well be overdressed.

In theory a cocktail party is ...


Thanks fxh. Nice bit of info there!

I used to think cocktail parties involve those with cocks, with a drink in hand, chasing tail and having some nibbles on some canapes in the process.
 

fxh

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Originally Posted by Doug11
Hi,'
I hope this isn't like asking on a Ferrari Forum "Can I buy a reliable model?" but I totally wear out (as in destroy) about 4 suits every year and would like to get something a bit more durable before the bank forceloses on my Credit Cards.

I buy reasonably cheap - middle range suits (Fletcher Jones Purple label 100% wool, Anthony Squires,A suit from one of those suit shops in the city for $499 and a Studio Italiano for DJ's)- but will spend more if there is value in it.

All 4 wore out the pants in less than 18 months - either shiny ass or crotch worn through or just look like crasp.
I will go for the 2 trouser suits next - but would like advice on hard wearing.

thanks
Digger


I'm not an expert on why clothing wears out (although like everyone else here I pretend to be an expert on the internet) but its something I've been interested in strangely enough. I don't think I've ever worn anything out and yet I have friends who regularly have clothes wear out.

I worked closely with one of these friend a few years back and I made an observational study of him with regard to this issue.

It seems to me that:

Generally those who have clothes wear out are chunky solid built types

They are generally just harder on clothes - I'm generally not hard on clothes - I'll explain a bit.

My mate would buy one suit and wear it most days. He would also wear the jacket in the car which I'd never do. He'd wear it at home after work - maybe slip off the tie and jacket if it was hot. Me I change within 30 minutes of arriving home – its not some iGent thing - I always have.

This bloke would also be happy to have a kick of the football with the kids in his suit after getting home. Me I wouldn’t know even how to bowl a football.

In general he wore his suit more like I would wear jeans. If I have a suit on and sit down, I pull up the pants and loosen them over the knees. He just plonked down. Similarly I will look and wipe before sitting on a cafÃ
00a9.png
chair or outside bench – he would just plonk down.

He would get his stuff dry cleaned ever second week or so – me once or twice a year or after a big disaster.

A new suit on him would only take about 4 weeks to look baggy at the knees and sloppy.

All of these issues contribute to the wearing out of the suits I think.

In addition I’ve noticed that guys with big thighs have trouble wearing things out – pleats on pants may help here.

Excessive dry cleaning will quickly drain the life out of clothes especially woollens.

Wool is great partly because it stretches and gives and springs back into place as well as resisting staining and rain etc because of the inherent oils in wool. Not resting it does not allow the restorative effect and dry cleaning sucks out the natural oils.

Going out and spending $1,550 + on a suit won’t necessarily make a suit wear better – in fact the lighter and superfine counts may well (will) wear out faster. And there are any number of blokes spending $2,000 plus on bespoke and ending up with nothing much to speak about.

A $499 Anthony Squires suit that is altered to fit you well may well look better than a badly fitting $1,500 job. (And other than a few of the iGents down at the Geelong End of Collins Street – Docklands - no one will be able to tell the difference. Naturally us genuine Gents up around the Paris /Melbourne Club/Athenaeum Cub /Supper Club end will notice.)

I wouldn’t advise rushing out and spending big $$ yet. Wait until you find out what the issue is.

Do you have to wear a suit every day?

Make sure you are getting suits that both pants and jacket are fitting you. It maybe be that your drop from jacket to pants is less than most people. That is you may take a 42 jacket but a 38 pants instead of say a normal drop 6 size 36 pants. Try getting the pants to fit and you might do better with pleats to give more room when sitting etc.

Two or three $499 suits will give some breathing time to find out what works and also to give then a bit of a rest for a day or two in between wears.

Heavier material may help too – although it is unlikely to be available in RTW these days.

Then save up and get a good ~ $1,500 MTM and then save up more for a bespoke when you know what you want.

If there is a wide discrepancy between the size of well fitting pants and well fitting jackets for you then you might do better to look at good separates like sportcoats or a blue blazer to enable you to get a few pairs of pants that fit well and a couple of jackets.

What happened to my mate above? – He stopped wearing suits everyday and switched to smart casual better wearing stuff like heavy cotton twill pants and a jacket or two.

Smart clean more casual clothes worn well fitting and suiting your personality will always look smarter than a shiny scruffy suit you don’t feel comfortable in.

I’m not attempting to be definitive and prescriptive but my observations might help.

Others who have problems with wear in clothes might chime in with better advice.
 

fxh

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Originally Posted by blahman
Thanks fxh. Nice bit of info there!

I used to think cocktail parties involve those with cocks, with a drink in hand, chasing tail and having some nibbles on some canapes in the process.


Ahh - those ones are more likely to be populated by boys with a drink and their cock in hand.....
 

fxh

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Originally Posted by Prince of Paisley
Take some free advice - this is all very true.

Though I can't remember the last time sherry was served at any cocktail hours I've been to!


Yes - I agree and mores the pity - I've no great liking for sherry but I must say a very dry sherry at a cocktail party seems just right.
 

Wildesy

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Originally Posted by fxh
Me I wouldn't know even how to bowl a football.

Appreciate the post, very informative. This part gave me a good giggle.

Originally Posted by fxh
He would get his stuff dry cleaned ever second week or so - me once or twice a year or after a big disaster.

Excessive dry cleaning will quickly drain the life out of clothes especially woollens.


I'm only new to every day suit wearing and I'm a bit out at sea with what it takes to properly maintain a suit. In the past I didn't wear them frequently enough to notice how much damage regular dry cleaning actually does, but now I'm certainly becoming more aware of it. Any chance you could outline yourself, or point me in the direction of a post that provides a bit of a guide on how to properly care for a suit to enable me to get good value for my outlay.

If you're only dry cleaning a suit once or twice a year, how do you ensure the suit stays looking clean and fresh? I've seen some special cloths for ironing which I am led to believe can be quite helpful and I'm sure not treating your suit like a disposal rag (i.e. your friend) helps, but any other tips and hints you could maybe provide me with?

Sorry for the rookie question, but I certainly appreciate any help that can be provided. Thanks guys
 

Prince of Paisley

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Originally Posted by Smudge
Interesting articles in today's The Australian supplement "Wish", the "bespoke" issue all about new breed of Aussie bespoke and customisation services, history of Saville Row etc.
"A bespoke suit will invariably be fastened at the cuff with four working buttons; the button closest to the cuff is usually worn unfastened".... [let me finish that for you]....

.... if you are a douchebag.
 
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