Hello Veeky Forums
I live in a smaller town and there aren't many people in business suits etc here
But I want a "business fashionable" style for myself, to be taken more seriously
I don't know where to start though... I don't want to look like a hippy anymore
What's a good way to overcome my fear of ... sudden change?
What do you recommend? I know I should get a watch and some good shirts, a suit, and shoes.
Solid advice incoming:
Put all the clothes that are part of your hippy look away in a chest for a year. At the end of the year look in the chest and take out the things that you felt you really missed in the past 6 months and donate the rest.
Start with a suit from SuitSupply - go for something with a softer look. Don't go ultrafashionble right off the bat, start with conservative shit they'd recommend you on Styleforum or MFA. Linen and cotton shirts, conservative ties from thrift stores, and some slacks. Leave the watch until you're ready to invest, or until your granddad passes and leaves you a really cool one.
>seriously recommending for someone to wear a suit all the time
You can still look "business fashionable" without needing a suit. Look at smart casual, i.e. collared shirts, well-fitted pants, nice shoes (loafers, derbies, Chelsea boots), sweaters if need be + coats or jackets.
I live in a small town also, and nobody really wears buisinesswear
I would give strong words of caution, learn from my mistakes
1. don't wear buisiness wear if you arn't working a high paying job; it's a social faux pas and will lead to you being scofed at
2. fashion is as much as fitting in as it is standing out, there is a diferance between "outdressing" and "overdressing"
it would be inappropriate to wear buisinesswear in many situations because it's considered to be formal
start by getting some casual pants in neutral colours, black, mid grey, grey blue
then get some shoes that match, if you want to spend the money get leather, you generally get what you pay for
then get some shirts that fit, I had to go online for this
then with a nice jumper you will look mature
or with a suit jacket you will look striking when you have occasion to
try to steer clear of ties in general, they are really only for the office
Tell me more about your mistakes lad.
well I got a suit tailored overseas, loved it so much
silk lining, propperly fitted
I have broad shoulders and a very narrow waist, so I can't just buy off the rack
I wore it to the races with some friends, having only ever been to the races in the city
to my horror, the crowd consists mainly of redknecks in tinted sunglasses drinking premix cans and smashing plasti chairs
people were actually passed out on the flower beds
I looked like a total fool
a few weeks later I went out on a date with a girl I met a week before, and I thought I'd wear just the suit jacket with a plain shirt and jeans, to dress it down
turns out this girl wasn't as cultured as I though, and after a few drink asks me "so you are like an upper lass person right?"
I laughed it off, and we went from the resteraunt to a cocktail bar/resteraunt that is open later
poshished marble bar top, large open glass windows, main street of town etc etc
the waitress takes our drink order and asks me if I have been to a wedding
I'm confused, and ask her what makes her think that
she says "you're wearing a suit"
my jacket was the most notable thing about the whole night, and honestly it ruined it for me a bit
then come winter, I'm working as a barman/waiter and I walk to work
It's drizling and there is a pretty bitter wind for where I live
so I put on my pea coat and get my umbrella and scarf out
(yes pea coats are a bit passe now)
I get a coffee on the way to work and the barrista asks me if I come from of town, I actually get my offe there about once a week so I tell the guy I'm local; this waitress behind be giggles and says I look like I come from london
I am british, and I had been in london the month before but I wasn't really pleased
basically you stand out from everyone, and people think you are oddly overdressed
I see. In that case I would opt for more casual fabrics. Something with texture or pattern, maybe some sporty details here and there.
You know, not worsted wool. Basically trying to get it less like a business suit.
>I thought I'd wear just the suit jacket with a plain shirt and jeans
this is a faux pas no matter where you are
suit jackets should not be used as if they were blazers
just because you live in a town full of retards down in bumfuck nowhere doesn't mean everyone's going to be as out of place as you claim to have been
>suit jackets should not be used as if they were blazers
well, like I said lessons learned; it's hard to learn these things when you have no real world examples to follow
however let it be said the result was replicated with a blazer on another occasion
all my jackets, blazers, and wool coats are now just gathering dust
well the warning is there primarily for people who DO live in bumfuck nowhere
so where do you actually live lol
this entire situation of yours is unfortunate but funny
Lmao sounds like my home town. i hope you get the opportunity to move and/or start dressing well but "down" a bit to fit into your class.
This guy is also correct. With unmatched pants, wear a sport coat or blazer, though it sounds like a sport coat would work better where you are.
I wish I had an excuse to wear a suit more often. They're more flattering on me than just about anything else, and I feel cool wearing one, but I live in LA and nobody but bankers and lawyers wear them here.
Casual suits are a thing. If you're in LA then you should be able to wear cotton and linen suits daily if they look good on you. Definitely an underrated way to dress.
I've thought about it but I get ribbed pretty hard for even wearing a blazer with jeans. I'm also not tall or skinny enough to really pull off the casual suit look, I look good in stuff with heavier weights and more traditional cuts but not the super sharp shit.
I feel like you and everyone else in this thread don't know this. There are multiple degrees of formality among suits, depending on the cut, material, color, etc.
So if you want to wear a suit casually, consider the following characteristics:
unstructured
textured
material (seersucker, cotton)
slimmer cuts (depending on your build)
I'm the guy you replied to.
I'm actually well aware of it, but the people around me aren't. No amount of "this is a casual suit" will stop people from thinking it's weird and making cracks about job interviews and funerals.
It's just a fact that dress is getting more casual. I know high salary managements consultants who wear jeans to the office on Fridays, and running shoes are pretty much ubiquitous with doctors.
On the other hand, do what you like and rock it until people start copying you if you want to wear suits that badly.
Somebody recommended "classic ties from thrift shops". Please, don't do that.
Hey, some classic ties can be really cool. You just have to get '60s-'70s ones and not horrible gaudy '80s-'90s shit, and I don't know how easy those are to find nowadays.
I have a skinny grey wool tie that was my dad's back in the '70s or so, and love it.
Depends on the tie desu.
You can find some nice classic stuff in thrift stores. You also find a lot of tacky ties too.
Yeah, I wanted to elaborate more but my lesson started. Depends on what you consider a basic tie. Thing is, if you are new to this kind of clothing, I think most people will buy stuff they see the most - some ugly polyester polka dot bullshit that's most common in thrift stores.
For starters, I'd say don't buy ties with complicated patterns (paisley), solid colours are.. well, more solid. Always check the ties material, either pure silk, wool or linen. I personally prefer raw textures, these can be found on 50s and 60s vintage ties. Pic related is the best for business casual dress code setting imo.
Those ties are pretty damn ace for casual wear. I'd buy them in a heartbeat.
My ties from thrift shops collection. All of these cost between 50 cents and 15 dollars. Some of the ones on the right are in bad taste - to me, lovably and perfectly tacky and collectable.
Yeah, they are. You can get them at Drakes for like 100£ a piece doe.
If you have the skills required, you can make them yourself.
That'd not too bad, imagine having the height and the figure, but not the chiseled good looks. :(
If you dont have a job that requires a business look people will just think your a tryhard douchebag
if you're going to dress in menswear, please remember not to wear solid black suits
that's the definition of dadcore.
We can see color. use it.
>we can see color
check your privilege scum
Good inspo pic actually
1. get a slim-fit three-piece suit
2. get it tailored
you'll look good unless you're a manlet
but you need to get suits tailored no matter what. If you don't youll look like an autistic clown
w2c that jacket
I am not saying that pic is a bad example, but a tie slimmer than lapels of the jacket should be a no go. Also, the collar width doesn't compliment the style really. And please, try to avoid wearing white chinos, unless you're black.
Getting it tailored can cost a bit of money doe.
Be prepared to spend up to 200+ dollars on someone who knows how to properly alter a suit outside of waist suppression or sleeves
And here I am thinking I'm cheap/poor because I don't want to go all-in on made to measure.
White chinos are a prep staple, though
Prep =/= business casual
Made to measure isn't all in.
All in is bespoke from Gieves and Hawkes or Richard James.
It's all-in to me. That's the point.
The rise of online MtM means you can get an okay suit in limited customizable styling options for 300 dollars, really good if you're a weird size.
I live in London and went to a pretty nice restaurant, where the dress code was 'smart casual', it was a nice occasion for my girlfriend and I so decided to wear a very dark sport coat (Charcoal / black) same colour chinos, an oxford shirt with the top button undone and Common Projects. Despite the restaurant alluding to this type of wear being compulsory, there were people in jeans, old t-shirts and timberlands. A place where a 3 course meal for two costs over £100 and I've seen better dressed people in McDonald's. Most people cannot be bothered to dress remotely presentable anymore, I had few admiring glances but I felt incredibly overdressed.
what's the exact difference betweeen bespoke and MtM? always had me wondering
If more people like you dtart visiting that restaurant, other people will start feeling underdressed.
Bespoke has the pattern drafted for you and is way more accomodating in terms of available styling details. MtM is based on adjusting stock patterns to your supplied measurements with a few limited choices for styling.
For example, Indochino can't change the cut of their pants. There's a world of difference between their standard low rise skinnies and a fishtail back or hollywood waisted pair of pants, but no amount of adjusting measurements could make their pants fit anything like the latter two no matter what.
i think i get it now, thanks user
>Be prepared to spend up to 200+ dollars
Shouldn't cost more than $50-100. If you're going to alter so much it'll cost $200+, you've bought a jacket that doesn't fit you at all.
The last jacket I bought was a casual blue, cotton jacket from Boglioli that I needed to have the sleeves shortened and let it out 1cm in the chest. Total cost for that added up to 30€ which roughly equals $40-50.
Not getting your shit tailored is a huge mistake, because even if you buy a quality suit it'll look like shit unless it fits you really well.
I'd much rather buy a pair of off-white or really light grey chinos than white, which is a very strong colour and can make your outfit look quite unbalanced.
>online MtM
Worthless and a stupid idea.
gonna do a $500 bespoke in asia,pretty good but i'm going to multiple measuring session
I use this
Think the brand is manuel ritz
>three-piece suit
hah you can't be serious right
This.
The reason you pay a premium over OTR when you go MTM/bespoke is for the expertise of a tailor/someone who takes the measurements so that everything will fit as good as possible, not just the ability to choose the material and details that you want.
I would much rather buy a suit that I know fits pretty well and take it to a tailor than buy a MTM suit online. The very idea seems absurd.
for the love of god, go to a tailor