OK, so I was thinking we could take the ball and run with a thread where we trade advice and ask questions about all things attire related. Don't think I haven't noticed some of those serious shirt sleeves and cuffs you clothes horses' are rockin' in those ubiquitous wrist shots.

Women discuss this sort of stuff all day long (or, half of it) and many of us get stuck wearing that same worn out polo and boat shoes from 1998.?

Women dress for other women and are part of a constant feedback loop of personal style magazines and the frank and open criticism of their social groups.

Most men walk into a barber shop and begrudgingly get the number "3". Many guys I know keep the same haircut for life...this would be the haircut they had the first time they got laid (perhaps you picked up a girl in a bar or nightclub). This is why you see so many men get "stuck" in a style; I see it all the time! I don't want to go all Chuck Klosterman on Omegaforums so I'll cut myself off by asking a question...

Do you believe all grown men should have at least a single made to measure suit or perhaps even bespoke?

No matter your station in life, we all must attend social and formal functions like weddings and formals as well as funerals and other gatherings which should require a suit (and, proper shoes!!!).


This thread can offer lots of opportunity for stealth #humblebrag.

So, what say you, bespoke, or not? I say yes. You need not have to drop 7500 quid @ Anderson and Sheppard or Henry Poole for a decent custom. Or, do you?

 

Agreed on the suit - probably charcoal or black for all around use in every situation you mentioned. You can get some very nice suits from brands like Hickey Freeman for a relatively reasonable price, either tailored or made to measure.

I get my shirts made too. It's a function of fit, not because I'm spoiled. Try finding a 31 sleeve / 44 chest with a 19" neck at any department store. It's cheaper to get custom than to buy 19" necks with a HUGE tent sized body and have them ripped apart, chopped down, and resewn.

Don't get me started on shoes. To keep it short, Allen Edmonds is my brand. Wide range of styles and excellent American Made quality, plus a comfortable shoe. Tried a few other makers, notably Alden, that, while well constructed, were heavy and clunky. Johnston & Murphy seem to be popular too. Don't favor very many Italian shoes because the soles are too thin for my liking.

 

ps - You forgot sunglasses. Gotta have shades.

Maui Jim at our house!

 

Don't you remember?!? I truly am forgettable :-(



https://omegaforums.net/threads/sunglasses.16802/

 

Oh yeah....

 

Like everything else clothing wise for me it comes down to how much I am going to use it. I wear a suit once a year so a 200 quid department store off the shelf number is fine. (that took 3 minutes to think about and type,I'm with cicindela on this one 5minutes is enough. ....now back to watches

 

You live in the mid west now, right?



Overalls do NOT count as formal attire.

 

Great advice from start to finish in ^^^^^^^^^ this entire post.

Exactly the sort of stuff I was hoping for.

Can't go wrong with Allen Edmonds, although (here it comes) I feel their overall quality has suffered some since they seemed to have pushed Johnston and Murphy out of the way. I feel like A/E has way too many models. I'm making this up but I'd bet they have close to 15 different styles of "casual loafers". Why so freaking many???? And, you're generally right about Italian shoes although I still feel like a pair Mangianni or Santoni monk straps (nobody does "monk" better) is the PP 5146 of shoes. Monk straps is a must have for shoe whores!!

Back to Johnston and Murphy. Their "Made in Italy" shoes were the best shoes ever made, IMHO. I've 25 year old pairs of J&M that make even Alden's seem pretty pedestrian (In terms of quality). I'll bust out a pair of what I'm writing about and photograph. Hold on:


*edit (add photos)


"Clous de Paris" (Parisian nails built right hinto the soles!). Nobody does that anymore. These shoes are 25+ years old and I wore them at least 1x per week for years. Easily the most comfortable shoes I've ever worn. Nothing else comes close. Original soles and heels.

 

Churches make nice comfortable shoes according to my dad, he only wears churches shoes, some of them are older than me, but they are not cheap.

 

Kirkland is a ridiculously honest value for many items from clothing to pet food. The guy who runs Costco is a real zealot, social justice warrior type when it comes to certain things, for instance:

He's an animal lover and believes all pets should have access to good, quality food. Seems like a reasonable idea but the animal feed business is a fucking disgrace. It's borderline unregulated and there are basically (6) outfits which make the hundreds of brands of pet food for all domestic animals in the US and Canada. Same deal for the the UK, except it's only (4) producers.

Almost 50% of the retail price for dog and cat food is for advertising to pet owners. Half the final cost!!

Many of the better known and "high end" dog and cat foods include ingredients such as euthanized dogs and cats.

What Kirkland does is buy the best quality pet feed, spend zero dollars on advertising and sells the food at their cost. Shareholders put up with it because Costco follows a certain ethos and if you don't like it, their attitude is there are plenty of other companies to invest your money in. I suppose one day some savage like Carl Ichan will grab control but for now they're the Elizabeth Warren of retail...

 

A friend who's also a fellow watch collector and even more serious wino than any of us wears them. He's very happy with his.

 

Kirkland makes the best undershirts, but only available in white, and their hot dogs are the best.

 

Charcoal grey suit if you can only have one, buy the best you can afford, I really like Canali. The grey works for everything including weddings and funerals. A good navy sportcoat is super versatile and is my go-to item, I prefer Hickey Freeman which just seem to fit me better than anything else. I too opt for Allen Edmonds shoes, but agree they have too many varieties, quality is there and I like a more conservative shoe. Shirts I'm still trying to figure out. I've never gone bespoke, my body type is not the greatest (short/pudgy) but I can find things that fit me well enough to go off the rack.

In all honesty, the things I've learned are:
1. Try to keep yourself fit - everything looks better when you are in good physical shape (I don't necessarily follow my own advice)
2. Keep well groomed. The best suit in the world won't be noticed if you are a mess.
3. Pick clothes that fit correctly, don't worry about brands. Especially for you bigger guys, don't wear baggy clothing to try and hide your belly, it just makes you look bigger.

 

Had to wear suit and tie to the office every day for over thirty years in the banking world. I never really minded. A suit never fails to be a helpful tool for negotiating life. Came out of retirement to go back into banking and the small bank where I'm employed doesn't require the suit, leaving me feeling a bit at loose ends. Dark suits work best here in Texas where one is wont to carry concealed handguns and doesn't care for the stunted handgun models sold these days for the purpose. Dark suits conceal a side arm better. With care I can be fitted from good quality suites off the rack.

I have ape arms though and haven't had good luck with shirts, most having sleeves which are too short. Of late, I've been pleased with ordering from Charles Tyrwitt which offers shirts that fit and with 37" sleeves. We're located in the middle of nowhere and it's far easier to shop online whenever possible than to wait for a trip to the big city.

I'm another who has pretty well exclusively worn Allen Edmonds for the past 20 years or so. They've given perfect satisfaction. I've sent a couple pair back to AE to be resoled and this worked out well. AE really does offer more choices than is necessary. I've tried Johnston & Murphy with mixed results. The Florsheim Imperial was mentioned earlier in this post and I still have one pair from the 1980s which have been resoled twice and still are worn fairly regularly. A friend who lives in West Yorkshire wore a pair of John White Impregnables over last time he visited us. I might try some shoes from their line as the quality was first rate. Only last night I read of older Florsheim Imperials being sold for big bucks on Ebay and ventured over there to find it is true. Well ... it is true that the sellers are pegging them awfully high. Whether vintage shoes sell for those prices or not would remain to be seen.

Been clinging to a favorite pair of Maui Jim Fleming Beach model sunglasses since getting them in late 2011. I'm amazed that I haven't left them and lost them for good by now, as absentminded as I am and as often as I've left them behind someplace.

 

For me, everyone should have a made to measure suit at some point. With a nice one, you feel terrific when you put it on (bespoke didn't work for me). I buy mostly Zegna mtm for suits, jackets, shirts, trousers. Expensive but worth it to me and all made in Europe: Italy, Switzerland and Spain. I like to support our economy where possible.

Crockett and Jones for shoes and boots. They make some great boots like the 'Cottesmore' and they're made in UK.

I know things have changed and many people don't dress up to go out or go to work but for me, clothes go with the occasion so, I like to have a selection. I don't worry how others dress and most people will only comment on a nice suit but would have no idea of the cost - bit like the watches many of us wear... I never discuss the cost of clothes, cars, watches etc with people who are not like minded. Mind you my watches are all cheap in this company

Cheers, Chris

 

I've been told that my wardrobe is excessive and that 10 suits, 30 shirts, 8 pairs of black shoes and 30 ties is too much for work.

My reasoning is that 2 suits are always in the cleaners, shoes (Church or Barkers) need to breathe and usually, at least one pair are in for re-soleing or re-heeling and rotating shirts saves throwing them out too often. Mind you, I still spend more time deciding what watch to wear each day.

Dressing casual takes far longer.

 

I stopped watch collecting for a couple years and accumulated knowhow on clothing. It's an interesting field to explore but obviously they don't pay off in the long run as opposed to (vintage) watches.

If you wear suits on a somewhat frequent basis, it's worth investing some in a bespoke (or at least, well made-to-measured) suit. If it's just the one, make it charcoal grey and avoid black, which is traditionally worn for funerals (but tradition is obviously shifting these days). Navy is generally a solid second option. Thereafter, it's a lengthy and very detailed delve into different cloth types, weaves, and mills of origin; of the differences between fused suits versus canvassed suits; of what to expect when visiting a tailor, what constitutes a good fit, and how to correct commonly-seen issues that crop up during fitting; and course, which tailors do good work and which should you avoid.

And that's just on suits alone. There's shirts too, not to mention shoes. Watches are a sub-category. Basically, it's as much - if not more - reading than watch research.