Post: #101

(04-19-2016 12:41 AM)Cr33pin Wrote:  My friend keeps telling me I need to shine the toe on these shoes and make it darker... I like the way they look now... Any pro advice?

Not digging the threaded soles but they look good.

The "darkened tip" look is a fad that might go away. If you like the current look keep it, classics will be always classic.

Post: #102

(05-12-2016 03:58 AM)xmlenigma Wrote:  

(05-10-2016 11:40 PM)Suits Wrote:  

(05-08-2016 11:59 AM)xmlenigma Wrote:  

(03-31-2016 04:13 AM)Surreyman Wrote:  @suits I'm interested to hear about your packing methods for your jackets. Are you putting one shoulder inside the other? Also, what do you do regards cleaning and ironing on your travels?

I've seen a video of this

@Suits - Could you point to a video or pics of how you do that folding/ packing thing?

Also, given that you are paying 800 RMB for a Suit 100% Worsted wool fabric included.

What kind of prices would your shop/ tailor charge for a linen or linen blend suit?
Also, what would they charge if I/ someone brought in specific fabrics from outside?

Do share please. If not here, do PM me.

My tailor generally offers all fabrics to me at the same price range. Given the audience (low end cost) that they target, I don't even think they have anything expensive in stock.

They've done cotton and linen for me at the same price and the quality was similar to what I was getting in wool. Quality, long lasting, looks good, but not premium.

Sounds like the perfect fit (pun intended) to me. Are their worsted wool fabrics VBC - which from my research is a great / good starting point i.e. Value for money wool?

I have no idea what they are. My tailor company is all Chinese, so they can only speak the necessities in English and my Chinese vocabulary in this department is lacking.

I can say from experience with the wool suits I had made in 2010 that they are excellent value for the money.

Post: #103

I need your help guys.

Inside the suit pants, in the crotch area, there is some kind of cloth that keeps you balls from rubbing against the outer lining. It looks like a square (or rather, rhomboid).

Does anyone know how it is called in English (fuck, I do not know how it is called in my native language)?


Thanks!

Post: #104

(08-26-2016 07:36 AM)Irenicus Wrote:  I need your help guys.

Inside the suit pants, in the crotch area, there is some kind of cloth that keeps you balls from rubbing against the outer lining. It looks like a square (or rather, rhomboid).

Does anyone know how it is called in English (fuck, I do not know how it is called in my native language)?


Thanks!

There is nothing built into a suit to keep your balls from rubbing on the outer lining. You dont wear underwear with your suit?

Post: #105

(08-26-2016 08:33 AM)kirdiesel Wrote:  [quote='Irenicus' pid='1380535' dateline='1472214970']

There is nothing built into a suit to keep your balls from rubbing on the outer lining. You dont wear underwear with your suit?

I don't.

I haven't worn any pointless article of clothing (underwear) since 2005.

That makes for more than a decade of freedom now.

Post: #106

Haha, of course I do wear underwear!

That is the best description I came up with

Post: #107

I think it's called the crotch saddle or the crotch lining.

Post: #108

Found out!

"Silk Saddle"

Post: #109

Suits, it isn't going against conventional wisdom to not wear the suit jacket by itself unless it is a blazer or sport coat?

Post: #110

Suits, I just started to get my winter wardrobe together wanted to know your thoughts.

I got myself:

Charcoal pinstriped wool blazer to wear with jeans and boots
2 white dress shirts
1x maroon dress shirt
1x grey check dress shirt

about to buy:

Brown Flannel sport coat


Brown corduroy sport coat


1 handful of Silk patterned pocket squares (about 10)

In addition I also have my custom fitted Charcoal Herringbone full suit I bought a few months back

I feel like this should cover me for the entire cold season. I don't really suit up that often, I mostly wear black jeans and some leather boots if im rocking a blazer and thats my preferred look.

Am I missing anything? Thanks man.

Post: #111

(09-16-2016 01:52 PM)Stickman Wrote:  Suits, it isn't going against conventional wisdom to not wear the suit jacket by itself unless it is a blazer or sport coat?

Fuck conventional wisdom.

There aren't many environments where a full suit will be congruent, many where you can pull off separate jacket and pants.

If you are uncomfortable with the idea of wearing a suit jacket by itself, then just buy blazers and sport coats.

Otherwise take my advice and buy suits that have a jacket that works well as a blazer and with the pants. You'll get the most bang for your buck this way.

(09-16-2016 09:02 PM)HonantheBarbarian Wrote:  I got myself:

Charcoal pinstriped wool blazer to wear with jeans and boots

Pinstriped jackets usually don't go well with anything, but matching pants. If this jacket was designed and sold as a blazer, it might be an exception. It very much depends on how distinctive the pinstripes are.

(09-16-2016 09:02 PM)HonantheBarbarian Wrote:  2 white dress shirts
1x maroon dress shirt
1x grey check dress shirt

You're going to need more shirts. Suits are expensive, but shirts are much more affordable. Best to add variety by rounding out your button-down shirt collection, rather than spending more on jackets.

(09-16-2016 09:02 PM)HonantheBarbarian Wrote:  1 handful of Silk patterned pocket squares (about 10)

That's plenty for your purposes, but since pocket squares are comparatively cheaper than anything else you could buy for your wardrobe, don't be afraid to get more if you wear a suit or jacket often.

(09-16-2016 09:02 PM)HonantheBarbarian Wrote:  In addition I also have my custom fitted Charcoal Herringbone full suit I bought a few months back

How distinctive is this suit?

From your notes, you don't appear to own much that falls into the category of The Classic Four.

If you have 2-4 anonymous jackets that more or less go with anything without standing out distinctly, you'll be able to regularly wear jackets with different outfits without anyone knowing whether you own 4 jackets, 8 jackets or 12.

This is important to creating an impressive social persona over a period of time and avoiding appearing like a One Trick Pony.

Brown Flannel sport coat


Brown corduroy sport coat


Both of these are great looks, but you'll be limited in what you can pair them with.

People remember jackets like these, so if a person sees you three times and two of those times you are wearing the same jacket, you'll look like a guy who just rotates between two blazers. You don't want to be that guy.

I suggest that you start out with two of the follow choices and get the more distinctive jackets later.

Dark grey jacket (no pattern)
Charcoal grey jacket (no pattern)
Navy (or darker) blue jacket (no pattern)

Post: #112

What's your thoughts on leather jackets? I don't have anything for under 20C except a winter pea coat. What do you like for the autumn when a coat is too heavy but a long sleeve shirt doesn't quite cut it after dark? How do you find a versatile jacket?

edit: leather jacket by itself, not with a suit.

Post: #113

(09-16-2016 10:42 PM)Space Cowboy Wrote:  What's your thoughts on leather jackets? I don't have anything for under 20C except a winter pea coat. What do you like for the autumn when a coat is too heavy but a long sleeve shirt doesn't quite cut it after dark? How do you find a versatile jacket?

edit: leather jacket by itself, not with a suit.

When it's not quite cold enough for a pea coat, I'll usually wear a suit jacket with a scarf and possibly some thin gloves. It creates a nice happy medium.

Leather jackets aren't a look that I've explored yet, but am curious about.

I would suspect that like suits, it comes down to fit.

My suspicion is that like t-shirts and many other lame clothing choices, only good looking men who look good in everything will look great in your typical leather jacket, whereas the rest of us will just look like a guy who is desperate to be cool.

Post: #114

Suits thanks for the tips

The pinstriped blazer was definitely designed as such, not an orphan. The actual stripes are extremely faint. Ill have to make it work for now.

The charcoal herringbone has a relatively subtle pattern. For all intents and purposes it can be considered a standard charcoal and should work year round.

Since im only planning on suiting up or wearing a blazer maybe 2x or so in the course of a month I figured id come in hard and get some jackets with a bit more attitude like the above. Do I really need the basic 4? I absolutely hate Navy.

And for what types of situations would I need a black herringbone blazer? Ive been more or less avoiding getting black anything and opting for darker greys instead.

Post: #115

(09-17-2016 05:25 PM)HonantheBarbarian Wrote:  The pinstriped blazer was definitely designed as such, not an orphan. The actual stripes are extremely faint. Ill have to make it work for now.

This is good.

(09-17-2016 05:25 PM)HonantheBarbarian Wrote:  The charcoal herringbone has a relatively subtle pattern. For all intents and purposes it can be considered a standard charcoal and should work year round.

This is also good.

(09-17-2016 05:25 PM)HonantheBarbarian Wrote:  Since im only planning on suiting up or wearing a blazer maybe 2x or so in the course of a month I figured id come in hard and get some jackets with a bit more attitude like the above. Do I really need the basic 4? I absolutely hate Navy.

Based on what you've been buying and looking at, I got the impression that navy wasn't your style, which is perfectly fine. That's why I specified to get 2 out of the 3, not the full three.

I'd recommend that you get two jackets in two different shades of solid grey/charcoal.

Then you've got the latitude to choose more stand-outish suits/blazers to fill the back of your closet.

If you find that you've been wearing the same more distinctive jackets around the same people, you have two strong choice to fall back on.

(09-17-2016 05:25 PM)HonantheBarbarian Wrote:  And for what types of situations would I need a black herringbone blazer? Ive been more or less avoiding getting black anything and opting for darker greys instead.

If you're going to suit up regularly, I recommend it, because if just blue and grey/charcoal are your main rotational choices, you'll get tired of that fast.

Black, unlike brown or tan, goes with just about everything (except blue), so the herringbone option is a smart one, since a sold black jacket isn't appropriate anywhere except a funeral or a Japanese job interview.

You can definitely skip it, which is why I didn't bring it up in my reply to you.

I'd say that two workhorses and then three more distinctive jackets will be a great start and allow for plenty of experimentation. Based on what you end up wearing the most, you'll know what to buy more of it the future.

For example, if you enjoy wearing the brown blazer regularly, you can get a few more brown shades in different styles.

Post: #116

Goddamn Suits, you are killing this thread as well as my wardrobe budget. +1 from me.

Non-patterned grey were surprisingly hard to find, as was the case with black herringbone. Most black sport coats I came across were either plain or pinstriped.

This is what I have lined up for my next purchases;

J Crew Grey Tweed Herringbone


Hickey Freeman Grey Pinstripe


Ann Arbour Grey Camel Hair


Yves Saint Lauernt Pinstripe Grey


Lord & Taylor Light Grey Herringbone


For black:

Robert Hall Black Wool Blazer


Which of the grey choices do you recommend? Also is the black blazer worthy of purchase or a waste of time? Thanks again for all the tips.

Post: #117

What about belt loops? I like the looks of belt-less suits but does it look strange with odd trousers?

Post: #118

(09-18-2016 04:44 AM)HonantheBarbarian Wrote:  Goddamn Suits, you are killing this thread as well as my wardrobe budget. +1 from me.

Non-patterned grey were surprisingly hard to find, as was the case with black herringbone. Most black sport coats I came across were either plain or pinstriped.

Which of the grey choices do you recommend? Also is the black blazer worthy of purchase or a waste of time? Thanks again for all the tips.

All of the images of grey jackets that you've posted have textures far too distinct for routine wear.

However, since you aren't planning to wear weekly, if you have five or more such jackets in the closet, you'll be perfectly prepared for your purposes.

For your style, the black blazer would probably a worthy exploration.

Post: #119

Question for the pros on custom suits. My jacket looks great but folds in the arms a little, unless I rotate unnaturally. Is this worth fixing or to be expected?

Post: #120

(12-25-2017 10:04 AM)churros Wrote:  Question for the pros on custom suits. My jacket looks great but folds in the arms a little, unless I rotate unnaturally. Is this worth fixing or to be expected?

If you don't like it, it's worth fixing. Better one suit that you feel like a total boss while wearing, than two that are just barely adequate.

Post: #121

Here is a tip for you guys in the U.S.

Department store Dilliards has a 50% off sale on January 1. This extends to suits and pretty much everything in the store. I usually go a day or two ahead of time and shop, try stuff on, etc., and then show up 20 minutes before they open and grab what I want. If you are in the market for suits, this can be a huge savings. You can also do well on shoes, but typically the store gets mobbed so grab the suits you picked out the day before and make a beeline to shoes. The shoe department depends on workers bringing you shoes from the back, so that place is a real chokepoint. I have also found good Polo and other branded stuff.

Post: #122

If you know your measurements, you can get a pretty good suit online for not a whole lot.

https://www.empireoutlet.co/ right now has a good selection of tweed suits for winter, for example.

Post: #123

Any "large" guys here? Can someone direct me to a good retailer for suits, along with regular wear for big and tall? I am in Canada and usually buy from George Richards or Mr. Big and Tall but the average suit is $600.00 and up. I've seen many US sites where good suits and regular wear are often half the price (or less) however not sure which are the better ones to shop from.

Any advice is appreciated.

Post: #124

If you want to build a suit collection, come to Beijing and pay $150 each made-to-measure suit. You can fly off-peak season from Toronto to Beijing or Vancouver for from $1000-1200 CND. Buy three suits and you'll already paying less than if you bought one of those $600 suits. Buy five or six and you've come out way ahead.

Post: #125

Great data sheet! I am still working on my suit game. Tried double breasted grey suit, but it is not the best choice for my body type. Makes me look like a shape-less rectangle. Will try to bring it to tailor and hopefully he can work some magic, but it is already customed suit.. we will see.

The other suit is dark green. It can be mistaken for a very dark suit during night events or dim lights and on the other hand is very distinctive on a sun. Felt in love with that color, best combined with dark blue , yellow for bolder ones or white.

Image is my own as I didnt really find the color online. It doesnt do a justice, but you get an idea.