Suit revisited

[jwgh]

Because of laziness and business and holidays I still don't have a suit to wear to the wedding I'm attending on Saturday. But! Jos. A. Bank in Garden City is open until 9 pm tonight, so I'll go there after work (leaving between 6 and 7 probably).

Is anyone available and interested in helping me to decide what to get? If desired I will treat to dinner afterwards in thanks for helping me out with this unwelcome task.

Comments

[christychristy.livejournal.com]

Hmm. I am needing to get an oil change/go to the gym tonight... but I could perhaps meet you there if you like.

[jwgh]

That would be cool! I'll give you a call before I leave, around 7 I guess? (The place is open until 9 so there's no real rush.)

[christychristy.livejournal.com]

Ok!

[jwgh]

Okapi!

[adw3345.livejournal.com]

Well, as a guy who has more than a few suits (I think I have about 12 or so), the best thing to do is get a dark, conservative suit if you're only going to own one, suitable to wear to weddings and funerals. Don't get something trendy or flashy unless you will get good use out of it from music performances, because it will go out of style real fast. About ten years ago dark green was all the rage, but now I just feel silly wearing my green suit. What was I thinking? Suits last for a decade with proper care and infrequent use, and only depends on your waistline not changing radically.

Wool is the best material, but some synthetics are just fine if it looks nice and feels comfortable. Most important is the suit must fit, so you should expect the store to tailor it for you. An expensive suit made out of high quality material will look terrible if it is too big or too small, or doesn't fit right. Some people say that suits are uncomfortable and they hate wearing them, but the truth is they didn't get it tailored, the ones I wear are like pajamas and I can wear one every day like I did for some contracts.

Jos A. Bank is a safe (if pricey) upscale store and I've had good luck with them, although most of my suits are from some guy in a factory in Belarus who let me in after hours and told me not to speak too loud. They were suits for export to the US from German-made cloth and Belarussian labor and they fit pudgy fat me just fine.

Second most important to having the suit fit well (after all, you want to be comfortable in it, don't you?) is getting nice shoes, shabby shoes ruins the effect of a nice, well-fitting suit. You can rent these shoes (just like from a bowling alley) from Tuxedo Junction, and they will polish them up nicely for you. Nice shoes are expensive and do take work to polish them up, but whatever you do, don't show up in shabby ones.

Things like shirts and neckties and cufflinks and handkerchiefs and belts are a matter of personal taste, as long as your shirt is clean and ironed. There isn't anything wrong with a funny tie if it reflects your personality, as long as you're not going to a funeral.

Also your socks should match and should be black, but you knew that, right?

Well, that's the extent of my suit knowledge, and if you ever go to Hong Kong or Belarus or some country with a textile industry, you should load up on tailor-made suits because they're inexpensive and sometimes you really feel sharp in a suit if it's quite comfortable.

Good luck!

-Derrick

[twillis.livejournal.com]

Zoot suit!

You can't go wrong!