Tilted Sartorialism - The Menswear Thread

Lindy's dress code conundrum made me realise we don't have a menswear thread. So here it is, a megathread for discussing suits and the like. What brands, cuts, and materials do you prefer for a suit, how do you wear your shirts and ties, what's a good pair of shoes to you, and of course whenever there's a great deal running (like Brooks Brothers putting their very respectable non-iron shirts on clearance).

To start off: Being hired as a teaching assistant and potential instructor I've been looking at expanding beyond a highschool leftover mens wearhouse suit and thrift store sportcoats, but I live in a wasteland so Brooks Brothers is all that's around. Being as slim and small as I am I'll probably go for a charcoal grey three piece in one of their slimmer cuts like the Fitzgerald or even Milano, hopefully I can catch an 1818 on sale and get a partial canvas.

 

I do have a cool hat for work. To reference an old halx thread, "my hat owns you!"

 

I get my suits from Jos A Banks. Conservative (dark), tailored, strait (not pleated) pants, cuffed. These are for business meetings and some social occasions.

One Calvin Klein tux that I wear 1-2x a year.

One standard blue blazer.

Regular business attire is more over-aged preppie. Dress pants (cuffed), mostly Oxford dress shirts, button down collar, lightly starched, the same loafers (Bass Weejuns) since high school. The tie is the area of individual expression and might be loud and/or make a statement (I have lots and lots of ties).

 

Contributing:
A good base wardrobe usually consists of a black and a gray or navy suit, if they're not textured, even better, as you can sometimes use the jackets as separates to dress up a pair of jeans (I know that goes against conventional wisdom, it'll depend on the cut and fit of the suit jacket). You'll want at least one pair of black shoes for the black suit and one pair of brown/tan shoes for the gray or navy suit.

Once you build up your base wardrobe, you can start experimenting with different colors. As OP mentioned, Charcoal is a great color, as I find it dark enough to be formal, yet not too dark like black, so it won't appear that I'm attending a funeral or a black-tie event. I can usually pair off the charcoal with a white shirt and a tie that pops, and feel comfortable going to court, yet its still informal enough that I can go to happy hour or bar hopping after hours with that outfit (sans tie or jacket, your call).

For the more fashion-forward, lighter colored suits can be used to stand out, but I would caution against using them for formal events, unless you dress them down. Here I am in a silver suit, I stuck on a white shirt and black tie to avoid being too loud:


One of my favorite pairs of shoes right now are double-monk straps. These can be dressed up with a suit, and add a bit of style by having buckles in lieu of more formal laces, or, you can wear them with jeans for just the right hit of style.

 

It's so easy to look good in a suit when you have a slender build. I look like a boulder that someone stuck a tent over. For example, I have a marmot soft shell jacket that I got almost ten years ago. I have tried on numerous ones since then. I can't find one that fits. A XXL fits the torso, but doesn't allow room in the shoulders to even extend my arms forward. Then the sleeves are skintight on my arms. And the sleeves are about five inches too long. So consider yourself lucky in that respect. I could never have a suit fit me that well.

 

For me, that costs almost as much as the suit from men's wearhouse. Neck roll, below the neck. Sleeves. Take in the waist of the jacket. Move the buttons. Take in the waist of the pants. Adjust the inseam. Take up the pants. Add braces buttons.

 

And none of those men wear a suit as well as kirstang. Look at the blousing in the pants to accommodate giant thighs and beefy asses. The extra material to handle larger arms and shoulders. The jackets have to drape over them. And all those men have MONEY.

 

To be fair Men's Wearhouse is about the cheapest suit you can get, and a lot of what you're describing is actually what you're supposed to do with any Off The Rack or even Made To Measure suit by default. Waist suppression, hemming, sleeve length, and the like are almost all standard tailoring that you should assume you'll have to have done to anything that isn't made bespoke or by a very good MTM tailor. Mass market suits are basically boxes of fabric designed to fit as many different body types as possible so you get things like very wide armholes, which is what causes the shoulder-restriction you mention on softshells. Wear something with the armscythe cut higher and you'll be able to reach all over the place without it binding or pulling.

Tell me about it. The last time I went to a Men's Wearhouse even their smallest suit fit me like a cardboard box, it would've basically needed to be rebuilt to fit me. With that and the fact I have to wear a suit at least a couple times a month it's better for me in the long run to pay more up front and get a much more durable suit that fits better to begin with.

And KirStang makes this shit look good. Have you ever thought about trying point collars or a narrower spread?

 

I'm in my mid 40's.
I wear a suit less than once a year, and I'm proud to say I can still wear one that I wore to interview for med school about 25 years ago.

I have zero fashion sense, but do I have to add that after what I posted above?

 

I actually hate wearing suits. Fortunately, my congregation is pretty laid back, so most Shabbatot I can get away with slacks, vest, and tie. I got my suits from the Men's Wearhouse, got some of my slacks there also. But some come from Big and Tall stores, like Casual Male.

My compensation to myself for having to wear ties (which I just loathe) is that I get fun tie bars. I have one with the Rebel insignia from Star Wars, one with a Starfleet insignia from Trek, and one with the emblem of SHIELD, in addition to a couple more reserved and professional ones with just a Star of David.

Mostly, I like casual, and since I do a lot of my work online or over the phone, I can get away with it. Jeans, t-shirts, untucked button-downs with the sleeves rolled up, bandana do-rag (Mrs. Levite calls it my "pirate hat"). I would wear sneakers, too, except I need more supportive shoes than that. I get my shoes from San Antonio Shoes. They are fugly shoes, but they are so far and away the most comfortable, supportive things I have ever had on my feet, I feel like it's totally worth it. In the summer I get sandals from them, too.

 

Superfeet makes insoles for everything from oxfords to combat boots, I can fit their green insoles in most casual shoes and black insoles in even a fairly tight pair of Cole Haans I found at a thrift store.