Tilted Sartorialism - The Menswear Thread

That's weird considering most men would rather be athletes than look like department store mannequins.

And I say that as a guy that is built a lot like one.

 

I'm sure kirstang could outrun me. And I know I could lift more weight than him. He is going to look better in a suit. This wasn't a discussion about what is the better build. And as fat as I am right now, I don't want to go there.

 

Key here is former athletes. As in they got fat, and in football some are pretty fat these days to start with, and back then many on roids as well.

They don't look as good in a suit because they are fat.

Take away the money and you are better off looking like a store mannequin when it comes to younger women. Trust me on this one

 

Relevant: Visual Comparison of Tie Knots

Which one do you suckas use?

Also: Be more fancy.

...

Here's my contribution to this thread before it gets threadjacked by whatever droll metrosexual male self-loathing is going on:


Tie is always in a full Windsor (a traditional favorite modern gorget; long and even), shoes are always square toe Oxfords (I have toes, FFS) with laces (never wear dress shoes you can't run like Tom Cruise in). I like slim fit stuff because of my build.

I'm really liking the move toward using outdoor tech-y stretch fabrics in suits / dress shirts. Awesomesauce for extended comfort such as hellish international travel and those bullshit all-day meetings where nobody really does much of anything.

As gauche as it is, I often find myself drawn toward loud, solid-color dress shirts. Blue, red, yellow. The kind white people look ridiculous in. Maybe it's my inner Huey Lewis. I'm not big on patterns, though; they look like wait staff uniforms.

So, basically, it's either a white shirt or a black shirt with appropriate tie.

 

I only ever wear a half or tight full windsor, depending on the tie, and round toed oxfords or derbys. Square toed shoes just look wrong on me, like clown shoes. Of course wherever I can I usually cheat on the shoes ayway by polishing up some combat boots and wearing those instead. Not something I'd do at an actual formal function but for daily wear it's a workable bluff. Allen Edmonds used to be one of the gold standards in their price range but sadly they're not wholly made in America anymore. Ofc since there's a master shoemaker on styleform discussions tend to get a little... slanted... given that he and his acolytes consider everything that isn't handmade and hand stitched complete trash.

 

Can I just say I've never ever heard of half those tie knots, and some of them terrify me. I think I'm just not that into bondage.

I use a simple knot. It's all I am capable of tying. I couldn't tie a tie at all until I was 27. My dad tried to teach me and failed; my stepdad tried to teach me and failed. My granddad, my uncle, my cousin all tried to teach me and failed. They all tried teaching me Windsor, Half-Windsor, Albert, or Four-In-Hand. I finally learned when a gay coworker took pity on me and taught me the simple knot.

 

I find full Windsor knots produce a knot that is way too big and too symmetrical. James Bond wears four in hand knots and that's good enough for me.

I will use a half Windsor or a Prince Albert if my tie is too long and I need to use up some of the length.

 

Duplicate.

 

Which one?

 

“It was tied with a Windsor knot. Bond mistrusted anyone who tied his tie with a Windsor knot. It showed too much vanity. It was often the mark of a cad.”
-Ian Fleming (From Russia With Love, Chapter 25)

How Bond Knots His Ties –The Suits of James Bond

 

I have high/square shoulders. Mens suit coats & sports coats are made with the shoulder slope to fit most men. It's a PITA to have to buy oversized coats/jackets, then have them tailored so that you don't get the humps and pulls in the lapels, the shoulders, & across the back. And it takes a really good tailor to do it right.

Pants are even worse if your thighs are oversized for your body.

----------------------------------------------------

Oh yeah, Dwayne Johnson's suit is nicely tailored, but it looks like he slept in it.

 

So Brooks Brothers was having their semi-annual sale this past week or so, and I caught the last two days of it. It turns out their smallest everything and second-slimmest cut suit actually fit. I walked out of the store with three suits (charcoal, black, and navy) and six shirts that finally aren't giant bags of cloth for 40% off.

 

We could have a fat-guy in a suit pageant. I think I still have a suit somewhere.

 

If you include sport coats I can participate. My two suits, actually pretty nice ones, would require a lot of alterations.

 

Brief story:

I decided to go in for services to the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.
They are a government service that helps people with disabilities (epilepsy, severe depression, and carpel tunnel in my case) find work with companies that understand.
The counselor looking at my resume, goatee, duster, jeans and bush hat, made the comment that he was sure he could find me a job in retail no problem.
Needless to say that freaked me out a bit.
I'm good at working retail but being pigeonholed or doing it for the rest of my life isn't in my game plan.

So for my appointment today I pulled out one of my nicest suits, a fine tie, had a haircut, pocket handkerchief, dress shoes, the whole nine yards.
I explained to him it wasn't my plan to be a retail worker and he exclaimed that I looked like the store owner.
Now he's making plans to get me an office job with a serious career with retirement and health care.
All thanks to a suit.

Sad it has to be that way sometimes but so it goes.