Formal dressing @ work... Anyone?

[BenoA]

That may sound like the stupiest question but I gotta ask it...

Anyone here has to wear suits+ties or has a formal dressing code at work?

I'll be changing job in a few weeks and will have to re-do my whole wardrobe as I've been working in jeans+t-shirts for over 8 years...

So how many suits is enough?

[cvansickle]

Four suits should cover you. Stick with white and light blue shirts, and get about a dozen ties. Also, get a few pair of dress slacks and a nice sports jacket. Black leather shoes with hard soles too.

[6string40]

You can get away with 3 suits I'd say...stick with dark...black, navy and charcoal. I prefer pinstripes myself. Make sure you can wear slacks and a sports jacket before you take cvansickle's advice...they are frowned upon in certain work environments...suits only. White and light blue shirts are the conservative norm, but other colors are now fairly acceptable. Start conservative and see what others are wearing before getting into anything else. Depending upon how formal, french cuff shirts and cufflinks are always an option.

Don't wait until the last minute...you'll more than likely need some tailoring done on your suits...they won't be ready to wear right off the rack and you'll have to wait probably a few weeks to get them back depending upon how backlogged the tailors are.

[Vass]

Another edit: I realize I may be coming off as a jerk off here, but I'm not trying to be. You don't have to go nuts and spend thousands. But seriously, buy nice or buy twice. For context, right now I am wearing cargo shorts, flip flops & an Iron Maiden t-shirt. I play in a band with a guy that manages hundreds of millions of dollars and shows up to practice with a spiked bracelet and curb-stompers and never combs his hair. We are normal humans- which is to say, freak-like messes, just like every other human. But at work, I want to know, that when the pressure is on, if I fuck up and people think I'm a sub-moron it's because of me, not because I was wearing some sort of weird "look at me!" suit.



EDIT- OMG most important thing I'm putting it up top....2 button suits...you can get away with 3, but I think they look kinda ridiculous. NO DOUBLE BREASTED. FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE, NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO, NO DOUBLE BREASTED. NO PEG LEG PANTS.

Also- what kind of job is this? You probably want pleats if it's conservative. The more euro cut shit flies with like ad agencies and artsy gigs..... like, if you're selling ad space in Vogue or something, but not if it's finance, law, etc. So no flat front pants, it looks kinda weird, especially if you're not euro-coke-vomit skinny, which most people aren't.


4 suits are good to go. Don't be a fucking hero, though....nothing weird, no summer weight bullshit or anything like that. White shirt, NO cufflinks until you get the lay of the land- NO SUSPENDERS. If you are going to wear suspenders, you better either own the firm or be LIQUID (not worth...LIQUID) a million bucks..minimum.

Bow ties...do not do it. You must either be a Doctor (PHd and MD, both acceptable I guess) or a real creative/eccentric type...and by eccentric I mean you can do worthwhile things at the office that nobody else can do eccentric, not you have 1000 cats eccentric.


Some suggestions:

Do yourself a favor and get acquainted with Brooks Brothers. First, their wrinkle-free shirts are kick ass, you can launder them, and most importantly, they do not LOOK like wash and wear- Iron them, save a ton of $$$ on having them laundered and pressed.

If you have to do travel they are amazing at coming out of a carryon and looking OK.

Now, dig this- Next month. June. June and January every year. Get. Your. Ass. To. Brooks. Brothers. Nail 2 suits- look for 1818's and Golden Fleeces. They are kinda expensive- Fleeces run all the way to $2k. But. You will get them much cheaper during the sale. Still expensive, but worth it.

Trust me, trust me, trust me, trust me, please believe & trust me....you will spend more money going to Today's Man or Men's Wearhouse buying new cheaper suits that a) Look great for a few wears but then b) look tired and wilted after a few months and c) fall apart, start looking shiny in the ass, or bunchy in the shoulders within 6 months. The Brooks shit lasts forever, is tough as nails (again, can survive balled up practically in the carry on...CARRY ON, not suit carrier, that's how brutal I am to my suits) and look really good. The cut is conservative but again, not stupid. Nothing worse than a guy wearing a suit that looks like it should be on some ex-athlete on ESPN.

Now....shoes. You can get away with alot, but I'd stick to split toe & cap toe until again you get the lay of the land, and I'd stick to black, black, black. Oxblood & all that stuff is great, but it only goes with certain things. Black goes with everything. Shiny leather, not that matte looking stuff.

Hit me up if you have any other questions. Oh. NO WEIRD PATTERNS. Pin stripes are as wild as you need to get. I see all these crazy hatch box tic tac toe suits that are beautiful material etc but the pattern is distracting, and if they're noticing the pattern it's a problem.

Also- A tie is not the place to show your individuality. Striped ties are the safest. Brooks as a boatload of them too.

Sorry if I seem obnoxious- but for background, I have been wearing suits to work since I got out of college...so well over a decade now. I have to get in front of sometimes hundreds of industry people to present. I have watched hundreds of industry people present. I have seen people look silly because they think a stupid pocket scarf makes them look debonair, or their tie is for some reason their personal canvas to scream, "I AM ME!" Just don't. Don't do it.

As time goes on you can build your style and maybe do some different stuff, but at the beginning, just get some decent stuff that will last you, saving you $$ in the long run, and just look & see what the people who have the job above you wear. Then dress for their job (unless they are disasters and wear pink shirts with white cuffs and collars...in that case you'll get their job no matter what you do....)

I just re-read what 6string40 said...right on. Sounds like we're stuck in the same sort of environment


Look at this beauty- It's a little light colored, but you will be all man in this suit, and people will promote you reflexively.

http://www.brooksbrothers.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Merchant_Id=1&Section_Id=576&Product_Id=1404053&Parent_Id=216&default_color=GREY&sort_by=&sectioncolor=&sectionsize=

Another one. I am not a huge fan of black because it just looks....I don't know, shiny/thuggish sometimes. Like you may have a machinegun in your violin case.

This is a nice one. Do not take the model's shirt suggestion, however.

http://www.brooksbrothers.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Merchant_Id=1&Section_Id=574&Parent_id=418&Product_Id=1451613&default_color=Navy

Please, please do not do this...

http://www.brooksbrothers.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Merchant_Id=1&Section_Id=575&Parent_id=418&Product_Id=1412176&default_color=Brown-blue

[RacerX]

This is a nice one. Do not take the model's shirt suggestion, however.

http://www.brooksbrothers.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Merchant_Id=1&Section_Id=574&Parent_id=418&Product_Id=1451613&default_color=Navy

Only $1900 and ALREADY comes with a piss stain in the crotch! Whaddadeal!

[Vass]

He saw his shirt and pocketsquare in the mirror and knew he fucked up. Instant waterworks.

Seriously- I would never spend $2k on a suit. During the sales they're way, way cheaper.

That one is $1k. Probably get it for $4-500 during the sale. They give shit away. Hard to understand retail clothes sometimes.

[Grandturk]

Vase speaks the truth mostly. Nice job.

[Trussrod]

Stick with classic stuff as vass describes. I've gotten compliments not because the clothing I picked was unique, but because it's timeless. The best suits today would have looked good 50 years ago and will probably still look good years from now.

[DRM]

I get my suits for free.



Sorry...couldn't resist.

I agree with the others. Vass has some sound advice in his post. Best of luck to ya and good luck.

[BenoA]

Guys, I never tought I would get such interesting answers here! You all rock!

DRM, you made me laugh loud!

I'll keep ya posted on how it goes but I think, I'll loose some guitar money into my new wardrobe...

[6string40]

I agree with Vass on the buy it right the first time. Don't do the Men's Wearhouse thing. I buy Jos A Banks. Several times a year, they do a BUY 1 GET 2 FREE deal. You can't beat that shit at all. 3 suits for around $800 after alterations!

I've been working in banking for over 10 years. The first bank I worked for was ultra-conservative, but the one I've been working at for the past 5 years is a bit different. All Executives wear cufflinks every day and most of them wear pocket squares. I know Vass said don't do it, and he's probably right until you see what everyone else does, but I happen to always wear cufflinks, braces (suspenders) and I do wear pink shirts with white cuffs as well! And I'm not worth millions--hell I ain't worth shit! I can't stand plain...I'm just not a plain person...so I almost always wear pinstriped shirts. Just know your environment and your limitations before you go hog wild.

[bombtek]

Man, just go to JC Penny and grab a few off the rack. They look good, and last a good long while. (I used to search for bombs in the most godawful places for the secret service when I was active duty. We had to wear suits, and the JC Penny suits were the best bang for the buck out there. You could go down into a sewer, search, and come outta there still looking sharp. Good fucking suits )

[atomic charvel guy]

I work out of the house, I'm sporting a pair of green baggy jean shorts, which have a huge hole in them,
allowing my sack to unfold and rest comfortably on the chair, no shirt, no shoes, and most importantly,
no initiative. It's a fools paradise.

[Hellbat]

Ah, the classic "Apricot seeds" look. It's the pinnacle of slacker chic....

[Spivonious]

Don't have to dress up for my job (software dev) but if you need suits, head out to a department store and pick up a black, a navy, and a gray. Stick with solid color shirts and you'll be be able to mix and match without too many worries.

As far as pleated versus flat-front...I'm not "coke addict skinny" but pleated pants look ridiculous in a 30"x32" size. I'd say they only work on 34" waists and bigger. Likewise, double breasted suits only look good on really big guys, like 45" chest and up (and again look ridiculous on me with my 38R coat size). They're also a bit too formal for work, imo.

When you buy your suits, make sure that you get them tailored to fit you. Most department stores will do this for you for a small extra charge. Talk to the sales guy; certain brands are cut differently. I found out through talking to a sales guy that Joseph Abboud suits are cut for a more slender guy (i.e. me) and they look fantastic. The store brand suits are cheaper but always gave me a slight "kid trying on daddy's suit" feel.