Fortune Magazine presents tips for picking out a suit. It’s not exactly advice for those of us on a budget, but I’ve heard that everyone should have at least one great suit. I’ve also heard that one should dress for how your see yourself in the future, not how you see yourself now.
Personally, I’m not a fan of clothing in general.
Here are the tips:
- Make sure the suit is properly made. Hand-stitched is the way to go, not glued. Is there glue in my suits? I have no idea.
- The fabric should fit the role. The tips in Fortune talk about Super 200 vs. Super 100. I had no idea what this means. Luckilly the U.S. Congress was there to help me. The number refers to the diameter of the wool thread used.
- Opt for a very fitted silhouette. Boxy is bad. It’s all about getting high armholes, apparently.
- Wear appropriate trousers. Basically, thinner people do well with lower cut pants and others should have trousers cut higher.
- Get the right size shirt. Get one that fits closely to the body.
- Colors! The article suggest sticking to no more than three different ones. I’m not great with matching colors when it comes to clothing (or web design for that matter), but it’s easy to stay in the realm of “safe.”
- Patterns are wonderful, but don’t get carried away. I’m not a fan of patterns, favoring solids. The article says not to mix patterns, but mix scale of the same type of pattern.
- Accessorize and coordinate. Ties and socks should match, and cufflinks should be of a good quality.
- Get a great tailor. To me, this should probably be the first step. “You can buy off the rack and just worry about the shoulders and torso fitting correctly, because the right tailor can take care of the rest. And the best tailors can do miracles.”
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You’re not a fan of clothing? Okay…that could be interpreted a lot of different ways. I have a friend who was telling me that one of her middle-aged co-workers and her husband visit nudist colonies for fun. I think that’s taking the frugality concept a bit too far. But seriously, I agree with the last bullet point. I read in article a few years ago that a good fit is more important than good fabric. Ideally, you should look for both. But if you can’t afford both, then go for a good fit. Also, don’t forget the shoes. There’s an old saying that if you want to really know whether a guy is doing well financially, look at his shoes.
They don’t have to be expensive, but they shouldn’t be battered or scuffed.
Try English Cut for more advice. He’s wonderful.
http://www.englishcut.com/archives/000101.html
just go to saks fifth and get it fitted and there are tons of options. that would be my recommendation