[tcpsoft]

Not a huge fan of the cuts thus far, but its good you know enough to ask for assistance rather than going to the wedding and looking like .... someone who doesn't have much experience with suits.

What's your budget and timeframe? Nordstrom's annual sale starts very soon or its happening now if you have their card. You can get a decent enough off-the-rack setup for not much cash with free basic alterations.

If you have a little more time, get a custom-made suit. The cost depends mostly on the fabric you choose but you should be able to get a nice looking, perfectly fit suit for around $1,000 or a little less in the US. If you happen to be visiting Hong Kong before the wedding I can give you a few names and you'd be starting about half of that. Don't do an online thing where you send in your measurements, go see a real person who will do two or three fittings to get it perfect.

Good luck and have fun whatever you end up with.

[EdM5]

Get nice shoes, the ones you're wearing are horrible.
To add some Italian flair get Santonis with a matching Santoni belt.

[stimpy]

Anyone else work from home and go to 'work' in basketball shorts and a tshirt from however long ago and look at this thread with amusement?

I love the look of a good suit and rent one maybe once a year but damn! There's a ton of thought and money ya'll put into this and the thought of having to wear them M-F makes me cringe.

-Signed IT Engineer

[P1]

Originally Posted by stimpy

Anyone else work from home and go to 'work' in basketball shorts and a tshirt from however long ago and look at this thread with amusement?

I love the look of a good suit and rent one maybe once a year but damn! There's a ton of thought and money ya'll put into this and the thought of having to wear them M-F makes me cringe.

-Signed IT Engineer

Been working from home for 6+ years. Only time I'm in a suit is when I visit the office, or visit a customer.

#blessed

[Soul_Glo]

Great tips in here. I think the shirt could also be swapped for one with cuff links if you have not already. With that collar wear a wide tie knot or no tie at all

[CANGRKE70]

Originally Posted by stimpy

Anyone else work from home and go to 'work' in basketball shorts and a tshirt from however long ago and look at this thread with amusement?

I love the look of a good suit and rent one maybe once a year but damn! There's a ton of thought and money ya'll put into this and the thought of having to wear them M-F makes me cringe.

-Signed IT Engineer

I used to work in AML overnights in Toronto's financial district and didn't see a manager for weeks. It eventually became like Office Space and I just didn't care...I caught myself going to work one day in pajamas with black sheep on them that I had bought in Amsterdam when the airline lost my clothes. I had had always wore a suit before that job, and then started to miss it. Now I'm in suits everyday and my suit game is strong. We also get casual weeks pretty regularly so you don't get sick of wearing a suit everyday.

[newoldbeemer]

Originally Posted by CANGRKE70

I used to work in AML overnights in Toronto's financial district and didn't see a manager for weeks. It eventually became like Office Space and I just didn't care...I caught myself going to work one day in pajamas with black sheep on them that I had bought in Amsterdam when the airline lost my clothes. I had had always wore a suit before that job, and then started to miss it. Now I'm in suits everyday and my suit game is strong. We also get casual weeks pretty regularly so you don't get sick of wearing a suit everyday.

Where I live (Silicon Valley tech) has to be the most diverse. I see one guy in his tshirt, shorts and flip-flops and another guy sporting a nice dress shirt and sport coat. In the same team. No one seems to care either way.

[tony20009]

Originally Posted by newoldbeemer

Actually I was unholy fat six months back. I'm going through weight loss right now (look 50 pounds in the six months), still have another 20 or so to lose before I start "bulking". Thats why I don't want to invest in good/expensive clothes for this event because I'm sure in one month it will be a bad fit for me.

Ok so I visited the tailor, she pointed out that the pant isn't too long, its too narrow where it ends so instead of going over the shoes it just bunches up. She folded it a half hem and showed me that it would be too short if hemmed. She suggested I find a wider fit.

Im a bit concerned that a wide/loose fit will look ugly. This one is a slim fit. Whats the name of the fit which goes slim all the way through and then wide at the end - is that boot cut, or is that slim straight or something else?

As for the shirt - the one I had was a 14.5 "modern fit". I tried a 14.5 slim fit, turned out to be way too tight pulling on the buttons etc. Do you think I should go up to 15 but keep it slim fit?

I think that since your weight is about to change by at least 20 pounds, you should just make yourself content with a shirt that fits correctly in the neck and sleeve length.

Buy whatever OTR cut of shirt you want and if it's too full, just reach around behind your back with each arm and create some folds and use your pants waist and belt to hold the folds in place. If you don't know how, here's roughly how:

1. Place your hands against your back, palms against the waist side of your back and thumbs pointing forward.
2. Begin to close your thumbs against the rest of your hand. As you do this you'll find that a section of shirt material will be caught between your thumb and index finger.
3. Hold on to the material that gets caught between your thumb and finger and roll your hands so that your palms face out toward the sides of your body. You'll notice that motion causes a but of material to envelop your thumbs.
4. Don't move your hands, but rather use your fingers to press against the outside of the material that's enveloped your thumbs and slide your thumbs free.
5. Press the thumb of your dominant hand against the now folded material just above where your fingers were holding it in place.
6. Rotate your hand (palm facing your back) and fully extend your fingers so that they reach across your back and the tips of one or more of them can hold the fold on the other side in place.
7. Use your free hand to pull up your trousers and secure them.
8. Secure your belt.
9. Make minor adjustments to the folds on each side so they are smooth and even and the shirt lays smoothly around your waist.
10. Put on your tie.

That whole process takes less than 30 seconds to execute.


The most important elements of a shirt's fit, particularly when you'll be wearing a jacket over the shirts are:

• The fit of the collar -- it shouldn't be too loose or too tight.
  
  Correct:
  
  
  Too loose for a dress shirt, but probably okay for a casual shirt that won't be worn with a tie:
  
  
  Too tight: If the skin of your neck spreads over the edge of the collar, it's too tight.
• Sleeve length -- you don't want more than 1/8 to 1/4 inch showing below your jacket sleeve, but you do want that small bit showing.
• Lay of the shirt against your torso/chest -- Ideally, the shirt lays smoothly about one's torso and doesn't have billows/folds. The "trick" I described above can correct that problem in many cases, but if it can't and the collar fit and sleeve length are correct, the cut of the shirt is just far too big for your body.

Once you reach a stable weight, have some shirts made or just keep on using the technique described above.



All the best.

[newoldbeemer]

Thanks. I had the shirt I posted earlier taken in, I think it looks much better now.

[tony20009]

Originally Posted by newoldbeemer

I'm going crazy over shirts. Which one of these do you think is the best compromise?

1. 14.5 with modern fit - seems too big to me
Attachment 1241114

2. 14.5 with slim fit - seems way too tight
Attachment 1241113

3. 15 with slim fit - seems ok but still looks loose
Attachment 1241112

What do you think?

The third one because it appears to be close enough to correct in the key places -- sleeve length, sleeve fullness, and collar circumference -- and the excess fullness can be mitigated by the "trick" I described above.

Other:
Above someone mentioned you look skinny. You don't look skinny at all to me. You look to have what is called the "pear" shape -- waist area disproportionately larger than one's chest and shoulder area -- where in the difference ("drop") between their chest circumference and waist circumference is less than six inches, or in the worst cases, a negative number. That shape is, unfortunately, the worst overall shape one can have for buying OTR suits. It's the worst shape because in order to get a jacket and trousers that aren't too tight in some places (jacket waist area and pant waist), one must buy a suit that has far too much room in the chest and shoulders.

If one is "pear shaped," I suggest buying "suit separates," which is something one used to be able to do at some low cost department stores, but never at a middle to upscale store. Note, however, that a suit separate only solves the pants part of the problem. Other than going with a bespoke suit, there is no good solution (other than buying a bespoke suit or altering one's body shape) for the chest to waist ratio part of the jacket sizing problem; there are only bad and not as bad solutions. (I'm sorry to say so, but you may as well know it. It is what it is.)

(It's ironic that "pear shaped" guys get the best fitting suits they can by shopping at the lower and very highest price points in the men's clothing marketplace.)

All the best.

[tony20009]

Originally Posted by newoldbeemer

Where I live (Silicon Valley tech) has to be the most diverse. I see one guy in his tshirt, shorts and flip-flops and another guy sporting a nice dress shirt and sport coat. In the same team. No one seems to care either way.

That's a good thing for you. It suggests that nobody will be all that focused on how well your shirt and suit fits. It's a small "blessing" but there's no point in not enjoying it. Given that it seems to you (it seems the same to me based on my business trips to your area) that nobody cares, are you sure it's necessary that you buy/wear a suit?

All the best.

[tony20009]

Originally Posted by newoldbeemer

Oh don't get me started on that - they did "assist" me, meaning: whatever I tried on, they would just say "Its perfect!" and brush aside any questions I had.

That would tick me off too. Even not knowing which is the best compromise, being able to clearly see a difference in fit between multiple shirts is enough for anyone to know they can't all be "perfect."

All the best.

[newoldbeemer]

Originally Posted by tony20009

That's a good thing for you. It suggests that nobody will be all that focused on how well your shirt and suit fits. It's a small "blessing" but there's no point in not enjoying it. Given that it seems to you (it seems the same to me based on my business trips to your area) that nobody cares, are you sure it's necessary that you buy/wear a suit?

All the best.

Oh no one cares around here. This is for an east coast wedding

You are spot on about my body shape. My shoulders/chest are small and belly is medium. I hope to bring everything to small by end of this year or early next year, that's why I don't want to invest too much just for the sake of this wedding.

I've altered the (third) shirt with a local tailor and it looks great now (I think). Will post a pic when I get home. I've also ditched the suit and got a blazer that seems to be closer to my size (36) and a pant that's slightly shorter (29 instead of 30 length) and the tailor also did some alteration in the butt area. For the shoes I've acquired a pair of brown dress shoes and matching leather belt.

Still debating a red tie vs tieless.

Thank you for the help everyone!

[tony20009]

Originally Posted by newoldbeemer

Oh no one cares around here. This is for an east coast wedding

You are spot on about my body shape. My shoulders/chest are small and belly is medium. I hope to bring everything to small by end of this year or early next year, that's why I don't want to invest too much just for the sake of this wedding.

I've altered the (third) shirt with a local tailor and it looks great now (I think). Will post a pic when I get home. I've also ditched the suit and got a blazer that seems to be closer to my size (36) and a pant that's slightly shorter (29 instead of 30 length) and the tailor also did some alteration in the butt area. For the shoes I've acquired a pair of brown dress shoes and matching leather belt.

Still debating a red tie vs tieless.

Thank you for the help everyone!

Take a tie with you. If most other non-wedding party attendees (assuming you aren't a groomsman or bridesman) aren't wearing one, leave it in your jacket pocket. If they are wearing one, put it on. If you are in the wedding party, wear the tie unless asked not to.

Enjoy the wedding.

All the best.

[///M Power-Belgium]

After 7 days still no suit...Just try with body paint !

[TXSTYLE]

To answer the OP and the original question:

The suit fitment is just fine. The shirt and tie on the other hand.... Not so much. I'd change them both.

[JoeyH335i]

[tony20009]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

After 7 days still no suit...Just try with body paint !

The OP's final decision is buried in the following post so not surprisingly you missed it.

Originally Posted by newoldbeemer

...I've also ditched the suit and got a blazer that seems to be closer to my size (36) and a pant that's slightly shorter (29 instead of 30 length) and the tailor also did some alteration in the butt area.

...

Thank you for the help everyone!

All the best.

[MrPrena]

[tony20009]

Originally Posted by MrPrena

No, her suit doesn't fit well and neither does her shirt.

There are plenty of examples of women who've adopted the "fashion flexible" look. Some of them have done so while simultaneously affecting an androgynous look and others have not.

Marlene Dietrich



Some woman:



Halle Berry, two other (apparently) well known women, and Janelle Monae:







A suit doesn't have to be well fitted. The woman wearing the brown pinstriped suit above would look great in it if she'd have the suit recut to fit her body size/shape, hem and press the pants and find a shit that fits her.

All the best.

[CANGRKE70]

What's everyone's view on suspenders instead of belt at work?

[Whostheboss]

Originally Posted by CANGRKE70

What's everyone's view on suspenders instead of belt at work?

Too geeky.