Men's Fashion

It's the inner lining of the suit (note not the silk lining but what is actually in between the silky lining and the outer fabric). Full canvas (uses all fabric inner lining)is the most expensive with half-canvas and fused cheaper respectively. Fused is basically a suit which has had its inner lining glued together. Sounds kinda cheap right? That's how most suits you buy in stores are made.

I've been able to pick up fully canvassed suits for ~$450-500 from Brooks Brothers on discount sites. They're usually marked down from ~$1500, and the fabric used on those suits is far superior to their less expensive lines. However, I like the styling of my less expensive BB suits better. Off 5th has some fully canvassed suits under their house brand with good styling and fabric (Zegna). The quality control is a little iffy and you really have to inspect the suit. Nordstrom Rack will usually have good stuff as well (Canali, Zegna, etc.).

prescient63_sl said:

I've been able to pick up fully canvassed suits for ~$450-500 from Brooks Brothers on discount sites. They're usually marked down from ~$1500, and the fabric used on those suits is far superior to their less expensive lines. However, I like the styling of my less expensive BB suits better. Off 5th has some fully canvassed suits under their house brand with good styling and fabric (Zegna). The quality control is a little iffy and you really have to inspect the suit. Nordstrom Rack will usually have good stuff as well (Canali, Zegna, etc.).

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A tailor should be able to "re-style" your suit to taste. Granted it's gonna cost you extra money, but there isn't much a good tailor can't do as long as the shoulders on the jacket fit appropriately.

Khane_sl said:

A tailor should be able to "re-style" your suit to taste. Granted it's gonna cost you extra money, but there isn't much a good tailor can't do as long as the shoulders on the jacket fit appropriately.

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There's only so much that they can do without having to pull the whole thing apart, and at that point you're better off getting a suit that's closer to your ideal. The closer you are to a good fitting suit with styling you like at the outset the better off you are. However, I love the fabric (Cavendish) on my two BB Golden Fleece suits so there's that.

i would always choose the cheaper suit that fits better over the more expensive suit than fits poorly. Nobody is going to know or care about what brand suit you wear.

Got a pretty nice suit the other day.. so much nicer than my Jos A Banks one. Looks better, feels better, pants needed less tailoring, jacket is slimmer. It's Ralph Lauren, so nothing majorly exciting, but I got $500 off due to my wedding. I'll never be a $2k+ suit kind of guy, so this one was good. Should be out of the tailors next week.

I'm looking at some shoes to go with it and my other suit (if possible). This one is dark navy and my other is a pretty dark charcoal. I was looking at either brown or burgundy, would they go with both or would I really want to go black with the charcoal? Also, good brands to look at? I tried on some Rockports and another brand that I can't remember, but they felt and looked pretty amazing - Johnston and Murphhy maybe? Are these two brands good? Anything better in the price range? Probably looking at around $150-200 for a decent pair of shoes to wear to stuff like weddings/meetings/etc.

No desert shoes please.

Are you partial to leather bands? I've always preferred metal, and this one really tickles my pickle.

I prefer the one on the left, too much noise for my tastes on the one on the right.

I have a few pairs of Johnston and Murphy and a pair of Allen Edmonds. The Allen Edmonds shoes look nicer, are more comfortable, don't squeak or squish when I walk and are just all around a better shoe. I don't know why but all 4 pairs of J&M shoes I own have "squishy, squeaky" sounding insoles. The J&M shoes serve their purpose, they look stylish enough, but the Allen Edmonds I have are just a cut above.

Alright gents I need your help, I need a new winter coat. I'm leaning towards a tan or gray overcoat as I need it for work and formal affairs. I don't mind spending money on a very nice one but I'd like to keep it under $800 if possible. Here is where I need help, I just don't know of any good name brands in overcoats. Should I buy off the rack or is it worth it to have one custom made? I'm thinking 100% wool is a must with maybe a slight cashmere blend if anything. What type of coat does Luther have? That coat is ballin', love that look.

Part of my new position is appearance (in front of corporate/VPs/CEO every week), so I need to upgrade my wardrobe - the business casual stuff from Kohl's will no longer cut it.

Will slacks and long sleeve button downs from a place like Brooks brothers set me back a lot? That's what my new boss suggested. Also, are the shirts much nicer quality or am I paying for the brand?

You can't go wrong with the GO. Classic, clean and quality. The breitling is only interesting because its using the new in house movement. It will be more difficult to pair the chronograph with suits, and you really can't wear it with black tie. If its your first watch, I would choose the GO. If you already have a great dress watch, then I think its up to you. Just dont buy one of those brietlings that still use the swatch movements!

Springbok_sl said:

Also, buying a new watch next week - sending the old lady back to South Africa for a month, so I thought I'd reward myself. Having trouble settling on one though...

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Noodleface_sl said:

Part of my new position is appearance (in front of corporate/VPs/CEO every week), so I need to upgrade my wardrobe - the business casual stuff from Kohl's will no longer cut it.

Will slacks and long sleeve button downs from a place like Brooks brothers set me back a lot? That's what my new boss suggested. Also, are the shirts much nicer quality or am I paying for the brand?

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You can usually get "deals" at brooks brothers like 3 shirts for $225. It's a relatively expensive place to shop. My suggestion is to find out what size you are and what style you like at a brooks brothers store, then go online and buy that same style and size from Charles Tyrwhitt

Charles Tyrwhitt for Men's Dress Shirts, Suits, Ties, Shoes & Accessories | CTShirts.com


They have some very good sales and the shirts are the same quality as brooks brothers.

Brooks Brothers is decent stuff but fairly expensive for what you get. The clothing is still made, mostly, in the third world by people cashing in a 25?/hr paycheck. So they don't give a damn about true quality. They do have a line of clothes that is made in USA which would be better but probably far more expensive. Business casual isn't my dress attire so I can't help you out too much. But you can look for other shirt makers like Naked & Famous, Wings + Horns, Gitman which are all made in North America. But you're probably looking at $120 minimum per shirt.

If you want to lower costs and have a decent button up shirt just go to Express. They are nice, fairly decent quality, very well cut and you can get 3 shirts for under $100 anytime they run a sale.

Do you have a Nordstrom Rack near you? try there.

I really love my Brooks Brothers shirts but I agree they are expensive. I've gotten them either at the outlet or every once or twice a year they do a 3 shirts for $180 or similar sale.

I usually don't spend a lot of money on dress pants as much as I do shirts.

My boss said he doesn't care how we dress (engineering), but with my new position I could be called into a meeting with VP's/High Corporate/even CEO at a moments notice. His tip was to not be like the guys wearing jeans and polos and instead dress professionally for such occurrences as it will look better. Probably not looking to spend that much on shirts quite yet, but most likely will when I start full-time in december. Thanks for the tips.

Noodleface_sl said:

Part of my new position is appearance (in front of corporate/VPs/CEO every week), so I need to upgrade my wardrobe - the business casual stuff from Kohl's will no longer cut it.

Will slacks and long sleeve button downs from a place like Brooks brothers set me back a lot? That's what my new boss suggested. Also, are the shirts much nicer quality or am I paying for the brand?

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http://www.landsend.com/shop/mens-dress-shirts/-/N-fzlgreat shirts at a decent price point, also having a tailor make you a shirt is not much more expensive.

Noodleface_sl said:

My boss said he doesn't care how we dress (engineering), but with my new position I could be called into a meeting with VP's/High Corporate/even CEO at a moments notice. His tip was to not be like the guys wearing jeans and polos and instead dress professionally for such occurrences as it will look better. Probably not looking to spend that much on shirts quite yet, but most likely will when I start full-time in december. Thanks for the tips.

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If you are coming from polos and jeans to wearing business casual every day, dont bother getting some famous or expensive brand like brooks brothers. Just go to whatever department store and find something that fits well, is cheap, and has a deal for like 5 or more. Then find a similar deal for slacks, and keep the colors of the pants grey, blue or black, and avoid tan/brown. If you are tallish, perry ellis might do from dillards or wherever. then get a brown and black (DRESS) belt, and 3-5 pairs of dress shoes (with ten pairs of the same black socks). spend no more than 50 USD per shirt, and 100 USD per slacks, and 200 USD per shoes. Its far more important that the clothes fit well (slim at the waist, not tight at the chest, no material in the back/legs, sleeves/pants are right length) the brand doesnt matter. Use that as the base of your everyday wardrobe. It will be cheap, you wont care if 1 or 2 gets ruined/stained/ripped whatever. After this, you can experiment by trying some new styles/brands. For example, if you have your heart set on brooks brothers, they have a nice wrinkle free line, but these will run 120-150 USD per shirt.