Buying a Suit

[JasonC8301]

Not at all nrengle! These past 2 suits and shirts from Hong Kong were right around $860. The tailor from the HK fashion house took my measurments and then had me try on some sample pieces to get an idea of how to put together the suit and shirts. The suits came out nice (although the hem needed to be fixed on the pants by my stateside tailor who thank goodness is the expert in his field and the only person I trust with my military uniforms.) Come to think of it, all the recruiters and many military personnel from the adjacent base go to his shop along with many folks like me with general tailoring and dry cleaning services. Find a good tailor/dry cleaner and stick with him/her to death!

You gotta start somewhere had I had a suit from Macy's (Alfani) back in 2002 or so and it was like a shower curtain ($250 I think.)

I am still fairly new to this too. I stepped right out of high school with no suits into military life which had uniforms to wear and now I am out on my own (been 8 months and I have 3 suits so far.)

Shoes are another thing Accumulator and I have talked repeatedly about. You can have a great suit ruined by a scruffed up pair of kicks, uhm shoes. A lot can be observed by how someone takes care of their shoe wear.

Since suits don't get worn often, don't buy many. In my opinion, what is the use of a suit that is hanging in your closet? I am stepping into an administrative position aka desk jockey and the suit is pretty much the uniform of the day I believe.

[Accumulator]

nrengle- Yeah, your wardrobe oughta reflect what you need. If one suit gets you by then that's what makes sense. I only have a fraction of the suits I had when I was teaching- I used to wear one every lecture day but now that I'm retired I hardly ever wear suits (more sportcoats/etc.).

And same thing I told Jason fits with the Men's Wearhouse: if it fits you right, and you like how it looks, then it's the right thing for *you*. But the HongKong tailoring *is* very affordable for what you get. I know people at both extremes of the socio-economic scale who wear stuff they bought that way and it almost *always* looks good.

JasonC8301- OK, roger that on the jacket fitting OK after all Glad to hear you have a good stateside tailor too.

Heh heh, just remember that if/when that Glock prints somebody might decide to try hitting you upside the head and snatching it I do assume you watch your six though.

SERE in an inside jacket pocket Isn't it a bit big/heavy? Accumulatorette has a nice little/light mini-SERE but IIRC your full-size one is a pretty big knife.

I'm probably the only guy I know who appendix-carries his primary folder, but that way I know exactly where it is no matter what I'm wearing (jeans and dress pants have their pockets in different places) and it's *SO* comfortable/etc. that I'm not conscious of its being there (gotta remember when I go into no-tolerance zones!) and I can access it with either hand (gotta reverse-grip it with my left though). I'm so happy with that carry position that I'll probably use it for a piece if I start CCW (sorta fits between the hip flexor and the top of your leg). Just mentioning it as only guys with builds like ours can really carry there, who knows.. you might like it (or not).

[bert31]

Originally Posted by Accumulator

nrengle- Yeah, your wardrobe oughta reflect what you need. If one suit gets you by then that's what makes sense. I only have a fraction of the suits I had when I was teaching- I used to wear one every lecture day but now that I'm retired I hardly ever wear suits (more sportcoats/etc.)..

Was that common for professors to wear suits in class at the college you taught at or were you just one of the sharper faculty members? Where I went, it was all over the board what men wore. Some wore business casual wear (polo shirt in warmer weather or button up shirt in cooler weather with slacks). A dress shirt with a blazer/sports jacket and no tie was common. The hippy professors who taught in philosophy, art and similar fields dressed along the lines of what you would expect homeless people to wear (only slightly kidding). And then a small minority wore suits.

[nrengle]

Thanks guys for the heads up... I like the way I look in the suit, and I think I look damned good actually. A little gangster ish (not g-thug, but Al Capone) actually, but that's probably all in my head. I made the joke with my misses when I picked it up that at least I have something to be buried in now too!

I'm picky about shoe. I haven't found any yet that I like, and it's been 8 months since I got the suit. Still on the look. So for the time being I had a older barely used pair of dress shoes re-dyed black as they had faded, and they work, but still not happy. Found some in London and Copenhagen when I was there last month, but with the exchange, it was just way too much. The pair in Copenhagen would've ran me almost 500 bucks after the exchange...

[Accumulator]

Originally Posted by nrengle

..I made the joke with my misses when I picked it up that at least I have something to be buried in now too!

Heh heh, well, there's an old saying about suits being for "marryin' and buryin' "

I'm picky about shoe. I haven't found any yet that I like... Found some in London and Copenhagen when I was there last month, but with the exchange, it was just way too much. The pair in Copenhagen would've ran me almost 500 bucks after the exchange...

Yikes, that is a little pricey!

Originally Posted by Bert31

Was that common for professors to wear suits in class at the college you taught at or were you just one of the sharper faculty members?

I was, uhm...unique, but it went over *VERY* well with the students. Note that I wasn't a professor, but rather a "lecturer" (didn't have the right degrees for professorship) and my TCB appearance helped impart an initial impression of credibility. It also jibed with the businesslike way I conducted my classes; no first-names (everybody was "Mr." or Ms.") and no "I'm your pal" informality, even though I did more interacting with my students than the rest of the faculty.

[JasonC8301]

Accumulator - My stateside tailor is the best, he knows more about military uniforms than I do and I had to wear them for 6 years, haha.

Don't worry my six is always watched (always ride in the 1st or last car and back to walls.) I don't print unless I make it print (sort of like bending over to pick something up but then again I am careful of how I move to not print.) Having our body types with large drops also helps a lot, along with baggy clothes which is sorta my style, lol.

Yes the knife is a bit on the heavy side. It takes some getting used to though. I clipped the knife to my front 1 o'clock (between the right hand pocket and waist button) and it is pretty comfortable.

My next pair of shoes will definately be cordovan in a cap toe either from Allen Edmonds or Johnston Murphy (gonna go with their hand made/prestige lines.)

Hopefully Accumulatorette isn't one of your former students lol...

[Accumulator]

Originally Posted by JasonC8301

Yes the knife is a bit on the heavy side. It takes some getting used to though. I clipped the knife to my front 1 o'clock (between the right hand pocket and waist button) and it is pretty comfortable.

With builds like ours (and the way it's always in the same place) I found it to be the best location for me by far. Sorta surprised it's not more popular, but I but I suppose the bodytype has a lot to do with that. Even the SERE oughta carry pretty easily there, see if you end up liking it.

Note that you can stand casually, with your thumb hooked in your waistband (and thus between the knife and your shirt), and not only cover the knife from view but also have your hand positioned to draw/open it

My next pair of shoes will definately be cordovan in a cap toe either from Allen Edmonds or Johnston Murphy (gonna go with their hand made/prestige lines.)

Yeah, there ya go

Hopefully Accumulatorette isn't one of your former students lol...

Heh heh, nah...she was one of my colleagues But she and I were just talking about this stuff last night, now well things went between me and my students and how the way I dressed helped me come across right.

[JasonC8301]

I tried the 2 o'clock carry today and found it pretty comfortable. You really had to be looking for the black clip when I had my jacket unbuttoned (was partially covered by my belt too.)

I also took time to get some pictures.



The pictures always gets me in a position where the right sleeve ALWAYS looks extended more than it actually is during normal wear for some reason. The left one is short because I like wearing a big chunk of metal on my wrist (in this case a Hamilton Khaki Navy GMT auto.) No gun on due to this suit being a little closer form fitting than I prefer. I'll have to get measured for my next 2 suits to allow for a Glock 19 to sit OWB in a pancake holster and make the belt loops larger to accept a 1 1/2" gun belt.

I was really out of place today while taking care of business at/around school. I figure I might as well see how a suit feels on all day/taking public transportation and I visited a rather upscale museum near school. It is true how you get treated differently if you are well dressed rather than dressed like a bum. Lots of "whoa, someone's looking spiffy/sharp."

I talked to someone who has been tailoring for a while and he was explaining how some skill is needed to make a suit look good on someone with a 10+ inch drop. the american standard is a 6" drop I believe and I just can't buy off the rack anymore due to the pants never being able to fit me. I think my suit maker did a decent job at that price point.

[Accumulator]

JasonC8301- Yeah, you just might like that appendix-carry position.

Heh heh, I could tell you weren't CCW, that suit fits too nicely to be hiding something like that Glock And yeah, it *does* look good on you Give some thought to how you'll carry extra mags too (yeah, even with that zillion-shot thing you carry ).

Heh heh, once you get comfortable wearing a suit all the time I think you'll also find yourself, well...just coming across a little different. You know, the "look sharp/be sharp" thing. Good for the command-presence, for instance.

And yeah, it takes a good tailor to handle guys like us..a *really* good one can recut the pants but sheesh, why bother going that route when you can get what you have for that price?