Men's Clothing Discussion

I am by no means a man of affluence, so my recommendations are the following:

Suits - Arnold Brant, Canali or JP Tilford.

Ties - No personal preference for brand, it just has to look good!

Shoes - Allen Edmonds, Bostonian, Cole Haan

Watches - When I've amassed my fortune - Patek Phillippe, Cartier, IWC, Blancpain, Girard-Perregaux (hey, I need the watch to go along with the F-car!) but until then, the Seiko given to me by my late grandmother.


Style doesn't require loads of $, but it helps!

 

Hey David,
I just got this email two days ago from Jos. A. Bank Clothiers concerning a big fall sale they are having...

Huge Selection of WOOL & WOOL/CASHMERE SUITS Orig. $450-$495 Now $188.00
Entire Stock of TUXEDO SEPARATES (COAT & PANT) Reg. $495 Now $198.00
Huge Selection of FALL DRESS PANTS Reg. $135-$150 Now $ 69.00
PINPOINT DRESS SHIRTS Reg. $ 49.50 ea. Now 2 for $ 49.00
TRAVELER DRESS SHIRTS Reg. $ 64.50 ea. Now 2 for $ 99.00
Entire Stock of ITALIAN MERINO POLOS Reg. $ 79.50 ea. Now 2 for $ 79.00
CASUAL CORDUROY PANTS Reg. $ 79.50 ea. Now $ 39.00
WOOL/CASHMERE TOPCOATS Reg. $ 395 Now $ 179
Entire Stock of LUGGAGE Reg. $295-$500 Now $ 39.99-$159.99


TUESDAY, NOV. 23 - MONDAY, NOV. 29
..............................................................................................................
Of particular note is the pinpoint and travellor dress shirts as they are both available in french cuffs. I was in a local one the other day, was impressed with the material and construction of their shirts and almost bought one at retail. Here is the texas Jos. A. Banks stores:
http://www.josbank.com/customer_center/store_finder/store_finder_w.tem
....................................................................................................
Hope this helps .

Paul

 

Paul, good tip. I've shopped there, but wouldn't have picked Jos.A.Bank to have a website... I guess everybody does these days. Thanks.

Jim, I'll have to check out the Nordstrom Rack - Nordstrom.com says there's one in Hurst too, for us "mid cities" yokels.

 

Just an FYI I only buy things that are on super special. Most major dept stores (Saks, Bloomingdales, Nordstoms, Brooks Bros.) have big sales when changing seasons or even better clearence racks. For shoes there is a place in downtown Manhattan called Stapleton shoe. They discount all major brands (example $380.00 Alden cordovan tassels can be had for approx $320.00 this is a shoe which never goes on sale) this is a lifetime shoe as cordovan (horse) is very durable. Trendy is very expensive when done right. I tend to err on the side of conservative classic.

My biggest pet peeve for young folks is they have nice suits and then wear crappy shoes (cheap), ties, and shirts which make the suit look cheap. Build/invest in business attire. Over time you will be able to look in your closet and say yeah I feel like wearing that, instead of, crap I just wore that one 2 days ago. It takes time but you will look head and shoulders above your colleagues. Remember, in business, you get one chance to make a great first impression - if all else is equal.

 

I'm a simple guy. I wear mostly Claiborne slacks, 3/4 are microfiber, others cotton/poly blend. Car related polo's with subdued logos or button downs (Ralph, Claiborne, etc). Rarely ties, not printed. Rockports or Bostonians. During Fall and Winter, I will wear a cashmere sweater, or a cashmere or cashmere/silk shirt, every other day. Watches are a simple Fossil with a very simple/classic design or a Britannia with sentimental value. Will add a Breitling to the collection soonish.

Dress down wear for me is jeans from Express and some polo shirts with Sketchers. London Fog leather jacket (black or tan) and black London Fog light weight trench coat in times of bad weather.

I have an Armani suit tucked away that gets used once a year and two sport coats that I forget the manufacturer of that see about as much use or less.

Sunny

 

People and brands are funny, especially when people think they have to "spend the money" to look a certain part. Most of my stuff is custom made now in Seoul. Suits cost me $220 ($260 with an extra pair of pants), shirts $25, and overcoats $400 (in pure cashmere). More importantly, it all fits perfectly and is exactly what I want. I found a guy that will do bench made shoes for $300, but I haven't tried him yet.

Before I went down the bespoke route, I found that Brioni made the best suits (Zegna is junk for the hard core traveller), Borrelli and Talbott the best shirts, and my favorite ties are Zenga, Talbott (I've got several 7 folds and they are worth it), Turnbull and Asser, and Brioni. Spluge on the tie if you are going to spluge.

The thought of spending $300 on a pair of jeans is crazy. They're made in the same factory by the same people. The difference may be in the fabric (need to talk to Michael Collins about this thread, he used to own a factory that made jeans) and the label. You're paying for the brand name, not an improvement in quality. I can wear out a pair for $24 Calvin Klein jeans from Sam's Club just as fast as I can a pair of $125 Zenga's. Oh and the CK's fit me better. Gee, I wonder which ones I'm going to buy next.

Oh, and I hate labels on my clothes. If you want me to advertise your product, how about we talk about a little compensation for me walking around as your personal billboard...

Bottom line, who cares about the label, get something that fits and is comfortable.

 

LMAO...! Good luck...!

As Paul mentioned, check out Jos. A. Bank... i recently bought a suit from them and i'm very pleased with it... They have a catalogue from which you can order French cuff shirts, but if you're like me (18 1/2 inch neck) then you're SOL... i wound up going to some store in the local mall out here and finally found a place that sold French cuff shirts... i wanted a black one; they had a white one for $80 that was an 18; it was tight, but what was i gonna do...? Then the sales lady suggested i look at the Sean John section... "Eh", i thought; "i'm not much into labels"... Black French cuff shirt in the Sean John section, Triple X - it fits great...!

If you're not a fat slob like me, then you should be good to just order a French cuff shirt through the catalogue at Jos. A. Bank... If not, you gotta do it the hard way... Good luck...

 

I gave it a whirl, by trying to use the "build a shirt" link, but at no point did any of the 4 different fabrics allow me to choose anything but a standard cuff.

 

That's a sweet deal, as long as it doesn't say "SeanJohn" in 6 inch letters across the front.

 

Erik, it must be great living in the Orient, my uncle use to travel to Hong Kong on business and he would always stock up on suits and such. However, if you pick a super fine 180s, 190s wool or blends of silk and wool, it will add to the cost. But, the labor is miniscule hence gigantic savings.

 

Does anyone else here were Campagna suits? They are the best in my opinion but I was curious as to what others thought.

 

It has some advantages, but most of the time I am reminded that I am 8000 miles from home (and the cars).

I tend to stay below 180's because the really fine stuff just doesn't last if you abuse it getting in and out of taxis and riding on airplanes. Can I afford better, no question, but at the end of the day you need to use the right tool for the job.

Most of the time I'm a sweater and jeans kind of guy, pretty boring and low maintenance (minus the cars that is...).

 

These are about as opposite as you can get in terms of quality and style in Italian clothing...

 

http://www.bensilver.com/

 

Strange.

No offense meant, but I can´t understand, why one would buy something off the peg if he can have a tailor made suit? The additional cost is really negligible.

Since a couple of years I only wear tailor made suits. Only disadvantage: You need some time while waiting for the suit.

Just picked up three nicely cut suits. They have one thing in common: Fabric from Loro Piana. I personally feel that a 150s thread is a good compromise between durability and yarn count. Two of them are 150s while the fabric of the other is refined with cashmere.

 

Those in the know, please correct me if I am wrong. I know that it is fairly inexpensive to have suits tailor made in other parts of the world. But for those of us in the US, that's a VERY expensive proposition. There aren't any custom suitmakers that I know of here in Dallas. If I want a suit, even a very nice one, I still have to pick a size "off the peg" and have it altered to fit me better.

I travelled to Cairo in 99 and a friend with me had 2 suits made for him during the 2 weeks we were there, at a price of $250 total for the fabric and tailor. I had scraped every dollar together just to go on that trip and so I wasn't in the same position to have some made. Besides, I've gained about 20 pounds in those 5 years and I had little need for a suit those days.

 

Dave,
You can have Oxxford make anything you want...available at Neiman's


Oxxford still makes it's suits largely by hand in the Chicago workrooms the company opened in 1916. Pattern pieces are individually cut from one piece of fabric; silk thread is used at stress points, for elasticity, and collars, lapels and buttonholes are all shaped and finished by hand. Attention to detail comes at a price, of course - from $1,995 to $10,000, depending on fabric and whether you buy off-the-rack or have your suits custom-made. But while the new casual workplace has sent some suitmakers into a tailspin, Oxxford is not only still relevant, but topical: G.W. Bush chose an Oxxford for his inauguration.

 

LOL, that was a concern of mine; i was hesitant to go over to that section because of that... However, it's a very tasteful shirt... There's a tiny tag on the sleeve that says 'Sean John' and that's it...

 

Color me a man of Xtremes

It all really comes down to the event being attended. For my job i wear everything from T-shirt and jeans to the basic Armani stuff. Armani is cheap/easy and available at deep discounts on the web and in Milan. The local Armani tailors the stuff for me at no charge and i fit their cut nearly perfectly off the rack anyway


Brioni is for when i truly need to wear something good, not mass produced yawners (read: Armani).

Now for fun.... i wear wacky D&G cloths Love my smoking jacket and other vivid D&G goodies... but the quality of D&G seems to be.... well... it is what it is. Glad i have a deep discount connection for D&G as i would NEVER pay retail on that stuff (or even 50% of retail for that matter).

 

Manual labour is more expensive here. According to a statistic I have at hand the cost of labour in the US is only 85% of our cost - and this was calculated when the $ was still stronger than the Euro. However, American workers earn more b/c they work longer and their wages aren´t consumed by taxation and social welfare in an excessive way as here

 

I didn't say it was impossible, just VERY expensive. I see the reasoning for a well tailored or custom made suit. It's like anything of great quality and design (Ferrari automobiles, Girard Perregeaux watches).

I'll just keep making sure that the off-the-rack suits are tailored to fit me well.
Then I can spend $10,000 on a Ferrari engine rebuild.

 

worrrrrrd

 

Dave, as you probably know, clothing comes at three levels: ready-to-wear, made-to-measure, and bespoke. Many good quality higher end companies offer made to measure services. you can usually specify any number of special options, such as ticket pocket, trousers for braces, and so on. Few offer bespoke services. For this, you're right, go to a tailor.
MTM at a place like Hickey Freeman will start around 1500. Polo Blue Label, made by Corneliani, will probably be slightly higher. Generally MTM is some percentage above RTW - say, 20%. However, you will find that many stores will have MTM "events' where the MTM price will be dropped to the same as RTW. Note too that many of the Asian tailors travel to the U.S. I know that WW Chan, which, as I say, is one of the best, goes to Houston. Many Saville Row ones do too.

As for full bespoke, there many options. Yes, it is expensive. But it's a dying art that should be supported, IMO, and you get, hopefully, a perfect garment.
There are, I'm sure, many tailors in Dallas. In New York, the best is Raphael. As "AR!" says, there is absolutely no reason to pay full price for a RTW Kiton when you can get Raphael to make you a bespoke suit that completely puts it to shame.

 

Duly Noted, I'll remember this and hopefully take advantage of it, in, oh, 10 years or so No, really, I enjoy learning these things. I'm just not in a position to be able to take advantage of the absolutely keen advice you've given. Yet.