ils thread for general menswear and men's clothing ish

Hey, question. My bf needs a suit for a family wedding on Jun 23. He’s not IN the wedding so it doesn’t have to match anything and it will be the only suit he owns so something versatile would be ideal. He’s barrel-chested with a fondness for beer so more of a 12- pack than a 6-pack.

What’s good? He loves bow ties and crazy socks and he’s got a mug like a Polish hooligan so he usually does a sort of Peaky Blinders-influenced hipster craftsman thing. Where the hell should we go shopping?

sounds like he might be hard to fit off the rack. haven’t done it myself but indochino will do made to measure and rework for free until he’s happy. not sure how creative their cuts and fabrics get.

if the budget is under $1000 including accessories and he's under like a 48 or 50, i would take him to suit supply and get him a charcoal gray suit. a charcoal suit works for anything (including funerals), so it's the usual thing if you only have one suit. and the styling in store at suit supply is a bit fashion, so he can have fun with the peaky blinders stuff in their shirts/ties. he might want a 3 piece or a double breasted if he's feeling saucy.

He’s always feeling saucy. I’m trying to rein him in from getting everything in shades of pink. And I mean the suit.

Thank, caek!

the go-to suggestion to mix it up, if weather allows, is throwing a vest or some accessory (tie, socks, etc) to make things more distinctive

I am not a fan of vests but hey, many are

I think based on size charts that he’s a 40. But are these super skinny cuts right for him? It looks like Suit Supply only makes an extremely fitted version. I like it aesthetically and everything but is it for most people’s bodies?

Go to suit supply first and then - because he’s not gonna wear this often - men’s wearhouse. They can put him in whatever he wants within budget, just don’t expect it to hold up.

part of the reason i suggested mtm is i’m not sure suitsupply will work for his body type. it barely works for mine. by all means check them out but their cuts are aggressively slim.

especially the trousers.

He’s always feeling saucy. I’m trying to rein him in from getting everything in shades of pink. And I mean the suit.

― which do u hear yanny or (in orbit), Sunday, 27 May 2018 4:20 AM (nine hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Beggars run does a great pink linen suit which is my go to for summer weddings and other such functions. However they also have some styles that would work for the hipster craftsman look.

https://beggarsrun.com/shop/product-category/suits/

I’d love to get the charras brown lambswool suit but I’d get about 3 day’s wear out of a triple breasted suit in Australia.

chest size and waist size, compared to whatever else is pretty variable. if he’s trying on and having altered it’s one thing, but if you are ordering a suit you want someone to take all the measurements, not just width but lengths before ordering

pretty sure he’s burlier than me, but in some suits I take a 40/42 inch chest so you’ve got to be careful

They style them very skinny in the photos on the website but they’re not that skinny. I could stand to lose 15 lb and the 40 fits me fine.

one problem you might have there and at other off the rack places is getting the trousers and jacket to fit at the same time. Seems like suit supply do let you mix and match these days in the very popular suits though.

Also ask chinavision if he has anything that might work. He’s been thrifting.

I don't think I have anything in that size at the moment though. I do come across, say, Brooks Brothers or Hickey Freeman suits in navy or charcoal from time to time in sizes like 40R, 42R, etc. but not at a predictable rate.

I agree that Suitsupply is a good first stop still - he can try on different sizes and will at least know what fits and looks good. Plus there are options for introducing more casual elements: linen suits, patch pockets, etc. - but as caek would point out, those will a.) make the suit less versatile and b.) require some sensitivity in matching shoes, shirt, and tie so that there sren't clashing levels of formality. No white poplin shirts, foulard ties, and oxford shoes with a patch pocket linen suit for instance, just like no oxford cloth shirt, knit tie, and derby shoes with a charcoal gray worsted suit.

Suitsupply does also offer the option of mixing pants and jacket sizes for a slightly higher price. I'd recommend checking that out. Anyone will tell you that Suitsupply's pants can often be too tight. Also the sales staff will tend to put people in a suit one size too small - always be ready to try one size larger.

apologies in advance this is prob gonna be lolhueg, but can you guys shop this sweater?

https://cdn.pitchfork.com/longform/762/MorMor.jpg

https://www.ourlegacy.se/shop/knitwear/sonar-roundneck-black

everlane's is pretty close

yoox.com is having a pretty good sale thru tomorrow. i got a few items from CdG and Ann Demeulemeester for 70% off, might be some good finds in there for y'all.

Could be an SNS Herning

https://www.farfetch.com/au/shopping/men/s-n-s-herning-classic-knitted-sweater-item-12367159.aspx?storeid=9007&size=23&pid=googleadwords_int&af_channel=Search&c=869412444&af_c_id=869412444&af_siteid=&af_keywords=aud-297012351299:pla-413571870462&af_adset_id=43893096436&af_ad_id=203398867161&is_retargeting=true&foundit=yes&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIouDsu6au2wIVzROPCh2VoADKEAQYCSABEgJ2FfD_BwE

my wife is returning to work as a therapist and has to buy professional clothes to wear at job interviews. she went to a bunch of different places to try on different things but the coolest clothes she tried on were at eileen fisher. i feel like i have noticed ads for this place for years and have always thought the clothes looked great, and seeing the stuff she tried on, it makes me wish there was like a mens alternative to eileen fisher -- natural fabrics especially lots of linens, great earthy neutral colors, very casual, loose and and comfortable but also refined and sophisticated enough to wear to work. women have better clothes sometimes huh

also i really dug this new yorker piece on her: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/09/23/nobodys-looking-at-you

That was FASCINATING.

There is a warehouse in Secaucus where the men apparently are kept.

For real though I want to bookmark and come back many times to review the bits about distributed leadership etc. At first EF seems like this listless, pointless, weak figure who didn't do anything to deserve success--can't communicate, can't draw, can't sew, can't make decisions--but the picture gets clearer later on, and tbh all the female figures orbiting the story seem kind of awesome and like a community that one would want to just be enfolded by.

Eileen tried to say, but her reply was like a hermetic text by Judith Butler. She spoke of a “core concept team” and “the leadership forum” and “this kind of concept of facilitating leaders, which is that they’re actually doing the work, they’re not leading the work, but sort of like the way I’ve been leading from behind, in a way leading by, you know, letting the group find what’s coming up and facilitating that to happen.” Once again, she read my face and stopped herself: “You’re looking at me like I’m crazy.”

I admitted that I had no idea what she was talking about.

Old stepped in but was equally powerless to explain the inexplicable: “What we’re trying to do with this different kind of leadership is to have the leader facilitate the process, so you get the team or the craft team in the room together, to ideate together, to generate the ideas together, and then figure out who’s going to hold what, who’s going to move what forward, so it’s less of, it’s more about kind of again the holding the space for the team to find.”

This is kind of an ideal imo? It would probably make you crazy if you can't get away from the hard-driving "masculinized" ideal of a leader as someone who dictates or like the "exceptional man" model of the self-made millionaire or inventor who takes all the credit for their own success and doesn't need others except as subordinates or consumers. But it's so much more humane and inter-connected and kind.

I actually don't find the quoted descriptions particularly opaque tho maybe it's bc I work somewhat along a community organizing model where we want to be developing others as leaders instead of ourselves being hyper-visible leaders in a traditional sense. But it's interesting that the article's author found that language so impenetrable.

This is kind of an ideal imo? It would probably make you crazy if you can't get away from the hard-driving "masculinized" ideal of a leader as someone who dictates or like the "exceptional man" model of the self-made millionaire or inventor who takes all the credit for their own success and doesn't need others except as subordinates or consumers. But it's so much more humane and inter-connected and kind.

it is! and i also didn't find the descriptions that opaque either, though i work in a field that is around 80% female, almost all the best mentors and leaders i've seen in the institutions i've worked in have been women who fostered teams that "ideate together" and "hold the space for the team to find." lol! empowering the people you lead by stepping back and allowing them to own the work as a team. i work in an organization now in which the leadership is male-dominated and extremely hierarchical - the directors & associate directors just issue edicts and demands without any real appreciation for the labor that goes into making things happen, and it sucks.

anyway, i want earthy and neutral linens!

marcos remind me, which part of the country you living in? only tangentially related to the dress code here, just curious

cleveland

right on

btw I'm 100% on board with wanting men's clothing that fits that mold

Linen suits in neutral colors are actually dud. boring and yet tryhard at the same time. Like those suede wingtip oxfords with sneaker soles.

I’m definitely going back and finishing that EF story at some point though

boring and yet tryhard at the same time

my aesthetic

lol that's how I've always felt about Cos (sorry LG)

me

https://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/B3-BE977_ODBS41_16H_20180723181508.jpg

https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-the-fleece-vest-became-the-new-corporate-uniform-1532442297

one thing i don't get is like, in what temperature range is this a good article of clothing?

lol a few years back when we were discussing patagonia fleeces itt i considered this look

one thing i don't get is like, in what temperature range is this a good article of clothing?

― call all destroyer, Wednesday, July 25, 2018 2:21 PM (eleven minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

in san francisco

I guess it's kind of a theoretically nicer version of wearing a light hoodie or track jacket over something in that you can wear it outdoors, partially unzip, or remove it when it's warmer

lol xp feel like i just saw something on twitter showing a uniqlo puffy vest vending machine in san francisco

yeah i saw that tweet too. they have the same machine at burbank airport (which is afaict used solely by bay area occasional commuters like me)

I just rolled my eyes but I'd probably use that vending machine after walking around and realizing I was very slightly uncomfortable

Linen suits in neutral colors are actually dud. boring and yet tryhard at the same time. Like those suede wingtip oxfords with sneaker soles.

― El Tomboto, Wednesday, 25 July 2018 16:48 (five hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

This is a demented concatenation

Also what

thank god you’re here.

at least we got to all enjoy the phrase “demented concatenation”

Oxford shirts in blue are actually dud. boring and yet tryhard at the same time. Like those purple velvet waistcoasts with maroon leather trim.

it’s just two things I RMDE at on the train. Granted the linen suit is not as frequently spotted as the wingtips.

The thing with the neutral linen suit in DC is that there are a few guys around the neighborhood who really pull it off amazingly well, and everybody else looks like an uncomfortable poseur

uniqlo lightweight down >> patagonia fleece

Lots of fux0rs all over the west coast wearing the fleece vest

These days im sportin the khaks/chins but still too warm outside

Good thing its a little igloo at the office

Linen suits primarily come in neutral colors though. I have a navy one but that’s kinda rare? And I’m not sure how I feel about combining a conservative color with a non-conservative material.

Or is this more a complaint about cream/tan/olive suits etc regardless of material?