As a 19 year old male would it be considered suitable (pun not intended) to wear a suit in less formal situations, such as lectures or casual social situations? Or would it just be a case of overdressing?
The reason I ask this is because the only time I've been complemented on my dress sense is when I've suited up. It feels nice to wear suits and increases my confidence.
>>3611 A full business suit isn't really appropriate to wear all the time, but you could wear a jacket and tie with some other nice trousers that are a different colour to the jacket.
>>3613 Arguably, the days of the suit as standard attire are long gone. The only person in my office who wears anything that comes close to a suit is the big boss, and even for her it's a stretch.
>>3615 >Arguably, the days of the suit as standard attire are long gone.
This is true, and it makes me sad. Same with hats. I was born a century too late.
I don't see WHY it's looked down upon now in less formal situations. I suppose you could get away with wearing a full suit to casual occasions, saying you just got out of work, assuming you're required to wear a suit at work..I see no downside to wearing a suit all the time, though. A well fitted suit is extremely comfortable.
>>3611 I really think this could be a big mistake unless you have a certain look and the confidence to back up the suit. Other you'll seem like a try-hard reconstituted pork gravy something or the other (and a complete and utter one).
Have you seen any other young students at your lectures wearing a suit?
I see a few people around campus wearing suits all the time, although I admit they do look out of place and I can see why someone like >>3613 would think they are wankers to a man, though I wish they wouldn't because there's nothing to be ashamed of. They look far better than these bespectacled ponytailed nerdy cunts in long manky leather jackets, or proto-chavs in hoodies and jogging bottoms or pyjamas; why don't we discuss whether that's appropriate daywear, eh?
In my first year at uni I tried to wear a suit as much as possible, but couldn't keep this up, because a) I don't have enough suits, b) cleaning them is either expensive or a pain in the arse and c) they're not lightweight enough to wear without overheating and becoming sweaty.
I think anyone can pull off a suit, but only if you make it your only mode of attire. I felt embarrassed having to go back to a t-shirt the next day, it's like becoming a different person, or reneging on one's commitment to good clothes.
Depends on the suit lad. [spolier]I have a tailor[/spoiler]
I often wear mine out casually, but only when straight out of work. Dear lord do you look good surrounded by "casually" dressed people.
However, usually my arse is hanging out of my trousers, so I kinkda fall into both categories.
I want more suits really. The ladies love them. I assume because you look like a hi-roller. But only proper, tailored garments. Not off the shelf filth.
Agreeing with everyone ITT who're saying 'don't buy a business suit' and adding, if you want to dress like some dandy, go the whole fucking hog and wear a waistcoat, buy a dress cane, wear them pointy fancy boots and swagger about like your balls are too big your your trousers (not like a prick though).
The cane also adds a slightly threatening air to your demeanor ensuring that while people might talk about you behind your back, they'll never say it to your face.
>>3671 Something a little less flamboyant. Darkies somehow manage to make the most garish colours work, maybe there's just a poor contrast with pale flesh. Also that old adage about walking before running.
At the risk of sounding like a tosser speaking out my arse, I don't dress like this but I know I'd like to dress like this.
It's likely that I will have a bunch of job interviews over the coming weeks. The only suit I really have doesn't fit me very well so I was looking to get a new one.
Is it possible to find a good high street suit or should I be looking for a tailor?
It depends on how much you're intending to spend and whether you're a weird shape. If you've got fairly ordinary proportions, then it's not too difficult to find a suit on the high street that will fit well with only minor alterations. As regards quality, you can't go far wrong with the old favourites, Austin Reed and M&S. M&S's cheap suits are nasty polyester bags like any other cheap suit, but at £300+ the quality is remarkably good and their £800 "Best of British" suits are the best RTW suits I have ever seen at any price.
A typical local MTM tailor will charge £600-900. Quality varies widely, although the best do truly exceptional work that's not far off the best houses on Savile Row. If you go this route, Google around for recommendations.
A suit from one of the travelling MTM tailors can cost you as little as £300, but bear in mind that you're getting foreign cloth and foreign labour at that price, and that you might have to wait anything up to 2 months to get your suit back. In terms of quality, cheap MTM tends to be equal or slightly worse than RTW at the same price (it's often made in the same factories), but it's a worthwhile endeavour if you're a tricky shape.
If you're shopping on the high street, take your time, try on plenty of suits, take photos of yourself in the changing room mirror so you can compare, and don't pay too much attention to things that can be easily altered like sleeve length. The key aspects of fit are the shoulder (the shoulder seams should sit naturally at the edge of the shoulder), the chest (there's a stiff canvas lining that fixes the shape of the chest), the waist of the jacket, the height of the armholes and the seat of the trousers. If the shape is good in those places, then anything else can be easily altered.
In a very, very belated response to OP's question:
Outside of a business setting, suits are almost always excessively formal as day wear. A blazer is perfectly acceptable in the vast majority of contexts and can easily be dressed up (add a tie and a pocket square to a wool ensemble) or down (corduroy trousers or chinos, an oxford shirt, loafers or smart plimsolls). I never wear a shirt without a collar or a jacket without lapels, but I only own a handful of suits which generally only get an airing at weddings or funerals.
>>4678 I reckon it depends how good the suit is. If he turned up to a lecture in a tailor-made suit that wasn't (a) black and (b) shit then it's a completely different kettle of fish to turning up in an ill-fitting Tesco non-iron malarky with a matching fedora.
>>4680 Depends on the cut of the suit as well, I guess. I'm a long-time mod so all my suits are high-fastening, short-arsed and quite snug, they don't exactly scream out "formal" when I wear them so I manage to get away with it. People still think I'm a cunt for a myriad other reasons.
Bespokelad here again. I thought OP would like a personal anecdote. When I came to do my Masters, immediately after the first day at uni I had a high-level presentation to give at a corporate conference. As such I turned up looking very slick - and while I do not look like Brad Pitt, I am a very handsome chap. Average age on the course was 28 - so people who have been used to working. While a couple wore shirts, that was it. I got a stream of odd looks throughout the morning until we could grab a cigarette break, where I had to explain why the fuck I was so smart. It took until the next day when I turned up with my arse hanging out of my trousers for my course mates to relax and talk to me like a normal person.
I'd even go as far as to say if you are in a shirt, even a casual one, stick with jeans below. This is why at uni I prefer the "arse hanging out of trousers" look, and at work I wear Saville Row.
>>4686 Bollocks. It's not the clothes, it's how you wear them. My m8 who now works for a big suit/shirt company abroad wore either a suit or 'suit-ish' clothing around uni all week (plus at work; TM Lewin in his case).
You can pull off pretty much anything you like if you have the right attitude.
>>4683 When I did my Masters there was a lad in the useless "complimentary studies" class I had to take who always wore a suit and without exception presented himself immaculately (coiffed hair, expensive-looking watch, etc). We eventually became acquainted enough for me to feel comfortable asking him what the deal with the suit was, I genuinely wondered if he had some interesting job with weird evening hours where a suit and a high level of personal presentation was a necessity, but he said no, he just liked to be well turned out. It was a bit awkward.
>>4690 Mate if you're 18 years old and attending your university lectures in a suit it doesn't matter what attitude you might think you're exuding, you're actually going to look like a twat.
I'm sorry mate, you're the one with issues. Bespokelad chiming in again here. I know I look stunning in my suits, but I would never wear them to an educational facility except if going to a job interview. You sound like you have a hatchet to sharpen.
>>4700 He did have a 'friends discount' as well but it was much more limited, iirc it was c 15%. His own one was something like 25% or more, but he also had access to the various back-rooms ordering shenanigans so got disgustingly huge reductions in price.
Nah m8. I am going to respond properly once I've grabbed some fags. OP will be be interested, and I think a few other posters might like to know what to look for in a suit.
It's called a pilot, and is designed mainly to prevent derailments. It has a similar function to the large "cow catcher" pilots seen on old American locomotives. In the event that the tram hits a car or other heavy object, it will crash into the front of the tram rather than being crushed under the wheels; The driver is more likely to be killed in such an accident, but the passengers should suffer no worse than cuts and bruises, rather than the severe injuries they would suffer if the tram derailed and overturned. As a useful side-effect it prevents pedestrians from being pulled under the wheels, although at the time any pedestrian hit by a tram would probably die due to the relatively primitive state of trauma medicine.
Well, this is /poof/ so if I am going to spend 20 minutes wrting up a guide on how to buy suits this would be the case. If ayone wants the info let me know. I'm not going to waste my time if no-one is going to read it though.
I am going to hold your hands and take you through the mysterious land of Saville Row, although this applies to any global centre of excellence in tailoring. It is not necessarily as expensive as you think it is. I will drop a few links at the bottom which are related as well.
Firstly, bespoke suits: They are pricey, but not as bad as one might believe. My tailors (who are very much the best of the best) could knock you up a bespoke two-piece and a couple of shirts for something in the region of 3 grand. These will last a life time. One thing to remember is that this is likely to take 6 months, and they only expect half of the cash upfront. This can make the difference between buying one or not. Once it is made take the suit down to a hald decent local tailor and get him to cut panels matching the suit's cut - from now on you can present the panels to any tailor and they will be able to provide an almost perfect match - so the initial outlay will drop signiicatly per extra suit made. If you happen to spend time in Pakistan or Dubai, this will *really* work in your favour.
Made to mesaure: in Saville row can be done for 600-800. Not as good as bespoke, but close to. Also will be delivered within weeks, and look far superior to supposed "fashion labels" such as the one mentioned in this thread, or Gucci, Armani, etc. Will also last a life time.
Off the peg: also available in Saville Row, from as little as 300. The quality will be far higher and the life-span far longer than any equivalent off the peg suit - most (non-Savilee Row) places you will see offering off the peg suits at this price or higher use the "if we overcharge for a suit that falls to pieces in a couple of years and looks like shit, fools will still think we provide quality" marketing method. See: Apple.
If you walk into a place in Saville Row and are treated like shit at the door, especially by someone just out of school (Oh hi Gieves and Hawkes), walk. First time I went into my tailors I had spent the morning redecorating the kitchen. I didn't bother changing, was wearing paint covered jeans and hoody, and was fussed over for 2 hours without a blink. If a tailor is being sniffy, it is because they are not as good as the others, and being in Saville Row as their only selling point. Nowadays, I actively try and look scruffy when visiting bespoke merchants, as their reaction will tell you a lot about the quality of their stock - the real guys assume you know how much it will cost in advance and are happy to part with the cash. My tailors took two hours before talking about money. This is a good sign, as it shows supreme confidence in their work.
And now, for the cheat code: did you know Saville Row do a January-February sale? They do. You can pick up excellent of-the-peg and to-be-altered items for as little as 175 quid with a little luck. You will find this advertised on their websites, have a google around and see what is on offer.
To avoid a nasty shock do give the ones you like the look of a call and ask a ball park figure for what you want if it is not displayed online. You should not need an appointment for your first meeting with them, but do check.
Finally, do not be intimidated by high-end places like these. The guys there are not from epically posh backgrounds, will be young, and should do their best to make you feel at ease. There is nothing better than a good tailor, and the looks on arseholes faces who have just been fleeced for a suit as you walk out of the finest tailors looking like a tradesman, but with a branded bag is priceless.
I also cannot recommend the last link enough. It is worth actually noting these down before heading to The Row - and have the balls to check. If you are asked why you are looking at technical things (especially when buying off the peg) just ask to speak to the head tailor and show him the list and check that they do all of it. He'll likely know the guy who wrote it anyway.
>>4712 Just to add that if I now see someone in a suit and it just fits perfectly I'll probably have different perspective but I'd still think them a twat if they were at a uni lecture.
If you want a good one and are younf enough to still get Christmas presents, may I suggest asking for cash to grab a decent Row oof the peg one in the sales and get it altered if necessary?
>but I'd still think them a twat if they were at a uni lecture.
I think were all agreed on this, but mirth was audible.
>>4716 Because I don't waste my time judging people by how they dress unless it's a problem for me. He wore what he wore because he liked to dress that way, I've more respect for that than the hollister-clad lads with no real sense of individuality.
>>4717 >I don't waste my time judging people by how they dress unless it's a problem for me
Yes you do. You judge people by what they dress all the time, notably later in the paragraph with your quip about hollister-clad lads who have:
>no real sense of individuality.
Wearing a suit, though, that's a unique individual right there. Him and the other hundreds of millions of people who wear one to work every day.
>>4718 People who blow with the prevailing winds of fashion, contrasted with pepple who wear the clothes they want to, are clearly exhibiting more individuality in their clothing choices.
I don't care to tell people what style of clothing anyone chooses to wear and it's more than a little sad reading about how some of you seem to think clothing choice should revolve around what other people, whose opinions don't actually matter, in the grand scheme of things, think. If OP wants to wear suits at uni he can do whatever he likes, uni isn't a fucking fashion competition.
>>4719 >it's more than a little sad reading about how some of you seem to think clothing choice should revolve around what other people, whose opinions don't actually matter, in the grand scheme of things, think
It's nice to pretend that you're completely independent and don't care what others think, but you do. We all do, to varying degrees. Whatever you end up typing here at least be honest in your head about this.
>uni isn't a fucking fashion competition.
I agree with this. It's why I think someone making such a blatant fashion statement, by wearing strictly formal attire in a wholly informal environment, is a bit of a wanker.
The whole point of clothing is that it's a means of advertising your identity and status, otherwise we'd all just dress in boiler suits (or something equally generic and practical). It's perfectly reasonable to judge someone to some extent based on their choices in clothing. Contrary to the aphorism, judging a book by it's cover is a perfectly sensible thing to do - the cover wasn't randomly allocated from a fixed pool, it was carefully chosen to represent the book to prospective readers.
>>4719 >If OP wants to wear suits at uni he can do whatever he likes, uni isn't a fucking fashion competition.
He should step it up. When I was at uni there was someone who regularly smoked a pipe, wore a tweed deerstalker cap with making cloak and had bushy sideburns and a curly moustache.
>I agree with this. It's why I think someone making such a blatant fashion statement, by wearing strictly formal attire in a wholly informal environment, is a bit of a wanker.
Bespokelad here. This sums up my views on the matter perfectly.
>>4721 >It's nice to pretend that you're completely independent and don't care what others think, but you do.
Except that this wasn't my point. My point was specifically about how we dress. I wouldn't care if one person thought I was dressing 'wrong' if that is how I wanted to dress and I wasn't otherwise hurting anyone. You keep emphasising how uni is 'a wholly informal environment' but can't stop talking also about how someone can't dress as they please. Weird.
>>4724 I don't really see why you feel compelled to announce yourself as if you have some kind of expertise or authority on this topic.
>>4723 Superb. I was working abroad on an international project last summer and a Czech fellow would habitually wax his moustache before leaping merrily into the trenches and setting about the place with a trowel.
>>4725 Look, I don't really care what people wear, and I haven't attended a uni lecture in years, maybe all the lads are suiting up these days, fucked if I know. I'm just saying that there's a point beyond which you aren't just dressing how you like, you're making a statement, and for me the full suit and tie regalia in an informal context is past that point.
Anyway, we've been around the argument a few times now, apparently long enough for you to say I "can't stop talking" about clothing, which is a fair sign that it's time for me to drop it.
OP here. I've since realised what a terrible question this was to ask and I am suitably embarrassed. You can all stop trying to convince me how bad an idea this was.
There's nothing wrong with dressing smart, it just takes a bit of observation to know what's appropriate and what messages certain clothing puts across. Don't beat yourself up lad.
If you are wanting to look a bit smarter for lectures, then focus on getting casual clothes that fit well. A button-up shirt goes a long way, too.
That one signals a very specific lifestyle, if you are Wes Anderson or don't mind being mistaken for him by all means.
If your mates don't expect that kind of style from you they will probably take the piss, if they do it will be entirely accepted. Put it another way.. How middle class are you? I mean everyone thinks they are middle class, but are you actually REALLY middle class, the kind who are incapable of reverse snobbery.
If you have to ask, you're not stylish enough to pull it off. Sorry, that's just how it is. Ease yourself in gently with a couple of jaunty blazers for your summer wardrobe and see how you go.
>>6329 If you have a darker skin tone I reckon it would work, but you risk looking like your texture's failed to load if you're the same colour as the suit.
My sister spent a fiver on a silky face mask in almost the exact same tone of pink of that suit, she seemed very proud of it until I told her that it made her look like the main character from the "I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream", she hasn't worn it since.
