OCI/callbacks/etc Men's Clothing Mega-thread Forum

[chuckbass]

Paging pennbull (but all help is appreciated)

I need a basic biz cas wardrobe for the summer. Pretty simple I'm guessing, but just would like confirmation of what I definitely need, and how many of what. Should I get 5 pairs of wool pants, and 10 dress shirts? Was planning on doing BR since they have the sales and also have XS. Also guessing I should pick up a sport coat as well. I have walnut strands and black park aves, but figured only the strands would work for this, so any other good ideas for shoes? I'll be spending a shitton on the pants/shirts since I'm pretty short so I will need everything tailored, so I'd probably be wanting to spend less money on the shoes and upgrade those in the future. TYIA.

Definitely don't need that many pants. Three would be more than enough (navy, charcoal, grey). Also don't need ten shirts. A muted set of five would go a long way (white, blue, a few patterns). The only way anyone would notice is if you get a really bold pattern, and even then it is doubtful that anyone will really care.

As far as shoes go, you may be fine but it couldn't hurt to pick up a pair of brown or merlot shoes. Walnut may stick out, but you're honestly probably good rotating them daily. Black park aves are perfectly fine for biz casual, just a matter of whether you want to put them through high use.

Ok thanks. I'm absolutely clueless about this stuff since I'm K-JD.

[PennBull]

I think getting a third pair of brown shoes is way more important than a fifth pair of pants and eighth/ninth/tenth dress shirts. Don't overkill your nice shoes. You'd be surprised how much wear they take on worn every other day even in an office setting.

[PennBull]

also I think you should definitely grab a sportcoat or two; personal preference really but I always like to wear a jacket, even during the summer. Altho in the summer months I have some cotton or linen jackets that are much more breathable.

BR is great esp. for someone your size; damn near impossible to find good affordable clothes in the smallest sizes. Also consider ratio clothing or proper cloth; a bit more expensive but very, very nice fabrics, good construction and custom made

[BmoreOrLess]

Ok thanks. I'm absolutely clueless about this stuff since I'm K-JD.

No worries, your primary goal should just be to not stand out. 3 pants and 5 shirts means 15 different outfits, which is more than enough variety; no one will ever think you're wearing the same thing every day.

[Br3v]

I want to buy a few pairs of dress slacks. A thread recommended a page back suggested BR Kentfields, and they were $48. They are like $78 now, should I wait for the price to drop? Also, they are cotton so should I just go with a different brand and buy wool?

Links appreciated. I appreciate the help.

[TheProdigal]

I want to buy a few pairs of dress slacks. A thread recommended a page back suggested BR Kentfields, and they were $48. They are like $78 now, should I wait for the price to drop? Also, they are cotton so should I just go with a different brand and buy wool?

Links appreciated. I appreciate the help.

Sign up for BR's email list, they run sales constantly.

[Anonymous User]

Any recommendations on good places to buy affordable blazers? I currently have none, and would like to build my blazer game a bit.

Incidentally, I'm a third-year in the midwest, and although I've found owning a couple of suits to be incredibly helpful in terms of interviews and weddings, I've actually found that most people wear dress slacks + button down shirts every day (with an occasional blazer over top). So, if you're planning on investing in a wardrobe, I'd make getting a third or fourth suit (or even a fifth or sixth tie) a relatively low priority--I think you'll find that you'll get far more wear out of another pair of dress slacks (or, if you want to be a little dressier, a blazer).

I would echo the earlier comments about it being nice to have a couple pairs of dress shoes. The more conservative your shoes, the less need you'll have for variety -- but regardless, I think you'll appreciate spreading out the wear. I think three fairly conservative pairs is more than enough, though.

[Br3v]

I understand that sometimes people will throw on a blazer with their slacks and dress shirt to me a little more formal, can the same thing be done with a sports coat? Or are sport coats pretty much for after hours/weekend wear?

[Anonymous User]

I understand that sometimes people will throw on a blazer with their slacks and dress shirt to me a little more formal, can the same thing be done with a sports coat? Or are sport coats pretty much for after hours/weekend wear?

My instinct is that it depends on the sports coat and it depends on the office. I've definitely seen folks wearing more subdued sports coats at my office during business hours, although I'd defer to others on this board as to whether that's a fashion faux pas (I've also seen folks wearing suit jackets as if they were blazers, which I think is a minor faux pas).

[Anonymous User]

I understand that sometimes people will throw on a blazer with their slacks and dress shirt to me a little more formal, can the same thing be done with a sports coat? Or are sport coats pretty much for after hours/weekend wear?

My instinct is that it depends on the sports coat and it depends on the office. I've definitely seen folks wearing more subdued sports coats at my office during business hours, although I'd defer to others on this board as to whether that's a fashion faux pas (I've also seen folks wearing suit jackets as if they were blazers, which I think is a minor faux pas).

Can someone please articulate the difference between a sport coat and blazer? I use the terms interchangeably.

EDIT: Oops, didn't mean to be anonymous.

[Anonymous User]

I understand that sometimes people will throw on a blazer with their slacks and dress shirt to me a little more formal, can the same thing be done with a sports coat? Or are sport coats pretty much for after hours/weekend wear?

My instinct is that it depends on the sports coat and it depends on the office. I've definitely seen folks wearing more subdued sports coats at my office during business hours, although I'd defer to others on this board as to whether that's a fashion faux pas (I've also seen folks wearing suit jackets as if they were blazers, which I think is a minor faux pas).

Can someone please articulate the difference between a sport coat and blazer? I use the terms interchangeably.

EDIT: Oops, didn't mean to be anonymous.

My general understanding is that from most formal to least formal you have suits - blazers - sports jackets. Blazers are more likely to be structured with solid colors and contrasting buttons whereas sports jackets are more likely to have patterns and be unstructured. A navy suit jacket will almost always have dark non-contrasting buttons, and therefore folks with a good eye will usually be able to spot someone wearing a suit jacket in lieu of a blazer (which you're not supposed to do, but I have pretty regularly up until roughly now without ever having someone comment on it). Blazers traditional are navy with gold buttons, although there are obviously more varieties of all of these now.

Here's a link I found with lots more info: http://www.artofmanliness.com/2015/02/2 ... ifference/
See also: http://dappered.com/2011/06/the-differe ... it-jacket/

[PennBull]

yeah sportcoats will carry notions of informality in their details; patch pockets, rougher fabrics, elbow patches, etc

but the line is too blurred to make a difference

the only thing noticeable is if you use an orphaned suit jacket as a blazer--and even this is DEFINITELY not a hard and fast rule. I have two suit jackets that actually look great orphaned with a different pair of pants. My other two suit jackets don't even come close. Part of it is unexplainable optics; part of it is obvious construction/fabric differences.

[Br3v]

I guess what I'm saying is if your in a work environment where no suit jacket would be ok, does adding a sports coat make your outfit a little more formal like adding a blazer does? Or does adding a sports coat actually make you less formal than no coat at all?

[Anonymous User]

I guess what I'm saying is if your in a work environment where no suit jacket would be ok, does adding a sports coat make your outfit a little more formal like adding a blazer does? Or does adding a sports coat actually make you less formal than no coat at all?

It really depends on the sport coat. I think a lot of sport coats might look (bad) funky with nice grey wool pants and AE Park Aves. See, for example, this one: https://factory.jcrew.com/mens-clothing ... iFCchZx2WQ. But, as the previous poster noted, the line between sports coats and blazers is pretty fine, and plenty of sport coats will work totally fine in a work setting (in which case I do think they dress up the outfit).

Anyone have any thoughts about who makes good blazers (or, heck, more formal sport coats)?

[sprezz]

others will be more qualified on the blazer point. business appropriate SCs i own that have held up really well over 5+ years include some by jack victor, hart schaffner marx, and ted baker. there's a lot of variation across any given manufacturer's different lines though so ymwv. for that reason, i'd just wander around window shopping and pinching/feeling for a while. if you're not getting a standard navy blazer, a SC is about as optional as dress clothes get so it's a good place to wait it out and be picky for something you fall in love with. the local brick and mortar stores in your town probably have a good range of stuff and as summer bears down they'll be happy to have some company.

there's really no need to anon in this thread

[rahulg91]

Is Combatant Gent cr for suits?

[sublime]

..

[rahulg91]

Is Combatant Gent cr for suits?

Google to see if you can find the review that Dappered (I think) did.

IIRC it could be a good beater suit, but I would want something better for OCI, personally.

Thanks! Yeah I agree it's probably better to go big for OCI wear. But in terms of suits for SAs requiring suits all day, everyday it seems like a good option (so long as the suits aren't shitty).

[PennBull]

FWIW I went with JAB for my OCI suits (charcoal/navy). They fit /fine/ in the sense that they looked tailored to fit me and I didn't have like, cartoonish shoulders or anything. But they were a bit off for the usual reasons and I eventually replaced them with better suits.

I'm only saying this because if you're in a pinch and need a cheap suit, you can do a lot worse than a tailored JAB.

[mu13ski]

Is Combatant Gent cr for suits?

Google to see if you can find the review that Dappered (I think) did.

IIRC it could be a good beater suit, but I would want something better for OCI, personally.

Thanks! Yeah I agree it's probably better to go big for OCI wear. But in terms of suits for SAs requiring suits all day, everyday it seems like a good option (so long as the suits aren't shitty).

I don't think there's a need to "go big" for OCI. I wore Combat Gent suits for all my OCI interviews. The dappered review is a bit dated and has some fair criticism, but I think they have addressed a lot of the points made there.

I feel like the quality is surprisingly good for the price. The suits have held up nicely for me over time. Going on about a year and a half since I got my first suit from them. From what I can tell, the next step up in price from Combat Gent is probably something like Indochino/SuitSupply, but I don't think you're gaining enough in quality to justify the price increase IMO.

[FloridaCoastalorbust]

Re: quality yet cheap suits, the clear answer is JCrew Factor's Thompson. It's almost always on sale for ~$250 and fits quite well. I own it and a JAB and prefer the JCrew, which was about $75 cheaper.

For the $400-500 range, you must go with Suit Supply or JCrew's Ludlow.

[chuckbass]

I'm doing a split summer, and it turns out that the second half of my summer is business formal. I currently have a charcoal suitsupply suit, and was planning on getting a navy one anyways so that I would have two for OCI. Could I get away with two suits for working 4 weeks?

[Br3v]

I'm doing a split summer, and it turns out that the second half of my summer is business formal. I currently have a charcoal suitsupply suit, and was planning on getting a navy one anyways so that I would have two for OCI. Could I get away with two suits for working 4 weeks?

From what I've read ITT, yes. Just swap your shirts and ties a bunch. I think the CR for a whole summer of formal is only 3-4 suits anyways, so for 4 weeks I'd imagine you'd be fine.

[chuckbass]

I'm doing a split summer, and it turns out that the second half of my summer is business formal. I currently have a charcoal suitsupply suit, and was planning on getting a navy one anyways so that I would have two for OCI. Could I get away with two suits for working 4 weeks?

From what I've read ITT, yes. Just swap your shirts and ties a bunch. I think the CR for a whole summer of formal is only 3-4 suits anyways, so for 4 weeks I'd imagine you'd be fine.

Ok thanks. Didn't want to have to blow even more money if it wasn't necessary.

[emciosn]

Hey suit thread bros.

For those of you in the market for a navy wool blazer check out J Crew (online). The Ludlow club navy wool blazer is on sale for $405 AND qualifies for the extra 30% off sale items promo (code: SALETREAT). I think it's like $284 pre-sales tax and there is a free shipping option. Pretty widely considered a solid navy blazer (dappered lists it first on its navy blazer hierarchy). Not sure how I feel about the buttons but I'll see when it gets here.