Do I need to buy a suit?

[SilverE2]

I just love this thread. It is so interesting to eaves drop on men talking about their suits... not a common conversation for men, I imagine. Though, I will give you unsolicited advice from a woman who loves fashion and pays attention. Based upon the things I have read herein:

1. Suits are SOOOO not stuffy! Women love to see men who clean up well. And, people in general will respond better to you.

2. Navy blue suit is not a good suggestion. Dark charcoal or light charcoal.

3. To help with a more casual and down-to-earth feel, choose a white based shirt with a very lightly colored pattern (stripes or grids) and no tie. For a more sophisticated and get-down-to-business feel, go with a solid color (please, for the love of God, NOT BRIGHT BLUE! Everyone does that and it looks cheap). Light gray is not a bad shirt color but dark gray is too gimicky. One suit and lots of shirts makes for lots of outfits!

4. If you are thin and/or well built (AKA in-shape) think about a Theory suit. They have some very well-priced suits that are nicely made and fit well-put-together bodies quite nicely. If you are "chubby" or pudgy, you gotta choose baggier fit pants and really make sure that your jacket isn't too long! When a wider man puts on a longer jacket, it just makes them look like a box, or like they are wearing a bell on top because their belly projects the suit outward. Get it slimmer on top and baggier on bottom- gets closer to atleast tricking the eye to believe that you are buff on top and thinner on bottom.

Thats it. Carry on, gentlemen.

Navy suits are great, light blue shirts are fine, patterned shirts are generally a bad idea, and theory suits are overpriced trendy garbage. Carry on.

+1. Goddamnit theory is fucking awful. Hugo Boss is just as bad, fucking awful shitty fused suits.

[kalvano]

Disagree on the pattern shirts. I think small and tasteful patterns are fine. The problem is that so many students seem incapable of realizing that bright, 3-inch-wide stripes are not an appropriate pattern.

[mrloblaw]

Disagree on the pattern shirts. I think small and tasteful patterns are fine. The problem is that so many students seem incapable of realizing that bright, 3-inch-wide stripes are not an appropriate pattern.

While I agree with this, I'd just go with the safe bet and wear plain white (although I have gone with cream or white-with-subtle-pattern when all my whites are dirty). In an interview setting, the blander the better. If you do go with a pattern, it should be subtle enough that it almost looks plain from a distance.

[2xHarvard]

Is a black suit not appropriate for interviews and for work? I only have a grey suit and a black one - one is from Dillards, the other from Macys (which has great sales).

And am correct in thinking that ties should be darker than the shirt for business wear?

Thank goodness I'm doing Army and don't have to make my own clothing decisions...

[SilverE2]

Is a black suit not appropriate for interviews and for work? I only have a grey suit and a black one - one is from Dillards, the other from Macys (which has great sales).

And am correct in thinking that ties should be darker than the shirt for business wear?

Thank goodness I'm doing Army and don't have to make my own clothing decisions...

I mean...it depends on your definition of appropriate. Its unlikely that at work you'll be surrounded by sartorialists who will criticize your decision to wear a black suit. In fact most/all people probably won't notice or no any better. However, for people who know how to dress, no black suits are not appropriate at work, or ever during the day unless at a funeral. In fact, many will say that black suits are appropriate ONLY for funerals, while others will say they're appropriate for both funerals and nighttime activities. I personally hate black suits, I think they are completely boring and show that the dresser lacks imagination.

However, lawyers are notoriously bad dressers, and when I've been in a courtroom I've seen a shitton of black suits, clashing patterns, huge shoulders, and every other kind of sartorial mistake, so its unlikely anyone will notice either way.

[69Coronet]

I had no idea black suits were looked down upon in such a fashion.
My grandfather was considered by most to be a relatively nice dresser throughout his life, and when he passed away, he had 2 suits: a black one, and a charcoal with dark gray pinstripe.
I inherited both of them, as my grandfather and I wore the same size. However, the black suit is really the better fit on me, and I used to wear it all the time when I was working in the district attorney's office.

I have a networking event on Wednesday night at a bar with an alumni group from my undergrad, and I was planing to wear the black suit.
I guess this isn't appropriate, then, and I should wear the charcoal suit?

[kaiser]

If you are going to a funeral or work for the CIA, a black suit is fine, but I just don't see them in other situations (at least not worn by adults)

[SilverE2]

I had no idea black suits were looked down upon in such a fashion.
My grandfather was considered by most to be a relatively nice dresser throughout his life, and when he passed away, he had 2 suits: a black one, and a light gray with dark gray pinstripe.
I inherited both of them, as my grandfather and I wore the same size. However, the black suit is really the better fit on me.

I have a networking event on Wednesday night at a bar and was planing to wear the black suit, I guess this isn't appropriate, then?

Night? You'll be fine. As I said, what I posted above is very picky, and most people won't care or won't know, especially in the legal community.

However, I would definitely consider investing in newer suits. If you've inherited your grandfathers suits you more than likely, well, look like you're wearing your grandfather's suits. Unless he passed fairly recently, the suits are probably older looking. Styles have changed from the 90s especially, today style favors softer shoulders and higher button holes, while suits in the 90s were exactly the opposite.

[2xHarvard]

How have all these 'rules' been developed?

[SilverE2]

How have all these 'rules' been developed?

I mean, I guess the same way any other rules have been developed. For example, for law students this analogy may make most sense, but people come up with interview "rules." Regarding eye contact, body language, things like that. Most of the time, people aren't paying attention to the specific rules when they are interviewing someone, but there are things that make people more or less comfortable, though they may not know exactly why. People who are passionate about such things (interviewing technique) have tried to codify what makes someone more or less comfortable in an interview.

Similarly, for someone who doesn't know much about dressing well, most of the time you could put someone who is dressed impeccably and someone who is dressed average next to each other, and people will think the impeccable dresser is better dressed, though they can't say exactly why. People who are interested in sartorialism and who discuss such things try to figure out why, and that's where these "rules" comes from.

[69Coronet]

Night? You'll be fine. As I said, what I posted above is very picky, and most people won't care or won't know, especially in the legal community.

However, I would definitely consider investing in newer suits. If you've inherited your grandfathers suits you more than likely, well, look like you're wearing your grandfather's suits. Unless he passed fairly recently, the suits are probably older looking. Styles have changed from the 90s especially, today style favors softer shoulders and higher button holes, while suits in the 90s were exactly the opposite.

The black one I've got is nearly brand new, I'm not sure if my grandfather wore it more than a handful of times before he passed away in May of this year.
The gray one is considerably older, probably from the early 2000s or late 1990s, but (and this, of course, is subjective) I've been told that it still looks stylish today.

However, your point is well taken, and I do plan to pick up some new suits before 2L OCI interviews. Might as well look snappy when it counts the most.

[SilverE2]

Night? You'll be fine. As I said, what I posted above is very picky, and most people won't care or won't know, especially in the legal community.

However, I would definitely consider investing in newer suits. If you've inherited your grandfathers suits you more than likely, well, look like you're wearing your grandfather's suits. Unless he passed fairly recently, the suits are probably older looking. Styles have changed from the 90s especially, today style favors softer shoulders and higher button holes, while suits in the 90s were exactly the opposite.

The black one I've got is nearly brand new, I'm not sure if my grandfather wore it more than a handful of times before he passed away in May of this year.
The gray one is considerably older, probably from the early 2000s or late 1990s, but (and this, of course, is subjective) I've been told that it still looks stylish today.

However, your point is well taken, and I do plan to pick up some new suits before 2L OCI interviews. Might as well look snappy when it counts the most.

Yep, however for tonight, the black one sounds just fine.

[TheFriendlyBarber]

Don't be fooled. Kimberly is a man.

[vanwinkle]

If you're talking about shirts as part of the package, I cannot recommend more highly that you invest in a couple Brooks Brothers No-Iron shirts. These things are magical; you can machine-wash them, they literally unwrinkle themselves so you just hang and wear them, and they are extremely soft and comfortable to wear. They're supposed to last several years, literally, if properly cared for. In all they're just incredible.

They're also normally $88 or 3/$240. But they're worth it, is my point. You can get a plain white and a plain blue one and you're set for interviews and events during the school year. Id recommend getting a cheaper first suit (and tailoring) and getting a couple of these, instead of spending more on your suit and skimping on shirts. The difference in look and feel (and savings on future dry cleanings) is worth it.

[AriGoldButNicer]

Paul fredrick online also sells non-iron dress shirts, and constantly has sales. The trim fit is highbquality, comparable to brooks brothers. I got some on sale for $30 a pop. They're great for shirts and interesting golf club/night club blazers. They suck for everything else, though.

[SilverE2]

I usually use http://www.moderntailor.com. They're made to measure, about 70 bucks, about 50 if you catch a sale. You really can't beat that price, especially if you work out and your shoulders/neck are broader than your waist, every off the rack shirt needs to be tailored anyway. You won't get the cloth quality of a canali shirt, however the fabrics are pretty decent.

[NeighborGuy]

I usually use http://www.moderntailor.com. They're made to measure, about 70 bucks, about 50 if you catch a sale. You really can't beat that price, especially if you work out and your shoulders/neck are broader than your waist, every off the rack shirt needs to be tailored anyway. You won't get the cloth quality of a canali shirt, however the fabrics are pretty decent.

Bookmarked for later, thanks!

About the black suits...my impression is that they are both "funeral suits" and "power suits". People like CEOs, congressmen, obscenely rich entrepreneurs and other such people of power wear black suits. That's why you don't wear them to interviews; you don't want to seem like you're trying to wear a higher-ranking suit than the interviewer. Anyway, that's just my understanding.

[2xHarvard]

Maybe we should all just wear what we find cute / confidence-boosting? I'm sure everyone has his own idea of best colors...

[NeighborGuy]

Maybe we should all just wear what we find cute / confidence-boosting? I'm sure everyone has his own idea of best colors...

That would be fine for off-duty wear, but we're talking work and interview wear. Like the guy in the mega thread says, "do no harm" and stick with boring, safe clothes and colors. There will be plenty of time to peacock when you're a hotshot biglaw partner and you need to look good for the sex-and-drugs parties.

[Bronte]

First you need to understand the biglaw interview uniform: (1) navy or dark charcoal, two button, notched lapel, traditional cut suit, (2) white or pale blue shirt, (3) conservative muted tie or power tie, like a deep red pindot, and (3) black captoes and black belt. Once you understand this uniform, then and only then may you consider reasonable deviations from it. If you must, it's probably best to only break one "rule" at a time, and to do so subtly.