What suits should a young gentleman purchase to start a wardrobe?
DaveyMcB asked:
Hi there, I am off to Cranwell (hopefully) in a few weeks, and already own a nice black suit. I would like to start building up a wardrobe of three or so suits as I will be in increasingly formal environments where a simple shirt and tie won’t cut it.
Hi there, I am off to Cranwell (hopefully) in a few weeks, and already own a nice black suit. I would like to start building up a wardrobe of three or so suits as I will be in increasingly formal environments where a simple shirt and tie won’t cut it.
How should I begin? I already have a black, two-button suit as my number one, and have been recommended to get a charcoal grey suit and a patterned one, such as PoW or Houndstooth.
So what two suits would you buy, bearing in mind I will also be getting a Dinner jacket? Thanks!
Also, which style of overcoat? And is it worth getting a couple of casual jackets/ blazers or even a 3-piece?
Thanks again.
A jump suit.
You can’t go wrong with a charcoal grey. I would say a pale grey as well, for the summer months. Ask for advice at the shop, it’s what they are there for!
It is worth investing in a good coat – it gives a good impression. As well, a couple of jackets for cool days and evenings, and for the rain. You forgot about shoes, get a couple of pairs of good ones, you can always tell a gentleman by his shoes!
Oh, and don’t overspend, you can build your wardrobe as you go along. Don’t worry about a 3-piece yet. Where is Cranwell?
To the Brits it is different. Here in USA – we start with black for formal events and weddings and funerals and church, Then a tan/khaki for informal formal occasions and a dark blue for serious business meetings. Avoid the off the rack trendy suit if you can. I currently have a black with very small stripes good for every occasion, but, so does every single other boy and man in the entire USA = sooooo funny to show up and everyone is in exactly the same suit – soooo funny.
When starting a wardrobe you need to stick to basic colours that can be matched easily and keep your cost reasonable.
For example, Black, Navy, and Gray, if you choose a pinstripe make sure it’s not loud, you can add the brighter colours with a shirt &/or tie when needed.
If you purchase one jacket in all of those colours then you can put it together with many different combinations of dress pants and it will appear very dressy.
My husband is a Sr. VP and he actually only owns about 5 suits and about 20 pairs of matching dress pants. He mixes and matches them as need be for a professional workplace dress-code with the jackets.
He also has white shirts and coloured shirts with multiple ties to step up the dress-code when needed.
So, keep it basic and rotate the jackets with matching dress pants and you will only need the basic colours in suits to be more then ample.
Well, generally, you want to start with the darker colors. When you only have a few suits, you want to keep them generic so people don’t distinguish one from the other and think that you’re wearing the same suits over and over. You have a black suit – you may want to go with a charcoal, and then a dark blue suit next. After that, go for a gray pinstripe, and then maybe a brown or beige to mix it up.
Avoid shiny suits. Those are for car salesmen and Italian mobsters.
Now, you can also, these days, unless the things you are doing are really formal, go with a mix and match motif. That is, get light dress pants and a blue blazer, plaid blazer or some other styles and kinds so you can mix them up a bit. For semi-formal events, you can wear those kinds of things instead of a tux or a suit.
No need to buy very expensive things. As long as the clothes are cleaned and pressed, and in good condition, nobody will know by looking at you where you got them. So, unless you are made of money, err on the side of buying more clothes than more expensive clothes.
Grey dress pants, navy blazer and a great red power tie are fantastic looking for “less than formal” meetings and functions.