Retrofitting The Man – Part 4 | Suits

Since the beginning of the week, CrabAppleNYC.com’s Sam has given me pointers on shoes, pants, and shirts.

In the fourth part of his series, Sam has made suggestions on that quintessential item that every man must possess – a quality suit.

You should probably know that I am not a suit guy. That’s not to say I don’t like wearing one but, like probably 90% of the population, I tend to don one only for weddings, funerals or interviews.

I don’t have to wear one to work (we’ve discussed my work attire protocol ad naseum in these prior posts – shoes, pants and shirts.) Despite this fact, I do own two suits…and a tuxedo. See, I’m not a complete Neanderthal. I will, however, be looking to replace my black suit (which looks like a really awkward, morbid circus tent on me) in the near future, so Sam’s suggestions are very timely.

The Options

Sam recommends three suits – J.Crew’s Aldrige Suit ($590 | jcrew.com), a DKNY Navy Solid Slim-Fit Suit ($349.99 | macys.com) and a Classic Navy Blue Suit ($349.00 | indochino.com).

All three suits look ver nice on in the pictures – but, then again, I suppose the high-priced models and fashion photographers that the suit manufacturers hire to sell their wares wouldn’t be doing a good job if they didn’t. Bottomline is that they all would be an upgrade for me in the dark suit department.

The J.Crew Aldrige looks quite nice and might be the first one I look into out of the three.

DKNY sends up warning flags with me only because the black suit that I have now (and hate) is a DKNY. But, I think the reason I dislike it so much has a lot more to do with the piss-poor tailoring job I had done on it (will never have Macy’s tailor my suits again) and less to do with the suit itself.

Being a tech geek, the Indochino suit intrigues me simply because it is an online business model AND they offer you up to $75 in reimbursement for tailoring fees.

One of the main reasons I usually shop at Men’s Wearhouse for my suits is because of their top notch tailoring and customer service. Plus, they offer lifetime alterations and free pressing on any garment you buy there. I have had them get me out of a pinch on more than one occassion (including one where I needed a suit pressed for that evening) and they’ve always delivered.

But, back to my main point, the Indochino option would allow me to buy a suit online and then have it tailored as necessary, all while backing me up with some financial incentive. Very nice option.

Ties & Pocket Squares

One I own too many of and one I don’t own any of. Can you guess which is which?

Yup, like many men, I have an excessive collection of ties. Some are quite nice and a few are absolutely horrible (why are they taking up closet space?) but most fall somewhere in the middle. The funny part is that I just threw out a few knit ties (I thought these went out in the ’80s?) a few year ago. Who knew they were back in style? Otherwise, I have varying ties that looks similar to the ones shown.

Pocket squares will probably be my next investment. They really seem to put an exclamation point on the suit you are wearing and show that you pay attention to what you’re wearing.

Overall Impression

Suits are a great addition to a man’s wardrobe and Sam has definitely pointed me in the right direction when it comes time to replace that circus tent/funeral sheet I call a suit. For the most part, a suit will look sharp with the right tailoring and the subtle kick that the right tie and pocket square give it.

Thanks again to Sam for putting together this series. Check back tomorrow when I review Sam’s final installment in this series – even I don’t know what it will be about.

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