And, don't forget :
http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/EPH/8136.jpg
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And, don't forget :
http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/EPH/8136.jpg
Too bad you are in the mid-west. In California casual attire is board shorts, flip-flops +/- a shirt.
Four pages on suit choice....it is going to be a long summer.
Leaving your fly open may impress the French ladies, but be sure to shake it well, nothing screams yokel more then a wet spot in your crotch after visiting the men's room.
Sorry suit boy. There's a big world outside of that office you might be better off exploring but that suit won't do you much good and the tie is not necessary as you don't need to be led by it when you don't have to try to be one of the big cogs in the machine.
Admit it you must tire of looking like everybody else in your office. You must yearn to show some personal style .Oh yeah . Wear the power tie tomorrow. baaaaah
Leadership is about finding vision/ problems worth solving gettign people/ teams excited about that vision and then getting them done with a team. Dress shouldn't be your worry. I went to perhaps the most selective schools for both undergrad and grad school, have worked at the forefront of "high tech" through out my career and at every stage have usually been the youngest person to have reached that stage in the company/ profession... I have never owned a suit and never worn one whether for job interviews, giving keynotes at major conferences, presenting papers, business whatever.
One should dress individually. Suits make one look like sheep trying to blend in. If you have your individual flair and want to wear suits for that fine, but suits just to blend in seem bizarre. I have atended numerous "leadership" events, national engineering societies etc and no one ever panned me about dress.
I would draw the line at being unclean, disshevelled, wearing torn T shirts..but beyond that, dress should be be totally unimportant compared to things that actually matter.
If dess is a very important part of a "leadership" event, there probably is not much content
raj, while much of what you wrote is true, you're about as clueless as they get.
I have avoided this thread for a while but thought i would chime in on one thing people have missed and then add a few points
1) fit as mentioned above is important.. with your dimensions you are going to need to get your dress shirts tailored. it doesnt cost much, any seamstress can do it. with a chest like that i am assuming your neck is good size. such a large chest and small waist will create loads of fabric to tuck in.
ithis will fuck up your fit at the wiast on the suit and can even make your suit jacket look funny
trust me I know. my dimensions are larger than yours on both but my chest has always been 10" plus more than my waist.
2) avoid Men's Wearhouse.
Just do. It sucks
3) 3 button is as timless as 2, been around a long time. not trendy by any stretch
lengthens your torso, and will accentuate your shoulder waist V
4)kahkis and a polo is more of a uniform than a suit, ubiquitous in the work world, especially middle America.
wear it if its you, but i would buy 3 dress shirts for the suit, wear one each day, bring another pair of pants and wear the suit pants the last day.
noone will know.
hell wear the old suit pants if they fit unless they are pleated, then no. Pleasted pants can work with a suit but solo they are horible.
Its worth the buy. Always good to have a good fitting suit in the closet for occasions.
Lastly & importantly think of it like buying outerwear for skiing:
-you get what you pay for, but try not to pay retail.
-fit is important and you need to be able to move.
-when you have the right one you will feel it, dont be afraid to shop around, it is an investment.
not sure where you live in WI, but can you make it to Chi town? loads of good options there.
I can speak to how timeless suits can be if you go with the right style. My mom bought me a suit when I was 17 to be a pallbearer for a friend and I still wear it to weddings, funerals, job interviews, etc. I'm 33 now so I've gotten some mileage out of it. I can't think of the brand, Brooks Bros. maybe. Like others have said, it's grey, subtle pinstripes, wool.
it's like he's trying to speak to me, I know it!
did you just throw together a bunch of corporate leadership buzzwords in a sack and pull out "Teams forefront keynote speaker vision?"
This smugly written tripe is an affront to this thread and fails to meet even the most generous definition of helpfulness.
But... Beandip!
Overall throughput productivity has been shown to have 10% gains in an area of mass public individuality. The company has noticed this gain and has decided to do away with suits and dress clothes, and make casual wear uniform. You are NOT allowed suits, khakis, anything made by anyone italian, french or designed in new york.
Starting tomorrow the mandatory uniform is ripped jeans, van halen t-shirts and a condescending attitude, we find that if this track record increases we should be able to boost productivity by %40.
We expect that everyone will like the individuality and comfort that dressing casual brings. Anyone caught wearing a suit or buisness suit related atire is subject to suspension.
(I find that dressing nice is almost the renegade move at most corporate environments nowadays)
I would agree with a lot of what has been said. Where they matter and where they don't has a lot to do with the industry, geography, culture, etc. High tech generally = no suits. London, even high tech = suits. CA, and my world, almost never suits which was a nice change after the suit everyday routine of London, but I will say, the whole thing really isn't a big deal after you get used to it (except on the tube in 90 degree heat w/ 100% humidy where the jacket blows)
I digressed a bit. Woodsy, only dispute I might have is on your pleated pants thing. Generally I would agree that non-pleated pants are definitely far more stylish these days, but I wouldn't say pleats have been banned. For example, my ass almost doesn't fit in pants without pleats. I was recently trying on a coat at a Nordstroms for shits and giggles (wouldn't buy because like you suggest, you can't pay retail) and the dude asked me to take my wallet out of my back pocket. I was like, nothing there but my ass. Generally I almost need pleats to fit my ass and relatively small waist...
Back to the topic at hand. Buy a good fitting suit, get it tailored, spend a few $$$ on it as it will last. etc etc.
I don't want to correct the master, but...
If pleats your kahkis have, ass get you none.
Friday night, 11pm, half pissed, alone reading a forum and correcting Yoda grammar. I'm pathetic.
Maybe this has got out of hand a little...
do ya LOOK good in a suit? Then buy one. If ya don't, do something else.
Cuz...
"It's not how you feel, dahling... it's how you look... and you... look... mahvelous..."
:D
I was genuinely trying to be helpful. The original poster asked for dress advice for a leadership event. I haven't read through the whole thread but obviously many people will be able to give him input on the perfect suit. I was simply trying to give the minority report version of "why dress differently from how you normally dress for work ?".
If someone LIKES wearing suits, go for it. If you wear one daily for work, again no different. But if you don't normally wear suits, why change for some "leadership" thing. That was my whole point. I have no reason to toot my horn on some internet board. The purpose behind bunch of stuff about me was to give some credibility that it is perfectly possible to do decently in corporate american careers without worrying about dress codes.
I am sure there are fields like film or television where looks matter but for most careers (including likely the original poster), whats in your head, your passion for a field and empathy for people around you matter, not what you wear.
Sorry if I accidentally rubbed you the wrong way. Off to my run and then yummy raspberry shake. Local, fresh raspberries. Mmmm....
Speaking of not paying retail - Saks (at least the one in NYC) just started a huge 50% off ticketed price sale on boatloads of clothes - pretty much everything in the store. Lots of steals to be had for any NYC area folk.
Hmm, I should check that out. Thanks mang.
Maybe I'm the only woman alive who feels this way...but I really really dislike suits on men. I mean it.
I can deal with khakis and t-shirt or jeans & a lumberjack shirt if the occasion really merits that. Or a kilt for those men with sexy legs.
But in reality I prefer a tiny loincloth and a big sharktooth necklace.
:)
Sprite
Ughhh! Ties!!! Ugggh!!!!
:nonono2:
Sprite
I am troubed by all of the above reponces. How the fuck do you ski in your suit???
Maybe you should be posting your suit questions here. These people might give a fuck!
Well, I've avoided posting in this thread long enough,
As someone who has been a cubicle slave for the man and been forced to wear a suit at least four days a week for the last ten years I've come to the following conclusions.
- Fit and fabric are the two most important factors in suit if price is not your main concern.
- Darker colors and grays are better if you don't own many suits since they hide stains better. When you are occasionly forced to eat at your desk it is one of Murphy's Laws that you will eventually spill something on yourself.
- More expensive suits last much longer and are generally worth the extra cost if you are going to be wearing them on a daily basis.
- When coordinating your suit/shirt/tie, a good rule of thumb is the suit is darker shade of color than your shirt and the tie is darker shade of color than your shirt. There can always be exceptions to this rule but also remember the tie is really the only way to express yourself in a corporate environment so keep interesting for your own sanity if nothing else.
- Having a lighter weight suit is really important in the summer if you work someplace that gets hot.
- Good tailoring is really important.
Now you may ask yourself why all these things are important? My answer is simple. One night in a bar a pretty smoking hot young lady was showing me her panties within five minutes of me striking up a conversation with her. Why you may ask yourself? I believe it's because as ZZ Top once sang "Every girl's crazy for a sharp dressed man."