Some simple questions (kind of new to suits)

[george]

Last semester at school, I decided to try and redeem myself for looking like an unkempt slob for much of the previous semester. I didn't wear a suit every day, but what I did do was I would wear jeans with a nice dress shirt (tucked in), and I'd wear a heavy brown sportscoat on top of it. A friend of mine called it a tweed jacket, just looking at it, but I'm not certain the jacket is actually tweed. Anyway, the outfit itself is not a classic look, it's a kind of modern, casual, but classy look. And I knew that.

I still got one friend telling me she thought that I looked like someone out of the '40s, hah. I knew enough to know that my dress wasn't actually '40s (not even close, eh?), but I still took it as a compliment... and it got me thinking.

I liked wearing a sportscoat, I liked looking good. The final straw, if you could call it that, was playing a video game (L.A. Noire) and being so impressed with the style of the characters in the game that I decided, "why not get a couple suits?"

So I went shopping and bought a couple suits. Smart shopping let me buy two suits for less than the normal price of one of them. They aren't vintage pieces, they're from modern times, but hey, style is forever, right? A good suit is a good suit.

I'll wear them out into the city, for example if I'm going to dinner. I might wear them for school occasionally, but probably not very often. For wear around school I would probably dress them down a little bit by wearing the charcoal slacks with the gray jacket--or, more likelier, wearing either color jacket with jeans. Either way, these suits will be featuring in my wardrobe pretty nicely. But I'm still new to suits and I have a few questions that you guys could probably answer very easily. So, here they are.

1. If I'm at college, how can I take care of my suits? (It might be quite hard or time consuming to find dry cleaners)

2. In the spring, as it leads into summer, it can get extremely hot and humid at my school. Naturally, I stopped wearing the heavy brown jacket towards the end of the academic year. But even just wearing a dress shirt, sometimes I would notice profuse sweating as I walked around outside (lots of walking to be done at my school), enough to show in the shirt (armpits). What's the best way to deal with something like that if I'm wearing a suit in the summer? Are some suits lighter (to wear) than others? Should I just invest in a really good anti-persperant (Haha)?

3. Is it OK to wear a wifebeater as an undershirt? Is it OK if this undershirt is somewhat visible under, say, a white dress shirt?

4. Is it OK if there is a slight bulge in my jacket due to the bulk of my belt going around the waist of the pants? (This usually doesn't happen, but if on a future suit it does...?)

5. Should I always remove my hat indoors? Indoors while eating? Outdoors while eating? What sorts of hat are good for summer? (Straw fedoras?)

6. How long should my pants be? (No sock visible? Some?)

7. Are there any circumstances where, if I'm wearing a suit, I should remove the jacket? (If it gets too warm? If indoors? While eating?)

Thanks in advance, and I must say I'm happy to be posting here!

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

Hello George,
welcome to the Lounge. I'll try to answer your questions. You can get more detailed answers if you search and browse the other threads. All of this topics have come up before

1. I think you have to find good dry cleaners sooner or later. But pure wool suits don't need much maintance. Just keep them in rotation and aitr them out on a hanger. If you hang them in the bathroom the steam in the air will help too.

2. Use the search function for summer suits. There are many threads about this on the FL. Linen and seersucker are good fabrics for summer. There are also suits made out of "tropical wool" with a lighter weave

3. Yes, it is. Just don't call them wifebeater. They will be less visible if you leave your suit jacket on. You could also look for cotton shirts with a tighter weave.

4. I can't imagine this. Maybe your belt is to big or the jacket too snug?

5. Yes, always remove it indoors. Straw fedora/ Panama is a good bet. There have to be quite a few threads about this.

6. They should touch the shoes but have no or only little break. If you sit down the socks will be visible I think

7. Depends on your enviroment. In a business meeting you wait for your boss to remove his jacket. Otherwise you keep it on.

 

[avedwards]

I think Flo has covered everything quite well. I'll just expand on a few points.

1. I very rarely dry clean my suits. The chemicals used in dry cleaning can weaken natural fibres so I dry clean as rarely as possible. Simple stains can often be removed with some tepid water and soap.

2. Linen, cotton or light weight wool might work, though if you get too warm in just a shirt I wouldn't wear a jacket at all as you'll simply ruin it with sweat.

3. As Flo said, a shirt with a tighter weave will show less of your vest (undershirt to the Americans). Or you could be a barbarian and wear nothing under your shirt .

4. Perhaps you need a slimmer belt. I find belts worn with suits should be as understated as possible with a plain belt buckle. Anything else is tasteless and best reserved for more casual clothes like jeans.

5. If in doubt remove it indoors, though in certain cases it can be kept on indoors (crowded hallways, when sitting at a bar, larger shops).

6. Like Flo said, in other words yours socks should not be showing when you stand up but the trousers should not bunch up at the bottom either.

7. Like Flo said. In some situations it may make people feel more at ease around you (usually if you're the only person in a suit).


Other than that, make sure the suits fit well (trousers and sleeves the correct length and chest so that it is not too loose and not too snug) as you will look a lot better that way. It's good that we have another young suit wearer here as we're in short supply .

 

[george]

Thanks for the help, boys. And yes, I'm actually pretty picky with making sure the suit fits well--but both the lady in the store and my family were amazed at how I picked my size suit off the rack and the jacket fit perfectly! Didn't have the jackets tailored at all, just brought the pants in for hemming. Again, thanks for the help!

 

[Shangas]

1. If I'm at college, how can I take care of my suits? (It might be quite hard or time consuming to find dry cleaners)

Hang up your jacket, trousers and waistcoat (if it comes with one) the moment you take them off, to let the weight of the cloth even out any wrinkles. Buy a clothes brush/lint-brush (these are dirt cheap) and give them a brushdown every now and then to remove dust, lint & hair.

2. In the spring, as it leads into summer, it can get extremely hot and humid at my school. Naturally, I stopped wearing the heavy brown jacket towards the end of the academic year. But even just wearing a dress shirt, sometimes I would notice profuse sweating as I walked around outside (lots of walking to be done at my school), enough to show in the shirt (armpits). What's the best way to deal with something like that if I'm wearing a suit in the summer? Are some suits lighter (to wear) than others? Should I just invest in a really good anti-persperant (Haha)?

You can buy summer-suits, which are nice and light and comfortable. One thing I do is that I'd leave the jacket at home and just wear a waistcoat instead for a semi-formal look.

3. Is it OK to wear a wifebeater as an undershirt? Is it OK if this undershirt is somewhat visible under, say, a white dress shirt?

That sounds acceptable. It's better if the undershirt isn't visible, but you can't always have everything you want.


4. Is it OK if there is a slight bulge in my jacket due to the bulk of my belt going around the waist of the pants? (This usually doesn't happen, but if on a future suit it does...?)

No. That's fine. Traditionally, you wore suspenders with a suit (which were hidden by the waistcoat), but if this suit calls for a belt, then that should be fine.

5. Should I always remove my hat indoors? Indoors while eating? Outdoors while eating? What sorts of hat are good for summer? (Straw fedoras?)

I was always taught: Indoors = Hats Off. Hats off while eating too, unless location and/or weather doesn't permit it. Good summer hats include straw fedoras, boater hats or cool, white panama hats.


6. How long should my pants be? (No sock visible? Some?)

Your pants should go down to about your ankle-bone. What you do NOT want is for your pants to be so damn long that they drag on the ground. If they do this, then they're going to be ripped to shreds by your shoe-heels catching on the hems all the time. Trust me. Been there, done that.

7. Are there any circumstances where, if I'm wearing a suit, I should remove the jacket? (If it gets too warm? If indoors? While eating?)

Removing the jacket is entirely up to you. I would remove it when eating and when doing especially strenuous work. And whenever it might get in the way or be uncomfortable.