When creating an outfit...

[dog20]

Do you guys work your outfit around a particular item? For example, work your look around a shirt or a pair of shoes? My fashion sense isn't the best and you guys look great. Maybe you all just have good tastes in fashion. Do you folks buy your suits and dress pants at vintage shops or department stores? How much do you folks spend on a particular look? From hat, dress shirt, vest, tie, pants, shoes, etc. it seems like several hundred dollars goes into each outfit. I really need a new wardrobe but I don't know if I can drop $1,000 on a few outfits heh.

Thanks,
Duane "dog20" Chapman

 

[vitanola]

Do you guys work your outfit around a particular item? For example, work your look around a shirt or a pair of shoes? My fashion sense isn't the best and you guys look great. Maybe you all just have good tastes in fashion. Do you folks buy your suits and dress pants at vintage shops or department stores? How much do you folks spend on a particular look? From hat, dress shirt, vest, tie, pants, shoes, etc. it seems like several hundred dollars goes into each outfit. I really need a new wardrobe but I don't know if I can drop $1,000 on a few outfits heh.

Thanks,
Duane "dog20" Chapman

I would certainly hope that you do not consider the gentleman in the photograph to be worthy of imitation in all ways.

The necktie dangling under the open jacket is practically indecent.

If you are young and trim, you may well be able to find excellent quality inexpensive clothing at thrift or vintage shops.

For starters, look for a simple, conservatively styled suit in a dark blue worsted or flannel.

A second suit may a classic grey flannel. both of these simple, durable cloths are the workhorses of any man's wardrobe.

They may be dressed up or down as the occasion requires.

Wait until you have a couple of these classics before you begin considering more adventuresome fabrics or colors.

 

[Slim Portly]

I would certainly hope that you do not consider the gentleman in the photograph to be worthy of imitation in all ways...

Tim Gunn is a fashion icon, and one could do much worse than to emulate him.

Now to the original question. I put together outfits based on a color palate, usually beginning with a suit. I choose a suit that I am in the mood for or that I haven't worn in a week or so. Then I choose a shirt that will either match or contrast pleasantly. At this point I consider what finished look and era I am going for, and start adding pieces that will take me there. Waistcoat, necktie, shoes, socks, jewelry, hat.

Obviously this process is only possible with a fairly large selection for each piece. Currently I have about a dozen suits and an equal number of waistcoats and pairs of shoes, maybe thirty shirts, and somewhere around eighty neckties. In addition a have perhaps thirty pairs of cufflinks and a couple of dozen tie bars and pins, collar bars, and tie chains, and eight hats. One might think that such a wardrobe would be excessively expensive to acquire, but I started by budgeting a set amount form each paycheck and only buying items that were attractive but affordable. No $1,000 suits for this chap. More like $80 suits from Target, $20 shirts form the mall, and $5 ties and waistcoats from eBay.

 

[Warbaby]

For me, thrift shops are the answer. In the past year or so I've acquired four beautiful suits, 10 jackets, a dozen shirts, several pairs of trousers and more than 50 neckties and cravats - and my total expenditure has been under $200 (not counting dry cleaning and the occasional alterations). None of the foregoing were low-end items either - good names like Givenchy, Nino Cerruti, Balmain, Bill Blass, Christian Dior, Aquascutum, London Fog, not to mention the Harris Tweeds and items from custom tailors. It takes time and effort to accomplish this sort of shopping - I visit the thrift shops 3-4 times a week because the good stuff doesn't hang on the racks very long. Dedicated thrift-shopping will let you put your real money where it counts - into some good shoes that will provide years of comfort and style.

 

[vitanola]

Tim Gunn is a fashion icon, and one could do much worse than to emulate him.

I'm sure that he is. I am just as sure that I am not.

That pose with the dangling neck-tie end is most unfortunate, though, would you not agree?

 

[dog20]

About how much does it cost to have a suit tailored? Also, what sort of alterations are they able to do? If I can't find the perfect fitting outfit, would I be best off to choose a bigger outfit over a tighter fitting one? :eusa_clap

 

[KeyGrip]

I settle for piecing together what I find at thrift and vintage stores. I usually start with the coat and pants and move on from there depending on what I want the end result to be.

 

[Hat Head]

While I love the fashion of vintage movies, or contemporary "period" movies harking back to those fashions, I do not shop in thrift or vintage stores for my clothes. I feel you can capture the "vibe" of the Golden Era by paying attention to the details, but to try and capture the actual exact look of that era will date you and look out of place in most settings.

Also, let me say that I'm pretty average build, so buying suits and shirts off the rack is not a problem for me, needing only minor alterations to most suits.

I typically buy my suits at Jos. A Bank. Not the highest quality, but pretty good, and if you join their Corporate Card program, you get mailings when ever they're having a sale (which they often do). As an example, this past Spring I picked up two suits and a silk-blend sport coat for under $400, with alterations. I've gotten many compliments on all three pieces.

Shirts I used to buy at TJ Maxx. You can find decent shirts for less than $20 if you hunt and peck. But, now that I've built a substantial selection of dress shirts, I've started shopping at http://www.ctshirts.co.uk/usddefault when they run a sale. If you're patient you can find nice shirts for under $50, including shipping.

Ties I usually buy at TJ Maxx or Kohl's. Partly because I hate paying a lot for a tie and then spill something on it, but also because I've had great luck finding nice looking ties at these places.

Shoes I usually buy at DSW, scouring the discont racks in the back of the store.

 

[Bird's One View]

I have been known to choose an outfit to justify wearing a particular pair of socks.

 

[dhermann1]

There are mornings when I get dressed, look in the mirror and realize nothing goes with anything, then I have to resart altogether. The there are days when I do have a certain item I want to wear, and I work around it. One example is my Fair Isle sweater. It's got every color of the rainbow, so I just make sure I have nice neutral tweedy greys to go with it.
Most days shirt gets me started. Then I find trousers and jacket to go with it. I don't always wear a tie, but when I do it's always a vintage tie, and that becomes the starting point.
Since I've been here on the Lounge, I try to be more conscious when I shop of whether I have other clothes that go well with things I'm looking at. I also like Joseph E Bank. They have a very nice classic line of clothes, and they have terrific sales on a regular basis.
Mixing and matching is not so hard once you get used to it. I've sort of fallen into a routine of deciding if I'm going grey today, or brown, or
"other".
I have dark and light of both grey and brown trousers, and a couple navy blue and tan slacks. And I have jackets that go with them.
It's a lot easier being a guy, you don't have to get crazy with accessories and all that. You can look sensational with a really simple combination of classic garments. If you buy quality, you can wear them for 15 or 20 years (provided you retain the same waistline over that time!)
Oh, and of course the fininshing touch is always a classic fedora.
BTW, I think Tim Gunn is pretty cool, too, even tho his style is a lot more "au courant" than mine.
I think what he's displaying in the photo is the very cutting edge new style of the combination tie and codpiece.

 

[Hat Head]

As far as building my outfit for any given day, my process takes a little more planning. I travel a good amount for my job, often out for 4 days/3 nights, so I have to plan ahead and pack judiciously. I'll take 2 suits, 4 shirts, 4 ties, 4 pairs of socks, cufflinks if necessary.

I take suits in the same color "family" so that I can get by with one pair of shoes (dark brown or black), and then match my other leather pieces (belt and watch).

What I start with to decide what I'm wearing can vary. Sometimes it's a tie, sometimes a pocket square, sometimes a suit, sometimes a shirt. Once I pick that particular item, it all builds from there for the entire week.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

About how much does it cost to have a suit tailored? Also, what sort of alterations are they able to do? If I can't find the perfect fitting outfit, would I be best off to choose a bigger outfit over a tighter fitting one? :eusa_clap

You can probably look at about $1000 cheapest for a bespoke suit. Online from the far East comes in much cheaper, but obviously isn't bespoke, so you takes your chances.

Re: outfits. I can honestly say that i don't think i've ever consciously put together an outfit. My technique was to buy a lot of stuff; enough that through sheer serendipity i can form a number of outfits that don't clash ...

bk

 

[Max Flash]

I have no idea who Tim Gunn is, but the thought that immediately struck me is that he looks like I imagine Roger Sterling would look if Mad Men was set in a ad agency in the 1990s/early 2000s!

Anyway, I digress. When dressing for work, I tend to start with the suit and work the look around that. The material, pattern and colours of the suit will often dictate what shirt and tie I can wear, and what looks good with it. For example, if I am wearing a patterned suit such as a Prince-of-Wales check or chalk-stripe, I will go for a plain shirt or one with a more subtle herringbone weave. If wearing a plain or pinstripe suit, one can wear "louder" shirts. Ties are often a matter of trial and error and I can be stuck in front of the mirror for twenty minutes in the morning trying to work out the best combination. I've been late many times for this reason (plus picking out cufflinks) and so I try and decide the next day's outfit before going to bed! Often, though, the mood I'm in when I wake up makes me change my mind.

With shoes, I tend to wear black every work day as I work in a conservative office. My general rule is that I will wear a plainer shoe with a patterned suit and vice versa. No reason for this, I just think it looks less fussy.

With accessories, the fussiness rule also applies. I don't particularly dress "vintage" but do go for classic style. Therefore I have new three-piece suits and a number of new and old trilbys. I will usually not wear a hat if I am wearing a three-piece (unless it is raining) to avoid looking too studied in my apparel. I will wear a hat at other times though. I do tend to wear French cuffs and links.

Cost of outfits varies. I have some bespoke suits and shirts and some I have picked up in sales. I wear what looks good on any particular day!

 

[anon`]

Re: outfits. I can honestly say that i don't think i've ever consciously put together an outfit. My technique was to buy a lot of stuff; enough that through sheer serendipity i can form a number of outfits that don't clash ...

This pretty much goes for me as well. Every now and again there'll be some particular piece of clothing (be it suit, shoes, socks, whatever) that I'll want to wear that day any everything will grow from there. Other days, however, it's first off the rack...