Notes from the Basement: A startup guide to (men's) professional clothing

Men's clothing goes on major sale twice a year, and in celebration of the summer sales, here is a consolidation of the Benefactor's advice thread, focusing primarily on clothing for a professional environment. This is part 1 of a 2 part sketch, which will focus on Budget Basics to be able to leverage the summer sales to the greatest extent.

Part 1.
Section 1.1. OMG, UR GAY: a response to the victims of first and second wave feminism on the subject of male style
Section 1.2. Budget Basics: for the value conscious

Part 2.
The Details of Power Dressing.


Section 1.1. OMG, UR GAY: a response to the victims of first and second wave feminism on the subject of male style

For men, style and fashion are largely separate entities.

The labels for "gay style" are entirely media driven, limited, and not particularly interesting, and are largely the fallout from the first and second wave of feminism.

There are plenty of gay men with zero sense of style or fashion, and plenty of straight men that defined style for generations, and set the fashion. Recent entries in that list looks something like Cary Grant, Prince Edward, the Duke of Windsor, John F. Kennedy, so on and so forth. If a man gives up the throne of England for a woman, there is no question about orientation, even if he had his tuxedoes specifically made in dark blue because it photographed better than black. Dressing well is actually a form of male aggression, and a suit specifically is a class divider.

Suits deform the laborers and enhance the ruling classes.

A suit is a signifier: it can be a symbol of power and privilege (savile row tailored), or the symbol of racial discrimination (zoot suits). A suit says on its own whether or not you are a social peer, inferior, or superior.

The reasons why people care about how people dress and present themselves are interesting questions, but for our purposes, it doesn't really matter the why, but rather the fact that people actually do care. I'm sure most people don't care about what nerds wear in the back room of a nerd company (I certainly don't), but I would hazard a guess that most people would also like to rise above working in the back room at the bottom of the rung.

To avoid too many sweeping generalizations, let me just point to New York homicide detectives who are always well dressed. It's an interesting read in general.

The real question is are whether to be angrily indifferent in the corner while the uncaring world goes about its business, or figure out how to make things work in your favor. Just keep in mind, as far as anything worth investing in, understatement is king.

Section 1.2. Budget Basics: for the value conscious

Two tracks will be outlined in this section, as I'll be addressing two tracks: suit wearers, and everyone else. For the purposes of this post, suit wearers refers to someone that wears a suit 4+ days a week.

1.2.1. Track A: 4+/week Suits

Given the limited budget, the primary goal is to be well turned out, but not particularly memorable to avoid attracting attention to the limitations of your wardrobe. A sample budget is included at the end of the subsection.

Checklist*:
3 white shirts
2 blue shirts
2 or 3 pairs of shoes (some combination of only black, black, and/or burgundy)
3 suits (2 solids: charcoal & navy)
10 ties (stripes, small patterns, solids).
A blazer/blue sportcoat (blazers have shiny metal buttons, otherwise it's a blue sportcoat, and either is fine)
A few white linen pocket squares.

*Please note, if you are entering a field like investment banking or law, do not get french cuffs, or contrast collars, as you will be perceived as uppity. Those items are reserved for the men higher up in the organizational hierarchy like partners/directors/etc. Wait until you've "made it", or save it for social occasions.

1.2.1.1: General Tips on Allocating your money
Concentrate on shoes because those will last the longest: Allen Edmonds (can be easily found on sale/discounted somewhere at the $150+ range...I loathe their advertising campaign but you can't argue with the product), or Alden if you can stretch your money. Both offer recrafting services, and turn out really well made shoes that will last decades. A parallel alternative is Cole Haan Nike Air Collection, which also can be found at 40% off and at the company outlets. The advantage is vastly greater comfort, with the downside of slightly lower fit and finish standards than AE or Alden.

A note on Cole Haan: Before it was sold to Nike, it was a true competitor to Allen Edmonds and Alden, and not just because it was American. Fortunately, Cole Haan is making a strategic move upmarket to lessen their depedence on the recession vulnerable mid market, and recently extended the Goodyear welting construction to certain shoes not in their Collection line (which is ideally what you will be buying on sale.) Please note, only certain Cole Haan Collection shoes also include Nike Air (the Nike Air bubbles are concealed, so you have to read the label to distinguish them.) Cole Haan also make excellent "beater" shoes, as they're much better for time when you will be on your feet for hours and/or walking.

Following shoes, ties are the second longest lasting part of your wardrobe and will carry over into Power Dressing. Shop the outlets like Sak's Off 5th, and Neiman Marcus last call and poke around for some good deals on Charvet, Bulgari, Brioni, Robert Talbott, and Zegna (there are others that you may find, but some rarely, if ever, go to the outlets like Hermes and others like Kiton that are still extraordinarily expensive). In addition, Brooks Brothers (not their crappy 346 outlet line), or Sam Hober (available online). If you can't stand shopping, go for a Sam Hober 7 Fold tie; it's probably the best balance of first rate construction and price you can find right now with Brooks Brothers also being up there in terms of value:construction. And, of course, there's always eBay as a source for ties.

Your shirts in the budget range are going to focus on fit and comfort, as they will be the first item you will replace when moving into Power Dressing, as shirts not only offer the best value per dollar investment when you move into the premium MTM/bespoke, but are also literally is your core that you're building upon.

For now make sure the shirts are comfortable and 100% cotton (Sea Island > Egyptian > Pima, cost also in that order); they'll soften over time like your T-shirts. You should be able to fit two fingers into the collar of your shirt comfort wise. The things to watch out for is if the collar suits your face (wide face, with a spread collar makes you look even wider. Too high of a collar and a smaller face, you'll appear neckless with a tiny head), and that the shoulders terminate with your actual shoulders. The other thing to watch is how it fits in the body, you don't want a blousey fit i.e. lots of extra fabric around the middle so you look like a tent when you lift your arms.

Make sure you have at least 1 (white) shirt that does _not_ have a button down collar. Do not wear button down collars in to an evening event.

On wrinkles: to wear plasticized shirt or not?
There's a certain obsession with being wrinkle free among certain segments of society. I think of those people as the Stepford aspirants. Natural fibers wrinkle, there's nothing you can do about it, and frankly, it's a little creepy if you end the day plastically perfect. That said, you don't want to look like a Shar Pei puppy either.

http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:...SharPeiRed.jpg

The material of your shirt will determine the amount of wrinkling. For a quick test, when you're trying it on, do a curl and see how much wrinkling occurs, and see if it's within your tolerance limits for wrinkles. The "solution" is, of course, no-iron shirts. Howeverthe main problem with no-iron shirts is that they do not breathe as well, and are less comfortable to wear, given the polyester content. So far, the least unpleasant non-iron shirt I've found is Brooks Brothers.

The last major component of your wardrobe will be the suits. It's all about fit in the $500 and under range. Rather than worrying about construction as anything in this range will be fused, focus on fit, and allocate money for a good tailor to alter the suit, which will run in the neighborhood of $150 for altering the suit. If a suit does not fit in the shoulders, do not waste your money on it, shoulder reconstructions never work. You will want 3 suits: charcoal being the most important, followed by a navy blue, and then a 3rd of your choice (keep it dark).

1.2.1.2: Sample Budget

Here is a sample budget for a professional wardrobe that should last you approximately two years.

$600 01 $600 BB suit on sale (for your good suit)
$200 02 $400 2 other suits (that fit!, probably Jos A. Bank on double secret sale)
$100 01 $100 Blazer
$150 03 $450 Alterations
$070 02 $140 Jermyn Street British dress shirts
$020 03 $060 Various sale and/or discounted shirts (TJ Maxx/Filene's etc etc)
$003 05 $015 Socks (discounted)
$025 10 $250 Ebayed/Discount store ties
$150 02 $300 Allen Edmonds/Cole Haan Shoes discounted
$025 02 $050 Cedar shoe trees
$050 01 $050 Shoe care products
$005 03 $015 Linen Pocket squares
-----------------------
$2430 Total for two years

or roughly $1215 per year until you get a big enough promotion to expand your wardrobe (or not).

1.2.2. Track B: Button down shirts, tie optional

Now we come to the dread "casual" office. Originally thought to simplify sartorial matters for men, it's actually made things vastly worse. Before everyone knew what to wear, now many men have devolved into a drab bland uniform of khakis, button downs, with some electronic gadget clipped to their belt that emphasizes their expanding waistline, or have resorted to dressing like teenagers in cheap jeans and printed t-shirts.

Since this is such a broad area, and overlaps somewhat with the forthcoming Casual Wear section in Part 2, here is a concise guide to improve the look of either types of "business casual".

But first, a note on shoes: Shoes are extraordinarily important: they make or break what you're wearing, and separate out the posers. (Remember the phrase "well heeled"?). Men have it much better than women in this respect. Unlike a $500 pair of Manolos or Jimmy Choos, our $500 Alden/Crocket&Jones/Marteganis/Rosettis/Westons will last for decades, instead of 6 months. Buy the best shoes you can afford. Period.

1.2.2.1. Button shirts tie optional
Since your shirt/tie is the primary vehicle, you will need somewhere on the order of 10-15 shirts, very precisely fitted, as you've lost the waist suppression from the suit/sport coat. Obviously if you're in great shape, this won't be a problem, but otherwise, the fit needs to be above average. You will want a couple of fine quality shirts for meetings/presentations/etc, preferably Thomas Mason (TM) Silverline cotton that will carry over into Power Dressing.

Switch over to wool trousers. Pleats are not a fashion item, as much as people try to make them out to be. If you're slim, flat fronts are more flattering (until you sit down), otherwise pleats are better for the remaining body types.

1.2.2.2 Jeans are de rigeur
The usual suspects for denim in this category: AG, Nudie, APC, CH, Rag & Bone, Loomstate, with Cheap Monday, Acne, PD&C and in last place: the overplayed 7 for All Mankind.

Ideally, stop buying generic predistressed jeans and do it yourself, by buying raw denim. I personally get a little grossed out by this, but then if you spend most of the day sitting down in an office chair, it's a little different than being active in the jeans for the requisite 6+ months.

The most important thing you can do to separate yourself from the teenage and/or Guido look is to wear better shoes that contrast nicely with the denim so they pop. A brown leather brogue (like an Allen Edmonds on one of their more streamlined lasts) will give you an adult, but still youthful/sophisticated look. Generally this means you'll be looking at a straight leg jean (but those are in right now anyway), but be careful with the shirts. This sort of look requires a well fitted top (with buttons and collar), not baggy, not loose--also not tight. A simple short sleeve button down, or a long sleeve with the sleeves rolled up will be fine. Brad Pitt is actually a pretty good example of this. His style is young without being sloppy. The main thing is to get away from being a walking advertisement for something: you're old enough now to have established your identity, you don't need to use someone/something else's.

And that about wrap it up for today. The follow up will be "Part 2: It's All in the Details: Power Dressing."