Feraud
Bartender
- Messages
- 17,190
- Location
- Hardlucksville, NY
JW has a point. Discussion will naturally wander but let's try to keep on topic.
JimWagner said:I really started this thread to be a discussion about the details that make someone look natural and sharp in a suit (like they'd been born in a suit) instead of a slob in a suit, but I see it has spun out of control into the usual how long I've worn a suit and why "I wear a suit when those about me don't" mess.
JimWagner said:I really started this thread to be a discussion about the details that make someone look natural and sharp in a suit (like they'd been born in a suit) instead of a slob in a suit...
Undertow said:Not trying to be smart here (god knows that), but I think BK basically summed it up in the very first response on this thread. [huh]
Baron Kurtz said:Important/essential as it is, with the help of a colour wheel and some sense of aesthetics all the other stuff can be learned. You can't teach a badly cut suit to be well cut. [huh]
...But a flower (or manicured nails, whatever) is irrelevant if the suit doesn't fit.
Either Esquire or GQ actually did this maybe twenty or so years ago. Took them right off the street. I think they even paid to have their teeth fixed.Undertow said:Take some pitiful bum off the street.....Give him a sharp haircut, trim/clean his nails, throw in a nice pocket square, throw on some decent cufflinks and reasonable wristwatch, put him in a gray gabardine 3pc, push on a couple of polished black cap toes.....
Undertow said:OR, were you just wanting opinions on various tell-tale signs that an individual doesn't know how to pull it all off?
Baron Kurtz said:Now entering Aphorismville, Pop. infinite, a sure signpost that a thread is on its way out.
Baron Kurtz said:Now entering Aphorismville, Pop. infinite, a sure signpost that a thread is on its way out.
JimWagner said:Well, good tailoring and being used to wearing a suit certainly help, but the things I hoped others would mention are things like these (in no particular order):
1. Posture. Don't slouch. Stand straight, shoulders back, but not stiffly. It is possible to stand straight without being all tensed up and rigid.
2. Keep your hands out of your pockets.
3. Keep still - don't fidget. Move smoothly with purpose and not all gawky like a kid.
4. Wear socks that don't sag down around your ankles.
5. Make sure your shirt fits properly. If the neck is too tight you'll be and look very uncomfortable and if it's too loose you'll just look sloppy.
6. Tie your tie properly and keep it snugged up and centered.
7. Try not to be so self conscious.
8. Get a decent adult haircut and keep it groomed or combed properly. It's part of the whole look.
9. Keep your fingernails cut and clean.
10. Keep your suit pressed and clean. A little starch in that shirt wouldn't hurt either.
The list can go on quite a bit.
A lot of it is basic grooming, but if you look closely at someone who looks out of place in a suit you'll see any number of those things missed.
It takes more than just putting on a suit to look sharp. If all those things are obvious to you and habitual then you probably look good in a suit.
JimWagner said:9. Keep your fingernails cut and clean.
Mario said:Hmmm...
I play guitar. Fingerstyle guitar. My left hand nails are kept short, the nails on the right are a good deal longer. They need to be long. Of course they're all kept clean. How do I fit in here? [huh]
Baron Kurtz said:Nothing yet about shoes?
Elegant shoes are not difficult to source, at a good price point. Most of the people I see - highly paid professional people - seem incapable of finding elegant shoes. They wear these awful clumpy-soled things seemingly several sizes too big for them. You can have the best suit in the world, hand tailored, the works; but with awful shoes, you're going to look bad.
But they also have nicely fitted fitted suits, which can't be learned. Without a suit that fits, all the attention to detail and fripperies in the world, you'll still look bad.
bk
JimWagner said:There are quite a few people who inhabit the FL who are just getting into suits. I see them in many threads. What I wanted were some actual tips and guidelines that some of you apparently think everyone just automatically know but really don't that go beyond simply thinking that you can spend a small fortune on a suit and achieve a good look.
BanjoMerlin said:OK, the single detail that makes one look natural and sharp in a suit is his natural attire is a SUIT! If one only wears a suit on special occasions he will NEVER look natural and sharp. He will look like someone who only wears suits when he is required to do so. If that suit is expensive and well tailored he will look like a RICH guy who only wears suits when required. If that suit is something his wife bought off the rack he will look like a guy who's wife buys his clothes because he only wears suits when she requires.