Rate My Look

[mikepara]

Nah, Not a funeral in sight.

This suit is black.

That was your first mistake - never black unless it's a Family funeral.

Black suits are fine. I have suits in all sorts of cloth and colours. I like the black suit. Black looks good, with bright shirt and tie. Didn't do Doc Holiday or Johnny Cash much harm!

 

[mikepara]

Nicer but could do with a wider more colourful tie and a thicker knot wouldn't harm.

 

[mikepara]

Happy mediums.

I just reread the whole post.

Can't do right for doing wrong? Knot too large on one image, knot too small on another. I know it's probably hard taking comments from old guys, even if they share your dress sense / likes. The thing is we've made (and can still make) all the little mistakes your making now or could ever make.

You could do worse than checking out all the postings by Ray. Who posts as mr.rover now I believe. He's slightly younger than you I think, but man can he dress.

 

[Orgetorix]

Suit is dark navy blue, so I think the brown shoes are ok. Am I wrong?

And thanks, your other comments are all well taken. I hadn't noticed the arm thing before, but now I'm going to have to look into that.

You're absolutely right about the trousers. As it's still relatively new, I'm currently wearing this suit off-the-peg and it does pretty well for such, but I do need to take it to a tailor and have it adjusted a bit as soon as I have time.

In that case...the color of the shoes is marginally OK. With such a dark blue, I'd stay with darker brown. Black is more formal, brown is less formal, and it gets more so the lighter you go. The shape (the last, in shoe terms) of the shoes is still not right, though--they look big, clunky, and therefore casual. You need some that are slimmer, made for wearing with suits. I wear these with my suits--they're brown Allen-Edmonds Park Avenues, and I got them on Ebay for less than $50.

 

[Orgetorix]

Regarding the whole tie knot/size issue: None of these is necessarily wrong, it's just that some look better than others. Two general rules to keep in mind: One, the width of the tie should be in keeping with the width of the jacket's lapels. A skinny tie with big lapels looks weird, as does the opposite. Two, the tie's knot, along with the shirt's collar, is important in drawing attention to the face, the most important, interesting, and active part of any person's body. Think of your face as a painting, and the collar/tie area as the frame. In the purple-shirt picture, the size of the tie knot draws attention to itself, not to Stanley's face, and the lowness of the collar draws the eye more to his long neck than his face. A higher shirt collar and more moderate tie knot would help balance things out, I think.

 

[Mr. Rover]

Thanks for the referral, mikeparra I appreciate the compliment, but one person's style may not necessarily work for someone else.

I agree with Orgetorix in just about all regards (including the hair...).
I think the pants could be a bit fuller in the legs. The first suit I had made at Sam's had the same problem...For chicken-legged guys like us, the top becomes very heavy with the shirt, suit jacket, AND tie and the legs don't carry enough visual weight.
I think the issue with the ties is that the the second tie is just too skinny for the jacket. There's just too much shirt showing. I think a wider tie with a smaller knot would work well. If it's symmetry you're after, you could try tying a very tight half windsor knot. I use that on a occassion to fill up collar space if the 4-in-Hand knot is too small.
The third combination...same with the first. There's too much going on at the same time and it's all in the same bold extremeness.
Normally, I would say 3 stripes isn't always bad, as I have worn that combination with success. In fact, your combo looks good in the full shot, but the closeup shows that it's too busy. Maybe a bold stripe suit with a thinner striped shirt and a tie with thick diagonal stripes or check?
Have we brought up the possibility of a handkerchief/pocket square yet?

 

[Baron Kurtz]

brown shoes with a black suit: GO FOR IT!!!

It often (mostly) falls flat on its ass. but man, sometimes it just looks wonderful. I've found it really works with a solid black suit and a very light shade of brown. With enough contrast it can look great.

bk

 

[Tomasso]

brown shoes with a black suit: GO FOR IT!!!

It often (mostly) falls flat on its ass. but man, sometimes it just looks wonderful.

I wear chocolate brown suede shoes with a black flannel suit.[huh]

 

[Marc Chevalier]

One of my very favorite ties: an Irish poplin (50% silk, 50% wool) repp from the 1950s. Matches perfectly with my black suits and brown suits. And yes, it has has both black and brown stripes.




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[Slicksuit]

Ok, I'll bite:

The shoes are too casual for the suit's formality, and brown shoes with a black suit is a no-no. Look for some black cap-toe or punch cap oxfords.

While I agree that the shoes are too casual, I'm not sure that brown shoes are necessarily a no-no. While in the traditional sense black shoes are called for, a brown pair of the right hue isn't a bad choice. As far as I know, Europeans virtually wear brown shoes with everything. It's a more contemporary look, to be sure, but I kinda like it. When seeing such a combination, I'm more likely to see it done with a caramel pair of brown shoes.

 

[StanleyVanBuren]

Right... how about this? This was today's look. And, since it was Friday, I decided to dress down slightly. This is about as "business casual" as I like to get. See what you think:

Oh, and I put nothing in my hair today, so it is lying flat.

 

[Orgetorix]

Looks nice!

 

[Slicksuit]

Looks good to me. Just one question...a topper is noticably absent from all of your pics (minus the avatar). I may have missed your mention, but no lids, man? Would you be apt to wear one?

 

[GoldLeaf]

Right... how about this? This was today's look. And, since it was Friday, I decided to dress down slightly. This is about as "business casual" as I like to get. See what you think:

Oh, and I put nothing in my hair today, so it is lying flat.

Mind a woman's input? I don't come at it from an expert's standpoint, but I think you look great in this picture! You look much more relaxed and comfortable. It feels like we are seeing "you" in this picture. My one comment about the outfit: in the full-length shot, your shirt collar spreads a bit much. I don't know how you would fix it, I guess just check on it through out the day

I also much prefer your hair in this picture. You look softer, a bit boyish but sophisticated. I am working with my hubby on the hair as well. He is 25 and is having a hard time letting go of the spiky thing. DH has a high forehead with a receding hairline, so the spiky hair doesn't accentuate his best features, namely his beautiful eyes and amazing cheekbones. While you don't have a receding hairline, you do have a high forehead.

If you have a hairdresser you trust, ask her to help you find a modern cut (if that is what you want) that isn't high maintenance but would suit your face a bit better. You are a good-looking guy; it’s just a matter of trial and error until you find something that suits you. If you use a pomade, you could still wear your hair with a piece-y texture, just not sticking up

 

[StanleyVanBuren]

Thanks for all the input! Yeah, the hair thing is somewhat of a predicament. I've asked a bunch of people which they prefer and its pretty much half & half on the flat vs. standing up look. It was really long last week and I did get it cut, so its much shorter now on the days when I do decide to use pomade in it. Such as today:

It's Monday, and so I'm back to my black suit that you've seen before at this point so I won't bother with the close up. Things I'm aware of -- yes, as has been pointed out before, the shoes are probably too big. I need to work on getting a couple good pairs of dress shoes. Trousers are a little on the short side, but supposedly that's stylish these days, so ok... I'm wearing one of my dress shirts from Hawes & Curtis with their full Windsor-spread, but my tie knot should be slightly smaller than on previous days. Oh, and you can see the problem with this jacket I mentioned earlier; the tie is peeking out at the bottom.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

this is the problem with the general trend for jacket button stance to rise (at least i see this trend) without a concomitant rise in trousers waist height, and shortening of tie length. Tie peek is inevitable, and just too phallic for words.

bk

 

[Tomasso]

this is the problem with the general trend for jacket button stance to rise (at least i see this trend) without a concomitant rise in trousers waist height, and shortening of tie length.

The proponents of this look would argue that it's not a problem. They also often add open front quarters to the mix.:eusa_doh: Best to wear a nice belt buckle because everyone's going to see it.

 

[Dagwood]

I think your black suit looks smart. However, I would love to see a splash of color in the guise of a pocket square. Although you’ve indicated that a pocket square would “simply be too much,” I hope that you’ll reconsider. I think you’ll find that the fellows at the office will learn to emulate your style. Alternatively, a shirt with cufflinks would be nice. Maybe a vintage tie clasp is in your future?

 

[Marc Chevalier]

StanleyVanBuren, I think you're definitely on the right track. You seem to have a good sense of what works for you and what doesn't. (And you're listening to us )


I'd say that the two things you should concentrate on at this point are the shirt collar's height and the tie knot's girth. Because you have a long neck, a higher collar would balance it out. I think that since you're slim, a thick tie knot works fine with you ... but perhaps you should make it a little bit less thick. A tightly-knotted half Windsor, or a loosely-knotted four-in-hand, would be fine.


By the way, no harm done about the PT Cruiser comments. I didn't take them personally, and I know that you didn't make them in that spirit.

.

 

[StanleyVanBuren]

I think your black suit looks smart. However, I would love to see a splash of color in the guise of a pocket square. Although you’ve indicated that a pocket square would “simply be too much,” I hope that you’ll reconsider. I think you’ll find that the fellows at the office will learn to emulate your style. Alternatively, a shirt with cufflinks would be nice. Maybe a vintage tie clasp is in your future?

Yes, yes, and yes.

I do want to incorporate the pocket square but it's sort of a one-thing-at-a-time deal. I'm still one of the few people at my firm that wears a suit every single day. As much as I'd like to do the pocket square, the problem is sticking out too much, which I may already be doing. If I ran the place, believe you me it would be a different story.

And, all but maybe 1 or 2 of my dress shirts are french/double cuff.

And finally, a tie clasp is definitely on my list. You'll get pics once I've got one. But I certainly do know that I need one.

StanleyVanBuren, I think you're definitely on the right track. You seem to have a good sense of what works for you and what doesn't. (And you're listening to us )


I'd say that the two thing you should concentrate on at this point are the shirt collar's height and the tie knot's girth. Because you have a long neck, a higher collar would balance it out. I think that since you're slim, a thick tie knot works fine with you ... but perhaps you should make it a little bit less thick. A tightly-knotted half Windsor, or a loosely-knotted four-in-hand, would be fine.


By the way, no harm done about the PT Cruiser comments. I didn't take them personally, and I know that you didn't make them in that spirit.

.

Thanks, man. I'm definitely looking into some dress shirts with a higher collar. It's unfortunate that this realization has come after purchasing 4 great dress shirts from Hawes & Curtis that I really like. But, they all have the normal collar height. Luckily, they also make shirts with higher collars in their fashion range, so I will look into those once my budget allows. I've also considered an online-order made-to-measure from somewhere like Land's End, since their made-to-measure starts at $50 and they offer a high spread collar option.

About the PT, glad you weren't offended. And, don't get me wrong -- I can't say I'm not guilty of having done some questionable appearance mods to my cars either. ANYWAY THOUGH...