Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Sharp Dressed Man

I never realized menswear had so many nuanced variables. A suit was just a suit... and then I looked closer. Spending a solid Saturday suit shopping (excuse me while I untie my tongue) with the future mister will do that to a girl.

Going into it rather blindly, a grey, preferably slim fit, suit was my pick. He wanted ABB (anything but black) since "black is too severe and doesn't go with [his] coloring." Funny how this stuff comes out now. I had no clue he felt that way.

Store 1: Jos. A. Bank
Mr. P's go-to store for work suits was a logical first stop. Here, the suits lean toward traditional fabrics and cuts. Which is fine for work, but a little too boxy for a semi-formal wedding. Winter is probably not the best time to go hunting for a summer suit, but there we were. Lots of black, brown, charcoal and navy, but not a lot of lighter grey. Our favorite suit was this medium grey number.


Consensus: Not loving the three buttons. A slimmer fit please. But a nice color.

While we were there, we flipped through the tuxedo rental book. And found nothing. The chocolate brown tux that Mr. P found does NOT count. Chocolate brown plus canary yellow screams, "Hello 1970's!" Why don't we throw in avocado accents while we're at it?

Store 2: Men's Wearhouse
What they had was decent stuff at a decent price. But the selection of grey suits was limited. Even more so in his common jacket size. Mr. P tried on maybe 5. It was encouraging to find slimmer fits and skinnier lapels. Their rental book has 90% of the same inventory; nothing interested us.

(Brian showing off the "butt flap" or side vent jacket.)

Consensus: Closer, but missing the style mark. And still too boxy.

Store 3: Macy's
By this time, I had warmed up to the idea of a non-grey suit. But no black or khaki. Which pretty much left navy. So we'd narrowed it down to a grey or navy 2-button slim fit suit, with or without narrow pinstripes. First up, a solid navy suit that really impressed!

Hot damn! Love the fit and color of this suit.

Then a similar grey-pinstripe suit (same designer)... also vedddddy niiiiice.
("How much is this one??")
&
Me, sounding like a myna bird: Hold still! Your arms are blurry.

Consensus: Good selection, lots of slim fit suits. Macy's - you made my man look good! We shall return.

What is your guy wearing? Was suit shopping a joint venture?

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