Dd I hate short sleeves under suit jackets, I’m a hairy arsed builder who wears nowt but jeans/shorts and a company t shirt day to day but there’s nothing more I hate to see than no shirt cuff under a nice sharp jacket!

That’s one advantage of short sleeved shirts. You don’t have to remember to wear those **** cufflinks.

Cufflinks are the best thing about wearing a shirt!!

The second rule is that the jacket only comes off in your own home. Not in the office, not in the car, and not when out for drinks after work. It’s a suit, not separates. It was made for both parts (or all 3) to complement eachother and be worn together.

Been watching too much Mad Men ?? 🙂

He is correct – same as you must wear a tie done up properly with a suit – always

TJ:
He is correct – same as you must wear a tie done up properly with a suit – always.

According to what insiders’ code?

FFS just get one that fits, we have auditors come in or bank blokes and they’ve clearly purchased a cheap off the rack suit which isn’t a crime but then it’s not fitted properly and they just look like some little twirp on their first day at school in a hand me down blazer. Also, brown shoes are good, black are a bit of a turn off. Dark grey suit and a subtle tie. Belt and shoes should match someone in a suit shop told me the other day but not sure that is right. (was moss bros so fair chance it was comPlete crap). Make sure you get a decent hair and beard/general face cut. I once spent a whole half an hour staring at an auditor because he had nose hair and a weird hair in his ear. he was also wearing black shoes. 🙁

I thanks my lucky stars I work in a creative job rather than financial or auditing.. the freedom to wear pretty much anything and the novelty of all your co workers being individually dressed.

I really don’t think I could do a job that required a suit every day, fair play to those that can.

Well done on the job though! 🙂

You’ll get some good tips on here: English Cut

Never do up the bottom button (two buttons – do up the top only).
Brown shoes with a light grey or deep navy suit are very on trend at the moment – black shoes and blue suit look dreadful.
All this no white shirt stuff is nonsense – a crisp clean white shirt will always look good.
Learn how to tie a tie – half Windsor suits most collars but make sure you can tie a few different knots.
NEVER wear whort sleaved shirts.
If it doesn’t fit don’t buy iy no matter what the label says on it. Move on and find one that does!

There’s no way we’d get away with not wearing a tie.

One of my rules – if I have to wear a tie every day, I don’t take the job. City presentations and meeting the Chairman are about the only time I wear a tie.

The suit jacket tends to sit in the office wardrobe – I’ve usually got 5 suits at work, which are rotated regularly. The jackets never see much use at all – I might wear a jacket perhaps once a week.

very on trend at the moment

AAAARGH! The **** ‘on trend’ finally makes it to STW!

Well it is and he’s after fashion tips! That’s the wife’s influence so I do apologise. Just been watching this linked off English Cut – super interesting if you like suits….

Super interesting suit programme

Brown shoes with a light grey or deep navy suit are very on trend at the moment

and looks dreadful

brown is for the country and must never be worn with a business suit.

+1

you’ll never get promoted if you wear brown shoes. 😀

If you wear suits or accessories that are “on trend” you tend to find you’re “off trend” really quickly so stick to the classic rules.

Granted, I certainly don’t work in finance anymore, having moved to the creative fields but I have always had a couple of suits for the more corporate events / weddings. As everyone else has said, comfort and practicality rate highest in my book.

Hence I have 3 suits, two of which are The Label brand, in the “City Survival” style which stand out as favourites. Very comfortable to wear, heaps of handy well thought out features and proving very durable. The third I had made while in Bali, and is simply stunning in quality … and cost next to nothing. All are wool, a lot cooler in summer, and warmer in winter.

If you do ever get to Thailand / Bali / Singapore / Hong Kong etc then absolutely make sure you get some suits made up while you are there.

Have one suit as a cross over which is a deep brown with light stripe for more relaxed environments, and the mandatory dark blue and black. The SO always insists that the collars much the cuffs, so belts and shoes / boots to suit.

Had all of them tailored to suit my build (lean’ish) which made a huge difference to the feel and look (removed the “borrowed dads suit for the day” look) and results in a more bespoke look without the price penalty.

The bloke who did them still runs a local Suit shop, with a selective range rather than the supermarket approach of others which i like and I’d always recommend hunting out an experienced tailor to advise you.

For shirts, Hawes & Curtis are fantastic, with a wide range of fabrics and cuts to suit anyone. Prices are also reasonable especially if you are bulk buying.

One other thing to also consider is the Collar cut … theres yet another mine field !!!

No no no suits like most things have trends and design go in and out of fashion. Se many people wearing double breasted suits? How about tall 4 button single breasted suits? What about very thin steep pointy collars on shirts? See any checked suits these days?

You are buying into “trendy” ideas every time you go into a shop.

I’d have said no to brown shoes because of the rules a few years ago but have a pair of very dark brown shoes that look brilliant with dark navy suits. I only even entertained the idea after seeing some people with it. It looks good, and much better this way than with any of my black shoes.

I’ve watched that program yesterday. It seems there are endless options on suits. But the master tailor said that if a jacket has 3 buttons you always button the middle one and the top one is an option. Does not concern me as I don’t like the look of 3 button jackets and they make me look even shorter than I really am.

Thanks again for all the tips. I understand that wearing a suit in a job might not be great for some people but for me it is a great change. During uni I worked in a supermarket and I’m sick of my uniform 🙂 Still did not decide whether I want to burn my steel toe caps or just throw them away.

I do understand as well that later on I will be able to just walk around without a jacket but first I need to see what is acceptable at the office etc and during that time I want to look smart. My mate works at a big investment bank and had to wear a suit every day, after nearly a year he said he hardly ever take a jacket with him to work now and don’t bother shaving on a dress down Friday.

I’ll be going shopping for a suit again next week so thanks again for all the suggestions and tips. I like the look of dark grey suits so that is what I’ll be looking for. I would not buy anything that I do not feel comfortable in, especially that I will have to sit in it in front of a computer for over 8 hours a day.

When you do find a suit you like it is worth getting a second set of trousers if possible – as mentioned many times above, the jacket gets a lot less wear than the trousers.

Don’t write off double-breasted. They’re hard to track down off the peg, but a well fitted double-breasted suit is a joy. I’m sure they’re due a fashion comeback.

Marmite, am en route betwen Hong Kong and singapore right now and I have toiffer on the buying of suits over here. They used to be great and cheap, but now they are either cheap and nasty or pretty much the same price as a decent Jermyn St suit. Hardly worth it, imo.

especially that I will have to sit in it in front of a computer for over 8 hours a day.

8 hours? Are you a part time consultant? 😉

Welcome to the corporate world. You’ve effectively just rented out your arse. Enjoy!

I’m sure they’re due a fashion comeback.

Careful – you’ll have people telling you not to look at fashions and trends 😉

By the time I left the city for my current career I was down to aweful polo shirts and maybe a shirt with no tie on a smart day! I really had no idea. Then again having just done some thinking… brown shoes…. teacher…. talk about stereo type! I shouldn’t be wearing a suit at all! Get me a blazer with elbow patches.

Another tip. Nothing should ever go in the outside pockets of the jacket; it completely ruins the line. Don’t even undo the stitching.

I understand that wearing a suit in a job might not be great for some people but for me it is a great change.

Actually I quite like that work clothes are different from home clothes – makes me feel that after I get home and get changed I have really forgotten work for the day.

TJ for someone who never shies away from a fight with The Man you have a strangely dogmatic view on the rules for office attire.

OK, at last a thread topic I know a bit about. I work in a French bank, it matters how you dress around here.

Suits – No getting away from it, you are going to need two, eventually 3 or 4. Spend as much as you can afford, if you are wearing them often they need to be a decent wool. Buy one darkish grey, one navy blue, i’d say without pin-stripes for now, maybe get a patterned cloth later. Single breasted is best, two button (I like one), you only need to do the top one up. Avoid ticket pockets, lairy linings, skinny lapels and shiny fabrics. Two vents at the back. Dont buy black suits.

Shirts – If they fit you TM Lewins four for £100 is great but they drown a lot of people. The cotton is fine but they are £20 for a reason. I stopped wearing white shirts for years, have gone back to them, they work with everything. Pale blue (watch for those sweat marks though), and white/blue stripes are always a winner. Pale pink I like too but they dont go with grey suits, look stellar with blue suits for a smart client dinner say. Dont worry about double cuffs, you can get some later if you want but honestly I think buttons are far smarter than cufflinks, unless your cufflinks come from Hermes.

Ties – You are a young guy, go for knitted square bottom around 7″ wide, in blue, green, burgundy. Very rafish, everyone looks smart in a knitted tie.

http://www.drakes-london.com/ties/knitted/finest-silk-solid-colour-knitted-tie

Drakes are too pricey for you right now but great for ideas. Lots of high st shops do knitted ties at the moment. Dont go too skinny though.

Shoes – Two pairs (leather needs to “rest”), play it safe for now, maybe a pair of brogues and a pair of Oxfords, both black. I wear brown shoes with my suits in summer, including brown suede so again, maybe later…..avoid light brown shoes and ALWAYS match your shoes to your belt. Use shoe trees.

I try and save my suits from the daily grind by buying a pair of off the peg suit trousers (from Hacket) and keeping them in the office for days I dont need a jacket, when I mooch around in a blue or grey cardigan and always always a tie. In winter smart cords do the same job but again, take a bit of time to suss out what is acceptable or not, you are new.

Get the basics right then stop worrying about it. No-one actually cares what you wear unless you go way overboard or look like you dont care about your appearance. A smart suit does wonders for your own self confidence though.

Congrats on the job.

TJ for someone who never shies away from a fight with The Man you have a strangely dogmatic view on the rules for office attire.

Not on office attire – on suit wearing. If you are going to do something then do it right.

personally I feel that if an employer wants you to wear a particular form of dress then they should provide it. After all its just a uniform

I mooch around in a blue or grey cardigan

<Looks for sharp implement to slit wrists>

Don’t wear a short sleeved shirt, people will think you’re there to fix the photocopier.

Oh, and get easy iron/non iron shirts rather than fancy cotton ones…you’ll thank me later.

Is this still STW or did I accidentally start reading American psycho again?

I love the way there’s something wrong with bus drivers and photocopier repairmen – they’re just doing a job like everybody else.

Short sleeved shirts FTW in this heat.

mcboo – Member
TJ for someone who never shies away from a fight with The Man you have a strangely dogmatic view on the rules for office attire.

Don’t rise to it, TJs trolling again 🙄

He apparently only buys non branded second hand clothes anyway and has worn the same suit for 30 years from what I remember of his jibber jabbering

Short sleeve shirt = Used car salesman

DD, you can’t use the same troll twice on one thread.

DD, you can’t use the same troll twice on one thread.

🙁

I am FAIL

You are of course correct Monsieur Mouse.

Ties – You are a young guy, go for knitted square bottom around 7″ wide, in blue, green, burgundy. Very rafish, everyone looks smart in a knitted tie

Whoa 7 inches, that’s a wide tie!

barnsleymitch – Member

Is this still STW or did I accidentally start reading American psycho again?

Suits – You’ll need 2 or 3, I would suggest buying one every 6 months or so in the sales so you’ve got a few on rotation. Go for 2 button, will fitted and always leave the bottom button undone. I would go for charcoal and navy blue to begin with. Perhaps add a black with a light pinstripe in time, maybe a lighter grey (but not “light grey”) one as well. Buy a couple of pairs of trousers as they will wear before the jacket does. Generally most people take the jacket off when they sit down and will rarely walk around with the jacket done up.

Shirts – Get measured and get some that fit. TM Lewin and Charles Tyrwhitt both offer reasonable shirts at good prices, buy 5 to start with and a new one whenever you fancy, again, that way you will build up a reasonable collection in time. I think slim fit ones look best and I am not what you would call slim, I think slim would be better described as “fitted”. Colour wise, white is fine as is light blue and light pink. A bit of a pattern is fine as well as long as it is subtle, I would suggest a light check or a light stripe looks good. I like a cut away collar but that relies on you being able to tie a good knot like a Windsor. I also prefer a double cuff and a nice pair of cuff links. Don’t buy short sleeved either, just don’t.

Tie – Absolutely no comedy or kitted ties, ever, just no. Something with a stripe or a subtle pattern that compliments the shirt and suit is good, plain is also fine particularly if the short is patterned. Learn to tie a good knot, a Windsor or a half Windsor will see you right.

Shoes – If in doubt, black is the way to go, an Oxford or a brogue is the default option. Dark brown and even oxblood can be worn with the right suit but I wouldn’t go that route to begin with. Always, always match you belt to your shoes. Have a couple of pairs and wear then on alternate days, this will mean your shoes last longer. Also, please, please make sure they are clean and polished, few things ruins a look more than dirty shoes.

I never wear a tie but buy well fitted suits with good quality shirts and a massive collection of interesting cufflinks. But then it’s me renting your arse out as I’m a partner at pwc 🙂

some good advice, some poor advice, some drivel

at least its pretty easy to distinguish one from the other

I would like to second avoiding TM Lewin Luxury shirts, least that what i think it was called. Proper beehatch to iron.
Looks great, fits superb, takes about 20mins with a cool iron and then looks like a bag of tripe again as soon as you have put it on