You don’t have to be a skinny teenager, just don’t be a drone.

emsz I choose my casual clothes carefully and I am happy with them. The problem is work. I might as well be wearing a uniform. Fwiw I wear a suit from John Lewis, usually without the jacket, and a lewin sshirt. I could spend 5x more easily enough and not be any happier cos I don’t want to be wearing ‘smart’ stuff.

Nicole farhi, trickers, wolsey, Albam, folk, Edwin, private white

Hmmmm, nah. Pile of stuff.

Don’t most people conform to the dress sense of the “community” in which they live and work?

Who determined that hard cotton, brass studied trousers would end up being considered casual and/or relaxed.

mmmm, nah. Pile of stuff.

pile of clothes actually, i rarely go out side without them.

The problem is work. I might as well be wearing a uniform

most people do wear some kind of uniform, doesn’t mean you have to look like your mum dressed you though.
lets face it most people dress quite badly as they couldn’t care less. nothing wrong with that if other things are more important to you.
it’s not hard to dress better than average when the average standard is so low in this country.

Look at the pitti uomo images and dismiss the most outlandish ones and under 30’s trying too hard, it’s the middle aged Italian gents who have it locked down.

Locked down assuming what you’re aiming for is boring boring boring.

Okay, a work-related style question for the fashionistas:

Leather workshop apron?

doesn’t mean you have to look like your mum dressed you though.

I don’t. I do look pretty anonymous though.

Locked down assuming what you’re aiming for is boring boring boring.

no just better than an ill fitting burtons suit and a pair of cheap black shoes or the ‘dress down friday’ frayed bottomed jeans, pointy scuffed brown shoes and sports jacket look. or the horrific ‘middle aged’ man with hair gel/superdry/ jeans with superfluous pockets and patches which seems to be quite popular.

this look isn’t boring, can’t see it being admired though

I have my weddings and funeral suit.
I HATE IT. It’s baggy and tight in all the wrong places. It’s worn so that I can blend in with all the other poor blokes who would much rather be in something more comfy.
It looks like smoke break outside legal and general at most of the functions I go to.
I’m not saying wear jeans to a wedding but there just has to be an alternative that’s acceptable.

I really like wearing a well fitted suit.
I especially like wearing a waistcoat although they’re usually too warm to be worn at work.

I mean obviously Sean looked good in everything but look at this!

As does beckham

And of course, there’s always the old meme, “A well tailored suit is to women what lingerie is to men.”

just remember about the bottom button 😉

I have my weddings and funeral suit.
I HATE IT. It’s baggy and tight in all the wrong places.

Er, buy one that fits? Or if you’re an odd size, get one made/altered to fit.

I must say I’m surprised Corporal Cashfart hasn’t been on here yet blathering on about Jerm street or whatever it is…

Love me a nice chalkstripe three-piece suit for work.

Two vents on the jacket.

Lapels on the waistcoat.

With a double cuff shirt (obviously)

Don’t get me started on the choice of tie knot.

😀

I went all menswear the other day.
I was walking to a meeting across a city centre square and a young chap walking toward me dropped to his knees and took a photo of me with his DSLR before giving me the thumbs up and dashing off.
I later sat in the second row for some stand up comedy and the comic focused a lot of his attention on me but all he ended up doing was repeating ‘cock’ over and over again.

I’d rather not have the attention, thanks.

samuri – Member

I especially like wearing a waistcoat

My boss recently took to wearing a waistcoat. I’ve not had the heart to tell him he looks like he should be in Mumford and Sons

My boss recently took to wearing a waistcoat. I’ve not had the heart to tell him he looks like he should be in Mumford and Sons

😆

I hate wearing a suit, I don’t have to wear one enough to justify having a nice one, so they inevitably don’t fit well, the trousers don’t have good pockets, my shirt always feels clumpy, the jacket gets in the way, and, worst of all, I have to wear a tie. Why, oh why do we still wear ties?

How am I supposed to run or ride a bike or catch a wild boar in a suit? They’re great for sitting around, drinking brandy and talking about the stock market, but they are far from practical for anything else.

Some great suits and jacket combinations here in Lisbon. I don’t understand why it’s considered heinous by some to dress smartly?
Even the little things make the difference such as having a suit, jacket or shirt made to measure. My local lady in the village does my shirts for a fiver.
Oh and suit jacket buttons- sometimes, always, never.

@andeh, you don’t have to wear a long tie, you can wear a cravat, or a bow tie.

But the buttons on my shirt do a grand job of keeping my collar closed, why would i want add more fripperies? I don’t think I could pull off a bow tie, I’ve never been asked be an expert on Bargain Hunt for one.

My problem isn’t with looking smart, it’s with the very limited band of available clothing that is classed as smart.

I have, so far, managed to get through nearly sixty years without ever having owned a suit, and still managed to turn up at weddings and dinner do’s looking smart and presentable, even being complimented on looking smart. And that doesn’t mean wearing anything with a ‘label’, or even worse, a bloody polo shirt, which always seems to be the last refuge of the scoundrel, in so-called ‘smart-casual’.

Flash – Member
Love a suit me, can’t beat a well cut and fitting number, comfortable and smart, being well dressed is not a crime

I don’t own a pair of jeans, or North American work wear as I like to call it, you are of course aware that a T-shirt is underwear?

Suits civilised the world
I’ll bet whenever you get out in ‘the country’ your only contact with it is the distance between the car door and the entrance to the hotel/pub/restaurant.
Heaven forfend your nice shiny brogues should get muddy, or the tiniest hint of cow shit should spoil your perfectly creased trouser cuff.

Only things I consider when clothes shopping is that its not this years fashion and that it fits right. If you are going to get a suit, try on as many as you can, different shops build to different proportions, so make sure it fits in the chest and trouser arse, tailor can do the rest

I am eternally grateful that I have reached a point in my life where I decide whether or not I wear a suit.

I don’t particularly like wearing one, but have two and enjoy channelling James Bond while wearing either. This is of course dependent on Mr Bond being a squat Northerner.

Casino Royal, or the bookies..

I went from a job being able to wear what you like, to a job where it’s apparently ‘expected’ you wear a suit in the office.

My team is non client facing, the only people they see, are each other.

I hate it. It’s an utterly ridiculous policy. Everyone complains, and 75% of people can’t buy a suit in the right size, tie a tie properly, iron a shirt properly or even get it cleaned on a regular basis.

I’ve already broached the subject of turning us casual and been told the age old b*llocks “casual clothes, casual mind” 🙄

Yet apparently we have dress down Fridays. So it’s ok to have a casual work ethic for 20% of the working week…

I’ve already told them to stop wearing ties, been hauled up over that one. Ironically, then complimented about the positive attitude it’s created.

Utterly pointless bit of clothing for most jobs.

my mother hasn’t bought any of my clothes since I was about 8.

Having seen the pictures, could we ask that she starts again. Please?

Oh look – a thread on stw where middle-aged pseudo-rebellious men have a chunter about clothes they don’t like. Why not just go your own way and hell- wear what you want? It might save you banging on about how impractical / uncomfortable / stupid it all is.
Other than molgrips, who is evidently a downtrodden prole.

I’m 25 and work in a warehouse, can I please be a prole too Mr TootAll, oh arbiter of the internets?

can I please be a prole too

If you have to ask permission, you are.

How come I’m arbiter? I’m suggesting that those who feel uncomfortable in certain clothes just wear something different. Seems reasonable enough.

I don’t understand why it’s considered heinous by some to dress smartly?

It’s not that being smart is bad.

The problem is that other people have decided what constitutes smart, which means that we are forced to wear stuff we don’t like.

which means that we are forced to wear stuff we don’t like.

As I said – do your own thing then. Go skyclad if it feels good. You either conform a lot, a little or not at all. Pick the one that you can cope with.

If you don’t like to wear a suit to work, you could always retrain as a tradesperson, I understand their dress code is far more abstract.

Technically I work in Sales but only wear a suit if visiting customers. If I’m in the office I just wear T-shirt, jeans and trainers. Much more practicle and considerably less ironing (ie none).