A frolic in Cambodia

[dtb]

Originally posted by Pretty Little Flower
You're being too hard on yourself. Those two awesomes were actually in different sentences.

Bless you, flower. I will sleep easier tonight.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Pretty Little Flower
You're being too hard on yourself. Those two awesomes were actually in different sentences.

True. But due to the duplication, the sentences themselves seemed largely redundant. A little more care with the wordsmithing might have been in order.

[robustpuppy]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
True. But due to the duplication, the sentences themselves seemed largely redundant. A little more care with the wordsmithing might have been in order.

Get over it, Hank.

[Did you just call me Coltrane?]

Originally posted by Replaced_Texan
You know, that movie rendered that phrase unusable for an entire generation.

Oddly enough, my brain has found it very usable for the past hour. Thanks.

[tmdiva]

I don't think all navy shoes are bad. I tried to get my mom to try on a lovely pair at the Rack the other day, darkest navy pumps with a shaped heel and dark brown piping and bow (speaking of navy and brown together). She wasn't particularly interested because she said she didn't have anything to wear them with (!), but then they turned out to be too big anyway.

She did go home with a really nice black wool skirt, long with a flared hem, and a cute pair of wool black watch pants--similar to her wearing-out pair, but much more fashion-forward (slightly lower waist, straight leg, almost invisible cargo pocket--the plaid was perfectly matched--on one calf).

tm

[Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)]

How, and why, did Andrea Mitchell acquire Paula Jones's old face?

[dtb]

Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
How, and why, did Andrea Mitchell acquire Paula Jones's old face?

OMG. You're absolutely right. I couldn't put my finger on it (eeew), but you've nailed it exactly.

Yuk.

[baltassoc]

Originally posted by Not Bob
[Men's suit stuff.]

So I am considering a couple of career change options, each of which will require me to wear a suit substantially more often than I do now. I've been working in business casual (or just plain casual) environments for going on four years now, and a review of my suit collection reveals three suits I'd consider to be still acceptable in terms of condition, style and fit, one of which is usable only in the winter because of the fabric (wool/cashmere flannel - great, but really, really warm), while the other two are year-round wools.

My tie collection is also rather dated, with maybe three or so still wearable with one or more of the three suits. True dress shoes are also getting worn to the point of replacement rather than refurbishment. Shirts I'm in pretty good shape on, due to a couple of relatives who know my shirt size and have a limited imagination when it comes to Christmas gifts ("Hmmm, what do we get balt for Christmas? We'll he's a lawyer, so he's always got to need white shirts.").

Assuming I'm going into a suits-four-days-a-week, true-business-casual-on-Fridays (sportcoats and trousers, not polos and chinos) environment, what am I looking at here in terms of wardrobe needs?

I'm essentially buying a first-year's wardrobe, starting from the ground up.

Just to make it realistic, the following suit makers don't fit me, for one reason or another: Brooks Brothers (just don't fit), Hugo Boss (sleeves too short, even the extra longs) and Calvin Klein (fit weird in the shoulders). Jos. Banks suits fit me very well, although the fabric quality isn't always there.

How many suits/ties/shoes do I need, and what would you recommend in brands and estimate the costs to be?

[Hank Chinaski]

so, the really important thing from last night was the Pistons and the Rockets. Yao has terrible hands and can't dunk(? how can he not be able to dunk?). McGrady will do great there, but Houston will be an early out team.

The thing that I found interesting was Delfino from the Pistons might be bearing some Larry Brown retribution. Delfino was on the Gold medal team at the Olympics (Argentina). He is just entering the NBA. He can shoot, but clearly has trouble guarding people, and at times remembering that he is supposed to at least try to guard people. Larry puts him on McGrady. Not sure if he was trying to get some payback, or just trying to say to Delfino "You can shoot, but look here's another guy who shoots better. Try and guard people. Okay?"
When I first saw that I thought WTF, then I realized Larry knew it was a terrible match up, but had some lesson in mind.

[Bad_Rich_Chic]

Originally posted by baltassoc
So I am considering a couple of career change options, each of which will require me to wear a suit substantially more often than I do now. I've been working in business casual (or just plain casual) environments for going on four years now, and a review of my suit collection reveals three suits I'd consider to be still acceptable in terms of condition, style and fit, one of which is usable only in the winter because of the fabric (wool/cashmere flannel - great, but really, really warm), while the other two are year-round wools.

My tie collection is also rather dated, with maybe three or so still wearable with one or more of the three suits. True dress shoes are also getting worn to the point of replacement rather than refurbishment. Shirts I'm in pretty good shape on, due to a couple of relatives who know my shirt size and have a limited imagination when it comes to Christmas gifts ("Hmmm, what do we get balt for Christmas? We'll he's a lawyer, so he's always got to need white shirts.").

Assuming I'm going into a suits-four-days-a-week, true-business-casual-on-Fridays (sportcoats and trousers, not polos and chinos) environment, what am I looking at here in terms of wardrobe needs?

I'm essentially buying a first-year's wardrobe, starting from the ground up.

Just to make it realistic, the following suit makers don't fit me, for one reason or another: Brooks Brothers (just don't fit), Hugo Boss (sleeves too short, even the extra longs) and Calvin Klein (fit weird in the shoulders). Jos. Banks suits fit me very well, although the fabric quality isn't always there.

How many suits/ties/shoes do I need, and what would you recommend in brands and estimate the costs to be?

I'd suggest:

tweed jacket
non-navy blazer
grey flannel trousers
black all-season wool trousers
some other biz-cas trousers, perhaps in some sort of patern or texture (herringbone, heathered color)
2 more suits
black dress shoes
cordovan dress shoes
brown or black "not quite" dress shoes (something you could wear with a casual suit but wouldn't look stupid with khakis)
3 shirts in misc. solid colors
2 shirts in some pattern (cool, but still wearable with at least 2 of your suits)
5-10 more ties, depending on how much variety you like
lotsa socks & handkerchiefs.

In terms of suit makers, if JAB fits you, you could try Hickey Freemans - they aren't cut narrow in the shoulder (like CK) and therefore have some room but aren't square-things (like Boss) or pear-shaped (like BB). You could try Cavalli, too - they tend to be fairly narrow through the body but aren't cut as small in the shoulder as Italian suits often are. But head to a good department store and just start trying things on - it's the only way to find out what works. A favorite ploy I've heard of is to go to the most expensive, service-heavy store in town, get the whole work up from them and buy one suit; then take what you've learned about what makers work on you and buy someplace that doesn't require a second mortgage.

[Replaced_Texan]

I had a package in a plain brown wrapper on my front door step when I got home.

Review as soon as I think about it.

[taxwonk]

Originally posted by baltassoc
So I am considering a couple of career change options, each of which will require me to wear a suit substantially more often than I do now. I've been working in business casual (or just plain casual) environments for going on four years now, and a review of my suit collection reveals three suits I'd consider to be still acceptable in terms of condition, style and fit, one of which is usable only in the winter because of the fabric (wool/cashmere flannel - great, but really, really warm), while the other two are year-round wools.

My tie collection is also rather dated, with maybe three or so still wearable with one or more of the three suits. True dress shoes are also getting worn to the point of replacement rather than refurbishment. Shirts I'm in pretty good shape on, due to a couple of relatives who know my shirt size and have a limited imagination when it comes to Christmas gifts ("Hmmm, what do we get balt for Christmas? We'll he's a lawyer, so he's always got to need white shirts.").

Assuming I'm going into a suits-four-days-a-week, true-business-casual-on-Fridays (sportcoats and trousers, not polos and chinos) environment, what am I looking at here in terms of wardrobe needs?

I'm essentially buying a first-year's wardrobe, starting from the ground up.

Just to make it realistic, the following suit makers don't fit me, for one reason or another: Brooks Brothers (just don't fit), Hugo Boss (sleeves too short, even the extra longs) and Calvin Klein (fit weird in the shoulders). Jos. Banks suits fit me very well, although the fabric quality isn't always there.

How many suits/ties/shoes do I need, and what would you recommend in brands and estimate the costs to be?

I would buy two pair of dress shoes, one black and one cordovan or dark brown. Buy the best you can afford. I recommend Allen-Edmonds or Alden. They'll cost you $250-350/pair, but you'll wear them for at least 10 years.

For suits, you may want to consider the fact that you're going to be buying a number of them and go with Jos. A. Bank. I may find myself in a similar position. Buy in bulk now and starting next year, buy one good suit (like a Zegna) every year.

As an alternative, check out bluefly.com for designer and higher quality suits at discount. The size availability may or may not limit your choices, though.

[baltassoc]

Originally posted by taxwonk
As an alternative, check out bluefly.com for designer and higher quality suits at discount. The size availability may or may not limit your choices, though.

I have only ever purchased one suit that didn't require altering, and the sales guy said he thought the suit was mismanufactured, because the three other suits in the same cut and style didn't fit. In every case, the sleeve are too short, although most extra longs are alterable to long enough.

All of this is a long way of saying, where does one get something from bluefly, etc., altered, and are they returnable if they are not alterable (assuming an attempt to alter has not been made)?

[greatwhitenorthchick]

Originally posted by baltassoc
All of this is a long way of saying, where does one get something from bluefly, etc., altered, and are they returnable if they are not alterable (assuming an attempt to alter has not been made)?

It's easy to return stuff to Bluefly. They provide you with a label and they deduct the shipping cost from your refund, or you can go to the post office. (this is a total ripoff, but it seems to be standard for online buying). Also, just take the stuff to a tailor if you need it altered (not sure if Baltimore has the same proliferation of tailors that NYC has).

[taxwonk]

Originally posted by baltassoc
I have only ever purchased one suit that didn't require altering, and the sales guy said he thought the suit was mismanufactured, because the three other suits in the same cut and style didn't fit. In every case, the sleeve are too short, although most extra longs are alterable to long enough.

All of this is a long way of saying, where does one get something from bluefly, etc., altered, and are they returnable if they are not alterable (assuming an attempt to alter has not been made)?

Most dry cleaners also offer tailoring and I have found them far superior to most store tailors. If you order something and it isn't alterable, you can return it.