looking for a new suit
My only suit right now is a black Bar 3 from high school, which is fine but I feel like upgrading. I'm looking for a roomier suit and trousers with at least an 11" rise; I have one of Shrimp's old fit pics saved (I'll add if he's cool with it) and it's exactly what I'm going for. My field isn't stuffy so I can be on the casual side. My budget is $300-$500 secondhand.
My backup option is this Spier suit, but I'd prefer something a little less slim with a higher rise. (https://www.spierandmackay.com/product/medium-gray--10005-0012-nsnt-01-ss23)
I also love grey herringbone, something like this: https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fi.etsystatic.com%2F14212284%2Fr%2Fil%2F270599%2F1717043958%2Fil_fullxfull.1717043958_quhp.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=0e39bb5e9ce974d5b7950c0730e3f68bbe9a003b74da33bd7ed7916afd2d49d0&ipo=images
Medium Gray Suit | SPIER & MACKAY
Spier & Mackay
22 Replies
did you try the PTO suit filter?
Have you looked at the Spier suits in contemporary fit? Bit less slim and AFAIK all the trousers are high rise
Spier trousers run on the slim side, even the high-rise contemporary
i couldnt find it because i forgot it was pto that did it, so thanks!
try adjusting it to your own preferences, like adding herringbone outside the brands lists https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_nkw=herringbone+%28Canali%2C+Zegna+Milano%2C+Cifonelli%2C+Partenopea%2C+Isaia%2C+Kiton%2C+Attolini%2C+Rubinacci%2C+Cucinelli%2C+Luciano+Barbera%2C+Ralph+Lauren+Purple+Label%2C+Ring+Jacket%2C+Sartoria+Formosa%2C+Brioni%2C+Suitsupply%2C+Spier+Mackay%2C+Southwick%2C+Sid+Mashburn%2C+Orazio+Luciano%2C+Caruso%29&_sacat=3001&LH_TitleDesc=0&toolid=11800&mkcid=1&campid=5336852872&_odkw=%28Canali%2C+Zegna+Milano%2C+Cifonelli%2C+Partenopea%2C+Isaia%2C+Kiton%2C+Attolini%2C+Rubinacci%2C+Cucinelli%2C+Luciano+Barbera%2C+Ralph+Lauren+Purple+Label%2C+Ring+Jacket%2C+Sartoria+Formosa%2C+Brioni%2C+Suitsupply%2C+Spier+Mackay%2C+Southwick%2C+Sid+Mashburn%2C+Orazio+Luciano%2C+Caruso%29&_osacat=3001&_sop=10&siteid=0&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0
300-500 is a great budget for used. You'll want to move part of it to tailoring of course.
Other than gray herringbone, are you looking for specific colors, weaves, patterns?
definitely prefer grey over navy. I want something more interesting than the typical shiny suit fabric: https://www.spierandmackay.com/product/navy-suit-ss23
Navy Suit | SPIER & MACKAY
Spier & Mackay
I'm looking at this one rn, though from some angles it looks too tapered at the waist
The shiniest suit fabrics tend to be: sharkskin (weave), sometimes twill (weave), sometimes gabardine (weave), wool-mohair blends, and polyester shit that's designed to look shiny.
A plain weave in a fine worsted can be sheeny as well. Especially like 150s. So you might want to limit to a more normal fabric.
If all plain weaves in solid colors are too sheeny then that does remove a LOT of options. You would need to either get plain weaves in non-solid colors (patterns of various sorts), or stay away from plain weaves, essentially.
Herringbones, birdseye, nailhead, houndstooth and puppytooth, and hopsack are all fine alternatives.
One note is that pinstripes tend to be business-oriented. Stripes that aren't pinstripes are ... well, it depends. The one you linked is probably not too business forward. So what you want to wear it for matters.
Waist suppression is usually done through darts. If you want a jacket with little to no waist suppression, look for the "sack cut." This is something common for ivy/trad looks and brooks brothers pioneered it 150 years ago or so.
But beyond that, just yknow, if it's got two or even three darts, it's probably not what you want, whereas one or zero may be fine. Waist suppression is a personal choice. I personally like it and I like the V shape that results but it depends on body and preference.
thanks gimp, this is exactly the kind of info i was looking for
yeah i dont mind having limited options. I doubt I'll have more than one suit any time soon, so I'm being extra picky. Those other weaves look great, I actually thought hopsack was one of the sheeny ones but it looks great. I agree the one I linked is not too business-forward. The perfect suit for me would be passable in a business setting. I'll take the risk of being called out by traditionalists.
Yeah I'm in a tough spot, I prefer the look of sack cuts but that might be going too far for a business-passing suit. I may just get the one in the pictures, its a SS in VBC 110s and the measurements look perfect
Sack cut is classic for business. It became quite popular (again) during the ivy movement and then those kids all got jobs and brought their style with them. It's not the only option of course but it's not out of place at all in a meeting. Sack cuts have two things going for them - they tend to have a pretty soft and less-structured shoulder along with an undarted waist, resulting in a silhouette that is relaxed and also subtle, not showing off a "manly physique" like a sharp V shape does. A lot of people believe (and I am only about 30% in agreement) that a good traditional professional look is subtle, where a man is not noticed for being too poorly dressed nor for looking too sharp, too good, or too attractive, so a sack cut plays into that very well. Kind of a uniform look.
Personally sack cuts aren't really my taste so don't think that I am advocating my personal taste for you :P just saying that it's a versatile cut that won't offend.
The one you linked seems fine to me. Almost looks like a burberry one in about my size, 36 or 38, that I saw some months back.
(I think that one sold for about $110)
Are you looking for a one-size-fits-all suit? Weddings, interviews, business meetings, court?
Damn that's a good price, yeah I'm shocked how low suits go secondhand. I found a wool-silk ring jacket on mercari for $200 but it was 40 or 42
Pretty much, I realize a navy or charcoal sharkskin is probably a lot more versatile
for something like a funeral or a court appointment I'll just be unfashionable and wear my black bar 3 lol
Follow-up question. What's your ... uh, position in these things? Fairly young, fairly junior? Trying to get your foot in the door? Do you have solid employment or are you looking hard? Finance, law, etc?
PR/comms. I'd wear a suit to events, not to work every day
Then it'll work fine I am sure.
In the future I might suggest replacing the black suit with a charcoal or navy one, but that's a future topic
If you don't wear it every day, then you're fine with it as is. If you need to wear a suit two days in a row, I might suggest a second (non black) one. :)
Also, dunno if you know this or not, but it'll rarely need to be dry cleaned. Sometimes people with "one suit for everything" dry clean it after every wear; not only is this expensive but it also wears the material out.
Oh yeah I dry clean once a year at most, tbh I just handwash a lot of my dry clean only stuff
Idk if I'd handwash my suit tho
Nah you wouldn't. But you could spot clean.
Agree
Wool doesn't love water, and basically wool fabric, interior canvassing, and thread, expand differently when wet, and if sufficiently wet might never dry back into the correct shape.
That's good to know
styleforum has horror stories on people who got their suits wet, on purpose or not, and they never dried properly. much sad.