First MTM suit - advice?
Hi! I'm going to buy my first MTM suit soon. I've bought a heavy charcoal tweed suit before but rarely wear it since it's so warm. I want to get something as versatile as possible, something I can wear most (all?) seasons for weddings, funerals and work.
I read the Put This On guide on buying your first suit, which says it's best to take a navy one with casual fabric and details that can be separated so you can wear the jacket by itself. I'm unsure about that since it might be better to get a new regular suit and some vintage sports jackets. On the other hand, I don't really like shiny fabrics anyway, a more casual suit would perhaps be more versatile and if the jacket is cool I might want to wear it with tan or grey trousers.
What do you think? And other tips before getting your first MTM suit?
49 Replies
Here's the pto guide btw https://www.putthison.com/what-should-you-get-for-your-first-suit-there-are/
Put This On
What Should You Get for Your First Suit?
There are a lot of articles about what you should get for your first suit. Maybe more than the number...
You said you wanted to wear it for work, what's the dress code there? What do other ppl wear to your workplace? If it's a p casual/creative workplace then I think a more casual suit (colour/fabric/pocket style etc) could be great, but might not be great for funerals. Although depending on your social circles you might not need a proper suit for funerals.
I'm not sure if it's practical, or worth it, to wear the jacket separately. You can pick up a blazer on eBay for $50 that will probably be easier to style.
I won't need it for my own workplace where I can dress casually but I would use it to go to political/industry meetings
I work as a journalist
Other than that, I would say make sure the styling is pretty conservative. 2 button, not too skinny, etc.
I think a navy hopsack or super 100/traveller/fresco type thing would be great then
I don't think anyone would care what kind of suit I would wear at a funeral
That's kinda how I feel about my social circles but for some ppl you might not want to use like. A mustard corduroy suit for funerals for example haha
But hopsack could be worn separately?
No I would get a navy suit anyway but I don't think anyone would care about the pockets
Not really, IMO. A navy blazer is just a little different
Although the French disagree with me, apparently
Maybe with patch pockets and brown buttons but imo it's better to just get a suit and think about sport coats and blazers as a separate purchase. So you can get sth that's really great at filling that niche
Well I am European
So better to get it without patch pockets? How about the shoulders
Then get the suit, and see how you like wearing the jacket separately.
It's not like buying a suit means you are forbidden from buying a blazer
The thing is I am wondering if it's worth it to put effort into being able to wear it separately
I just don't think you should over-optimize for versatility
I would probably wear a navy sports coat more than a suit but I also need to have a suit
If you really want it to be able to be worn as a separate I do think hopsack is nice. You can change out buttons but you can't change pockets so have a look at patch pocket suits and decide if you like the vibe (I do but many don't) and whether it would stand out (good or bad) from your peers in the situations you need it for. I live in the US but I'm sure different countries have different attitudes towards formality etc
Where are you planning on getting the suit btw?
I think most wouldn't care about patch pockets, most people in politics and business dress pretty bad and expect journalists to dress worse
There's an MTM shop in my town where I'm going for an orientation conversation next week
Diplomats are the exception btw
Right, you two seem to agree on that.
Do they have a website? If you link it here ppl might have more to recommend about their options etc. If you'd like that. Either way it sounds like it's totally up to you whether you should make a "sport coat suit" or something more "pure suit" so you can just compare examples and decide based on your style
It's in Dutch but I could translate if you want
I love dressing up in tailoring so for me I enjoy having some suits and some sport coats and keeping those things separate so I can be more picky about the details on either option. So that's where I'm coming from!
Yes I totally get that
Like the guide says, if you do this you'll have a suit that's not really the perfect suit and a jacket that's not really the perfect jacket
My phone does that haha. If you're dutch is there a reason you aren't looking at suit supply?
Yes they tend to make suits too small and I like to support a local business
Seems like suitsupply is still on the short trousers and slim jackets and I really don't like that vibe
Regardless I would recommend you push this company to make your jacket cover your butt haha. Based on their lookbooks.
Yes! I want a more traditional fit, really don't like short jackets
Nice. Love that!
I also want to get trousers with a break
For a break I think a decent width is important. Speak up about that during your fitting if they give you slimmer trousers
Most shops in town have disappeared sadly. There was a nice shoe shop that went bankrupt last year. And there's one shop that sells traditional English stuff like tweed but the lady there will retire soon and the shop will probably close down. This is the only thing left outside of suit supply
Alright good to note thanks
I guess I will have to be quite vocal about not wanting slim fits
I decided to go with a smaller business for my wedding suit and I'm glad I did. Suit supply is good value in my opinion but if you can afford it and are willing to take on a little more risk with a small company I think it's worth it
There's actually another one that does MTM and bespoke but I can't afford it
Depends on the fitter. In NYC my experience with suit supply has been great. The stylists are good at reading you and what you want. The smaller company was harder to convince to go wider with their fit! You just never know
It's a luxury for sure!
I will see during the first conversation what they think of wider fits, if they seem hard to convince I will look elsewhere
Your wedding suit looks amazing btw
You can bring in a photo of a suit you like (on a person obv) as an example. Like getting a haircut haha. A good fitter will be able to use that as a jumping off point to talk about what they can do and what you want
Thank you! It has some funny quirks with the fit that I might post about later but I'm very happy with it
I might have to put together an inspo folder then, good idea
I still haven't made up my mind. I guess I will discuss it with the tailor as well. Thanks for all the advice! Will post here with updates.
Please do!
Another option would be to get an MTM navy blazer and a second hand suit
But it'll probably be difficult to get a good fit on the suit then
I also really like napolitan jackets
If you would wear the blazer more i think it's better to invest in that! is there anything about your body that makes you think you would have trouble getting something that fits decently off the rack? because if not then thrifting a suit could be a really great option. Even for myself I'm not too far off many off the rack sizes even though I'm an average height cis woman (and therefore, to the menswear industry, a shortish, narrow shouldered, wider hipped guy)
Also, If you get a MTM jacket that fits you well, you'll be able to measure it and use those measurements to better shop for second hand suits on ebay for example 🙂 If your grey suit fits well you can just use that too.
I have a large chest, some belly and broad shoulders. Have never found a jacket off the rack, especially second hand, except for the tweed suit which was on sale because nobody fit in it
I might have more luck measuring and getting vintage online
yeah measuring your tweed suit will help a ton. Online is great because many ebay sellers will list measurements.
I honestly prefer flap pockets on sport coats. Only once you go to something like Safari suits, uniforms, and folk dress do patch pockets really come into their own
(Imho)
Yeah it depends on the fabric for me. I think if it's a sport coat-y fabric you can do whatever with the pockets. but if you want to avoid the accusation of orphaning a suit jacket in a hashtag menswear fit it might be tricky with suiting fabrics (esp navy/charcoal etc) imo
So the tailor had these beautiful loro piana wool linnen blends and he said the jacket can definitely be worn separately. A longer jacket, broader lapels and fuller trousers are also no issue
What kinda weight are those?
Seems nice! Someone else here might have more to say but I'm not super familiar with w/s/l blends beyond swatches and seeing/handling stuff on the rack