"Do you need a suit?" - Topic of the day 8/18/24
Exactly what it says on the tin. Do you need to own a suit? If so, why (or alternatively, when)? If not, why (and what alternatives exist)?
105 Replies
No
I'll get the lights
Everyone I know seems to be getting married, but all the invites are vague/low-formality enough that I don't really feel the need to wear a suit thankfully. I need a blazer at some point though
Maybe
No but I want
I’d say no you don’t. But the more I feel like I don’t need to wear one the more I want to wear one.
depends
No
But I’m the living definition of fuck it
A suit is unnecessary for most of life and I don’t think a lot of people are having the most solemn celebrations of the end of life anymore either
That said, suiting can be very fun and I think if you’re into fashion having at least one suit is not a negative
The one family wedding I've been to did require a suit or tux. So I think only if your family or friends have a formal dress code for weddings etc
Or if you're appearing in court as a lawyer (or party to a case)
no
Yes
A suit of armor
Personally for me the appeal of a suit is how unnecssesary it is because that can make it a statement.
counterpoint
suits attract suit guys and they suck
no
given how casual society has gotten in most cases you're probably fine with separates
I do actually need a suit for work but happy coincidence I also love a good well fitting suit. It's a vanishingly small percentage of the population that do need them and they hold no great virtue over any other kind of dress.
i enjoy wearing suits but also i usually frequent environments where i can choose to wear a suit or not
(i do think wearing a matching set is a cheeky way around this in some settings...)
I guess for job interviews, work, or weddings?
Or if you gotta save the world maybe this scenario ^
Depends on the interview, workplace, or wedding.
A lot of us grew up with the conventional wisdom that every man should have a suit, but in 2024 most of us can get away with business casual in the situations you would have needed a suit for 20-30 years ago. My serious answer to the main question is that if you need a suit somebody will probably tell you explicitly.
Oh yeah definitely
I think the only time I needed a suit is for a wedding
suit
I will admit I did look very classy and nice but I think you can get the same effect with other clothing as well
I didn't need one until I got into the corporate world. And now the corporate world is very biz casual, so I really feel I can do whatever I want. It's quite nice tbh. I don't have to think in normal navy or grey absolutes and can really express myself however, as shown with most of my WAYT's
This tbh
luckily my family is poor
Once i got into my late 20’s/early 30’s and everybody started getting married my answer changed from no you dont need one to yah its probably a veryyyyy good idea to have one
Echoing this - I’m in tech, the last few interviews i wore any combination of a jacket/blazer or tie to i got surprised comments from the interviewer
I yeeted all my suits and blazers a year or so ago and now have two weddings queued up for the first half of 2025, hopefully they’re casual :harold:
While i dont think you need one i feel like the average person encounters enough weddings/funerals/court dates/job interviews to having at least one serviceable suit is a good idea
I think the issue with this is they tend to be spread out enough the suit doesn't fit
That said I would think a suit is good for weddings, funerals, and certain professions (which you'll likely already know you need a suit for)
Yah definitely an issue, i have been lucky enough to where my body has stabilized and the same suit has fit me for like 5 years now but it has come in clutch for a few different occasions
my actual super serious traditional "only wear to funerals" suit no now longer fits so i am currently hoping to not have a need for a while lol
I’ve seen so many situations, here on mfa especially where someone is like i fucked up, i have a wedding in two days and need a suit and then they end up with some awful, poorly fitting indochino or mens wearhouse joint and you would have been better off just having a better one on deck ready to go
yes that
I mean I assume 99% of these people procrastinated
Most wedding invites will give you plenty of lead time to get a suit
to an extent i can empathize (someone suddenly dies and you need a funeral suit) but largely this feels like a scenario where you get to plan things out far enough in advance
i have a suit because i wear every element of a suit individually
and tbh it's been so long since i've been to an event that actually requires a specific type/fit of suit like a wedding or funeral or award ceremony or wtv
so whenever i need to look formal i just do shirt+blazer+trousers regardless or not if they come in a set
I want a suit I just don't think a suit is needed
even funerals, I think it's nice/respectful to wear a suit, but the last couple I've been to maybe 2 guys were actually wearing a suit
probably really depends on socioeconomic class and such, too
But why do you want one
I think a nice thing about suits is that its pretty easy to signal intentionality, especially in a more casual suit
Easy as long as the suit works that is
Another thing I like about suits is the ability of suits, especially tailored jackets, to create a silhuette thats different from your normal body shape
think strong padded shoulders
If you want it, get it
I like suits. However, I have only owned two suits in my life, both for weddings that had a gap of 8 years between them. and only because it was necessary
Suits are cool. Not a necessity.
This lemaire suit still has me in a chokehold. I want it so bad
But my measurements mean most things OTR won't fit, and at this point in my life my measurements are in flux so getting smth tailored to fit for now doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
what i think trips people up about suits sometimes is the idea of intentonality vs formality, especially with the idea that dressing well = dressing up
a suit is a strong indicator of formal dress but isn't in a vacuum. wearing it with a dress shirt and dress shoes yields a different vibe than wearing it with a graphic tee and sneakers, but both have the same level of intention imo
Absolutely!
The fact that you don't have to wear a suit on almost any occasion and choose to do so regardless despite it being propably not the most straightforward choice signals that you did so purposefully.
though you will have to deal with the resulting main character effect (aka standing out) i guess
No until you do need one i guess
I love suits, and have a few and like never wear them
I wore them a lot when i was selling suits
I still think its a good idea for people to own one in grey or navy so theyre never caught with their pants down needing one last minute
I have a wedding in three hours and I need a suit please help
u can prolly go to a mall or sum like burlington
a Nautica would prolly do u well
this is very true! especially since we live in a time where suits are not casual wear for people
There are no stores within 300 miles
any of your friends have an extra
bro wtf
Help
where the hell are u
No dox
are you the same size as any of them?
valid
valind
valid
are there any thrift stores in your area
or a macys or something
he said no stores
not even thrift?
someone at the wedding will have a suit. find the person closest to your size and take their clothes.
any kind neighbors who are abt the same size as you
It’s all good guys
The groom is giving me his
bro try a long sleeved church shirt
ah
nice
ah
nice
anyway you don’t need a suit
there is usually an alternative to it in most scenarios where a suit would be used
You need one suit for interviews, funerals, and weddings yes
all of yall are too online
You need one for looking cool
Youre just saying that cause you work for big suit smh
Puma is the minister of propaganda for mr suit
is that one suit or three
or four, counting your own funeral
If you think i’m gonna be in a suit at my funeral you’re dead wrong buddy
Cremate me in the $26 suit so none of my heirs fight over it
they burying digs in rick owens
that's what wills are for
I leave my $26 jcrew suit to the strongest heir in the family
Ur right whoever has the will to kill the rest of my heirs can have it
the sequel to jackpot just wrote itself
One
nah
most. weddings are usually suit requirements, same with funerals but i find that a interviews don’t.
no one needs a suit; it's not a bad idea to get one just in case; wear one if you wanna but learn all the rules and then decide if you wanna break them
Yeah I've never had an interview that required a suit
It's always interesting when I see these threads. I guess there are a lot of people in online fashion communities who don't regularly go to church/synagogue/mosque/etc services where suits are the norm. I usually wear at least suit once a week for synagogue, sometimes a sportcoat and trousers.
Do you "need" one? It depends on your lifestyle. If you are part of a community (whether religious, work, or blue blood society or something) where it's the norm, then it's a good idea to get a suit. If not... don't.
I haven't been to church in a while, but my church growing up was definitely not a suit-wearing place. That does make a big difference in need for a suit!
I think my dad usually wore something like khakis and a blazer?
I find it very interesting that ppl say you need a suit for a marriage. Bc at the marriages I was at the groom was wearing a suit and maybe 20% of the remaining ppl.
I keep thinking about getting a "functional suit" i.e. a grey or navy one but I keep putting it off. I think i will go to my granddads funeral in Dark grey flannels and a black shirt and that will propably not raise any eyebrows.
Yeah around here people will wear chinos and a polo shirt as their “nice” outfit
Depending on the family and area
I don’t wear a suit on the reg but find it interesting that a lot of folks here are of the opinion that you don’t need a suit at all even for an interview.
I recently went to my cousins wedding and a bunch of my uncles wore Hawaiian shirts to the mass but came decked out in nice suits for the reception lol
I think it really depends on what you do for work
Yeah I mean I’m in engineering and even if I can dress more casually for the office, it would be weird for me to not do an interview in a suit
I’d think more traditional office environments that would be the case for interviews at least, less so with like tech and start ups
But also I was raised by a mother who went to an office with strict dress code for everyone, both men and women, so I grew up understanding that as “normal” and don’t think twice about it
Yeah going to Church of any kind is not something my family have ever done,but even when I lived in Ireland and had a lot of Catholic friends, nobody was wearing suits to church.
It's pretty normal to just rent a suit to get married in as well. I have a sport coat somewhere if someting looks more formal, but a full suit, nah. This might also one of those Europe vs US things
for one of my job interviews my boss was wearing a muscle shirt that he made himself and a pair of raggedy ass cargo shorts.
if i wore a suit to that interview i would have looked a bit overdressed compared to him
yeah my most recent interview I wore linen pants and a button-down (can't remember if short or long sleeve tbh) and it was about right
i work in "tech but not tech"
I've worn a suit to every interview I've ever done, no matter how menial the job was
But I'm an old person now, at clouds I yell.
Im sure I've told the story but when I worked in the games industry, anyone turning up for an interview in a suit or a tie would get rejected
Doesn't sound like a bias at all
When I'm on a board I intentionally catch and force myself not to judge based on clothing and really attempt to measure the person based on interaction and previous experience. Clothing doesn't matter
Hey I wasn't doing the hiring
It was explained to me as not actually doing any research about the company at all.
sounds toxic as hell ngl
i really hate hiring practices that punish people for advice they probably got from well-meaning parents or mentors
Sorry wasn't attacking you!
Yupp and annoying!
Obviously don't penalize people for wearing a suit or not wearing a suit to an interview
This was in like, mid-2000s, asnd honestly one of the least toxic things about those workplaces lol
personally i think if you are more confident and more comfortable during an interview in another piece of formal/semiformal clothing than you would be in a suit then do it
Oh I meant when I'm on the hiring side interviewing applicants
seconding that
i have had some great hires not know how to dress; fortunately that's not a job criterion
I need a suit, more than one, mainly for occasional business meetings, a few times a year. Currently I have four that I’ll wear. 2 bespoke, 2 Canali’s. I have some older suits I’ll probably never wear again. But my usual wardrobe is a lot more casual!