Hey guys, I have a few attire questions. For career fairs, interviews, entry level jobs, and the like- What brand and color of ties and dress shirts would you recommend? Pretty much the blues, grays, and whites? Are Nordstrom’s and Macy’s good destinations? I even see Brooks Brothers has a deal for dress shirts- 3 for $199. Is the quality worth it or would it be frowned upon if I wore that? I don’t have too much money, but at the same time I can’t say I mind paying for quality if it makes a difference and if the clothes last. Also, how many ties, dress shirts, pairs of pants, blazers would you recommend for an entry level employee? I am pretty new in this, as you can probably tell. Thanks for the help
Go to an outlet for suits,I have a guy a an outlet in LA who plugs me with 900 retail suits for 400. Obviously, the usual supects with respect to colors. Make sure your shoes are not cheap, Bostonian shoes are good investment. Also, go to Ross or some other outlet and get a nice black leather folio and bag. I got both my genuine leather bag and folio for 50 buck at Ross. With suits, I wear white shirts 95% only other color I would consider is French Blue, or possibly Baby Blue, but white is usually always the winner. Never wear french cuff shirts unless your an exec, and you have cufflinks. Pay attention to details. It’s like getting ready for a hot date. I have hankys to match all my ties. I take my suits to a tailor to get them fitted perfectly in the arms and legs. I wear cufflinks to accent my watch. The bottom line. You can look like a million bucks without breaking yourself. I have never bought anything from Brooks Brothers or some other chic spot like that. I would if could. Nevertheless, I look better than the schmos with no real sense of style who spend a fortune and don’t have “the look”. I know because even the Execs at places I work and interviewed give that look that people give when they know you look better than them or flat out mentioned they liked my ensembles. Although, I have felt like looking better than your boss is not always a good thing. It can be a challenge to their authority in sense. If you have no clue, just copy what you see in ads.
Theo Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Hey guys, > > I have a few attire questions. > > For career fairs, interviews, entry level jobs, > and the like- What brand and color of ties and > dress shirts would you recommend? Pretty much the > blues, grays, and whites? Are Nordstrom’s and > Macy’s good destinations? I even see Brooks > Brothers has a deal for dress shirts- 3 for $199. > Is the quality worth it or would it be frowned > upon if I wore that? > I don’t have too much money, but at the same time > I can’t say I mind paying for quality if it makes > a difference and if the clothes last. > > Also, how many ties, dress shirts, pairs of pants, > blazers would you recommend for an entry level > employee? > > I am pretty new in this, as you can probably > tell. > > Thanks for the help shirts – for entry level position you would be fine getting solid shirts from brooks brothers or charles tyrwhitt…try the non-iron shirts if you don’t have the budget for constant dry-cleaning or time to iron. and actually as for brooks brothers and CT, they have sales all the time and the 3 for $199 sounds good but there may be sales further down the line at a greater discount. if you’re willing to spend a bit more on shirts, i recommend spending some time at bergdorf goodman, saks or barneys…they all carry higher-end brands but they might also be out of your budget too. if i were you i would just stick to something in my budget because nobody will disrespect you for doing the best that you can. brooks brothers or tyrwhitt will be fine for you, and go for thomas pink if you want to spend a little bit more but also look more stylish suits – nordstrom might be an ok place to buy a suit off the rack, i think the stuff at macy’s is a bit lower end…but if you keep your eyes open you should be able to find a nice fully-canvassed suit on sale around $1000 or less. you can find canalis or zegnas in this range (though more likely to be half-canvassed…still ok for a new person such as yourself). $1k may sound like a lot of money to you but a good suit will last a long time, and they will also look a lot better than a fused one. plus if you make a shoddy investment on a suit you will probably likely wonder what “could have been” if only you spent a few hundred dollars more…fused suits fall apart, wear easily, and after a few dry cleanings they just tend to wear down. to an untrained eye, i guess a suit is a suit, but fused suits just look bad (and those without vents are definitely the worst! avoid those) ties – you are in new york and there are tie sales going on ALL the time. i reckon the stuff at macy’s is lower-end but you can definitely get a good looking tie at bergdorf, barneys, neiman marcus, or saks for less than $110 when they are on sale. for example, i have been able to find quite a few ferragamos, zegnas, and charvets in the $90 or less range, as well as a hermes (it was from the season prior) and even a kiton seven-fold for about $100! (i think this was a pricing mistake, though). anyway the point is, it is DEFINITELY worth spending more to get a good quality tie, but when you think about it, a lot of these things retail for $150-240 elsewhere…but not in nyc, they have tie sales literally all the time. anyway sorry if this is a bit rambling, hopefully you see my point…i have written about my thoughts on business attire in the past where i went into more detail on proper suiting/tailoring and so forth. hope this helps!
Sweatshirts - Preferably college sweat shirts Jeans - Levi’s. Socks - No. Shoes - Sneakers. Loafers. e-mails from boss telling you you are dressing inappropriately - "yeah, fire me’.
Chris Gardner (the guy from pursuit of happyness) said that when he started, he had a blue and a gray suit that he alternated every day. He joked that people must have thought he was reenacting scenes from the civil war. I really dislike wearing white shirts and go for blue or pink whenever feasible. White looks great and I save it for special days, but I tend to get sweaty around the collar and it gets discolored really fast (and after only a few washes, the color doesn’t come out anymore). The colored shirts tend to last a little longer and hold up better. Also, for this reason, I don’t spend big bux on shirts, but you should not be afraid to invest in the suit. Ties are the one place that men can show a little creativity on colors, but there are definitely trends in tie colors, so pay attention when you are out and about.
JoeyDVivre Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Sweatshirts - Preferably college sweat shirts > > Jeans - Levi’s. > > Socks - No. > > Shoes - Sneakers. Loafers. > > e-mails from boss telling you you are dressing > inappropriately - "yeah, fire me’. My Hero
Head to Tom Ford’s new store at 845 Madison Ave. He’ll outfit your entire wardrobe for just under $50,000.
I am wearing shorts… but then again… I work in the islands. Pretty sweet deal.
I like the fact that my shop is biz casual… There are people in polo shirts all the time around here… The one thing I never skimp on is shoes. You could have the nicest clothes in the world, but if your shoes are all beat up, it blows your whole look.
Yeah, nothing like a good pair of maglis to complete a look.
You could also go with Crocs, but just hope that you don’t have to cross paths with an escalator on your way to work…
If you are a tall/built guy (over 6ft) around190-220 lbs, go for Hugo Boss
Crocs now have a full line of clothing options as well…so you can totally outfit yourself.
A few things I’d note: The shoes need to be top notch and shined at all times. This helps not only in the office, but also on the subway when a hot chick sizes you up (she either starts at the shoes or the head, but it’s always 1-2 in order). Trust me, wearing cheap or beat up shoes will blow all credibiltity with both men and women, so don’t do it. Next, I think there is sometimes too much emphasis placed on brands. You don’t have to spend 100+ on ties and 1000+ on a suit to look good. As an entry level guy, spending half of that and always being well groomed will get you just as far. The key is that you want to look clean and presentable but not draw attention to yourself as someone who is “too big for his britches”, or conversely, a “slob”. Also, don’t look better than your boss…unless of course he/she is a complete mess. Look at other people one level above you and try to dress as they do because this is where you want to be in your next step. I always dress up to the level above me and look good enough so that if a client made a surprise visit, he/she would still be impressed. Clothes are important, but really it’s presenation that’s critical, and clothes are only one (important) piece of the package. Being confident, assertive, and humble while also being adequately attired and well groomed are the first steps…clothes are the easy part that you also will have the most (short-term) control over.
Yeah, good shoes and a good haircut are way more important than I used to realize. After that, a good personality and some brains help a lot. So, heck, maybe that means you can show up nude, except for your nice shoes! 
(I was being serious, up to that last point)
(oops accidentally posted twice)
All good points Dirty… To summarize everything…get a quality tailor and buy a good pair of shoes.
Get yourself one decent suit and a few shirts for these things. Ceratinly not more than one until you know you are going to need it. Nothing worse than buying a whole bunch of suits and having them sit in the closet unworn except for weddings and funerals if you end up at a shop that is business casual.
I 100% agree with the above posts about cleanliness ( haircut, clean shoes, clean shaven etc) another big one is fingernails!!! Be yourself, and be genuine, and WATCH YOUR POSTURE, try not to slouch.
IMHO: Suits: If you’re building a wardrobe, you may want to start with a solid navy and a solid charcoal suit and then pick up pinstripes if you buy more. You can find a fantastic entry level, half-canvassed suit in the 150s fabric made by Baroni for $300 at this store: http://search.stores.ebay.com/The-Wizard-of-Aahs_baroni-suit_W0QQfciZ6QQfclZ4QQfsnZTheQ20WizardQ20ofQ20AahsQQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1QQsaselZ6685350QQsofpZ0 The service is fantastic and the Baroni suits are nice. Its no Oxxford, but at least on par with JosABank suits that MSRP for $700 (normally on sale for $350). My tailor said he’d pay $500 for the one that I brought in. Shirts: All good advice above on Brooks Brothers, Charles Tyrwhitt, or, if you feel like ballin hard, Thomas Pink. Also, T.M. Lewin makes great shirts (many say better than BB or CT) that you can get on sale 4 for $200 (100 pounds on their website): http://www.tmlewin.co.uk The only thing is that they ship from UK and do not have free returns like Charles Tyrwhitt does. Ask Andy About Clothes is a great forum for these and similar issues. Searching through their archives can teach you a great deal: http://www.askandyaboutclothes.com/forum/index.php