for those of you who whear suits every day at work, how many different suits do you need? Do you dry clean every time you wear it?
I no longer wear a suit every day, but when I did I had 5 suits and would get 1 of them cleaned each week. We had business casual Fridays, so basically I was wearing each suit 4-5 times between cleanings. I rarely have to wear a suit now, but I end up getting them cleaned after 2-3 wearings.
Thank God I don’t have to wear a suit. I didn’t even wear a suit when I applied at my current gig. In fact, I haven’t even put on a suit in about two years now.
Today, I’m in jeans, sneakers, and an untucked polo shirt.
Absolutely do not get your suits dry cleaned after each use. And, be sure to go to a good dry cleaner or you’ll likely see buttons breaking (due to overly hot temps and pressing too hard).
Get your suit cleaned if 1) you got something on it; 2) it needs to be pressed (try hanging it in the bathroom when you’re showering. You can get a surprising amount of wrinkles out that way); or, 3) after about 5-7 uses depending on how much you sweat.
Next, let’s talk about if it’s appropriate to wear argyle socks with a suit.
A 2-3 suit rotation starting out would be ideal, gray black and (3) navy
5 shirts bare minimum (so you only have to wash and iron once a week)
Many different ties so there are a higher number of permutations. Make sure the tie patterns and shirt patterns are compatible otherwise you will end up with permutations that just don’t work and end up being inefficient.
Dry cleaning really depends on your Body Odour and sweat levels. Do not dry clean your suits often especially if they are higher end suits, they will get ruined by the chemicals. Get a fabric steamer and learn how to use it, that will reduce your dry cleaning costs. Follow STL’s advice above on when you need to get it cleaned. Always hang whenever possible. If you sweat a lot, wear an undershirt, this will help reduce the stank. Wear deodorant.
If financially possible get suits made from better materials, synthetics tend to wrinkle and crease badly. They also don’t look so good after a while. Make sure they’re fitted properly. Fit > *
Sucks if u have to wear a suit every day but here’s what I would do.
Get 5-7 suits.
Get the pants dry cleaned after wearing 2-3 times. Get the matching jacket cleaned with the pants every other time.
I have nothing to add, other than suggesting that you get a few(4-5) dress shirts custom tailored. I’ve got 41 inch arms, so even the big and tall stores are a difficult fit for me, and I was amazed at the price and quality. I typically paid $60-$80 for a dress shirt in “my size.” My parents told me to go get some shirts made and they’d cover the cost as a gift. I think the 4 shirts I got came in at just under $500.(they aren’t completely custom tailored from raw fabric, they’re more “made to measure” and then adjusted to a more perfect fit once they come in) It made a world of difference, especially with how it lays across my shoulders and the taper down the torso. Having appropriate sleeve lengths was great too.
Of course, within 6 months of getting those shirts, and having 3 new suits tailored(to replace the 2 I had used for the 15 year since I took graduation photos), I’ve dropped nearly 50 pounds and look like a slob when I wear the stuff, but I swear, I looked dapper at the time.
Go with 10 shirts and get them cleaned and pressed professionally. Every cleaner has a $0.99/shirt day, so just take 5 every week on that day. I would stick to just white and light blue shirts, then you never have to worry about matching colors or patterns.
When I was starting out, and I did have to wear a suit every day to work, I took mk17’s advice and had three suits–solid black, charcoal gray, and navy blue.
I had several (long-sleeved) shirts, but I kept them really basic, with solid colors–white, french blue, and eggshell.
I had several ties, which I could mix and match with my suits and shirts.
If you keep it really basic at first, then you have lots of different combinations to choose from, and you don’t run the risk of mismatching anything. As you get more comfortable and familiar with the fashion, you can branch out into pinstripes, striped shirts, floral ties, etc.
I have to wear a suit and tie every weekday and have about 10, need to upgrade and constantly putting off going to a tailor in the hope that one day I’ll be totally ripped and then I can drop some series cash on some awesome suits.
dry cleaning after every wear is definitely too much. even once a week is a lot.
When your order the suit, get two pairs of pants and the suit will last twice as long. The jackets never wear out and you rarely spill on the jackets. The pants are a struggle though. Get extra pants does not add that much to the cost either.
Also, don’t wear floral ties. You are better than that.
41" Arms. Wow. And I was frustrated with 36/37" arms.
There’s a special layer of hell reserved for people that tuck polo shirts into jeans.
thanks for all the comments, looks like i’ll be able to get by with 2-3 suits for a while. need to get dress shirts and ties though
+1
Best recommendation so far. I’m kicking myself for not making it myself.
I know there are a lot of metro/homo/fashionistas here on AF who think you can’t get a decent suit for under $1200, but places like JAB or MW really offers great prices on relatively high quality stuff.
The service/fitting is very professional.
I wear a suit and tie every day and I have 7 suits, 4 power suits and 3 rainy day/crappy weather suits. I think you need at least 5 suits and 10 shirts bare minimum. You’ll save money in the long run by not dry cleaning them every other week. When I first started I bought suits at MW and JAB and that got me through but now that I can afford custom suits at nicer establishments it makes all the difference in fit and feel.
41 inch sleeves! Is that you Shaq? Im with Bchad at 36/37.
Tailoring makes all the difference. A $1200 suit that doesn’t fit well will looks way worse than a $300 MW suit that’s perfectly tailored.
I’d also recommend finding a really good Jewish tailor (don’t go Asian). Buy your suit and take it to him to have it fitted. It’ll be worth the extra ~ $100.