Buying Your First Suit (One that Women Will Like)

3536 Q. I want to thank you, for the e-mail advice you gave me on the four shirts I bought from Brooks Brothers. I thought the shirts looked nice but I had no idea how badly, perhaps, I was dressed in the past when I was going to meetings. Just in wearing those new shirts to two important meetings, I suddenly received comments about my nice haircut (I didn't have a haircut at the time), and women came over to chat with me who previously ignored me. I'm both happy and mortified at the change!

        I was also wondering if you might answer a question about suits. Given that my new role at work will involve dealing with some of our new hedge fund investors, I thought I should do something about getting a suit or two. I'm afraid to even describe to you what I wore to the recent investment meeting I attended. (I really just have a dark jacket and a pair of gray slacks.) I'm thinking about looking my best when meeting investors (and I'm also thinking about looking better on a date as well.)
        I've noticed that Brooks Brothers periodically has a "2-for-1 suit sale." Can you tell me where to start?

A. With finding a suit or a date? Just kidding! But I am delighted that you have seen so clearly what I have been saying for years: Women notice and are attracted to men who pay attention to their appearance and who put themselves together attractively. Not men who dress foppishly, but men whose taste level shows they have good judgment and are worldly. Their choices project self-confidence and sophistication – a great appeal.    

Also, good for you for realizing that a dark-jacket-and-gray-slacks combination is NOT a suit. Every man should have at least one actual matched suit in his closet, and going to a fine quality store is the best approach to purchasing a suit. (FYI, Do not make the mistake of buying a custom suit. This is not wise for a first or a second suit. True, the endless options are enticing, but they are precisely why you should not opt for custom. Do you really know enough to be designing a suit?)

Think classic. Think grays, dark blues, or perhaps a tan or khaki. Stick to a businesslike look – not too casual, but not boardroom formal either. Because versatility is what you are aiming for, choose a solid, not a stripe. Consider cutting out a few pictures from newspapers or magazines to take with you. Better yet, shop in a men’s specialty shop known for its traditional style and reliability . . . yes, Brooks Brothers fits that category.  

Be certain to take your time when you go into the store. (You want to look for a salesperson whose taste you admire.) When you walk in, one salesman will approach you. In retailers’ parlance, the man who is “up” gets the next customer. But you are not obligated to follow the store’s system of rotation. Unless you are impressed with the salesman’s manner and the way he is dressed, do not accept his offer to help you. “No thanks, I’m just looking,” is what you say. Observe the other salespeople, and note the kind of customers they are serving. If you admire the look and manner of one salesman, wait until he is available. Then you approach him. Let him dress you the way you want to look.

Remember, too, that when you are being fitted by the tailor for any needed alterations to your new suit, be tough. Insist on answers to any questions. There is still time to pull out – to take the suit off and say you’ve changed your mind.   

So, beyond color and pattern(less), exactly what kind of suit should you look for? Keep in mind those two all-important words: Classic and versatile. Choose a two-piece, two-button, single-breasted cut, notched (not peak) lapels, either single back vent or British double vents, year-round lightweight wool, cuffs on the pants. Current styling calls for a somewhat trimmer fit and plain-front pants.

I’ll bet you’ll find that all of your new shirts look great with any of these suits. (Please get back to me. I can't wait to hear what happens!)

  

 

Khaki Suits

Q. In a recent response you mentioned “a summer solid khaki suit." My wife and I debated the term "khaki." I was raised wearing "khakis" and they were of various fabrics, usually off-white to dark tan in color; however, my school allowed dark blue "khakis." In modern fashion, khakis are common in business casual attire. Wanting to keep a Professional (with a capital "p") appearance, I have chosen to not have any suits or slacks that are tan of any shade. Wikipedia says that khaki can refer to a color or a fabric. In your context I would assume color. But which one should be assumed in common usage? I don't want to sound completely clueless, but I guess my real question is: What exactly are khakis and what appearance do they give? Thanks in advance. 


A. You do not sound clueless at all. Only a man who is tuned into clothes and what they project about the wearer would have asked it at all. The answer to your question is complicated, because it has a few different parts.

You are correct (and so is Wikipedia) in saying that khaki can refer to a color or a fabric. But it can also refer to a style – casual cotton pants, called “khakis” – which I assume is what was meant at your school when they referred to dark blue “khakis.” While the term “chinos” is sometimes used interchangeably with khakis, I have never before heard the term used for blue pants, no matter what the fabric. What your school probably meant by that was “no jeans.”

As to a definition of khaki, Alan Flusser writes that it is a “Hindi word meaning ‘dust-colored.’ It is a neutral color.” He is, of course, referring only to the color.

When the term khaki refers to color, there is still more than one answer. It includes a range of shades from light off-white through medium tans to darker shades with a hint of olive green. When referring to fabric, it can be all cotton, a cotton blend, or wool. It can be a very light almost shirting-weight cotton, a medium cotton poplin suiting weight, or a heavier cotton twill. It can also be a tropical-weight wool suiting fabric in khaki color, a medium gabardine, or a sturdier wool fabric used in dress pants and known as “cavalry twill.”

Sometimes the term refers to both the color and the fabric, as in a summer khaki suit or year-round khaki dress pants.

Another point. Unless you work in an extremely staid (all-dark suits) business environment, I do not see why you would avoid suits, and especially slacks, in all shades of tan. Tans are less dressy than gray or navy, but not so much that you should exclude them from your wardrobe. If you are a regular reader of my column, you know I have misgivings about the usefulness of owning navy slacks (oddly, they don’t work well with most jackets). So, if you avoid all those versatile tan slacks, you have then narrowed your choices down to nothing but trousers in various shades of gray. The well-regarded combination of navy blazer and khaki pants (though a step more casual than navy blazer and gray pants) is a near essential in a man’s wardrobe.

It is always wise to look for ways to expand what a man has in his closet rather than narrow it down.

How to Coordinate the Colors You Wear

Q.  I don’t think that I am color-blind, but apparently my color judgment is just off. When I match up a tie with a color in my tweed jacket, my girl friend says they don’t go together. Is there a way that I can establish the color in this and other jackets and know which ties (and other clothing) it matches?

A.  There are a couple of possible reasons for your difficulty. One is that you may indeed be that one in every eleven men who statistically is color blind. It does not mean that you cannot distinguish any colors; it more often is just an issue with distinguishing specific colors from others, or you may simply have trouble differentiating between shades. Either of these will make it hard to put colors together well. Here are a few tested, foolproof solutions.   

     

Ask a friend who has good taste – perhaps your girl friend – to spend an hour or so with you, going through your collection of suits, sport coats, shirts, ties, and socks. Arrange them into compatible combinations. Then, on the label of each piece, using an indelible marker, identify its set by number. For example, all shirts and ties that coordinate with blue suit #3 are marked “#3.”

     

An easy trick that works with socks: Buy all your black ones from one manufacturer, your blue ones from another, and browns from a third. Choose brands with some clearly identifiable stitching on the toe. 

      

Since so many men are color-blind, it makes no sense to be embarrassed or to try to hide the fact from the salesman when shopping for clothes. He sees people who are color-blind every day. Ask him, for example, to show you a blue shirt that has no hint of green or purple in it. (That can be a smart strategy even if you are not color-blind.)

    

On the other hand, even people who can differentiate colors may have trouble coordinating them well.  

A common mistake that both men and women make when trying to match or coordinate colors is to examine a tweed jacket or a small-patterned necktie too closely, determining exactly which colors are in the fabric. What you see is not what you get! Instead, the right approach is to step back an arm’s length away at the very least, or better yet, look at the garment from several feet away, What colors does your eye perceive from that distance? You will not be able to distinguish every one of the colors that you find when examining it up close. What you will see is the overall effect created when the colors blend with each other – that is how others perceive it.

 

As examples: a black and white tweed looks gray from a short distance; a blue-and-red small-patterned tie assumes a purple cast from a distance; a red-and-yellow print tie looks orangey-red from several feet away. The blue-and-red tie goes with clothes in blues and grays, and looks terrific with a light blue or pink shirt. The orangey-red tie would look terrible with a pink shirt, but would be perfect with a khaki, tan, or olive suit and perhaps an ivory-colored shirt.    

                                                                                 

Try this experiment to prove that the overall color effect of a pattern changes as you get further from it. Choose a small “goes-with-everything” red-and-blue print tie from your closet. Hold it up in front of a mirror and move backwards. Up close, it is a subtle foulard, appropriate for any business situation. As you move back a bit, the pattern disappears and the tie becomes purple to your eye. Step back even further and from across the room, the tie becomes brown.              

This little exercise illustrates two points. 1.] When selecting a tie in a store or at home, always hold it away from you. 2.] To check the color of a tie you plan to wear for a presentation to a group of people, stand back as far as you can from your mirror. A classic blue-and-yellow small print tie that looks great up close and works well in conservative circles could suddenly become a vivid green tie from a distance and mark you as an overtly flamboyant dresser? Choose colors that are correctly visible from a distance.  

  

Note:  These color guidelines are not limited to dressing rather formally with a necktie. They work as well for casual weekend dressing in sweaters, knit shirts, khakis, and jeans. Because color is such a noticeable part of one’s overall appearance, men who know how to coordinate colors well are generally considered to be great dressers. It is an inexpensive, but very useful, skill.