Men's blazer question

[J Marston]

Every adult male needs:

1) A dark grey suit (for weddings, funerals, and strictly formal events)

2) A dark navy blue blazer (for everything else that is a little less formal)

The high end of the market is Brooks Brothers; Jos. A. Bank is the low end. Nordstrom has good stuff.

The real issue, and the reason to go to a store rather than buying through mail order, is that every single one needs some tailoring: let out some here, take in some there. You can find a tailor or seamstress in your area who can do this, but it's simpler to have it done in house.

Buy lightweight wool. It will last longer than anything else (and can be resuscitated by your dry cleaner, if need be). If it's light, you can wear it in all seasons, especially if it's not daily wear.

[john-o]

Old school much? mile:

[August West]

I think J Marston has it right. If you don't want a blue blazer, consider wool herringbone.

[testcase]

Since I've retired, my everyday "uniform" is a fishing shirt (I don't fish) and BDU pants. LOTS of pockets. I picked up a classic navy blazer for times I need to be "dressed up" (funerals etc). I spent well under $100 (including a dress shirt and tie) and, as long as I don't expand out of it, it will serve me for years. Blazers of this type can be found in virtually anyplace that carries men's clothes. I've seen them in Target, Walmart, Kmart, warehouse stores and mom & pop local shops (which is where I bought mine). "Classic" is the key; never goes out of style.

[bik]

john-o wrote:
Yeah, I get your point, but I'm just not a suit-wearing kind of guy, as I made pretty clear above. I'll probably end up springing for one of those Duluth models I mentioned, or possibly one of the Lands End ones that pipiens mentioned.

Thanks though, I do appreciate everyone's advice!

I'm not a suit wearing kind of guy. I wearing jeans and t-shirt about 360 days a year. When I had an office job, I wore jeans, t-shirt, and an untucked oxford.

But, I own a dark gray suit for funerals. And, on occasion, I'll wear the jacket over jeans for a business meeting.

Got the suit at an actual store where they tailored it for me, and I look good in it compared to any other ill-fitting jacket I might have bought off the rack or on the internet.

Wearing a suit to a funeral isn't "old school." It's respectful.

I'll third J Marston's post.

[jdc]

J Marston wrote:
Every adult male needs:

1) A dark grey suit (for weddings, funerals, and strictly formal events)

2) A dark navy blue blazer (for everything else that is a little less formal)

Maybe in some world, but not mine -- or a lot of other worlds I can think of.

Ive never owned a suit or a blazer/jacket. Ive worn a jacket 3 times that I can think of -- prom, best friends wedding and my wedding. Of course those were tux jackets and all rentals.

I might need to attend a funeral before a wedding, perhaps a jacket then.

I plan on being buried in shorts and a t-shirt. =)

[john-o]

All due respect bik, but wearing something other than a dark suit to a funeral isn't disrespectful, whether or not you meant to imply as much. It's 2016, after all, and I've been to plenty of funerals/memorial services where the vast majority of males weren't wearing a dark suit. Now that might be different if I was attending the funeral of some bigwig or dignitary, but for the people in my circle, none of their family or friends would think it disrespectful if I didn't wear a dark suit to their funeral.

I get yours, August West's & J Marston's point; for folks like you, you're only going to be comfortable dressed in a suit at a funeral. But the idea that a dark suit is the only respectful thing to wear to a funeral in this day and age is crazy.

[Robert M]

John,

J Marston is positively correct. There is nothing old school about wearing the proper attire for a given situation. It's all about common sense and, more importantly, respect. Respect for the situation, other people attending the event and/or those hosting it.

I wear jeans and a t-shirt or jeans and a mock turtleneck the vast majority of the time. Suits? Ties? Oxford shirts? Khakis or slacks? Dress shoes? Hate'im! Hate'im with a passion. However, there is a time and place when I have to break out the dressier attire despite my derision of it.

J's list is spot-on. I'd add at least a couple of pairs of khaki pants, a handful of dressier shirts and some ties to the mix. Between all of that, you're covered for just about any event that requires more than jeans and a t-shirt.

I wouldn't necessarily buy these items at Duluth Trading. Although I love their clothing, they tend to be on the expensive side for many items and much of their catalog is really designed for the tradesmen, not necessarily for average everyday person and/or wearing. That and suits and blazers often require tailoring. Buying at a store and bringing items to a tailor can get _very_ expensive. I'd stick with a place that sells the goods and will do the tailoring for you, i.e. Mens Wearhouse, Jos A Bank. You can get some amazing deals if you wait for a sale and/or look in the clearance section.

I actually got lucky when I purchased a blazer from Lands End. It fit will enough that I didn't have to bring it to a tailor for alterations. The blazer doesn't fit me perfectly by any means but fits well enough that nobody would notice that it wasn't brought to a tailor. And, once the shock of me wearing khakis and a blazer wore off, my wife told me I should be proud of myself, because it looked great. That works for me.

Robert

[john-o]

Wow, I didn't mean for this thread to get off in the weeds (or shall I say, turned into a formal occasion?), but there's obviously a lot of differences of opinion here about what's 'appropriate', 'respectful', etc. in the way of dress attire for the males of our species. I would say it depends very much on the specific occasion, but let's not let ourselves get into an argument, okay?

I'm going to take the advice of many here, and see what I can find in the way of a jacket at an actual store, so that I can see about fit, and maybe even have it altered right there if necessary. Just so you know, I have plenty of formal dark slacks, nice oxford shirts and the odd bowtie. I really don't need a suit at this point in my life.

[Bimwad]

I generally don't like dressing up, and as far from a clothes w.h.o.r.e as one could possibly be.

But when the situation calls for it, I like to do it as well as I can, and take some pride in my attire. That doesn't mean following the traditional "rules" to the letter, but it doesn't mean completely ignoring them either. YMMV.

If "this day and age" and "the majority" are the standards that are going to applied to everything, then I guess the standards are falling.

Don't even get me started on "modern" standards for punctuality and common courtesy. But majority rules, right?