Letters to the Editor: Slim Suits, Tailoring Risks, & Rehersal Dinner Style Strategy

If you’ve got a style tip, question, or anything else you’d like to pass along, you can send those in to joe@dappered.com. If you’d rather your question not be featured in a future mailbag, just go ahead and say so in your email. Want more than one average Joe’s (HA!) opinion? Check out our forum, Threads.

 

Q: What if Slim fit Suits aren’t Slim ENOUGH?

I’m about 6’0″, 165, 38R chest and 30″ waist. J. Crew’s Ludlow suits are the most slim suits I can find without resorting to custom tailoring, but in the waist, I probably still need a good 2-4″ of extra tapering from the waist out of all my jackets. I was wondering if you had any suggestions for a slimmer cut suit or should I just bite the bullet and get them tailored.

-Jeff

Get them tailored, and seriously consider getting only 1″ – 2″ taken in instead of 4″. I was 160 lbs with a 38R chest once. Maybe not a 30″ waist (more like 32″) but knocking 4″ off the sides of a Ludlow jacket on your dimensions will almost certainly leave you looking TOO contoured. Like your suit jacket is part corset. Remember, you want jackets to dart in, but do so in a subtle way. You don’t want gobs of fabric carved out of the sides. Even if you have a little room to move inside? That’s not terrible. It’s not a super-hero’s getup. There’s supposed to be some space there. There can be too much of a good thing (tailoring).

 

Q: How could you overlook what was so awesome about those H&M Sneakers?

You really don’t get why those H&M sneakers cost more? The profile is slimmer / better looking than other ones. Also they come with a (mock?) Margom sole. That’s what you’re paying for – gotta know your sneakers Joe.

– Justin

Me:

I gotta disagree wholeheartedly on the “profile” looking slimmer or better. They look clunkier to me (the laces are closer to the toe on the “Edition” sneakers, and thus, blunt the toes) Also, I don’t care if “Margom” is Swedish for “softer than Aphrodite’s knockers“… they’re still not worth doubling the price over their other sneakers.

 

Q: Tailoring a Jacket’s LENGTH?

I’m normally a 40R, and depending on the brand need very little tailoring. A new ludlow blazer in 40R  fits perfect out of the box. I see a Bonobos unconstructed wool blazer is on final sale in a 40L. Is that an easy tailoring solution and a great deal…or is it too much to fix?

-Seamus

The problem with long proportioned jackets is that while the sleeves can be easily chopped (as long as the cuff buttons don’t function), shortening a sportcoat’s tail often leaves it looking funny. It can be done. But it’s pretty major surgery. And even if you find a tailor willing to do it, there’s a huge risk that the button stance will look off once it’s done, being that the button is placed specifically for taller frames. I’d steer clear of this one. Stick with 40R jackets, as shown above, on a Bonobos blazer.

 

Q: But what about BLACK dress shoes?

• Jack Erwin “Joe” Captoe – $195
• Wall & Water Made in Italy Medallion Toe Balmoral – $169

I’m lacking in the black office/dress shoe department as I typically wear brown. But it’s time to consider expanding. I expect to wear them most often with dress pants or the occasional suit (interview, funeral, wedding). I’m not as concerned about them working for more casual situations, but a bonus if they can pull double duty. Since I don’t expect to wear black shoes too often, I’m torn whether to spend the money on something classic and well-crafted (like AE) or more affordable (like DSW’s Aston Grey). Thoughts?

-Neil

Black dress shoes are tough to dress down. That’s why many of us only have one pair of black true oxfords, and then build up from there with things like black monk straps or boots (chelseas of course). Those styles are easier to wear with smart casual stuff due to looking less “serious” and stark, yet can still be worn with the right suit. But just because you might not wear em’ often doesn’t mean you can’t get a good quality pair for a reasonable price. Shoot for around the $200 price point (as suggested above). That way, you won’t NOT want to wear the shoes when you go to that interview or wedding.

 

Q. Rehearsal Dinner Attire?

I’m getting married in late June and was wondering if you have any post, or could create a new post, on what to wear to the rehearsal dinner? I really like your Style Scenario articles, and couldn’t find one for a rehearsal dinner.

-Jimmy

First, congrats on the upcoming big day! I think this depends on the venue. I’ve been to rehearsal dinners that range from candlelight fancy pants affairs, to backyard BBQs. But since you’re one of the stars of this show,  you’re gonna wanna look at your wedding day outfit… and subtract 25% of its formality. Wearing a wool suit, necktie, and dress shoes? Knock it back to a suit in a more casual fabric, no tie, and some bluchers or monk straps. If the 25% rule leaves you confused, ask your soon to be spouse. What are they wearing? Imagine you’re going out to dinner, just the two of you. And they’re wearing that. Now match them in terms of formality, and you should be good. If all else fails? I’m thinking the above look should work (it’s a combination of this and this style scenario).

 

Q. Oxfords vs. Derbies

I always assumed an oxford (such as the standard black cap toe) was an oxford due to cut and construction and a derby (such as a brown full brogue) was the same due to the perforations and more intricate styling. But I recently read on your site that any shoe is an oxford if it has “closed” lacing? and any shoe is a derby if it has open lacing? No matter the level of perforations or other design elements?

-Tom M.

Correct. Not all brogues are derbies/bluchers. Some are, in fact, oxfords (like the Allen Edmonds wingtip McAllister above right). You could airbrush an Edsel Citation onto a pair of closed-lacing shoes and they’d still be oxfords.

 

Q: Thoughts on four-in-hand vs. half-windsor or windsor knot?

Sometimes I like to wear a windsor knot (half or full) instead of a four-in-hand. It doesn’t end up ESPN-analyst-huge, but I feel like it can look less like a dinky exclamation point hanging from my neck. Yet I keep seeing hate for the half and full windsor on men’s style sites. And then there’s the James Bond quote, about how he doesn’t trust anyone who wears a Windsor, since it’s the “mark of a cad.” Who’s right? 

-Henry

Who, precisely, is 007 to call anyone else a cad? I never quite got that quote. I prefer a four-in-hand, but I also don’t favor neckties. One thing I’m fairly confident in though, is that I’d rather trust some normal guy wearing a Windsor knot over anyone on a message board who thinks they’re opinion is so unquestionably correct that they get to tell other people what they absolutely cannot wear. Smaller, asymmetrical knots are more in style now. That’ll probably change at some point. You do you.

 

Nice Clickbait jerkface.

Nice clickbait title in last week’s Thursday Handful. If you edit the post to note that Banana Republic’s Rapid movement is excluded, why did you leave it in the headline?

-Paul A.

Because if I edit the title, the URL of the page will update to reflect that change. And it that changes, all of our social channels will be linking to a now, non-existent article. And if that happens, we’ll get emails about how our social links aren’t working. BR goofed up on that one. Rapid Movement denim wasn’t listed as an exclusion, and they weren’t tagged as a BR Pick. I tested the Traveler Jeans and the shirts. Those worked, so, I put it in the handful. I only found out after it published from a (nice) tip over email. If you were truly that inconvenienced by one click and the resulting, ultra-laborious task of reading the “UPDATE” bit, then I suggest you stop reading this goofy website. Because we’ll only let you down again. Despite every reasonable effort of trying to get it as right as often as we can, sometimes these things happen. Yet when it comes to business (and life in general) it’s good to remember that you can get something good, fast, and cheap… as long as you only pick two out of the three. So, cut us a bit of slack if you can find room for such a graceful gesture in that expansive heart of yours.

Got a question, suggestion, or a style tip? Send them to joe@dappered.com.