Suit and Tie people.

[Amber Lamps]

Originally Posted by Mikey

You nailed my problem exactly- I'm tall and in good shape, so I have an 18 neck and a 37/38 sleeve, but my waist is relatively narrow so most shirts that fit my sleeve length and collar end up fitting nicely at the chest but are too big at the waist. Honestly, the best fitting shirt I own is one I never thought I'd wear- Sean John.

Oh, and for the tie- if you're a big guy, tie a double windsor. Google it. Anything less looks goofy if you have a big neck.

Double Windsor FTW! Oh yea I said that already...

[goof2]

Originally Posted by Mikey

You nailed my problem exactly- I'm tall and in good shape, so I have an 18 neck and a 37/38 sleeve, but my waist is relatively narrow so most shirts that fit my sleeve length and collar end up fitting nicely at the chest but are too big at the waist. Honestly, the best fitting shirt I own is one I never thought I'd wear- Sean John.

Oh, and for the tie- if you're a big guy, tie a double windsor. Google it. Anything less looks goofy if you have a big neck.

Some brands offer slim fit shirts designed for builds like yours.

[CrazyKell]

Wow I totally thought Smittie was an old dude. Good luck!

[wildchild]

ok first don't assume you know the size you need. You've already said you don't wear these things. go to a jc penny's where they have a men's dept. I say penny's because they will size for free and if you don't buy their product they don't care.

the triangle thingy of the tie should be pressed tightly against the neck. yes it's hard to breathe if you're not used to wearing them. It will feel very uncomfortable and the more you mention it to people the worse it will seem. the good news is if you get a shirt that fits well and the tie is done properly after about 15 minutes in the place you can loosen the top button and few will notice.

try on the clothes for yourself well in advance. Make sure you are comfortable and like the way you look. launder them befoore wearing, get rid of the new shirt smell and those really tight creases.

these tid bits come to you from someone who had to admit to a drill sargeant I had never worn a dress shirt before basic training. Later in life I had to buy dress shoes on my way to an interview. I know exactly how you feel. After now "dressing up" almost every day I will tell you, it's not bad. It never gets as comfortable as jeans and a t shirt, but if you like the way you look and just realize everyone looks the same it's ok. Most important thing though is get stuff that fits.

Oh and if you want to cheat have someone tie the tie for you and just loosen it a little to put it on.

[Papa_Complex]

Get a 'fitted' shirt, with sleeves long enough that the cuffs protrude from the suit jacket's sleeves by about an inch. Go 1/2" over on the neck size. Make it light blue. Wash it a couple of times and iron it. Wear an undershirt, to keep the sweat down.

Get a burgundy tie; either plain, or with an understated grey pattern on it. Medium width. If you aren't a bull-neck, keep it to a single Windsor. Having a slightly larger collar than you need on the shirt will let you tie it to look snug, without strangling yourself. Get a tie clip. It doesn't need to be expensive. It'll keep your tie out of your soup and drinks.

Get your suit dry cleaned and have them put 'permanent creases' in the pants. The creases shouldn't cost more than $10-$15 and should be able to be done overnight, or over two days at the most.

Get yourself some crepe sole shoes. Cheap, comfortable, clean, and new beats old, expensive, and have the crap polished out of them. You can pick up a pair of comfortable dress-like shoes for under $30. Don't under estimate how important having comfortable feet is when you're likely going to be standing around for hours.

[HurricaneHeather]

This thread is real cute.

Smittie, I give you props for trying to look nice for your girl

I have no advice to offer because my hubby can dress himself quite nicely and I never get a say. He might be slumming it a bit with me

[Archren]

Except that I do love a man in a suit.

That being said...

[the chi]

Mudpuppy was pretty on target...I used to work in the men's department at Dillards and at least once a week some poor guy came in looking for assistance in dressing himself...most fun part of the job was dragging him from one side of the store to another getting the whole set up...I hated dolls as a kid, but a life size one FTW!! And setting them up for a hot date, even better!

I recommend Dillards. They have trained people (typically) in their men's department that can measure you, size you and put you in exactly the right kind of shirt, right color, with the right tie and slacks and often even pre-tie the tie for you around $100 or less. Take your shoes and jacket in with you. It helps!

I want to see pics of this event now mister!

[Smittie61984]

Well I was too busy with work to try a shirt on myself so I sent my dad out and he exhanged the shirt with an 18 1/2" neck that fits okay I guess. Maybe a little tight I don't know. I'm a big back and thick neck mother fucker from genetics and years of hard manual labor (moving pool tables and now digging). The problem now is it looks like I got a parachute cause it's fairly large but the neck atleast fits. With the jacket on it looks decent without well fuck it. Once I get to about 200lbs I might look into a decent fitted shirt. I won't need one of those until her next semester formals which is many many many months away.

To me dressing up was a decent looking 3 button down shirt that golfer would wear with some cargo pants. I didn't tuck in though (Shit I need to see if I have a decent belt)

No pictures! Infact I'm trying to make sure my buddy or his wife can't contact her in some way cause they said they'd pay her $100 for a picture of me in a suit.

But here is a pic of just about how I look...

[goof2]

Originally Posted by Smittie61984

Well I was too busy with work to try a shirt on myself so I sent my dad out and he exhanged the shirt with an 18 1/2" neck that fits okay I guess. Maybe a little tight I don't know. I'm a big back and thick neck mother fucker from genetics and years of hard manual labor (moving pool tables and now digging). The problem now is it looks like I got a parachute cause it's fairly large but the neck atleast fits. With the jacket on it looks decent without well fuck it. Once I get to about 200lbs I might look into a decent fitted shirt. I won't need one of those until her next semester formals which is many many many months away.

To me dressing up was a decent looking 3 button down shirt that golfer would wear with some cargo pants. I didn't tuck in though (Shit I need to see if I have a decent belt)

No pictures! Infact I'm trying to make sure my buddy or his wife can't contact her in some way cause they said they'd pay her $100 for a picture of me in a suit.

But here is a pic of just about how I look...

If that picture is a good representation you might want to do some manscaping in case you get lucky.