<p>Gentlemen’s Emporium - I should have known of it from our local Dickens Fair and SteamPunk Edwardian balls! However, who would have guessed they have an entire outfit specifically for a musician & composer! Although not exactly what I can see my son wearing, it certainly gives one ideas! Unfortunately, they’re currently sold out of smoking jackets…</p>
<p>Looking forward to a link to an image or photo!</p>
<p>I hope to learn from your experience. Maybe I should start looking for a smoking jacket for my composer son now! And yes, please do attach a picture - shoes and all.</p>
<p>LOL, Spirit, the next time I’m in your fair city I’d love to join you at a SteamPunk Edwardian ball ;)</p>
<p>Spirit, you got me goggling smoking jacket with various results. Evidently, smoking jackets don’t always have all positive connotations and some believe they are only to be worn at home. I just thought I would mention it as I didn’t really know anything about them. Here is one viewpoint (last paragraph) from an interesting site-<a href=“The Trad: The Duke's Smoking Jacket”>http://thetrad.blogspot.com/2009/11/dukes-smoking-jacket.html</a></p>
<p>@Moreover - thanks for the link - how amusing. You never know where a google search will take you.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone - I’m really enjoying this.</p>
<p>Mens fashion is tough. There is a fine line between creative and costume. One of the constants than can be played off of is the well tailored, well made jacket. Take a look at sites like The Sartorialist that features “on the street” pictures of men with a flair for creative dress. [On</a> the Street….Bond Street, New York The Sartorialist](<a href=“http://www.thesartorialist.com/photos/on-the-street-bond-street-new-york/]On”>http://www.thesartorialist.com/photos/on-the-street-bond-street-new-york/)
One good jacket will last him years and is a great investment.</p>
<p>
That is a line my own son frequently crosses, but folks seem to like it 
It all started with this satin-stripe dinner jacket (tux style one-button no tails) we bought him one year in HS at a high-end men’s closeout for a wedding. – Original retail had been something in the $900 - $1000 range for the jacket itself, but it was pennies on the dollar by the time we came across it. The jacket oddly went with everything, everywhere, every time pretty much, including hipster jeans and the like. He liked wearing a jacket so much that he started Goodwilling to garner suit jackets of every style to pair with all manner of pant/jean/khaki. Around that time, he also became fond of certain styles of comfy dress shoes, preferring them to runners, which pretty much pulled the look together (or what we called "apacoboots…you know, for the apocalypse ala Mad Max.) So, there’s the costume side of the coin (these collections include strange ties, ironic Ts, unusual vests and embroidered shirts, to give you an idea.)</p>
<p>However, I will always remember how terrific that dinner jacket looked, whether the shirt was formal or a T or button down casual. So Spirit, have you looked at any one-buttoned, tuxedo style (no tails) black on black wide satin striped dinner jackets? Think it was a peak collar, but might have been shawl. It truly did look awesome with ANY style of pant. The style also favors those with a good build/good shoulders, but is kinder than the doubled-breasted or multi-buttoned on those with a rounder physique as well. If I could remember the make of the jacket, I’d try to find it for you.</p>
<p>By costume, I really mean full on period looks. Mixing it up (as your son does) is the best way to go. It only takes one inspirational look. My H is a professional film costumer and we have closets full of the stuff, that some lucky young man would have a field day with. (I only wish D’s boyfriend was just a tad more creative. If he could only break away from loafers and button downs, we could give the “treasure trove” a work out)</p>
<p>I love this sort of thread. In our household we spend an inordinate amount of time deconstructing looks. Anytime we drive home from a movie H is non stop with comments like…“in that second scene, you know, WHAT WAS HE THINKING, with that collar…I mean really, did you see those buttons…and the shoes. They were good but wrong…” I just sit there trying my best to remember what the hell he is talking about.</p>
<p>LOL! That does sound like more fun than listening to one’s h. About what’s going on with the servers and other geek speak 
I do think my son should date your daughter, though. He would be in 7th heaven with a real “tickle trunk” When we moved a few months ago one of the movers was bemused by the big blue steamer trunk that was overflowing with wigs and cloaks and fake armor and the like. Is your son in theatre? he asked. No, I said, He just really likes to dress up Much of it was fodder for zany films when s. was in hs, but it was more fun to watch the mover steal furtive glances at mcson.</p>
<p>I think wardrobe would be a fascinating field. As a teen I had gone back to my childhood home in Stratford with my mom to help the new owners reconstruct our old Victorian to it’s original condition after it had been “modernized” by interim owners (heartbreaking, all the cherry wainscotting was gone, back stairs removed, etc.) The woman was a costume designer for the Stratford Festival theatre. Her sewing room/home office was filled with the most stunning things. What a great gig that would be!</p>
<p>A very nice formal evening shirt, without a bow tie, vest or jacket and having the very top botton un-bottoned, will look sophisticated, not over the top, and do the trick. Something like the following: </p>
<p>[Thomas</a> Pink Formal Shirts](<a href=“http://www.us.thomaspink.com/shirts/men/fcp-category/list#filters=STYLE!evening&productsPerPage=20]Thomas”>http://www.us.thomaspink.com/shirts/men/fcp-category/list#filters=STYLE!evening&productsPerPage=20)</p>
<p>This particular maker has outlet stores in quite a few of Premium Outlets. The sale price is about $50-$70 at outlets, about $70-90 when they are on sale at their regular stores, whereas the regular price is close to $200.</p>
<p>kmcmom13, your son’s style sounds very similar to mine!</p>
<p>Spirit—I asked H if he knew of a good consignment shop in the Bay area for men:</p>
<p>[sui</a> GENERIS San Francisco men’s and womens’ vintage and high fashion consignment](<a href=“http://www.suigenerisconsignment.com%5Dsui”>http://www.suigenerisconsignment.com)</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.ragsf.com%5B/url%5D”>www.ragsf.com</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://goodbyessf.com/Good_Byes/Goodbyes.html[/url]”>http://goodbyessf.com/Good_Byes/Goodbyes.html</a></p>
<p>@musicamusica - Great tips, thanks. I’ve been doing some research too and Sui Generis was at the top of my list. I actually have purchased something for myself at Goodbyes - it’s in a very posh part of town (Presidio Heights) - where I had many hours to kill once because my son was in a chamber music workshop in a nearby mansion for the day and I didn’t want to drive back and forth from Berkeley. It has one of the few mens only consignment stores I’ve seen.</p>
<p>Now that you guys have given me so many ideas I can see I need to find the time to go shopping! (I did do some browsing last night on ebay…)</p>
<p>Just noticed that on Gilt today John Varvatos has some very nice clothes(especially vests) on sale today. With Gilt’s new and improved return policy…you might want to check it out.
I bought D a silk Valentino audition dress last year (list price $780…Gilt price $172.)</p>
<p>What fun, I have to get on here more often! Just reminded me of a concert at the SF Symphony a couple of years ago - ok, it was a family concert, and a matinee, but a long world premiere - and the composer came up on stage at the end in jeans & a sweater. Ouch. I thought perhaps he didn’t realize he’d be called up? My son, HS senior & pending comp major (fingers crossed) wears a full suit/tie (required) for jazz band, and has spiffed that up a bit with a couple of very nice well-cut button-down shirts, one with cuff links (rec’d some heirlooms from great grandpa), and awesome super-long black shoes. Not sure how he walks in them, but they look great. For piano recitals he takes off the jacket & tie unless it’s very fancy, and for a comp interview recently he looked quite nice in black button-down shirt & black slacks. (He “forgot” to pack the jacket & tie, hundreds of miles from home, but he looked ready for the part, I thought.) Anyway, I actually think a well-fitting suit or jacket & slacks looks terrific on young men, and not at all boring - it’s so unexpected, and it makes them look a whole lot older. Last note - comp grad students spied at a recent new music concert - loads of long hair & beards, and some tweed on the undergrads. Really a surprising number - must be a thing 
Cheers to all.</p>
<p>Black shirt and black slacks - you can rarely go wrong, I think. Perfect for the comp interview. And thinking of it, one rarely goes wrong with a nice white shirt!</p>
<p>^jazzshreddermom, it must be that jazz-shredding phenom that inspires the look since it’s clearly not geographical come to think of it, mcson’s bandmates in his hs ensembles had variations of that look going on, and it was counter-something ;)</p>
<p>Spirit, once again I am envious of your fair city. In my imagination I will go shopping for ya!</p>
Bumping this thread to see if anyone has any new ideas for great sources for men’s clothing. Also, seems like it would be a nice diversion from all the admission angst! (Also, my S is older now - might be time for something more conventional but still hip?)