J Crew makes a line for athletic builds and my 6’3" 190 lb. S loves the way they fit. He has been wearing J Crew suits for years (he’s 30 now), as well as Zegna and Hugo Boss - all cut for tall, slim, younger men. The style is definitely more slim fit than traditional “dad” fit, but I’ve managed to get my H into a slimmer fit suit more recently, too. Watch the sales - a good suit is worth buying as it can last for years. That same S is wearing a suit we bought him over 10 years ago. Ties were very narrow but seem to be widening, slightly, again. This is where he can show a little personality if he’s not interviewing for a bank or law firm! Tradition would dictate a striped rep tie or small patterns for a conservative look, but my guys wear interesting ties. And as for shoes, as long as they’re comfortable, it doesn’t really matter. I have one who likes a cap toe or modern wingtip and one who prefers a plain oxford, but depending on the suit color, both often choose a color other than black - either a burnished brown or an oxblood. With a teenager, I’d probably opt for black as it is the most versatile.
Check Nordstrom Rack for shirts and even suits. Their wrinkle free shirts are really good. They keep wrinkle-free much better than Brooks Bros, Caliber, and Hugo Boss wrinkle free shirts.
For shoes, the most important thing is comfort/fit. For someone not used to wearing dress shoes, get a softer leather. They won’t last as long, but will be a good intro that he can wear all day without dreading. Unless he’s in a very formal office like banking/finance, a plain style will work fine or just a basic toe-cap which someone else mentioned. Either basic black or dark brown.
For suits, typically you’ll see US designers/labels with a 6" drop. European labels will normally have an 8" drop. When I was 22 I had a 12" drop (40" shoulder, 28" waist)! So I’d buy 8" drop suits (you fit the jacket), bring in the waist, and tailor the pants. For bumming around the office it was easier to just buy slacks and hang a sport coat on my chair than to suit up every day so I never felt the need to double-up on suit pants.
To get an idea of what’s “in”, check out re-runs of a show called, appropriately enough, “Suits”. To my eyes, there’s a very obvious difference in the cut and quality of the suits the younger character Mike wears, vs the older successful character “Harvey”. You can see Mike’s suits are slimmer cut with cheaper and more plain fabrics - appropriate for his age and income on the show. Harvey’s suits are a bit looser (much more comfortable-looking to me), finer fabrics, more expensive-looking at first glance. The show is based in NY, so the fashions are more NE-centric. West coast is generally a little more relaxed.
Ties and socks you can go nuts. Buy whatever strikes their fancy. Ok, not too nuts with the tie (e.g. No dancing hula girls) but certainly interesting and colorful is fine. As is plain and boring, too. Just get a nice soft silk fabric. I like to use a half-Windsor knot with a dimple for most shirts, unless it’s a wide spread collar then a full Windsor looks better.
@anomander Thanks. I think he is at least an 8" drop. Will measure when I have him. Will check out Suits and hopefully the half Windsor with a dimple is featured on YouTube.
For debate, navy blue single slit, single breasted, buttons that blend in. We got my son’s first suit at Men’s Warehouse. (Last minute purchase.) It was more than I intended to pay but they have an onsite tailor and they were kind enough to switch out the pants later at no charge when my son had a growth spurt. Leave room for growth. Black belt and shoes. No cuffs on the pants. Break long enough. Get two tradition ties for interviews and 1-2 that suit his personality for fun occasions. My son selected tone-on-tone for traditional uses. Suit Mart has better prices once you know what to avoid, such as bad fabric, loud colors, double breasted, etc. Second suit is charcoal gray.
Look at Nordstrom classic fit for a good example. Still a stylish cut, not bulky. The mistake I see is yound men in suits a size too big whether a hand-me-down or bought with room to grow. I agree navy or charcoal. Brooks Brothers has a good wrinkle free. You’ll pay $80 but it’s a quality shirt that will last and a young man isn’t likely to iron or send to a dry cleaner.
Yes, a size bigger is too big, but I think they can leave some fabric uncut in the tailoring for future alterations. Maybe in the back of the jacket to let the chest out. I’m not sure anymore about that. DH had a great guy who dressed him at Foley’s/Macy’s for years. That kind of service is great as a professional and worth looking for post-graduation. DH rarely wears suits now but has a guy at Dillard’s who calls when his favorite dress slacks and polo shirts are on sale.
I’m going to go with charcoal. That is his color. We have the hand me down issue. If we’re going to spend money on dresswear, I want him to blend with his peers who wear the right fit/style.
Charcoal is an excellent choice!
Black or cordovan shoes since they are meant to last. I do hate to see our trainees in brown shoes with their suits. Ok with khakis. @anomander is exactly right about the show “Suits”.
DS1 is almost 21 with an eclectic style (buy authentic 70s clothes from college vendor…) He needs a suit for interviews etc. but will be working in Japan. Can I go with a Mike from Suits look for an Asia focused professional? Also we have small feet in our family. DS1 is maybe 5’8" and only has a shoe size of 7 1/2. Doesn’t quite make it into men’s sizing which is problematic. Any suggestions for that. We might as well suit DS1 up at the same time. And he would like interesting ties
Does he really need a suit? Or can he wear a sports jacket, tie and slacks? Find out what he really needs…and get that.
My kid had a really nice navy sports jacket…and both grey and khaki slack. He had light blue, pale yellow and white dress shirts. His ties were solid colors…burgundy, navy.
Shoes? He had a pair of black dress shoes, and he also had brown that were a little more casual but worked well with the khaki slacks.
This same kid was a musician…so he did have a black suit, tux, white dinner jacket, tails, etc. It’s one of the reasons he had nice dress shoes. His suit came from Express. He was also given a suit from someplace. That one has outlasted the Express suit.
You might want to look at some resale shops. My kid’s navy cashmere sport jacket was $7 at Goodwill.
Japan seem have different cultural rules. His employer/sponsor should prepare him to fit in. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-02/how-to-succeed-at-a-job-interview-in-japan
All I have to add is that, apparently, square toed shoes for men is now “out”.
I think that a dark charcoal gray will take him anywhere he needs to go1
We are not usually Lands End shoppers, but we discovered their No Iron Supima cotton dress shirts in a tailored fit and haven’t looked back. They have many options for neck and sleeve length and the no iron fabric is amazing.
The shirt purchases led us to the flat front tailored year’rounder lightweight wool dress slacks. If they wear their blue jeans loose, then go with jeans waist size. If jeans are tight, go up a size for dress slacks.
These pants also coordinate with a really nice fitting year’rounder suit jacket. (6’1" son wears a tall length)
https://www.landsend.com/shop/search?initialSearch=true&Ntt=tailored+flat+from+year+rounder
I got a coupon today for 40% off your order Code is PECAN and pin is 5329
S2 usually wears a British brand called Byron and S1 likes the designer brands from Men’s Warehouse and both have no issue wearing their Lands End stuff. (besides, Lands End guarantees so you can always return)
We just got back from England and all of the high end men’s shops are showing neckties covered with tiny flowers.
The salespeople at Nordstrom are helpful and knowledgable. Even if you buy a suit elsewhere, bring it to Nordstrom and they’ll help you pick a nice tie to match.
Go for a wool charcoal or navy 2 button, single vent suit. Nothing flashy or trendy. Cut will depend on your son’s body shape.
Some good places to look besides Nordstrom where you can find suits cut for a younger style, some already mentioned:
Men’s Warehouse (more reasonable)
J. Crew
Bonobos (online but they have guide/fit shops in some cities including Boston and Greenwich CT)
I took a continuing ed class yesterday - and I can say please don’t look like the presenter! He had 1980s style big classes (like the Dad in Stranger Things), a blue large plaid jacket - slightly too small and black pants. White shirt, no tie. I think he intended to look hipster, but he just looked dorky to me.
@TQfromtheU DS1 is slightly smaller than the average Japanese man. I think I might have him get shoes in Tokyo where he’ll have the good options for men. Their show size is smaller too. Probably expensive though.
Looks like a black suit for Japan.
Is he in Japan @gearmom ? Can he get a suit custom made?
He is mot in Japan yet, though hid GFs mom is there until spring. He could have one made I guess when he goes but currently has that hand me down look. Thought I might at least get a properly fit suit jacket. Probably so expensive to have it tailored in Japan but maybe that would be best. He’ll be a standard size for them.