No friends have gotten married? Not an Easter or Christmas service? Nobody died? Impressive streak you've got going.

RightWingConspirator said:

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I have about 5 pairs of Allen Edmonds and one pair of Magnani shoes. I will not buy anything but AEs going forward.

My shirts I get from Proper Cloth or CT. The trouble with CT shirts is I have no other choice but to get the "classic" fit shirts which are really blousy around the mid-section. My dimensions are such that I cannot wear a slim fit shirt because it won't fit across my chest (I'm a 42" coat, but a 32" waist) ; hence, I buy the CT shirts which I like, but are not ideal.

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I know this is 4 months old, but I'm going to answer anyway because several people have asked about brands that offer athletic fits.

Try Hugh and Crye. You choose one of three heights and one of four body types, and the combination gets you pretty darn close to a tailored fit right out of the box. I have a 31" waist and a 42-43" chest -- if I even look at a bench press, my pecs grow -- and their average-athletic sized dress shirts fit me very well. I'd also recommend their t-shirts. They're comfortable and fit far better than the average t-shirt.

Digging up an old thread but after losing a few pounds and realizing how old most of my clothes are...time to upgrade my closet. I work O&G and at most it is business casual but usually its nice jeans and shirt type of dress code. I tend to lean towards chinos and button up. Anyways, I have seen a few references towards Mizzen + Main and would like to get some thoughts on them. Maybe Peter Millar too?

A few months back I had heard some quality concerns on Mizzen + Main and within a week of reading, I was in Nordstroms and browsing the Mizzen shirts "rack" and I saw 2 with large threads coming out and one of them it was a clear pull through and was a damaged shirt. For over $100 per, that seems crazy but maybe it was bad luck.

In summary...favorite casual button up shirts. Specifically maybe discuss Mizzen or Peter Millar or something else I am not thinking of...

Also, any chino / dress jeans recommendations would be welcome too.

Sorry...thats is a lot but thanks in advance!

Just an FYI if you are on the fence about Allen Edmond shoes...

They are doing their annual sell right now with great discounts. I generally wait for this sell when I'm looking to grab a new pair.

I'm heading by their store today to grab some black Fifth Avenues so I'll finally have all my primary shoes covered (will be my third pair).

Reply to Stat.
He is right on. Buy 3 "best of class " ties at Nordstrom (can't think on exact brand). The knots will hold tight, body will hold (no wrinkles), dimple in tie will hold (crease below knot).
Add one more every 12-18 months purge one every 2 years
To stay fresh. ( assumes you only wear a tie once a month or so).
Cheaper ties wrinkle, lay limp (nobody wants that - argh ), snag easier.
Most critical part in my opinion. No one is scrutinizing your suit fabric when you have a high end tie and at least decent 100% cotton pinpoint shirt.

Lastly, if you are a banker, lawyer etc. and at least 35 learn a half Windsor knot. Much more "old school business" and sophisticated. IMO

GREAT THREAD!!!!!!!!

Anderson Bean boots!

Ariat A2 khaki

rafter c, cinch, or brooks brother Madison shirts.

Big fan of Allen Edmonds. Usually try to time it during their Labor Day sale. Have a couple of Cole Haan wingtips but just doesn't fit as well as AE. On another note, anyone ever buy from Thursday Boot company?

jaggiemaggie said:

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Big fan of Allen Edmonds. Usually try to time it during their Labor Day sale. Have a couple of Cole Haan wingtips but just doesn't fit as well as AE. On another note, anyone ever buy from Thursday Boot company?

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I bought one pair. They run like... way big (talking probably a size and a half bigger than normal) and I was underwhelmed with the look and quality of the boot I bought. I wouldn't buy another pair from them.

I'll give them props for customer service situating the size issue I had quickly and at no cost... but the boot just wasn't well constructed. Leather looked corrected, generally uncomfortable, and the stitching was poor.

Thanks! Might look into wolverines or red wings' vintage lines

Bought 2 Mizzen and 1 Peter Miller shirt this weekend. Thought both fit really well so looking forward to getting some use out of them. The Mizzen has a much different feel than Peter (slightly more traditional feel) but looks good. Will report back in a few weeks. Need more shirts but want to use these as a test before putting down 500 - 1K in more shirts.

Mytailor.com is great. Usually travels around to major Texas cities once a quarter and go meet at the hotel for material and sizing. Shirts are around $125 and up, depending on the cloth you choose. You get to choose your favorite collar, cuff, button, pocket, etc. including whether you wear a watch. Once you at least do made to measure it really is hard to wear other shirts. They have non iron material, also if you travel. Highly recommend trying it.

Suits, jackets and formal wear are also fantastic, but will be the cost of a medium/high off the rack suit. How often you wear and for what would be whether or not you spend money on one fitted suit or get 3 decent enough suits. I recommend everyone getting at least made to measure tux (if you wear one). To the womens, by far the easiest to discern between a well fit and not.

I would probably recommend getting slacks at a department store during a sale. Fit isn't anything you can't find trying on different brands and hemming.

This is all advice I wish I would have been given the day I graduated high school.

sherminator said:

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The most important thing really is staying healthy and fit. It doesn't matter how well fitted something is if you are really just putting lipstick on a pig.

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Well said! You are right.

Another thing I realize is as people get into late 30s and 40s, your level of attractiveness is not about how pretty or handsome your face is. You are rated high on the attractive scale based on how healthy and fit you are. So if you have a toned body and weight in control and all that, you look much more attractive than an overweight person who has a pretty/handsome face.

This means looking attractive is one's own control. Hit the gym and stay away from the buffet table for starters.

94chem said:

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Picked up a TM Lewin shirt this week, $25 with free shipping. Their fitted shirt is slimmer than Tyrwhitt slim and looser than CT extra slim. Quality seems really good.
Also, if you like Brooks Brothers Regent fit, you might try the Kirkland tailored fit as a low cost alternative.

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Wanted to follow up on this. If you like Brooks Brothers or Tyrwhitt shirts, no need to change. I love mine, but I've found an even better fit with TM Lewin. Here's a size chart comparison to Tyrwhitt:

Tyrwhitt vs Lewin


You'll notice that for a given neck size, the Lewin shirts have smaller waist and chest measurements than their Tyrwhitt counterparts. For me, the Lewin shirt is about as close to tailored as I can find, and the quality seems very good. As a bonus, they come out of the dryer looking great (haven't always had that experience with Tyrwhitt).

You can find on-line codes easily for $30 apiece with free shipping.

Some what related so I thought I'd shar:
Ebags has 25% off on Filson bags at the moment using the code SAVE. Just picked up the 24 hour Tin Briefcase

94chem said:

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No friends have gotten married? Not an Easter or Christmas service? Nobody died? Impressive streak you've got going.

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I've had quite a bit of all those events, but I wear boots instead of dress shoes.

Got a pair of Allen Edmonds Park Avenues this morning for $272 in store. They were on sale for $340 and got another 20% off for Black Friday. Very pleased with my purchase!

I'm a fan of Herring Shoes herringshoes.co.uk

jaggiemaggie said:

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Thanks! Might look into wolverines or red wings' vintage lines

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For casual boots, I typically stick with Red Wings or Wolverine and will stay in that lane after my Thursday experience.

What do y'all use to polish/clean up shoes?

One of my pair of dress shoes is starting to get pretty scuffed up.

Huell Babineaux said:

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What do y'all use to polish/clean up shoes?

One of my pair of dress shoes is starting to get pretty scuffed up.

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Interested in this as well. What products do you recommend and how often do you apply them?

Appropriate color shoe cream (typically from the manufacturer)) on the reg. Brush the show off, clean it with some saddle soap(if it needs it), apply the cream with a microfiber cloth, use a horsehair brush( dedicated one for each major color) to buff it back.

If they are really bad, I will take them to a cobbler to get polished. If they are worn out, they go back to the manufacturer.

Seor Chang said:

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Huell Babineaux said:

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What do y'all use to polish/clean up shoes?

One of my pair of dress shoes is starting to get pretty scuffed up.

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Interested in this as well. What products do you recommend and how often do you apply them?

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Check out Kirby over at the Hanger Project. Excellent information and products. For dress shoes, I stay with Santoni's - great quality and durability - and do my own leather preventative/polishing. I'll do resoles every few years. Had a pair of loafers for 10 years now that still look <12 months old with lots of compliments. As someone that does not sit in an office setting often, pretty good shoes and care.

I don't remember if it has been discussed. Has anyone used mtailor? https://www.mtailor.com/

Basically you take a bunch of pics via a smartphone app and it is supposed get your size and dimensions accurately.

Like this:



I ordered a few ctshirts awhile back and because my shoulders are broad, the slim fit was still way way way too blousey. Ended up taking them to a local tailor.

RPM said:

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I don't remember if it has been discussed. Has anyone used mtailor? https://www.mtailor.com/

Basically you take a bunch of pics via a smartphone app and it is supposed get your size and dimensions accurately.

Like this:



I ordered a few ctshirts awhile back and because my shoulders are broad, the slim fit was still way way way too blousey. Ended up taking them to a local tailor.

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Don't necessarily give up on CTshirts. I started out with slim fit and thought the same thing. I finally went in to their Houston location to try extra slim fit, and it turns out those fit much better, with super slim fitting the best. I'm not super muscular by any means, but I have a decent sized chest and thought no way in hell I would need a "super slim" shirt. But sure enough....

^
|
|
|
Yup... CT Extra Slim.

Hhilton82 said:

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Reply to Stat.
He is right on. Buy 3 "best of class " ties at Nordstrom (can't think on exact brand). The knots will hold tight, body will hold (no wrinkles), dimple in tie will hold (crease below knot).
Add one more every 12-18 months purge one every 2 years
To stay fresh. ( assumes you only wear a tie once a month or so).
Cheaper ties wrinkle, lay limp (nobody wants that - argh ), snag easier.
Most critical part in my opinion. No one is scrutinizing your suit fabric when you have a high end tie and at least decent 100% cotton pinpoint shirt.

Lastly, if you are a banker, lawyer etc. and at least 35 learn a half Windsor knot. Much more "old school business" and sophisticated. IMO

GREAT THREAD!!!!!!!!

---

Full Windsor or bust.

Question for those who own Allen Edmonds shoes:

Do you guys take them to AE for repairs or 3rd party like shoe doctor? Don't necessarily need new soles but The heels are coming apart

RPM said:

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I don't remember if it has been discussed. Has anyone used mtailor? https://www.mtailor.com/

Basically you take a bunch of pics via a smartphone app and it is supposed get your size and dimensions accurately.

Like this:



I ordered a few ctshirts awhile back and because my shoulders are broad, the slim fit was still way way way too blousey. Ended up taking them to a local tailor.

---

See my post above on Tyrwhitt vs Lewin. TM Lewin fitted is slimmer than ct.

I use itailor. I didn't do all the measurement stuff. I just bough a medium, asked them for their medium garment measurements, then adjusted from there - neck +0.25, sleeves -0.25, chest +0.5, etc...it's spot on now.

For something like the heel, just take it to a third party. If it's more extensive (i.e. the soles) then maybe send them in for recrafting by Allen Edmonds.

Full disclosure, I just had a pair of shoes recrafted by them and the work was really well done.

If you let a third party work on a pair of AE shoes, then AE will not accept them later to re-sole or put new heals on. So always send them to AE to have them worked on.

As for ties, I always bought them at reputable but small quality men's stores or places like Nordstrom or Marshall Fields. Spend $$ on a really good tie and you can get by with a less expensive suite. I have been a trial attorney for most of my 35 year career and I had a pattern for the suit, shirt and tie I wore during a trial. I would start off during jury selection with an expensive suite, nice shirt and tie and AE shoes. By closing argument I was wearing boots with khaki pants.

I have around 60-70 ties that I need to get rid of. I will retire next year and hardly ever wear coat and tie now. Mainly just to weddings and funerals. I took some suites I had "outgrown" to the career closet at A&M but hate to give them really nice ties.

Quote:

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I have been a trial attorney for most of my 35 year career and I had a pattern for the suit, shirt and tie I wore during a trial. I would start off during jury selection with an expensive suite, nice shirt and tie and AE shoes. By closing argument I was wearing boots with khaki pants.

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Was there a psychological reason behind that, or just your personal preference?

There was. I tried to look as professional as I could to start the trial so people would have confidence that I knew what I was doing and therefore have confidence in my case. By the end of the trial I wanted them to look at me like I was one of them---a boot wearing country guy. Which I am. I wanted them to have confidence in me but not look at me and think I was a slick city guy trying to hoodwink them.

You gotta be careful though. You get a really stupid jury and they might think your client is constantly firing his lawyer.

With my west Texas accent there is no doubt that the same guy shows up each day!