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I’ve been meaning to get a modern suit for some time. With my involvement in steampunk I have plenty of nice clothes but the styling is all from more than a century ago. The one jacket I did have was bought second hand 20 years ago and didn’t fit well then or now. None at all suitable for a contemporary job interview and, given my impending possible layoff, a bit more important than it used to be.
I’ve also been wanting to do a costume that required a modern suit. One of Junior’s henchmen from the web anime RWBY, which alludes to the Axe Gang from “Kung Fu Hustle”, which is based on the actual Axe Gang in Shanghai in the 1920s. I had gotten pretty much all the other props I would need for that and only needed the suit.
So finally, a few weeks ago, I set out to find a decent suit. I landed at Men’s Warehouse and was treated like a professional. I was measured and asked what I was looking for. We immediately went over to the rack and started trying on jackets, which fit pretty well.
But not quite. They look good but sort of bound up under my arms. Going to the next size up would solve that problem but then they were a little wide around the torso. However, that issue was more easily managed with tailoring than the arms.
Buy one get one free.
I was planning on getting a single, simple black suit and spending several hundred dollars for it. They were having a “buy one, get one” sale so I looked at another suit. Didn’t like pinstripes and settled on a gray suit. The one was $800. The other (that I would be getting for free) was $500. A lot more than what I had initially thought but, well, I’ll have two nice suits and, so long as I can keep the same general build or don’t get a job that has me wearing a suit every day I will probably never have to buy such a thing again.
The pants didn’t fit.
While the jacket was OK, trying on the pants didn’t fit around my cyclist thighs. I would need to move up to the next size in pants and have them tailored as well. For the black suit, all that could be done immediately (or as immediately as “come back in a few days” is) but for the gray suit they would need to order, which would take additional days on top of that. Since I had The Bank interview coming up, having one suit would be sufficient, no matter which one.
Once that was sorted out and the tailor had made the little soap marks on my suit, it was time for all the other stuff. The attendants had helpfully set out a table full of shirt and tie combinations. I put up a struggle because I had ties that I liked and my wife countered that they were all narrow ties, were 60 years out of date and not appropriate for modern job interviews. I was able to put my foot down and choose solid or patterned ties and avoid the striped “power ties”. I got a white shirt, a black shirt (needed for the henchman costume) and (another compromise) a light blue shirt. I got a few belts because I needed dress belts. Thankfully, these were all also under the “buy one, get one” pricing scheme.
After dropping $1000 for suits and sundries (ouch), we did some other shopping. To go with the RWBY/Axe Gang costume I thought I should have red socks to match the red tie and red sunglasses. We did some shopping at the mall, met my daughter for dinner, did some more shopping. She was looking for shoes because her puppy had eaten some of her shoes and I was also looking for some around-the-house shoes because mine had fallen apart. She pointed out a pair of black and red faux alligator shoes on the discount shelves and goaded me into buying them. Only $20.
Yes. They will work well with the costume. I threatened to wear them to my interview.
As to the interview, the suit was going to be ready on Wednesday but the interview ended up being scheduled for Tuesday. Since that opportunity was completely lost I didn’t go back to pick up the suit until Saturday when it was more convenient for me to do so. After trying on the one suit and being fitted for the second suit (which would be ready Monday) they figured out that I had been overcharged for the alterations on the first suit. They had charged me for lengthening the sleeves and again for shortening the sleeves. They fixed that but then hit me for alterations on the second suit, that hadn’t been in the first payment. Another $50.
So, now I own a good suit. All I need now is to learn the dance.
I’ve also been wanting to do a costume that required a modern suit. One of Junior’s henchmen from the web anime RWBY, which alludes to the Axe Gang from “Kung Fu Hustle”, which is based on the actual Axe Gang in Shanghai in the 1920s. I had gotten pretty much all the other props I would need for that and only needed the suit.So finally, a few weeks ago, I set out to find a decent suit. I landed at Men’s Warehouse and was treated like a professional. I was measured and asked what I was looking for. We immediately went over to the rack and started trying on jackets, which fit pretty well.
But not quite. They look good but sort of bound up under my arms. Going to the next size up would solve that problem but then they were a little wide around the torso. However, that issue was more easily managed with tailoring than the arms.
Buy one get one free.
I was planning on getting a single, simple black suit and spending several hundred dollars for it. They were having a “buy one, get one” sale so I looked at another suit. Didn’t like pinstripes and settled on a gray suit. The one was $800. The other (that I would be getting for free) was $500. A lot more than what I had initially thought but, well, I’ll have two nice suits and, so long as I can keep the same general build or don’t get a job that has me wearing a suit every day I will probably never have to buy such a thing again.
The pants didn’t fit.
While the jacket was OK, trying on the pants didn’t fit around my cyclist thighs. I would need to move up to the next size in pants and have them tailored as well. For the black suit, all that could be done immediately (or as immediately as “come back in a few days” is) but for the gray suit they would need to order, which would take additional days on top of that. Since I had The Bank interview coming up, having one suit would be sufficient, no matter which one.
Once that was sorted out and the tailor had made the little soap marks on my suit, it was time for all the other stuff. The attendants had helpfully set out a table full of shirt and tie combinations. I put up a struggle because I had ties that I liked and my wife countered that they were all narrow ties, were 60 years out of date and not appropriate for modern job interviews. I was able to put my foot down and choose solid or patterned ties and avoid the striped “power ties”. I got a white shirt, a black shirt (needed for the henchman costume) and (another compromise) a light blue shirt. I got a few belts because I needed dress belts. Thankfully, these were all also under the “buy one, get one” pricing scheme.
After dropping $1000 for suits and sundries (ouch), we did some other shopping. To go with the RWBY/Axe Gang costume I thought I should have red socks to match the red tie and red sunglasses. We did some shopping at the mall, met my daughter for dinner, did some more shopping. She was looking for shoes because her puppy had eaten some of her shoes and I was also looking for some around-the-house shoes because mine had fallen apart. She pointed out a pair of black and red faux alligator shoes on the discount shelves and goaded me into buying them. Only $20.Yes. They will work well with the costume. I threatened to wear them to my interview.
As to the interview, the suit was going to be ready on Wednesday but the interview ended up being scheduled for Tuesday. Since that opportunity was completely lost I didn’t go back to pick up the suit until Saturday when it was more convenient for me to do so. After trying on the one suit and being fitted for the second suit (which would be ready Monday) they figured out that I had been overcharged for the alterations on the first suit. They had charged me for lengthening the sleeves and again for shortening the sleeves. They fixed that but then hit me for alterations on the second suit, that hadn’t been in the first payment. Another $50.
So, now I own a good suit. All I need now is to learn the dance.
