The Suit Essential

Rental suits are awful. You pay money to borrow something that you will wear for a few hours without any guarantee you will find the suit you’re looking for or that it will fit your unique body shape. One of our clients has pointed out; “the worst part is having to return it the next day while nursing a hang over”. Thankfully, 9tailors is giving away a custom tuxedo for the holiday season, up to a $550 value!

To enter, Like us on Facebook and Intsagram. Leave a comment on our pages when you’re done. We will be choosing the winner on 11/30/2013.

Although not every man needs a tuxedo, every man does need to own a suit. It is a staple that says, “I am a grown adult”. If you haven’t already seen the time-lapse transformation video of Jim Wolf, a homeless veteran, on YouTube or Gawker, you must.  Not only does a suit give you confidence, it gives off smart impression. You never know when an opportunity may arise. I cannot tell you how many times someone has called 9tailors in a panic seeking out a suit for an interview the next day. Our guest bartender for our Bourbon Tasting Event, Brother Cleve, has 8 suits. He wears them for everything and explains it best,

“I own 8 suits, including a tuxedo, a seersucker, a sharkskin and a Nehru/Mandarin styled suit I had tailored in a shop in Singapore’s Little India neighborhood (a shop with a Desi owner and a Chinese tailor).

People react differently when you show up at an event, be it a musical one or a cocktail party, wearing a suit. You stand out from the casual crowd, and maybe it gives a certain presence in a room. I favor hats as well, often of the porkpie variety – I always loved that style when I was young and looking at photos of jazz artists from, say, the 1950s. In the 90s when we were out at night wearing suits and drinking cocktails in stemmed glassware – things that had fallen out of favor over the 20 years beforehand – it was a statement. We weren’t salesmen who were still out after a long day working; we were revivalists just trying to bring back the ‘good life’.

By Wayne Valdez
Brother Cleve in 1981, post-punk days

I’m happy to see the return of the classic look of the well-tailored suit, presented not as retro but as a contemporary. To me it says, “I’m an adult” to the world. We live in a society where everything has become depressingly casual, where people think nothing about going out to the store in their pajamas, or to a top restaurant in a t-shirt and shorts. Our goal in our band Combustible Edison, back in the 90s, was to bring back a return to the ‘fabulousness’… we were ex-punk rockers wearing suits (from the thrift shop, for sure) and drinking cocktails and playing lounge music. It had a certain irony to it, but we ended up influencing people in Hollywood and on Madison Ave, which helped bands these days photographed wearing them, including my current band, The Singhs.

source: carthrottle
Still from Macklemore and Ryan Lewis' "Thrift Shop" music video featuring Wanz 

My least favorite trend, for a couple of decades now, is the continued use of brand names on clothes – I really don’t care what store you bought that t-shirt at and I don’t need to see everyone as a walking advertisement for mass market stores at shopping centers. It’s a fake status symbol that means nothing. It’s all part of the dumbing down of society. We’ve been reduced to being walking billboards, and paying to be so!”

You do not need 8 suits in your wardrobe, but you can absolutely build up to it. Start off with grey suit and a navy blazer.  President Obama sticks with the basics, "You'll see I wear only gray or blue suits", he tells Vanity Fair. They are the most versatile to swing for every occasion and you automatically look like a sophisticated gentleman who knows what they're doing. The darker the grey suit is, the more formal it is.

source: penelopesoasis
A simple navy blazer completely transform an outfit

source: redcarpet-fashionawards

If you haven't started your adult wardrobe and need a suit, now is the perfect time! For the month of November, Movember, we are having a 20% off suits and separates promotion. Don't wait until the night before your big interview or your own wedding (it's happened, 1 week is the closest phone call we've gotten so far, 1 day for a guest of a wedding) to get your suit. 

Interested in starting off your suit collection? Need to add that essential navy blazer? Want to take advantage of our 20% off November promotion? Contact us at info@9tailors.com