Men's Clothing

Types Of Cloth

2012-01-08T22:17:00.001-08:00

Mohair

Mohair is the hair from the Angora goat. It is distinctive from wool, in that it has a different fibre structure, which hangs in ringlets and is exceedingly fine, soft and silky.

The name ‘Angora’ originates from the province of Angora in Turkey where these goats have been farmed for centuries and are said to have descended from the Cashmere goat. To achieve the best quality of Mohair fibre, the fleece should be shorn from goats under eight years old, after which time the hair becomes too coarse. The first clipping from the Angora goat is called ‘Kid Mohair’ and because it is the first ever clip, the fibre tends to be the softest.

Mohair is the most durable of all animal fibres, with natural lustre and resistance to dirt and creasing. Angora goats thrive in habitats of high altitude, warm climate, abundant grazing pastures and fresh water.

As with wool, mohair can be spun on the woollen or worsted system. Worsted mohair suiting fabrics have a clean, crisp handle with a bright, lively surface as the natural lustre of the fibre is used to full effect. They are light in weight, and yet the strength of the fibre guarantees a hard wearing, long lasting cloth.

Vicuna

Inca legend tells of the vicuna as the reincarnation of a beautiful young maiden who was wooed by an old, ugly king. She would only consent to his advances if he promised her a coat of pure gold. This is how the vicuna came to have its golden fleece. Considered sacred by the Incas, only royalty were allowed to wear the vicunas precious fleece, also known as the fibre of the gods. The attraction of vicuna fleece has not diminished with time; today, vicunas continue to be worshipped as sacred animals by the indigenous Aymara Indians of Peru and Bolivia. The incredibly soft and luxurious handle of the vicuna fleece has made this shy and diminutive creature a most sought-after treasure since the time of the Incas. These revered mammals are to be found in the extreme heights of the Altiplano regions of the Andes, most commonly in Peru. A vicuna’s fur is thick but soft and the fibre length is rarely more than 25mm making it more suitable for woollen spun fabrics. However, the fibre that has been used to produce this range of fabrics has a staple length greater than 30mm; making it the first vicuna fibre to be spun into yarn using the worsted spinning system

Silk

Silk is a natural protein fibre spun by the silkworm as it makes its cocoon and is one of the strongest natural fibres. Silk has always held a special position as a quality fibre, and was originally reserved for the Emperors of China, but quickly became popular throughout Chinese culture, Asia and beyond by means of the Silk Road.

The Silk Road refers to the extensive trade routes across Asia, connecting North Africa and Europe. This network extended over 8,000km and enabled traders and merchants to transport luxury goods including silk, rubies, diamonds and pearls across the continents.

Silk fibres have a triangular cross section with rounded corners, allowing light to reflect at many different angles giving a natural shine and lustre. Appropriate for all climates, the naturally good moisture absorbency of silk allows the fibres to maintain their insulation properties making silk cloth comfortable to wear even in warm climates.

Cotton

Cotton is a soft, vegetable fibre that grows in a form known as a boll around the seeds of the cotton plant, a shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the Americas, India and Africa. Successful cultivation of cotton requires a long frost-free period, plenty of sunshine, and a moderate rainfall.

The fibre can be spun into yarn or thread producing a soft, breathable textile. Cotton has been spun, woven, and dyed since prehistoric times, clothing the people of ancient India, Egypt, and China.

Europeans knew little about the origins of cotton prior to the 15th Century. Up until this time they believed cotton to be derived from a sheep-bearing plant, noting its similarities to wool.

Legend told of a wonderful tree which grew in India and bore tiny lambs on the ends of its branches. These branches were so pliable that they bent down to allow the lambs to feed when they were hungry. The advent of the Industrial Revolution in Britain provided a great boost to cotton manufacture, as textiles emerged as Britain's leading export.

Linen

The manufacture of linen yarn and fabric is a complicated process, one that requires skill and expertise from the cultivation of the raw flax plant, to the combing and processing of the fibres in preparation for spinning and weaving. The use of linen dates back to ancient times; it was the first known textile fibre in the world, with the earliest traces of its use dating back to 8000 BC. Linen has also been discovered in Egyptian tombs wrapped around the mummified bodies of pharaohs, it was seen as a symbol of light and purity, and a display of wealth.

Linen is highly absorbent and a good conductor of heat, keeping the body cool when worn in hot climates. It has a smooth, lustrous surface with a natural resistance to dirt and staining and is the strongest of the vegetable fibers, with two to three times the strength of cotton.

Linen fabrics have a high natural lustre, with the ability to absorb and lose water rapidly, gaining up to 20% moisture content without feeling damp. The natural look of linen cloth is an elegant choice for casual wear, warm weather, weekends and holidays.

Types Of Wool

2011-11-24T23:56:00.000-08:00

Merino

The Merino is the most economically influential breed of sheep in the world, prized for its wool. Superfine Merinos are regarded as having the finest and softest wool of any sheep.

Merino sheep produce a clean, white fleece ideal for dying to clear, fresh colours, while the long, fine fibres can be spun to the finest count, woven into the finest fabric and tailored into the finest suits.

The wool has characteristic crimp and elasticity, creating unparalleled style, drape, comfort and performance for the wearer. The handle and lustre is of exceptional softness and kindness to the touch, unlike any other fibre.

For hundreds of years, Merino flocks were the exclusive property of the Spanish Crown and wealthy nobles. King Alfonso of Spain forbade the export of Merino from the 14th Century for over 400 years because of the wool’s value to the Spanish economy. In the 18th Century, the King of Spain gave the finest of these coveted flocks to the powerful rulers in Saxony, France and Great Britain. This gift of Kings was eventually shipped to the farthest reaches of the world, including South Africa, Argentina, New Zealand and Australia, where the treasured Merino sheep flourished.

The refined, unique Merino fleece is shorn once a year and is analyzed for micron, colour and brightness, comfort, fibre length and strength amongst other measures of quality. The fineness of Merino wool is measured by its micron value: the lower the number, the finer and better the quality.

Cashmere

The Cashmere goat is to be found principally on the cold and dry highlands of Central Asia at 3,000 to 5,000metres above sea level. From here the wool travels across India and past the Himalayan Mountains, to China, where it is distributed to mills throughout the western world.

Cashmere was first discovered by the nobility of Victorian England and subsequently became one of the most prestigious fibres of the noble fibre family. The low bulk, high loft fibres combine to make the warmest, most comfortable garments money can buy. In softness, warmth and fineness of fibre cashmere is comparable to Vicuna. Cashmere is appropriate for all climates as the high moisture absorbency rate allows the fibres to maintain their insulation properties in varying conditions of relative humidity. The finest fibres are gathered from the saddle of the Cashmere goat and are harvested by carefully combing the goat’s fleece during the spring months. Cashmere cloths are luxurious with a soft and seductive handle, beautiful drape and timeless appeal.

E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

How To Make Your Own Custom Clothes Patterns

2011-11-24T23:45:00.000-08:00

How to make your own custom clothes patterns. If you don't have the perfectly symmetrical body that clothing patterns are designed for, then this article will help you to alter them so they look custom made.

When you look at someone whose clothes fit perfectly, do you wonder what their secret is? It really isn't a secret, it is knowing how to custom fit patterns so you, too can have clothes that fit perfectly. Perhaps one shoulder is higher than the other, or perhaps one arm is bigger around than the other. Many minor physical differences can be made unnoticeable when your clothing fits.

You can do this in one of two ways, it is your choice depending upon your skill as a seamstress and the amount of time you have.

In the first method, you simply use a lightweight cotton fabric (such as sheeting) cut the pattern out and sew using basting stitches. Alter the garment as needed and then take the basting stitches out and use the altered cloth as a pattern.

In the second method, you first measure yourself, or have a friend help you. Measure both left and right sides of your body, and front and back on the left and right. You will end up with measurements that you can use to draw an accurate picture of yourself.

Use a dressmaker's dummy, or if one is not available, a large piece of paper to draw an accurate rendition of you, down the the inch. Now lay your pattern pieces on the drawing, notice where dart lines, waist measurements, underarm seams, etc., fall. If they don't land where you need them to, then adjust the pattern by adding or taking away. Darts can be moved up down, left and right. Waistlines can be lowered or raised. If the pattern does not fit across you can add a little extra.

Where possible, work from the center of the pattern to help keep the pieces symmetrical. Also remember that any changes to one piece will change any other pieces that attach to the one you changed. So if you change a neckline don't forget to adjust both front and back necklines, and any collars or facings.

After you have adjusted the pattern to fit you, cut out your material and sew it with basting stitches. Try on the garment to insure that the fit is what you want. Make any other adjustments before sewing with finished stitching.

For a more professional, custom made look follow the tips here. When you finish seams, make sure they are straight and even, finish the inside of the garment, attach buttons with several neat stitches. Tack down facings with hand stitches where seams are at the shoulder and the front. Pressing after each seam will insure a more professional look in the finished garment. When you have sewn the last button on, and are finished with the garment, wash it as you would normally, give it a final damp press and it is ready to wear.

Your garment will look as if it were expensively custom tailored to fit you, because it was. As you become more experienced with adjusting patterns you will find it takes the same amount of time as when you just stitched up the pattern as it came. Don't forget to remeasure yourself periodically, since we all change our shapes depending upon season, age etc. Enjoy your new clothing.

E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Mens Vintage Clothing

2011-08-18T22:44:00.001-07:00

ZOOT SUITS

Worn first by rebellious black and hispanic teenagers on both coasts in the late 20s/30s as a statement against the majority, the zoot was soon picked up by musicians and dancers in the early 1940s and even found its way into mainstream fashion.
The zoot jacket is oversized, wide-shouldered, and hangs almost to the knees. Often, it is double-breasted with wide, low lapels. Zoot pants are low-crotched and high-waisted, often coming halfway up the torso. They are deeply pleated at the waist (generally two or three mammoth pleats on each side) and generously cut at the knee. Zoot pants taper sharply at the ankle to end in a deep cuff that rests on the shoes. The width at the ankle is generally only be as wide as needed to get over the heel (though some men had zippers sewn into their cuffs to get a tighter fit) and the cuff was 1-2" deep.
The fabric for zoot suits was like the suits themselves - dramatic and overstated. The fabric was either brightly colored or boldly patterned with wide pinstripes or glen check. With fabric, the bolder the better - the goal was to distinguish oneself from the mainstream.

OXFORD BAGGIES

Oxford Baggies originated on the campus of Oxford University, England, during the summer of 1920. The full cut of these pants and cuff with a circumference of 22 inches allowed students to easily slip them on over their beloved knickers, which had been banned by the University. Unlike the ZOOT SUITS, Oxford Baggies were more socially accepted and worn by the masses.

JAZZ SUIT

Jazz clothing surfaced in 1919 as a new music called Jazz was first being performed. This JAZZ SUIT, identified by it's extremely trim, tight/pinched look, was worn by those in the theatrical profession. As seen in World War One uniforms the jacket has a unique waist seam.

SACQUE SUITS

Sacque Suits were worn by the common man from the 1850's - 1920's. They were appropriate for all but the dressiest occasions. Full cut Jacket with 4 button high gorge and trousers are straight cut and without cuffs.
Sacque's modern styling comes by way of its short, slim-fitting jacket and its low-rise, straight-leg pant. Together they create a sleek, contemporary look.

E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Dressing Tips For Short Height Person

2011-06-10T03:42:00.001-07:00

In order to achieve a taller appearance, you must establish a unified look from top to bottom that uses vertical lines, smooth transitions and thematic consistency. The goal is for people to perceive you either in passing glance or by general perception as a whole and not broken up in parts. Below are the top ten tips tactics (in no particular order) on how to look taller.

Short Hair:
Be sure to keep your hair short and neatly trimmed. Shorter hair allows us to see your neck and well trimmed short hair can create visual lines from the back of your neck up behind your ears, tapering into the body of your hair. Long hair hides your neck and forces our sightlines to naturally follow the growth of the hair down

Fit:
there are two aspects to "Fit" that are critical to appearing taller. First, your clothes must fit you well. Oversized or to tight, either way poorly fitted clothes accentuate every aspect of your body that you would prefer others to ignore. If you're not a tall man and want to build in good practices to appearing taller, be sure to find a good tailor and get your clothes fitting you as best you can. The second "Fit" element is your physical fitness. Shorter men who wish to appear taller must pay close attention to their fitness level. Being vertically challenged is no fault of your own but being unfit is all you!

Vertical patterns:
Stick with pin stripes or vertical patterns and absolutely avoid horizontal, big or loud patterns - simple as that!

Trousers:
Pleated Trousers are best to achieve a vertical sight line. A single pleat is recommended, much more in the way of fabric can defeat the purpose. Cuffs are not helpful in achieving height as they create unnecessary horizontal lines so go without cuffs.

Shoes:
Mens dress shoes typically have heels and most men do wear heeled dress shoes so be sure not to put yourself at a further disadvantage by wearing flat shoes. Incorporate heeled shoes into your work and causal wear wardrobe.

Monochromatic color scheme from top to bottom:
This tactic is one of the most important in order to achieve that unified look. Monochrome implies one color using different "tints and shades" of that same color. Staying with one hue (color) helps establish that unified and consistent theme. Here is a great example using black in a monochrome color scheme...black dress shoes, black socks, black trousers, black belt and a fitted long sleeved dark grey v-neck merino wool sweater.

Shirts:
dress shirt collars should be classic straight or narrow shirt collars with elongated collar tips. Sweaters should be v-neck not rounded. Skinny or slender neck ties with smaller knots, no bow ties. Again, our goal is vertical lines, bow ties and spread collars are horizontal and should be avoided.

Belt:
We always suggest your belt should match your shoes. We continue to stand behind this recommendation however, if can, get yourself dark brown or black dress shoes and let them become staples in your wardrobe. If you're hoping to achieve tall points having a noticeable horizontal element like a belt is bad news. Use a belt that is darker than your trousers, avoid thick belts, avoid clunky buckles and don't violate the match your shoes rule.

Jackets:
Single breasted is your best option. Never double breasted! Follow the tactics like pinstripes or vertical patterns, monochrome color schemes and above all be sure your jacket is tailored to fit you. A nicely tailored 3 button single breasted jacket will server your needs perfectly.

Posture etc:
You should not have to be told, if you're below average in height you don't have the latitude for poor posture. Don't slouch, stand up-right, project your confidence, walk with purpose, be assertive, speak clearly, definitively and in controlled lower tones...That's how to look taller!

E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Elements Of Formal Clothing - Part 4

2010-12-19T20:15:00.000-08:00

Waistcoats

Waistcoats (often called vests in the USA) were almost always worn with suits prior to the 1940s. They were revived in the 1970s and remained popular throughout that decade in some parts of the world, and remain popular, for example, in Germany. Waistcoats can be either single-breasted or double-breasted. A style that was quite popular among fashionable young men in the 1920s was to wear a single-breasted coat with a high-waisted double-breasted waistcoat. High-waisted single-breasted waistcoats were popular in both the 1920s–1930s and in the 1970s, and were often made with either five or six buttons. Today, many suit makers sell suits with waistcoats, although they often cost much more than a simple two-piece suit. A suit with a matching waistcoat is often called a three-piece suit. They are much more popular in continental Europe than in the USA, Britain, or Japan.

Trousers

Suit trousers are always made of the same material as the jacket. Even from the 1910s to 1920s, before the invention of sports jackets specifically to be worn with odd trousers, wearing a suit jacket with odd trousers was as an alternative to a full suit. However, with the modern advent of sports jackets, suit jackets are always worn with matching trousers, and the trousers have always been worn with the appropriate jacket.

Trouser width has varied considerably throughout the decades. In the 1920s, trousers were straight-legged and wide-legged, with a standard width at the cuff of 23 inches. After 1935, trousers began to be tapered in at the bottom half of the leg. Trousers remained wide at the top of the leg throughout the 1940s. By the 1950s and 1960s, a more slim look had become popular. In the 1970s, suit makers offered a variety of styles of trousers, including flared, bell bottomed, wide-legged, and more traditional tapered trousers. In the 1980s these styles disappeared in favor of tapered, slim-legged trousers.

One variation in the design of trousers is the use or not of pleats. The most classic style of trouser is to have two pleats, usually forward, since this gives more comfort sitting and better hang standing.This is still a common style, and for these reasons of utility has been worn throughout the twentieth century. The style originally descended from the exaggeratedly widened Oxford bags worn in the 1930s in Oxford, which, though themselves short-lived, began a trend for fuller fronts.The style is still seen as the smartest, featuring on dress trousers with black and white tie. However, at various periods throughout the last century, flat fronted trousers with no pleats have been worn, and the swing in fashions has been marked enough that the more fashion-oriented ready-to-wear brands have not produced both types continuously.

Turn-ups on the bottom of trousers, or cuffs, were initially popularised in the 1890s by Edward VII, and were popular with suits throughout the 1920s and 1930s. After falling out of style in World War II, they were not generally popular again, despite serving the useful purpose of adding weight to straighten the hang of the trousers. They have always been an informal option, being inappropriate on all formalwear.

Other variations in trouser style include the rise of the trouser. This was very high in the early half of the century, particularly with formalwear, with rises above the natural waist, to allow the waistcoat covering the waistband to come down just below the narrowest point of the chest. Though serving less purpose, this high height was duplicated in the daywear of the period. Since then, fashions have changed, and have rarely been that high again with styles returning more to low-rise trousers, even dropping down have waistbands resting on the hips. Other changing aspects of the cut include the length, which determines the break, the bunching of fabric just above the shoe when the front seam is marginally longer than height to the shoe's top. Some parts of the world, such as Europe, traditionally opt for shorter trousers with little or no break, while Americans often choose to wear a slight break.

A final major distinction is made in whether the trousers take a belt or braces (suspenders). While a belt was originally never worn with a suit, the forced wearing of belts during wartime years (caused by restrictions on use of elastic caused by wartime shortages) contributed to their rise in popularity, with braces now much less popular than belts. When braces were common, the buttons for attaching them were placed on the outside of the waistband, because they would be covered by a waistcoat or cardigan, but now it is more frequent to button on the inside of the trouser. Trousers taking braces are rather different in cut at the waist, employing inches of extra girth and also height at the back. The split in the waistband at the back is in the fishtail shape.

E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Elements Of Formal Clothing - Part 3

2010-11-15T02:44:00.000-08:00

Single- vs. double-breasted jacket

Most single-breasted suits have two or three buttons, and one or four buttons are unusual. It is rare to find a suit with more than four buttons, although zoot suits can have as many as six or more due to their longer length. There is also variation in the placement and style of buttons, since the button placement is critical to the overall impression of height conveyed by the jacket. The centre or top button will typically line up quite closely with the natural waistline.

Double-breasted jackets have only half their outer buttons functional, as the second row is for display only, forcing them to come in pairs. Some rare jackets can have as few as two buttons, and during various periods, for instance the 1960s and 70s, as many as eight were seen. Six buttons are typical, with two to button; the last pair floats above the overlap. The three buttons down each side may in this case be in a straight line (the 'keystone' layout) or more commonly, the top pair is half as far apart again as each pair in the bottom square. A four-button double-breasted jacket usually buttons in a square. The layout of the buttons and the shape of the lapel are co-ordinated in order to direct the eyes of an observer. For example, if the buttons are too low, or the lapel roll too pronounced, the eyes are drawn down from the face, and the waist appears larger.

The custom that a man's coat should button "left side over right", anecdotally originates in the use of the sword, where such cut avoided catching the top of the weapon in the opening of the cloth (since the sword was usually drawn right-handed). Women's suits are buttoned "right side over left". A similar anecdotal story to explain this is that women were dressed by maids, and so the buttons were arranged for the convenience of their, typically, right-handed servants; men on the other hand dressed themselves and so the buttons were positioned to simplify that task.

Jacket lapel

A notched lapel
A peaked lapel
A shawl lapel

The jacket's lapels can be notched (also called "stepped"), peaked ("pointed"), shawl, or "trick" (Mandarin and other unconventional styles). Each lapel style carries different connotations, and is worn with different cuts of suit. Notched lapels are only found on single-breasted jackets and are the most informal style. Double-breasted jackets usually have peaked lapels. Shawl lapels are a style derived from the Victorian informal evening wear, and as such are not normally seen on suit jackets except for dinner suits.

In the 1980s, double-breasted suits with notched lapels were popular with power suits and the New Wave style.

In the late 1920s and 1930s, a design considered very stylish was the single-breasted peaked lapel jacket. This has gone in and out of vogue periodically, being popular once again during the 1970s, and is still a recognised alternative. The ability to properly cut peak lapels on a single-breasted suit is one of the most challenging tailoring tasks, even for very experienced tailors.

The width of the lapel is a varying aspect of suits, and has changed over the years. The 1930s and 1970s featured exceptionally wide lapels, whereas during the late 1950s and most of the 1960s suits with very narrow lapels—often only about an inch wide—were in fashion. The 1980s saw mid-size lapels with a low gorge (the point on the jacket that forms the "notch" or "peak" between the collar and front lapel). Current (mid-2000s) trends are towards a narrower lapel and higher gorge.

Lapels also have a buttonhole, intended to hold a boutonni?re, a decorative flower. These are now only commonly seen at more formal events. Usually double-breasted suits have one hole on each lapel (with a flower just on the left), while single-breasted suits have just one on the left.

Pockets

Most jackets have a variety of inner pockets, and two main outer pockets, which are generally either patch pockets, flap pockets, or jetted pockets. The patch pocket is, with its single extra piece of cloth sewn directly onto the front of the jacket, a sporting option, sometimes seen on summer linen suits, or other informal styles. The flap pocket is standard for side pockets, and has an extra lined flap of matching fabric covering the top of the pocket. A jetted pocket is most formal, with a small strip of fabric taping the top and bottom of the slit for the pocket. This style is most often on seen on formalwear, such as a dinner jacket.

In addition to the standard two outer pockets, some suits have a third, the ticket pocket, usually located just above the right pocket and roughly half as wide. While this was originally exclusively a feature of country suits, used for conveniently storing a train ticket, it is now seen on some town suits. Another country feature also worn sometimes in cities is a pair of hacking pockets, which are similar to normal ones, but slanted; this was originally designed to make the pockets easier to open on horseback while hacking.

Sleeves

Suit jackets in all styles typically have three or four buttons on each cuff, which are often purely decorative (the sleeve is sewn closed and cannot be unbuttoned to open). Five buttons are unusual and are a modern fashion innovation. The number of buttons is primarily a function of the formality of the suit; a very casual summer sports jacket might traditionally (1930s) have had only one button, while tweed suits typically have three and city suits four. In the 1970s, two buttons were seen on some city suits.Today, four buttons are common on most business suits and even casual suits.

Although the sleeve buttons usually cannot be undone, the stitching is such that it appears they could. Functional cuff buttons may be found on high-end or bespoke suits; this feature is called a surgeon's cuff. Some wearers leave these buttons undone to reveal that they can afford a bespoke suit, although it is proper to leave these buttons done up.Modern bespoke styles and high end off-the-rack suits equipped with surgeon's cuffs have the last two buttons stitched off-centre, so that the sleeve hangs more cleanly should the buttons ever be undone.

A cuffed sleeve has an extra length of fabric folded back over the arm, or just some piping or stitching above the buttons to allude to the edge of a cuff. This was popular in the Edwardian era, as a feature of formalwear such as frock coats carried over to informalwear, but is now rare.

Vents

A vent is a slit in the bottom rear (the "tail") of the jacket.Originally, vents were a sporting option, designed to make riding easier, so are traditional on hacking jackets, formal coats such as a morning coat, and, for reasons of pragmatism, overcoats. Today there are three styles of venting: the single-vented style (with one vent at the centre); the ventless style; and the double-vented style (one vent on each side). Vents are convenient, particularly when using a pocket or sitting down, to improve the hang of the jacket, so are now used on most jackets. Ventless jackets are associated with Italian tailoring, while the double-vented style is typically British.(This is not the case with all types of jackets. For instance, dinner jackets traditionally take no vents.)

Belted jackets

Suit jackets with belts on them became popular after World War I, especially on the exaggerated "jazz suits" which were popular in 1920 and 1921. After 1921, a more subdued style prevailed in which the belt was placed solely on the back of the coat, a half-belted back. This continued on many suit coats throughout the 1920s and early 1930s, usually on very fashionably made suits for the young. This style made a brief comeback in the 1970s when some suit coats again featured belts on the back.

E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

The Elements Of Wool Overcoat

2010-11-09T03:39:00.000-08:00

A wool coat can be an important investment. Wool coats come in a variety of shapes and forms, from business blazers to thick pea coats. The variety are vast, from Frock Coat, Top Coat, Pea Coat, Duffle Coat in luxirous wool, wool and cashmere, pure cashmere, camel hair in huge color range. Due to the variety of choices it may take some consideration to decide what type of coat is right for you. Some things to consider include the intended use of the coat, how cold it gets where you are, how long you want the coat to last, and how much you intend to spend on your new wool coat. With all these decisions, a tailor can assist you making the right choice.

As a fabric, wool has a number of advantages. Wool is naturally water resistant thanks to the lanolin it contains, although you may start to smell like a wet sheep if your wool coat gets too wet. Wool is also an excellent insulator, and a wool coat will keep you warm when other fibers might not. However, wool has a few disadvantages as well. If the fabric gets wet through, it will be very heavy and take a long time to dry. Most wool garments are also dry clean only, which can be expensive and time consuming. In addition, wool sometimes irritates the skin, and for this reason wool garments should be lined with silk, cotton, or another similar material so that the wool fibers will not cause itching.

Wool coats come in a number of weights. Some wool is light enough to be worn in the summer time in some areas, and can lend the wearer an air of style and sophistication. Thin wool tends to drape very well, making it extremely flattering on most figures. Thicker weights of wool are designed for overcoats and cold weather. Thicker wool will cause the figure to bulk out, which is an important thing to think about when buying a wool coat.

If you are a businessperson, you may want to consider a blazer or slim lined long wool coat. This type of coat could keep you warm and looking professional. Most wool blazers have a matching set of pants or skirt as well, so that you can maintain a well put together and matched look. Longer wool coats can be worn over a business suit and checked at the door or hung up in your office. In well heated buildings, this is a good option because it would allow you to wear lighter clothing underneath, and still be warm when you went outside.

If you are looking purely for warmth, a pea coat or another type of thick wool overcoat is worth investigating as well. Pea coats tend to have a more square cut, which could make you look more boxy. It is an excellent idea to try on several pea coats and find a fit which flatters you. Pea coats tend to be thick and lined, meaning that they will keep out most cold winds. When trying on an overcoat, try to wear multiple layers underneath it, so that you will get an accurate idea of how the wool coat will look and fit.

Generally, the more expensive the wool coat, the longer it will last. Sometimes you can get a deal on a quality wool coat: just be sure to look for solid, even stitching, strong well woven fabric, and 100% wool content. In thinner wool garments, a wool/cashmere or wool/silk mix would be acceptable as well. When you do decide to purchase an expensive wool coat, make sure it is custom tailored so that it fits you well.

E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

A versatile Fabric For Fine Custom Garments

2010-06-29T03:30:00.001-07:00

WOOL fabric brings to mind cozy warmth. Some wools are scratchy giving some people the idea that they are "allergic" to wool. Although wool fiber comes from a variety of animal coats, not all wool’s are scratchy but rather extremely soft. The wool fibers have crimps or curls which create pockets and gives the wool a spongy feel and creates insulation for the wearer. The outside surface of the fiber consists of a series of serrated scales which overlap each other much like the scales of a fish. Wool is the only fiber with such serration’s which make it possible for the fibers to cling together and produce felt. The same serration’s will also cling together tightly when wool is improperly washed and shrinks! Wool will not only return to its original position after being stretched or creased, it will absorb up to 30% of its weight in moisture without feeling damp. Its unique properties allow shaping and tailoring, making the wool the most popular fabric for tailoring fine custom garments. Wool is also dirt resistant, flame resistant, and, in many weaves, resists wear and tearing.

Basically, there are two different processes used in wool production. Woolen fabrics have a soft feel and fuzzy surface, very little shine or sheen, will not hold a crease, and are heavier and bulkier than worsteds. Blankets, scarves, coating, and some fabrics are considered woolens. Worsted wool is smoother than woolen, takes shine more easily, does not sag, holds a crease well, is lighter and less bulky, and wears longer than woolen. Worsted wool’s require a greater number of processes, during which fibers are arranged parallel to each other. The smoother, harder-surface worsted yarns produce smoother fabrics with a minimum of fuzziness and nap. Fine worsted wool is even seen in clothing for athletics such as tennis. No, they are not hotter than polyester but actually cooler, as the weave of the fabric allows wool to absorb perspiration and the fabric "breathes," unlike polyester.

WOOL SPECIALTY FIBERS, although still classified as wool, are further classified by the animal the fiber comes from.

Alpaca fleece is very rich and silky with considerable luster. It comes from the Alpaca.

Mohair is from the angora goat and is highly resilient and strong. Mohair’s luster, not softness, determines its value. Mohair is used in home decorating fabrics as well as garment fabrics including tropical worsteds.

Angora wool is from the angora rabbit. This soft fiber is used in sweaters, mittens and baby clothes.

Camel hair is from the extremely soft and fine fur from the undercoat of the camel. Camel’s hair can be used alone but is most often combined with fine wool for overcoating, topcoating, sportswear and sports hosiery. Because of the beauty of the color, fabrics containing camel’s hair are usually left in the natural camel color or dyed a darker brown. Light weight and soft, it is said that a 22 oz. camel fabric is as warm as a 32 oz. woolen fabric.

Cashmere is from the Kasmir goat down. Separation of the soft fibers from the long, coarse hair is tedious and difficult, contributing to the expense of the fabric. The soft hair is woven or knitted into fine garments and can also be blended with silk, cotton, or wool.

Vicuna is the softest coat cloth in the world. The amount of coarse hair to be separated from the soft fibers is negligible and yields the finest animal fiber in the world. Vicuna is a member of the Llama family and is small and wild. Since it is generally killed to obtain the fleece, it is protected by rigorous conservation measures. This fiber is rare and very expensive, costing several hundred dollars per yard.

E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Essential Details In A Sports Coat Or Blazer

2010-05-05T03:59:00.001-07:00

BLAZER OR SPORT COAT? Contrary to popular belief, they're not one and the same. The term blazer covers solid-colored jackets such as blue, black, camel or Masters green. The blazer is one of the most classic and versatile pieces of a man's wardrobe and can be worn with jeans, khakis or gray flannel trousers. It's equipped with brass buttons. Sport coats, or jackets, encompass just about everything else.

A GOOD FIT Few men can afford a custom-made jacket tailored to every inch of their bodies. So it's off the rack we go, and that's OK as long as you use a tailor for alterations. Though jackets are sized from a man's chest, they're built from the shoulders, and that's where a jacket should fit best. (A man's height determines whether he needs a regular, short or long jacket.) The shoulder's fit should be in proportion with your body, with generous armholes that allow you to wrap your arms around a trophy without lifting up the jacket. When buttoned, there should be enough room for a sweater or an extra five pounds.

TO THE TOUCH Fabrics to consider when buying a sport coat are winter, summer or 10 months. The latter is a jacket made from light, yet sturdy, wool in solids or classic menswear patterns suitable to wear 10 months of the year. It's a good buy if you have to wear a jacket now and then. Cashmeres and other wools lend themselves to great patterns--like glenplaid, houndstooth and checks--that are easy to layer with shirts and sweaters. Summer jackets usually are made from fine wool, which is lighter than cotton and is blended with fibers such as linen, silk or nylon.

THE LITTLE THINGS Details like lapel and collar width, pocket and button types define the latest styles. To play it safe, choose lapels with classic widths between three and four inches and with the tip of the lapel reaching about halfway between the collar and the shoulder. Pockets, too, should be kept simple. Vents, the slits on the back of the jacket, are meant for ease of movement. An "American" jacket has a single vent in the middle of the garment. The "British" has one at each hip. A ventless sport coat, that hugs the body, is called a "Continental" jacket. As for buttons: two-and three-button jackets are the norm these days.

THE FINER POINTS Why does one jacket cost $200 and another $3,000? It's the sum of the parts--better fabric, lining and buttons, a more intricate pattern and the amount of work done by hand. A designer's name adds value as well.

E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Basics of Mens Suit

2010-03-23T20:56:00.001-07:00

Men should always dress smart to accentuate their personality at all places that not only includes a stylish suit but also a proper hairstyle, fashionable accessories and a neat pair of shoes. Before freezing on the type of suit that you would want to buy, you should consider the type of event or occasion that you are attending. If the occasion demands you to be dressed in formals, go ahead and get a nice suit for yourself. But before buying a suit you will need to consider many options such as your taste and personality and physique.

*Types of suits - Conservative men's suits are generally worn by most at professional places. But there are also other types of suits available like the Navy Solid, Charcoal Chalk Stripe, Navy Pinstripe, Charcoal Solid, Tan Solid and Prince of Wales Plaid.

*Navy Solid - Solid Navy looks nice on everyone as it adds cooler tones for those who have clear skin tones and warmer for those who have gold undertones in their skin and hair. It is generally worn at weddings or funerals. It is ideal when you wear it for a dressing evening event, paired with an elegant, pale gold or silver tie.

*Charcoal Chalk Strip - The most classic suit for men is the Charcoal Chalk Stripe and is a perfect day time suit. Always remember that darker shades indicate trustworthiness and stability but if you want to enhance the aura of seriousness and confidence, go for rich charcoal tones.

*Suit jackets - There are various important characteristics of suit jackets that include the fabric from which they are made, color and weight, the style or cut of the suit, the details or trimming applied, the degree of customization to its wearer, etc. But the most essential and important characteristic is the cut - if the suit is poorly cut, it will never look good on the wearer in spite of the suit being of the best quality and detailing.

*Custom tailored suits - A suit's cut is made up of two vital parts which are the overall silhouette and the particular proportions of the man who will be wearing it. The one advantage for buying a custom tailored suit is that the tailor cuts the suit to flatter the wearer's best features and diminish any flaws. Such suits are custom-tailored to the wearer's measurements and are built by hand by a master tailor.

*Made-to-measure suits - These are off-the-rack suits which are fitted and altered according to the general wearer's frame. Such suits can only be altered to a certain point and will never fit as well as one custom built. As the name suggests, these have no alterations and are made to an average specification and won't fit best for most wearers.

*Suit quality - The quality of a suit is indicated by its trimming and the selection of its details. It also includes pocket styles, linings, button materials and the addition of subtle signals of the suit's quality such as ticket pockets and functional sleeve buttons. Such small elements give an elegant look to the suit's personality and also to the wearer's.

This has given you a general idea of styles, cuts and fabrics that are applied on a suit. But always remember that understanding the basics of classical men's style is important but the person most responsible for the look of the suit is the man wearing it.

E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Denim Fashion Trends Of The Season

2010-03-09T23:40:00.001-08:00

Many spring-summer 2010 fashion shows were carried out under the motto "militarism and craziness" and customized denim fashion revealed these tendencies as well. The most stylish jeans of the season spring-summer 2010 are skinny, torn, of dirty khaki, gray, blue or black colors. They are best of all combined with long sweaters or tops in military style. Other trends are the 1990s and a sexy look.

Dyed jeans are still in, this spring they come in skinny, straight, torn, short and long variants. Another reminder of the 1990s' fashion are custom jeans in grunge style which look as if they have been worn for several seasons. Boyfriend jeans are still popular too. For example, such jeans can be found in the latest collections of Ralph Lauren, Jean Paul Gaultier, Getwear or Versace. The latter fashion house presented its variation of boyfriend jeans wide on the thighs and tight on the ankles. Unique brand presented their vision of boyfriend style grunge jeans fitting women's figure, however they are also very relaxed and extremely worn.

Extraordinarily embellished subculture jeans will also be fashionable in the coming season.

Classical jeans are timeless and in the new season they are certainly worn as well.

Elegant skinny black jeans are a hit of the coming season, as well as cuts, jeggings and gray jeans. Another novelty of spring-summer 2010 is the use of denim patch pockets.

Denim shorts are of immediate interest during hot summer days. They are comfortable and practical. Spring-summer 2010 season presents ultrashort denim shorts of black and red colors. Torn shorts and shorts with cuts are also in. The best shoes to combine them with are ballerinas and shoes with high heels. The best accessories are massive colliers and bracelets, belt-bracelets and massive sunglasses as well as aviator sunglasses.

Jeans with corsage popular during the season autumn-winter 2009/2010 stay for spring and summer, too. Made to measure jeans with corsage are embellished with buttons and lacing and look exquisite especially in dark colors. Such jeans make your waist look slimmer and your legs visually longer, their importance can not be overstated. The best way is to combine jeans with corsage with a white blouse, short bolero or a jeans jacket. All the more so, double denim stays popular during the coming season, too.

E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Parts of A Custom Made Suit

2009-10-25T20:28:00.000-07:00

In this article we will discuss the parts that make up a man's suit. Although off the rack suits afford you little flexibility in adjusting these parts, the man who goes with a bespoke or made to measure suit has the freedom of choosing the option that best compliment his body. In any case, all men should understand the basics of the suit and its parts so that they buy a garment that accentuates their most positive traits.

Single or Double Breasted

The first and perhaps most noticeable element of the suit is whether it is single or double-breasted. Single-breasted suits have a single row of buttons down the front, and the jacket flaps only overlap enough to permit buttoning. A double-breasted suit has two rows of buttons, and the front overlaps sufficiently to allow both flaps to be attached to the opposite row of buttons. The choice between single- and double-breasted is a matter of personal taste, though the vast majority of American men choose single breasted suits as that this is what is readily available to them; also a lack of familiarity with the double-breasted option may account for the single-breasted suit's dominance. Thin gentlemen, particularly those who are somewhat taller, can benefit greatly from double-breasted suits, as they will give a fuller appearance to the figure; on larger men, double-breasted suits can have a tendency to draw attention to the midsection, so careful attention and an expert tailor should be employed.

Lapels

Lapels come in a variety of styles with a number of options. The lapels' width is perhaps subject to the most variance, with the extremely narrow lapels of the 1950s standing in stark contrast to the excessively wide lapels of the 1970s. As is the case with much of classic fashion, the most timeless lapels are of a moderate width. In addition to different widths, suit lapels come in two styles: notched, which has a wide V-shaped opening where the lapel and collar join; and peaked, which flares out in a sharp point with a very narrow deep V at the join. Notched and peaked lapels are equally classic, though the latter are most commonly found on double-breasted jackets. A peak lapel on a single-breasted jacket is an excellent way to raise its level of formality, but is almost impossible to find on anything but a custom made suit

Waist Buttons

A suit jacket has either one row of buttons or two, depending on whether it is single- or double-breasted. A single-breasted jacket has a single row of buttons, numbering anywhere from one to four, though two and three are the most common. The three-button jacket is the most traditional configuration, taking its cue from English riding jackets; properly worn, it gives the illusion of height. Traditionally, only the middle or second button is fastened when standing, though the top two buttons may be fastened to produce a slightly more formal appearance. Two-button suits are a slightly later innovation, and because they show more of the shirt and tie, can produce a slightly more slimming appearance. Only the top button of a two-button jacket is fastened; with the exception of a jacket with only one button, the bottom button of a single-breasted jacket is never fastened.

Double-breasted jackets most commonly have either four or six buttons on each side - where there are six buttons, only the lower four are for buttoning, though due to the design of the suit, only two will actually be buttoned at any given time. There is also an extra hidden button on the reverse of the outside flap of a double-breasted suit, onto which the inside or "hidden" flap attaches. Contrary to the habits of certain celebrities, a double-breasted jacket is never left unbuttoned when standing, permitting it to flap around wildly; it is always securely buttoned upon standing and remains buttoned until one is again seated. Additionally, while the bottom button of a single-breasted jacket is always left undone, both of the operable buttons on a double-breasted jacket are fastened. As with the gorge of the lapel, the height of the waist buttons can been altered slightly to accentuate or diminish height, but this must be done carefully.

Sleeve Buttons

There are numerous historical reasons for jacket sleeves bearing buttons, from encouraging the use of handkerchiefs to allowing a gentleman to wash his hands without removing his jacket, a traditionally grave social offense in mixed company. Whatever the reason for their arrival on jacket sleeves, they now form an important part of the detail work or trimming of the jacket. Most traditionally, jacket sleeves bear four buttons, though it is not uncommon to find three. Regardless of number, there should be at least as many of them as there are buttons on the waist, and they are always placed within a half-inch or so of the hem. On bespoke suits, and even some of the higher-quality made-to-measure jackets, the sleeve buttons are functional. When the buttons are functional, there is some temptation to leave one button undone in order to draw attention to the feature - and by extension, the quality of the suit - though this is a matter of personal taste.

Jacket Pockets

The most formal are jetted pockets, where the pocket is sewn into the lining of the jacket and only a narrow horizontal opening appears on the side of the jacket. These pockets, being nearly invisible, contribute to a very sleek, polished appearance, and are most frequently found on formal-wear. The next style, the flap pocket, is slightly less formal, though it is perfectly acceptable in all the circumstances where a gentleman is likely to be found in a suit. Flap pockets are made identically to jetted pockets, but include a flap sewn into the top of the pocket, which covers the pocket's opening. These are the most common pockets on suit jackets, and in the very best, are fabricated so that the wearer may tuck the flaps inside, mimicking the jetted pocket. There are also diagonally-cut flap pockets known as hacking pockets, though they are somewhat less common; the hacking pocket is derived from English riding gear, and is most prominent on bespoke suits from English tailors, particularly those traditionally associated with riding clothes. The least formal are patch pockets, which are exactly what the name implies: pockets created by applying a patch to the outside of the jacket. Patch pockets are the most casual option; they are frequently found on summer suits that would otherwise appear overly formal, as well as on sports jackets.

Ticket pocket

Some jackets, particularly bespoke and finer made-to-measure offerings, include a small ticket pocket above one of the side pockets, generally on the same side as the wearer's dominant hand. This pocket is rarely used in modern times, and serves more as an indication of the suit's quality.

Breast Pocket

Moving up the jacket is the breast pocket, which is always open, and into which only one item is ever placed: the handkerchief or pocket square. The reason for this is twofold: First, like the side pockets, any items placed in the breast pocket create lumpy projections which distort the sleek appearance of the suit, and second, the breast pocket and the inside left pocket share the same space in the jacket's lining, meaning that objects in the breast pocket tend to force items in the inside pocket into the wearer's ribs, which is quite uncomfortable.

Vents

Moving on from pockets we find the vents, flap-like slits in the bottom of the jacket which accommodate movement and offer easy access to the trouser pockets. Jackets have three styles: center, side, or none. Ventless jackets, just as the name implies, have no vents, and are popular on Continental suits; they provide a very sleek look to the back of the jacket, though they can lead to wrinkling when the wearer sits down. Center-vented jackets, very popular on American suits, have a single slit at the back, allowing the jacket to expand at the bottom when sitting. Because of its placement, center-vented jackets have a habit of exposing the wearer's posterior, though most seem not to mind, as center vents remain the most popular style. A side-vented jacket has two vents, one on either side, generally just behind the trouser pockets, to provide easy access. Side vents also facilitate sitting more easily, moving as needed to prevent the rumpling of the jacket back, which leads to creasing.

Now that we have an understanding of the parts of a jacket, its time that we learned about proper fit and proportion.

E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

What To Wear With Men Blazer Jacket

2009-09-28T21:34:00.001-07:00

The beauty of the men's blazer is that it goes with almost anything. For the purpose of this discourse, by blazer we mean a classic single-breasted navy wool coat with brass buttons. Over gray flannel slacks, a white button-down oxford shirt and a striped tie, it makes a classic outfit that in the United States registers just shy of a suit on the formality scale. On the weekend, the same blazer over chinos and a polo shirt makes a very smart casual outfit. In this article we will discuss some basic means of wearing a men's blazer jacket for work and leisure.

If you work in a business casual office, the blazer gives you a simple solution to the tricky problem of dressing respectably without appearing aloof. In a workplace dominated by polo shirts and khakis, the man who has the class to throw a blazer on over the ensemble looks distinctive without standing out. A dress shirt with a button-down collar and gray flannels are also worthy accompaniments for a blazer; add a tie to take it up a notch. A point collar shirt formalizes the ensemble a tad more, and here one should stop. Contrast collars really belong under a suit, and even if the formality of French cuffs were not an issue, having cuff-links next to brass sleeve buttons creates a discordant clash. For footwear, bluchers, loafers, and monk-strap dress shoes are all good options.

The outfits described above are also smart choices for dinner in a nice restaurant or a morning religious service. In fact, the blazer will serve you well for most weekend activities, from taking in a play in most American cities to cheering on a girls' softball team. It looks aristocratic and dignified over an ecru turtleneck and your trusty gray flannels; for a laid-back look in the summer wear it with off-white pants and a bright polo. While it is perfectly acceptable to wear a blazer with jeans, and indeed the combination can look very stylish, one must take care that pants and coat are not too close in color. This goes for any jacket and pants combination: if it's not a suit, it shouldn't look like one from a distance.

When it comes to dress shirts, as said above a button-down oxford is the classic. Besides solids, a broad variety of stripes and checks, including many that would look garish with a suit, mix well with a blazer. The latter's dark, solid fabric looks good next to just about anything, and the shiny buttons amply counterweight bold patterns. For a more casual look go with a long-sleeve polo shirt or a turtleneck depending on the climate. The urbane silk tee-shirt and tight-fitting knit shirt tend to clash in their modernity with the blazer's long heritage, and work better with a suit jacket.

In cooler weather, you way want to don a sweater under your blazer jacket. If you're going without a tie, a cable-knit or argyle crew-neck will add some life to the outfit. The V-neck worn over a tie may also be patterned or textured, but can be solid as well.

A few words on neckwear and accessories: the tie you wear with a blazer should be in

E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Right Dressing Can Boost Your Confidence

2009-02-23T20:04:00.001-08:00

Geography isn’t as important as it once was in determining how dress. As the world population is exposed to more and
more of the same influences, tastes, inevitably, have become more global, less local. So, when traveling for business,basic professional attire is appropriate just about anywhere like a tourist it is helpful to understand the tendencies in different parts of the United States and the world. You should be able to remix items from your existing wardrobe to suit any destination.

MIDWEST - CHICAGO AND DETROIT

Cities like Chicago and Detroit are more cosmopolitan than other parts of the Midwest, and women dress up for work in.

Suits. In Minneapolis and other women are comfortable with a more workday, casual look, wearing Khakis and Sweater sets.

Evening: A lot of entertaining is corporate in the Midwest. Black-tie fund raising events take place quite often in these cities. Women wear Cocktail Dresses or Pant Suits to black-tie events in dressy fabrics like velvet and satin.

Accessories are dressy and unique. Preferred colors for formal dress in the Midwest are black, deep browns, midnight,navies, and dark purples.

NORTHEAST - BOSTON

Boston is an intellectual city, which gives rise to individualism and trend-setting. However, there is a division between suburban and urban women in terms of fashion. The suburban women are slightly more conservative and wear brighter
colors and lower hemlines. The city woman prefers trendier fashions in more subdued colors and with higher hemlines.

Evening: Urban and suburban women prefer the little Black Evening Dress but personalize it with a Jacket. Because of the cobblestone streets and the periodically inclement weather, women most often wear low heels.

NORTHEAST - NEW YORK

New York City is considered the fashion hub of the country, and Business Women are fashion-conscious and impeccably groomed, yet iconoclastic. Colors are urban standard: black, charcoal, chocolate, beige, with, and splashes of color. Pedicures, manicures, a well-maintained hairstyle and color, and groomed eyebrows are essentials.

Well - Tailored Suits are standard in most industries.

Evening: For most formal parties, Long Dresses with quality accessories will do nicely: the old-money society set dresses simply and elegantly for black-tie charity functions; glitterati-literati openings and events, women dress dramatically and not necessarily in a traditionally formal manner. The newest, cutting-edge designs are popular. Many New York women own a little black dress, which can be worn to a variety of events simply by adding or subtracting accessories. They often mix separates, which contributes to enormous personal style, a hallmark of New York dressing. Suburban New Yorkers are much more relaxed and colorful.

NORTHEAST - WASHINGTON, DC
The Suit is a key in DC and traditionally a realm where women can shine and pull focus through color, though more and more are being. The no-nonsense suit is worn after dark, dressed up with a scarf or pin. A lot of women in DC tend to avoid making over fashion statements and generally frown upon seductive dressing, preferring that their political views, power, and influence make their statement.

Evening: Entertaining in Washington often takes place in the home. Politics is the talk read the newspapers, magazines, and listens to the news on TV and radio to keep up.

PACIFIC NORTHWEST- SEATTLE

Women are more concerned with being comfortable than with being on the cutting edge of fashion. Working women tend to dress business casual, wearing pants, blouses, and sweaters and only resorting. Accessories are where women indulge in being fashionable.

Evening: For formal occasions, women tend to wear a classic dress (hem to the keen; not a cocktail suit)in black or jewel tones.

THE ROCKIES - DENVER

Dressing for work in the Rockies is business casual: Pants or khakis with a blouse, sweater, or crisp white a blouse, sweater, or crisp white shirt. Color and accessories like belts and earrings is a key.

Evening: There are more charity functions per capital in Denver than in any other city in the country, providing many occasions for formal dress.
Women’s evening wear is understated and elegant. The little black cocktail dress predominates, but women will wear ankle-length gowns for very grand events. Many events in Denver call for “Creative Western Elegance.” Women
typically wear broomstick skirts and matching Western jackets with nickel or silver conch buttons.

SOUTHEAST - ATLANTA

Atlanta is a casual city, but the city’s booming business sector has attracted people from around the world, and the professional dress code is fast becoming that of a larger metropolis.
Women wear conservative suits or business appropriate skirts or pants and blouses, with mid-height heels. Black is not a popular choice in this vibrant city. On the popular are prevalent colors among women. Society women wear khakis, the “great white shirt”

Evening: Women are practical but not prissy. Style is always ladylike, which is the most important dressing guideline for women. Tailored feminine elegance is admired more than trendy extremes; women prefer clothing that can be worn
both to the office and to symphony.

SOUTHWEST - HOUSTON

Texas women have a well-deserved reputation for being the most dressed, if not the best dressed, in the nation.
Career women wear Skirt or Pant Suits in bright color with Feminine Blouses. It is not unusual for women in Houston or Dallas to change clothes three times a day exercise clothes, business attire, evening wear. Heat, humidity, bitter
cold, and the chill of air-conditioning have a lot to do with this.

Evening: Unlike in many other cities, career women almost always change clothes for the evening, whether it is a cocktail suit, dress, or formal wear. If a woman has good jewelry stones one might refer to as “jewelry” rather than
jewelry she wants clothes the show these off.

TROPICAL - MIAMI

Business wear has been influenced by the influx of South and Central Americans conducting business in this region.
Clothing is more feminine than in other cities, with shorter hemlines and higher heels. Business attire has a light,tropical feel, with suits tending toward light neutrals and dresses more prevalent than they are in other cities.

TROPICAL - PALM BEACH

Thought they, re geographically close, Miami and Palm Beach are worlds apart. Palm Beach sports an old-school, old-money look. Business attire in the two cities is similar.

WEST COAST - LOS Angeles

Business dressing is divided into three categories in Los Angeles, and all of them revolve around, or take their clues from, Hollywood:

1.The execs-the people who work in the offices and make decisions about money wear dark suits, whether they are men or women. LA is less designer label-conscious than a city like New York.
2.The creative execs-agent, PR executives, and producers all fall into this category-dress corporate creative, which means trendy, hip clothes that have professional polish: From-fitting pants with a crisp white shirt or dress with boots.
3. The talent-anyone from an actress to a director dress extremely casual, while still being responsive to the season’s new trends.

Evening: Aside from red carpet events, LA occasions rarely call for formal attire. One might wear Pants and a Top,possibly a Jacket, unless it was an opening night, and then a Pant Suit in silk or linen. At a museum party or slightly formal affair, a cocktail dress will be worn, and more Pantsuits in silk or linen. At movie premieres, the stars wear Short Dresses or Pantsuits, always designer wear, sometimes mixed with vintage clothes.

WEST COAST

Women are sophisticated, formal, and European in style. Weather is variable
September and October are the warmest months and demands a season less wardrobe. Light wool crepes and season less silks are favored; there is little need for heavy winter overcoats or clothing for steamy climates.

We Remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Power Outfit

2009-02-16T19:01:00.001-08:00

Make sure your clothes are statement makers, but that the statement never speaks louder than you do. Just because you can afford designer logos doesn’t mean they’re right for you. Are they compatible with your professional message? And just because you can buy the very best suits doesn’t absolve you from needing the services of the very best tailor.

CLOTHES NO LONGER TALK, THEY COMMAND
A woman in a position of authority must project an equal amount of distinction in her dress up. The cornerstone of the power wardrobe is still the suit, but at this stage of the game, it packs an extra punch.

Now it’s time to fine-tune your wardrobe with clothes of exceptional quality and unmistakable style. The goal: A closet full of statement making clothes that communicate success. To cultivate a collection that convey personal and professional style; and to dress, when the situation demands, casually but with authority.

Bespoke Single-Breasted
The most formal of suits, the single-breasted version has sharp lines, and notched lapel give a disciplined buttoned-up feel that adds up to create an impression of powerful authority. Fabric is a key; at this stage, a suit is only as good as its fabric. Look for light, almost silky wool that has a graceful drape and doesn’t wrinkle easily.

A tailor made straight skirt to the knee, slightly nipped-in waist, an impeccable fit. For ultimate conviction, pair with a crisp white shirt. Make sure the collar lies flat on the suit lapels. Keep buttoned up except for either top or bottom button.

Coat dress
There is no mistaking the seriousness of the business when the fabric is worked in a menswear pattern: Pinstripes, Chalk Stripes, Glen Plaids, Mini Hounds tooth are all boardroom contenders.

For a more relaxed alternative consider pairing with a black turtleneck, knee-high boots and opaque tights in fall or winter. If belted, consider replacing the companion belt with one of higher caliber.

Long Jacket
The self-assured silhouette only works when the jacket is fitted anything loose will look frumpy ; and it must be worn only with its matching companion piece, whether it’s a skirt, dress, or pants.

A single-breasted jacket, pocket flaps that lie flat, with a shirt in a similar hue, a scoop-neck cashmere sweater, or nothing but a set of pearls, all combines together an elegant authority.

Color is POWERFUL.
RED = Confidence, leadership, independence. Useful for presentations; shows security in one’s role. Attracts attention

Color is quick means of communicating authority and style. A power color is an added asset: It commands attention, conveys control, and, when properly chosen, sends a consistent message about your workplace identity.

ALL BLACK = Serious sophisticated, determined powerful and practical in urban environments.

Own a color Pick a shade you like and make it your own. Wear it consistently. Choose one or two other colors that complement your personal uniform. A monochromatic look a suit and shirt of matching colors has high impact and is also elongating.

Pattern
Patterns pilfered from menswear can pack masculine punch, while adding texture and diversity to your wardrobe. Balancing bold pattern with a simple tailored silhouette and feminine detail is a key.

Quantity Counts: Composed of highly designed, coordinated pieces, a power suit makes a statement. And a statement is remembered. Therefore owning just one or two is not sufficient. At this stage of the game, you need, and can afford more.

Tailor: A tailor you trust implicitly is crucial. Valuable traits to look for: Utter expertise in what is possible and what is not. Invisible hand work, Thoroughness - someone who when hemming pants, measures both the front and the back; when altering a skirt, measures from the floor up; someone who teaches you. Mouth is the best reference.

We Remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Perfect Interview Wardrobe

2009-01-28T21:39:00.001-08:00

Interview Wardrobe

The clothes you choose to wear to your interview will create the first-and most important-impression upon those who matter, up until your first day on the job. At that point, you can start to relax into the club’s attire. But at this point, dressing to impress is mandatory, and the clothes you choose are critical. This section discusses the interview wardrobe’s key pieces, and the messages they send.
“At one time, the most qualified person got the job. Today, in a situation where three people with equal qualification are interviewed for a job, the one with the best communication skills gets it.”

WHAT DO YOUR CLOTHES SAY TO THE INTERVIEWER?

BLOUSE
Uptight or Elegant?
PEARLS Pretentious or Pulled together?

SUIT JACKET

Suit Jacket Long ago pilfered from menswear , the jacket acts a strong, no-nonsense centerpiece to any business look. It gives the body shape, suggests stature, and imparts the wearer with confidence. Because its overall intent is to convey power, a jacket’s workmanship, quality, and tailoring are critical.

FABRIC Should drape smoothly, not appear stiff, shiny, or flimsy.
COLOR Neural-black, gray, navy’ or beige.
SHAPE Slightly nipped in at waist.
POCKETS Optional pockets lie flat and are lined. Do not remove string to open.
LENGTH Hem extends to the bottom of the hips.
SLEEVES Sleeves land at the base of the thumb.
COLLAR Collar lies smooth and flat against the neck.
SHOULDERS Shoulders are structured but not overpadded.
LAPELS Medium to small lapels<3”1/4 from seam to point is ideal> lie flat without buckling.
FIT Armholes should fit well-not too baddy, no too tight; this part of the jacket can’t be tailored.
STYLE Single-breasted.
BUTTONS Buttons are the same color or darker than the suit and never too large, flashy, or covered in fabric.

Suit Skirt

WHAT IT SAYS
Formal, urban, conservative.
FABRIC Drapes smoothly.
NO BELT LOOPS
SHAPE Simple-a-lime or straight, not too tight and never frilly.
DETAILS For maximun versatility, the waist should not require a belt.
FIT Skirt should not be too tight or too short-do a sitting text in tit before purchasing. Check the rearview mirror. What look fabulous from the front can cling or slouch from other angles.
QUALITY Make sure seams are even and not pulled. Check that lining is firmly intact.
LENGTH To the knee. It’s the length that says, “I’m professional” and looks best on most legs. Shorter could be considered too fashiony; longer, more traditional.

Suit Pants
WHAT IT SAYS
Confident, contemporary, practical.
FIT Pants should drape smoothly over the body, with no tight areas that droop. Check that the pocket lining is smooth and not bulky.
OUALITY Check that fabric hangs evenly and seams are not mismatched or pulled.
THE BOTTOM LINE The seat of the pants should be neither overly baggy nor clingy. To ensure proper fit, check your rearview mirror and sit down while wearing the pants.
ZIP CODE Side, front, or rear closure are acceptable.
BANISH BELT LOOPS
For your first suit, a clean waistline is the most flexible. Belt loops always require a belt and that your top is tucked in.
FLAT FRONT VS. PLEATS
Both are professional; the flat front is more slimming and sophisticated.
LENGTH
The pant leg should break at the instep. When having your pants hemmed, bring the shoe you will most often wear with them.
CUFFED LEG VS. CLEAN
Both are acceptable; a clean leg is more versatile.

Tops are key wardrobe enhancers: Change your top and essentially you’ve changed your look. Choose shirts and that are compatible with your suits. Make sure each top fits comfortably under your suit jacket-and looks suitably professional should you take your jacket off.
BLOUSE
A soft, somewhat loose feminine top. Conservative, confident, ladylike. FIRST PURCHASE: Solid white, cream, black, or a color to match your suit.
SHIRT
Button-front, cuffed-and-collared top inspired by menswear. Efficient, classic; respects authority. Choose a classic, men’s style dress collar; a button-down can be limiting. FIRST PURCHASE; Solid, white cotton.
T-SHIRT
Trim, collarless, cotton or jersey top. Easygoing but organized. Ready to roll up your sleeves Choose substantial, opaque cotton or cotton blend with stretch-anything flimsy will lose its shape. Make sure neck is not saggy or baggy. Keep it plain . Try a shot of color.

FIRST PURCHASE: Solid white, black, or to match the color of your suit.
1 JACKET+4 TOPS = 3 DRESS CODES
Shoes

Never underestimate the power of shoes. A good pair can make a ho-hum dress look like a million bucks. The wrong ones can send a great suit straight into the gutter. Shoes also tend to make at-a-glance statements about your workplace identity, and your message better be clear-I’m capable, confident, and yes, great with derails.

Portfolio
A portfolio is a sleek and efficient alternative to the handbag. It can help keep resumes presentable, hold a notepad, and conceal any preinterview cheat sheets you want to study en route to your meeting.

We Remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

How To Choose Right Suit

2009-01-04T21:28:00.001-08:00

Which Suit Is Right For You?

Choosing the right suit presents a closet-full of challenges and opportunities to those faced with building a wardrobe. From suit silhouettes, pricing and fashionable obsolescence to pant fronts, button counts and lapel widths, there's much to consider.

"The biggest problem in teaching men how to dress is that there's no one for them to look at," says Alan Flusser, author of Dressing the Man (Harper Collins, 2002), who believes that one of the primary reasons business casual failed is that the apparel industry never showed men how to look good in it. "Men in general definitely need help with suits. But once it's explained why they should buy a particular garment, they're pretty quick studies."

Suits can be broken down into three basic styles:
European (i.e., Italian), British and American. The European suit typically has padded shoulders, no vents, a full-chested and V-shaped jacket and "slash"--i.e., flapless--pockets. Across the English Channel, the classic British suit sports a military demeanor with padded shoulders, two vents, pinched waist, flap pockets and boldly striped or plaid patterns. On our side of the pond, the epitome of traditional American styling is the "sack suit" favored by Ivy Leaguers back in the 1920s, with natural shoulders, one vent in the back, straight-hanging lines and flap pockets. Many designers cross cultural lines, such as Bronx native Ralph Lauren, who has a distinct Anglo-Saxon sensibility, and the Italianesque ensembles of American Joseph Abboud.

For tailoring options, the bespoke suit is the finest. Best exemplified by the enduring shops of London's Savile Row, such as Anderson & Sheppard and H. Huntsman, bespoke suits are created by exacting teams of highly skilled tailors and artisans to fit your every inch. They may take up to five fittings and six weeks of work to complete, and starting prices run upwards of $3,000. Meanwhile, Hong Kong is loaded with bespoke tailors who, though not the bargain they used to be, can still get you fitted nicely--and for a lot less than three grand.

Off-the-rack suits are the least costly and the most convenient option, provided you're happy with the fabric and fit. But these days many suit makers also offer a "made-to-measure" alternative that allows customers to choose the fabric, styling options and details before allowing a tailor to take measurements and forward the order to the factory. A semi-finished suit is then returned to the store for fitting and finishing. Brioni, Kiton, Hickey-Freeman and others offer made-to-measure lines, as do specialty men's stores such as Louis Boston. Expect prices to run 15%-25% above off-the-rack.

Whatever the tailoring option, men's suits are either "full canvas"--i.e., handmade with a free-floating piece of material between the jacket's exterior fabric and interior lining--"fused" together with glue, or some combination of the two. The benefits of full-canvas construction include attention to detail, durability and a freer and more natural appearance. Though fused suits tend to be stiffer and their glue breaks down over time, they are also vastly more affordable, with prices ranging from $200 to $1,000.

Suit fabrics come in a wide array of colors, patterns and qualities: Hickey-Freeman has some 700 swatches available for special order, while H. Huntsman's wools range from Super 90s to Super 200s--a grading designation that refers to the number of centimeters a single piece of yarn can be stretched. The longer the stretch, the higher the quality, the more luxurious the feel and the lighter the weight of the yarn.

We Remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

How To Dress Smart For The New Workplace

2008-09-23T21:36:00.000-07:00

Your Investment Strategy

SHOP SMART BUY LESS, BUY BETTER
This step in the wardrobe building process is important: Clothes take up real estate. And salary. The key is to buy less, better ,and buy clothes that will work together. Filling your closet with well-chosen, good quality, versatile pieces will enable you to “work” your wardrobe by mixing and remixing.
The result: Endless combinations that don’t require an endless supply of clothes.
Buy the best you can afford on your budget. You’ll go home with fewer items, but they will be of better quality. This is especially important when purchasing items worn every day-coats, shoes handbags-the better the quality, the bigger your return will be. In general:
• Clothes in season less fabrics are the best investment. They can be worn most of the year, and pack well. The best are lightweight knits.
• Don’t buy the color of the moment if it makes your face look drab or your body bulky. Wear it as an accent strategically placed.
• If a color gives you a glow, and makes you smile with approval, incorporate it into your wardrobe mix. Not only will you feel best wearing it, it will become a mark of your personal style.
• One very good quality item can upgrade almost any outfit.
• When you find a brand that suits you, in the future.

WHAT IT TAKES TO BUILD A WARDROBE• It takes time.
• It takes focus.
• It takes Patience.
• It takes work.
• It takes restraint.
• It takes self-knowledge.
• It takes a budget.
• It takes boldness.
• It takes enterprise.
• It takes commitment.

Shop Smart
The goal: To broaden your closet with wardrobe enhancers (well-chosen items that go with other clothes in your closet and expand their possibilities immeasurably). Among the enhancers of choice: A smattering of shirt and blouses (to go under jackets and spruce up skirts), sweater sets and other bright knits, and tailored separates that take the pressure off the single suit that helped you soar through your early years with flying colors .
How to Buy a Work Outfit

SHOP SMART: THE JACKET
A jacket is professional in appearance and pulls and outfit together. It is also a good way to add color, pattern, or texture to your wardrobe mix. Shop for jackets that complement your suit bottoms. This will give your wardrobe more mileage. If in doubt about mixing things up, a safe bet is to wear all black as a base.
Black = Sophisticated, urban. It’s the most versatile.
Navy = Classic but difficult to match with other shades of navy.
Gray = Serious business.
Beige = Sleek, skillful, and friendly.
Red = powerful.
Fabric:
Year round: Lightweight wool, worsted wool, and wool crepe.
Summer: Cotton blends, seersucker, featherweight wool, linen blends.
Fall and winter: Wool, wool blends, cashmere, corduroy, gabardine, tweed, suede, velvet.
Pattern: Solid, pinstripe, plaid, tweed, houndstooth.

SHOP SMART: SHIRTS
A change of shirt will change your look. Your closet should contain about at least five tops. Be sure to buy colors or patterns that complement on their own.
• Shirt sleeves should hit the base of the thumb, and extend about a half an inch beyond the sleeve of the jacket.
• There should be enough room in sleeves so you can move your arms comfortably, but not too much that sleeves get bunched up when worn with suit jacket.
• When buttoned up, you should be able to breathe comfortably and there should be no hint of your undergarments or nipples.
• Straight hem: Can be worn untucked in casual environment.
• Fitted: Crisp and clean, feminine style.

• Rounded collar: Delicate, traditional.
• Spread collar: Best worn outside jacket for splash of style.
• Button-down collar: Man-inspired, down-to-business, sporty.
• Collarless: Creative, independent.
Color.
Cream = Sophisticated, feminine, approachable.
White = Crisp, classic, down-to-business; wardrobe basic.
Black = Sharp, powerful, assertive.
Monochromatic = Clean, contemporary, elegant.
Fabric: Those with stretch add comfort.
• Cotton: Clean, crisp.
• Silk: Formal, conservative, dressy.
• Jersey: Easy upkeep, comfortable.

SHOP SMART: KNIT TOPS
Knits can introduce color and texture, and when worn as a sweater set provide a feminine alternative to a suit jacket. The lighter the weight the more sophisticated the knit, but beware of sheerness, which is never right in the workplace.
Quality is determined by how pure the yarn is and how tighter the knit, the higher the gauge. A one-ply sweater will be a lighter weight, but tighter-knit than a two-ply sweater. An eight-ply knit is very heavy and loosely knit, and more sporty than a one- or two-ply knit. The lighter the weight, the more likely a knit is to shrink, so dry-clean only. Lighter shades take less dye so softer in feel than draker colors, which use stronger dye.
Fit: Should be fitted, but not tight; too baggy can look sloppy.
• Everything about a turtleneck depends on its fit. Anything oversized or baggy is too casual for the office.
Texture:
• One-ply cashmere is light and more versatile than thicker plies.
• A flat knit is dressier and more versatile than a ribbed one. Worn under a suit jacket, however, the ribbed knit creates a tailored, sporty look.
Fabrics: A top quality merino wool or cotton knit is superior to a poor quality cashmere, which will easily pill and droop.
Color: A sweater is a perfect way to add a dash of color to a neutral suit, whether the season’s trendy shade or one that has always suited you.
Smart Options:
Twinset = Classic, feminine.
The black turtleneck = Edgy, urban. Has attitude.
V-neck = Preppy, casual.

SHOP SMART: SKIRTS
A straight, black, knee-length skirt in lightweight wool a clean waist-no belt loops-is acceptable in even the most conservative settings. It is slimming, can easily mix with other wardrobe items, and can dress up or down.
Fit:
• A slender heel keeps a knee-length skirt from looking overly sensible .
• A fuller skirt looks best with a fitted top and flatters most body types .
• Straight = To the point, classic, smart.
• A-line = Sensible, friendly.
• Bias-cut = Dressy, sexy.
• Pleated = Youthful, flirty.
Fabric: Should not be heavy or stiff but have a soft drape.
• Lightweight wool: Seasonless, versatile, can be paired with any other teture.
• Jersey: Lightweight stretch fabric best for spring, summer, and early fall.
• Cotton : Ideal for spring, summer, and early fall.
• Silk: A more dressed-up look, appropriate for spring and fall.
• Knit: least versatile option . Both light and heavier weaves are acceptable. Best to purchase with a matching top.

SHOP SMART: PANTS
Fit: Use a three-way mirror. If you have a panty line, invest in a thong. Try on panty with the shoes you plan to wear with them to ensure they break softly no top of your shoes. If you are short, avoid visually. Avoid pants that tug against tummy or things-try a cut with pleats, a fuller leg, or fabric that drapes. If a waistband is casing waist, avoid belts, or wear with tops that are just loose enough to camouflage. Pockets should not pull. Tailors can remove troublesome or visible pockets. Fabric should drape smoothly over the hips to the floor, without pulling or bagging. A fabric that has stretch can make pants more comfortable, fit the body bet

We remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

What To Wear For Interview - Interview Attire

2008-06-20T01:11:00.001-07:00

THE INTERVIEW WARDROBE-TOOLS TO SUCCESS

When you meet your interviewer for the time, what impression do you want to give? If you want to say, I'm pretty, wear your favorite frilly blouse. If you want to say, I'm laid-back wear the V-neck sweater you loved in college. If you want to say, I'm more competent, reliable, and professional than any candidate you will interview for this position-in other words, if you want the job-step one is: Invest in suit.
Sharp lines and authoritative stance-a suit says power, reliability, independence. And it can make you feel as confident as you look. Your interview suit-and everything that goes with-is the first tool on your prepare you to buy an interview suit and the business gear to go with it.

WHAT IS AN INTERVIEW SUIT?
Whether you are just starting out or a CEO looking to switch companies, your interview suit must convey a confident, competent "I've got it together" sense of authority. This is best a accomplished with a dark, monochromatic tone (avoid patterns) and a classic cut. That means clean, simple lines around which you will build your entire business wardrobe. Looking sharp doesn't stop once the interview is over-there is always someone for whom you need to look smart.

Shop Smart Suit
Call it the little suit that could. Your interview suit will act as the foundation of your business wardrobe, and you will wear it constantly. This chapter gets down to the nitty-gritty of choosing it well: How a tailored shape and good fabric convey competence; how a neutral color translates to flexibility; how taking your time, choosing a classic, and then having it properly tailored provide the best guarantee that you have spent your money well.

How to Buy an Interview Outfit:

BEST BUY: SUIT SEPARATES
Leave it to the English shopkeeper to discover a new truth. Years ago, Marks & Spencer, the Macy's of London, made a remarkable discovery-not all men were the same proportion. Some are big on top and narrow in the hips, or, as was more often the case, vice versa.
With this eureka moment, the haberdashers launched the concept of suit separates: Pants that fit the waist and a jacket that fit the top, whether the sizes correlated or not. And the concept works even better for women, allowing more flexibility for both size and style. Here is a list of the separates a common business wardrobe will contain

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Color: Neutral colors are versatile and professional.
Black is sophisticated, appropriate all year, and dresses up or down.
Gray, navy, and beige convey competence and easily mix with other clothes.
But beware of brown: It is seasonal, can come off as muddy(not meticulous), and is often incompatible with other colors.

Fabric:The more seasonless the fabric, the longer it will serve you.
1 Choose lightweight wool or wool blends that can be worn throughout the year.

2. A bit of Lycra, polyester, or other microfiber helps a garment retain its shape and increases the longevity of your investment.
3. Avoid knits, jerseys, and nubby tweeds for your first and main suit. They're too casual and more difficult to wear with other wardrobe pieces.
4. Before buying check for wrinkling: Clutch a handful of fabric and release it. If the material winds up in a crumple, it will certainly look that way after your commute to work.
5. Avoid clingy fabrics (some jerseys and knits) and anything with static-chances are no amount of spray will kill it.
6. Pants and skirts in thin fabrics must be lined. If a rearview mirror check displays visible panty lines , move on to the next suit-or buy a thong!

Fit:
Tailoring is mandatory-it's the detail work that will transform your suit from an mass into an emblem of power. But prior to visiting the tailor, certain key details must be checked:
1. Button the jacket. Does it pull? Do you arms move freely in it? Do the bust, shoulder, and rear seams hang well without bunching?
2. Make sure shoulders are not too round, pointy, or boxy. They shouldn't make the statement, you should.
3. Button the pants and find a three way mirror. Do you have a panty line? Is the rear too tight? Does the crotch cling or hang too low? A tailor is a great ally, but a baggy or saggy crotch cannot be fixed. An ill-fitting waistline can be taken in, and occasionally let out, if necessary. Sit. Do you feel comfortable or do the pants pull or does your skirt ride too high? And when you shop for pants or visit the tailor bring the shoes you plan to wear with them to get a proper break at the hem.

Quality/Finish:
1. Scan fabric for unnatural ripples or gatherings, which are often the result of inexpensive material and poor workmanship.
2. Make sure shoulder pads are equally positioned and the same size and that the shoulder line is smooth from end to end, front and back.
3. Buttons should be firmly attached and evenly spaced, with no loose threads.
4. Check seams for taut stitching that is neither loose nor pulled.
5. Lining should be made from a satiny material that allows for body movement.

SHOP SMART: SHIRTS
* Fabric is not so sheer that underwear or body parts are noticeable.
* Collar should not be overly large nor especially small. An average collar should be approximatey21/2 "from the collar point
* Buttons should be bone, mother-of-pearl, or animal horn.
* Avoid frilly collars and sleeves, which tend to flop out from under a jacket.
* Length must be ample enough to stay tucked in, but not so extreme that you're swimming in fabric.
* When cuffs are buttoned, you should be able to move arms comfortably.

Fit:
Should not be too baggy, definitely not tight. Bra line, breast, or nipple definition should not be apparent. Cotton is the most practical fabric and comes in a wide variety of grades and texture:
* Pima: strong, silky, most expensive.
* Sea Island: strong and lustrous.
* Oxford cloth: men's shirting fabric made in a basket weave; considered sporty.

Silk is dressier than cotton.

We remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

How You Dress Is What You Are

2008-04-17T23:03:00.000-07:00

Clothes Confidence

-When Dressing is serious business

THE POWER LOOK
Now that you understand how quality connotes power, how do you actually dress to display it? One basic rule is that the more formally you are dressed, the more powerful you appear. For instance, try blue pinstripe suit, with a white French cuff shirt and a woven silk tie. The shoes would be black cordovan cap-toes, and the belt is black alligator. Finally, just to add a splash of dash, you wear a white pocket square. The overall effect it a man in classic corporate armor who appears invulnerable.

THE POWER PALETTE
Color is another way of denoting power. In suits, dark and formidable is what you are after, so blue, gray, and black remain at the top of the power palette. White is still the most formal dress shirt, but bold patterns and color can often signal that you have clout. Multicolored stripes and big checks are often sign of status, as are bright pastels such as pink, orange, and green. But perhaps no color dominates the power palette these days quite like purple. As regal as it was a thousand years ago, purple has emerged in the last few years as the color to be reckoned with in a shirt and tie.

Dressing for your Goals

HOW TO LOOK MORE

Professional. By now, you should know the basic tenets of looking more professional, but just to be clear, looking more professional means meeting the sartorial standards of your office or industry. No matter the standard, looking more professional most likely means going one step above where you are now: From business casual to appropriate, and from appropriate to corporate.

Trustworthy. Take a page out of the presidential candidates on this one. When they want to look like solid citizens to rest of us solid citizens they go with a blue suit and a white shirt and a red tie. Is it any wonder that we recommended wearing that on your first job interview?

Authoritative. If you want to look like one of the “suits” you have to wear one. Take a look at your superiors: What do they wear? Pinstripes? Double-breasted suits? French cuff shirts? Remember, management always looks a little stiff, a little too proper, so don’t overdo it.

Creative. In creative fields such as publishing, advertising, media dress codes are notoriously relaxed (unless your job requires that you be on camera a lot). So how do you look creative when you are supposed to be creative? Well, black usually does the trick. A black suit, a black sweater with a white T-shirt underneath, black shoes. It shows everyone that you can look professional and still maintain your personality.

Independent. Every man wants to be his own man, and looking independent is a part of that. The key is finding a way to do it without looking unprofessional. Wearing jeans to the office would not be a good approach. But always wearing a cowboy belt might be.
Yes, it’s a bit eccentric but if you can stand a little criticism, soon enough it will become your trademark. Here’s a range of similar ways to express independence Bow Ties, Checked shirts, Turtle necks, monogrammed shirts, cowboy boots, a leather jacket .The point is you can exert your independence in many ways by being dandyish or rugged, bohemian or preppy just as long as you look professional first.

Friendly. If your image is a bit aloof, you need to warm it up. No one wants to work with someone who seems distant (what is he hiding?) or superior to them especially if you’re not. So what will make you look more friendly? You have to know your audience. If you’re a white collar guy trying to make a good impression on a blue collar crowd then a button-down oxford shirt and tie, with the jacket off and the sleeves rolled up will make you seem to be a man of the people if you appear too threatening to women, a bow tie actually declaws most men possibly because there’s almost nothing that’s as asexual as a bow tie. Can you loosen up in your office? Try dressing business appropriate. Wear a sport jacket with a shirt and no tie. You will look approachable. Bring color also work wonders. A bright tie will seem cheerful, whereas something dark can often seem funereal. Oh, and would it kill you to smile every once in a white?

Organized. If your appearance is neat and tidy and that includes your desk and/or office people will assume that you are organized. Even if it means sweeping all that junk into your desk, do it. No one has to know what you look like on the inside. As for clothing,
It wouldn’t hurt to be a little fastidious. Keep your pants creased, your shoes polished, and your shirts pressed. Your ties should always be knotted to the top. And make sure your watch is set five minutes ahead.

Affluent. Sad, but true, some people do judge a look by its cover. If you want to invest in two areas that can make you seem like you’re packing a big portfolio, splurge on a good pair of shoes and a nice watch. The shoes you can’t really skimp on you don’t need to spend $1,000 but $200 is about right but a watch doesn’t need to cost more than $100 to look expensive. These days, Timex, Swatch, Fossil, and other manufacturers put enough bells and whistles on their timepieces that you can fool almost anyone.

We remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

How To Design Your Wardrobe

2008-03-09T21:18:00.001-07:00

At the beginning of your career, you dressed appropriately to show respect. But at this point you want to have the respect of others, and the first step toward achieving that goal is dressing with authority. Looking the part is obviously not enough when it comes to acquiring power in the workplace you have to earn that but how you present yourself signals more than ever your position and prestige. By now, your seniority has also provided you with the resources to invest in the proper clothing befitting your status. This chapter will present the appropriate suits, shirts, ties, and accessories of the power wardrobe. Acquiring a power wardrobe is not simply about the amount of clothing you have although the more options you have although the more options you have at this stage of your career, the better. What you’re after now is quality. Finer materials and better-made clothing are what distinguish the distinguish the distinguished at this level. And when you have truly achieved a certain level of power, the power wardrobe will be incidental: Your own personal style will matter most.

“The power to define the situation is the ultimate power.”

Suits

Navy wool crepe
Unlike the navy suit you interviewed in, the wool crepe suit has a textured and slightly nubby feel to it. Wool crepe is more twisted than the worsted that most suits are made of, which means that it will wrinkle less. This makes a wool crepe suit ideal for travel. You can wear it no the plane or pack it without the fear of looking like a rumpled mess when you arrive. Like the original interview suit, a navy wool crepe suit goes with just about every shirt-and-tie combination. An overall bulletproof selection. An overall bulletproof selection.

Gray Bird’s-Eye
The name of the pattern refers to the minute black-and-white woven design, which actually looks gray. A smart-looking variation on the gray worsted wool suit, the bird’s eye has a lot of texture. Keep in mind that although it looks like a solid from far away, up close it is actually a very tiny pattern, so don’t mix it with small-patterned shirt and ties.

Single-Breasted Pinstripe
While not as dandyish as the double-breasted version this suit is no less formal. What matters here is the pinstripe: it is the pattern of power. It’s also the most slimming design for heavier men the vertical stripes provide the illusion of height and diminish width. When choosing a shirt, beware of stripes that fight with the stripes of the suit. And for an added flourish, try a pocket square or a handkerchief.

Tan Gabardine
Think of it as the navy suit for warm weather. If you live in a cold-weather city, it’s ideal for spring and summer; in warm locales it’s appropriate all year-round. When pairing shirts and ties with this suit, remember to keep them relatively light. White or light blue shirts will always work, and pale pastels are safe as well. In terms of ties, you can go a bit darker than the shirts, but in general navy or dark green would be the safest.

Double-Breasted Pinstripe
This classic style and pattern adds up to a suit you can take to the bank. Or a lawyer’s office. Or an important business meeting. Double-breasted meaning the left side of the jacket buttons on right side is a more dramatic suit cut than single-breasted, providing greater impact. The wide lapels often scare some men away, but as long as you don’t look as though an F-14 can land on your chest, you’re safe. In all this is a classic suit that power.

Shirts

Attention to Detail
Okay, so you’ll never be a designer, but you still like your clothes a certain way shirts that are wider in the chest, collars that are spread extra wide and now you can afford to have them tailored just for you.

MADE TO ORDER
A custom-made shirt is unquestionably an extravagance, but it’s also a great way to express your sartorial individuality. Typically, from the first fitting |(Where a tailor will take more measurements than you knew you had) to the final product, it takes several weeks to the final produce a custom-made shirt.
While you can expect to pay anywhere from $75 to several hundred dollars for one, the fit will be perfect. Also, the patterns and materials (frequently sea Island of Egyptian cotton) will be superior to ready-made shirts.

SNAP COLLAR
For a more sophisticated variation one the button down collar, try hidden snaps.

CUSTOM-MADE SHIRT
A custom-made shirt has expert stitching around the collar and placket. Look for 14 or more stitches per inch.

Blazers---a wardrobe of Basics
Like white shirts, khakis, and jeans, can a man really own enough blue blazers? Probably. But the point is, a blazer is so versatile and will get so much use that, after a while, having more than one becomes necessary. How you choose additional jackets depends on your needs: Would you like a line blazer for summer and one in cashmere for winter? How about a double-breasted jacket instead of a single?
TWO-BUTTON
Made popular by JFK, the two-button single-breasted jacket has remained an American favorite. It flatters most, since its elongated frontal V shows more shirt, thus lengthening the line of a body.
DOUBLE-BREASTED
Traditionally, the double-breasted blazer is navy blue, with six metal buttons, only two of which actually function. Further characteristics are side vents, two flap pockets, a breast pocket, and peaked lapels. For business, metal buttons may be considered too casual. They can be replaced with horn.
THREE-BUTTON
A three-button jacket is considered fashionable. Most designers make them so only the top two buttons close, although some men prefer the more classic three, in which the lapel rolls to the second button and the top one remains unbuttoned and hidden behind the lapel.

Shirt &Tie Combinations
As you spend more money on shirts and ties, mix ability becomes essential. Why have a $100 tie if it only goes with one shirt and suit? So, when expanding this area of the wardrobe, thing about all the potential combinations with your existing clothes. Solid ties are particularly versatile, as they go with even the wildest patterned shirt . In general, though, you want the tie to relate to a color in the shirt or jacket.
1. Plaid shirt with spread collar and stripe knit tie.
2. Gingham shirt with solid navy tie.
3. Multistoried shirt with tonal tie.
4. Lavender oxford with small pattern.

We remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

How To Buy Quality Products

2008-02-18T21:38:00.001-08:00

Quality & Quantity:

There are clearly two ways to spend your money: Quantity and Quality.

As you seek a better position career, both are important. Quantity will give you more choices. If for instance, you now have seven suits instead of four, you have more options, which will only make life easier when getting dressed or packing for travel. Quantity allows you to be more versatile in different situations: Whereas you one had only a blue blazer that was too heavy to wear in, say, summer, you will now have two blazers, one for warm weather and one for cold.

Quality, on the hand, has more subtle value. Quality clothing may cost more, but it is also a kind of shorthand for status. Better clothes often send a faster signal to people that you know how to invest in yourself. The right watch, for instance, is a status symbol to many people, and wearing one that looks expensive tells people that you know more than what time it is.
And keep in mind, it only needs to look expensive. A Timex, in other words, may go just as far as a Rolex.

Another advantage of clothing that is well made is that it tends to last longer. The fabrics are more durable, the workmanship is finer, and so repairs are often easier. Think of it this way: Would you rather own an expensive car that was relatively easy to service or one that was medium-priced but a headache to fix?

THE SIGNS OF QUALITY
If the price tag is not a sign of quality and let’s be clear, it isn’t then what is? Quality comes in many forms, and understanding what to look for will help you become a smarter shopper and dresser.

QUALITY CUT
There is no single perfect cut of a suit.
Single-breasted is not better than double. Having two buttons on your jacket is not any less valuable than three.
Rather, the beauty of clothes lies in the eyes of the ultimate beholder: You.
Understanding the most flattering cut of clothing for your body type is critical to seeking out quality.

Clothing can often make up for what nature has not given us. If you don’t have broad shoulders, some padding in your suit jacket may give you a little more heft. If you are shorter than you would like, a lean-cut, vertically striped suit with three buttons will give you the appearance of length.
A little heavy in the middle? Try darker suits without a vent in the rear. The point is, what you are and what you look like.

The next step is understanding what designers and labels are most ideal for you. Some jackets are boxier than others heavier men would want to avoid these. Some are cut narrow in the shoulders, and men with broad chests would be wise to steer clear. Even if you have always coveted owning a certain name-brand designer’s clothes, they may not be well suited for your shape and size, and it would be wiser to spend your money on something that fits better. After all, you don’t wear the label on the outside.

Once you have identified brands that are tailored for your body that is your quality cut. Again, it may not be right for your best friend, but a quality cut only has to suit you.

QUALITY FABRIC

All fabric are not created equal. If they were. You could wear a pair of silk pants to play touch football in and good luck with your friends on that one and a denim tie to the office. But how a fabric looks is often not as important as how it feels. A fabric’s feel or finish will affect not only how good you look in an article of clothing, but also how it feels on. As a rule, heavier fabrics are usually more durable while the quality fabrics feel better and are more fragile.

Suit and jackets. There first suit you wore on an interview was a worsted wool. Nothing wrong with it, of course (in fact it holds a crease quite well), but it’s just not as luxurious feeling or looking as a Super 100 wool (which refers to the fineness of the fiber themselves). Nor does it drape as well or stay unwrinkled quite like a wool crepe

Shirt. The first shirts you owned were broadcloth or oxford cloth, two cottons that feel very nice, but they aren’t nearly as soft as Egyptian cotton or Sea Island cotton, which have a higher thread count per square inch. In general, if you want to spend money on better fabrics, you should think about which fabrics will be close to the body: Shirts, pants, etc.

After all, only going to feel good against your shirt.

Ties. As with wools and cottons, some silks are smoother than others. Such softer silks are said to have a finer “hand,” a fact you can test with either your left or right. A necktie made of a finer silks will often look better tied

Sweaters. As far as sweaters are concerned, Shetland is basic, durable wool, as is lamb’s wool. But neither feels as fine to the hand as merino, cashmere, or silk (all of which are often combined in sweaters). But again, quality does matter even in there categories (all fabrics are not created equal, remember?). It would be wiser to buy an expensive merino V-neck than a more expensive cashmere sweater that was thin and cheap looking. After all, why buy a cashmere sweater that pills and looks raged when you can have a smart-looking merino version for less money that will last longer?

Shoes. Nothing take a beating like your shoes, so investing in quality materials is a risky concept. A supple leather, such as cordovan, will scratch more easily than one that is more rugged. A good suede can be ruined by the rain. And snow. And dirt. Still, because you are investing in quantity and quality, you have more shoes in you closet, so you can be judicious about when you wear the nicer ones.

QUALITY WORKMANSHIP

A man who kicks the tires of a car he’s thinking of buying clearly knows nothing about quality it’s just not where you look. The same is true for clothing about quality that you can know if you’re truly getting your money’s worth. Quality workmanship often does not show. It is often hidden in subtle details such as stitching, lining, and construction. Handcrafter made than those processed on a machine. The stitching and construction are simply more reliable than on something that is mass- produced.
Suits and Jackets. There are many distinguishing signs of quality workmanship to look for in a suit or sport jacket. Here are a few that should make a difference: A jacket internal construction will drape better across the body and will retain its shape longer. You can usually feel the support inside the shoulders and across the back of the jacket, and it might also feel slightly heavier than an un constructed jacket, but not enough to weight you down. A lining in the pockets will protect them better, but the truth is, it’s best never to open your jacket pockets; stuffing them with keys, change, and other effluvia will only cause the jacket to bulge and will distort its shape.
Buttons are another sign of quality. Good jacket buttons are made out of very hard plastic and sometimes even horn. On truly superior jackets, the buttons on a sleeve will actually work, and the buttonhole on a lapel will actually be a hole. Whit trousers, well-made pants will several buttons in the inside of the waistband for suspenders.

Shirt. Stitching is what you’re looking for here. A well-made shirt will have fine stitching down the placket , and across the yoke and shoulders. Look for about 14 stitches per inch on the placket. There will also be attention paid to the collar, perhaps the most critical part of shirt. A well-constructed collar will retain its shape longer. And once again, buttons are the sign of workmanship. Mother-of-pearl buttons are among the best you can get, but a good, hard plastic that won’t crack or chip is the least you should expect.

Ties. A well-made tie will have a lining (usually linen or wool) that extends to the tip of both ends. This will help it retain its shape after many wearing. A good tie should also have hand stitching along the back. Finally, look for a loop of fabric on the wide end to tuck the narrow end into when it’s tied. This will preserve the tie better and keep you from tucking it into the label.

Shoes. Since shoes take the most punishment, great care must be paid to purchasing pairs that won’t fall down on the job. Look for leather with a smooth finish; it will better resist cracking. The soles should be leather and be lightly tanned and flexible. A well-made shoe should not have upper parts that are glued; look for stitching or, if you don’t have an eye for this, ask the salesman.

We remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Shop Smart

2008-02-12T01:23:00.001-08:00

WHAT DO I BUY FIRST?

Primary:

* Suits
* Sport jackets
* Dress shirts
* Dress pants
* Ties

Secondary:

* Chinos
* Sweaters
* Polo shirts
* Shoes
* Socks
* Belts
* Overcoats
* Accessories

SHOP SMART : PANTS

Color:

Dark gray = All business.
Black = Sophisticated, urban.
Tan = Earthy but sophisticated.

Fabric:

For year-round, mid weight wool and wool blends will get you through most seasons. In summertime, a tropical wool or linen is often more comfortable, while winter, a heavier wool or wool flannel will keep you better insulated.

Style:

Again, the big decision here is whether to go with pleated or flat-front pants. Each is appropriate, but some larger men may find pleated trousers more roomy, although flat-front is more slimming. Pleated pants should be cuffed (1 ½”) whereas flat-front trousers often look more streamlined when unruffled. As for the width of the legs, styles vary slightly every season, but not enough so that it’s noticeable. Basically, stay away from the extremes: Too narrow or too baggy. Most important, wear your trousers on your gut, but it only highlights the fact that you have one. It just looks sloppy.

SHOP SMART: THE POLO SHIRT/SWEATER

What it says: Although more casual than a shirt and tie, a nice polo sweater says you know how to work hard and still be comfortable.
How to say it best: A polo shirt works best with a sport jacket, but it’s refined enough to be paired with a suit. Navy and charcoal gray will mix best with your suits, while a maroon or dark green would likely go well with the sport jackets.

SHOP SMART : BRIEFCASES

Soft briefcase: The soft briefcase has replaced the hard case in the last decade.
How to say it best: A soft leather briefcase should also be black, dark brown, or tan with either brass or silver fixtures.
The attaché case: This tradition hand case tells people you’re all business nothing is going to get in the way of your work, even if you have to lock it up.
How to say it best: Black, brown, or tan leather with brass or silver fixtures.

GOALS

Three or four suits, several sport jackets and pants, many shirts and ties, a few pairs of shoes, and handful of power accessories.

Why it matters: Building the proper business wardrobe is critical to success in the workplace as it prepares you for every occasion and signals to everyone that you being.

Guidelines: What do I need? How much do I need?

Quality control: At this point in your professional life, buy the best you can afford for your budget. It will certainly affect the quantity of what you purchase, but in the long run, the quality items will last longer and give you a greater return on the investment.

SHOP SMART: Buy a Business Suit

The suit you buy for your interview will not be the last one you ever buy, but since it may be the first one you own, it has to be versatile: Think of it as the Swiss Army knife in your closet.
To continue reading about mens business suits and how to buy them or order your business suits with us, check out this link.

We remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Men's Business Suit

2007-11-18T22:04:00.001-08:00

“How to Buy a Business Suit”

As you begin to flourish in the workplace, your wardrobe must expand along with you. Always consider the atmosphere of your office, what your position is, and the long-term goals you have as you choose your business attire. And remember that what you see on the following pages needn’t be accumulated immediately or even one year. A wardrobe, like a career, tales time to build.

DO MY CLOTHES MEAN BUSINESS?

Navy Interview Suit + 3 Suits = Work Wardrobe

As with your interview suit, the suits you buy should be the best quality you can afford in classic styles.
Following these guidelines will allow you versatility and will make your budget go further.

Dark gray suit

Just like a navy suit, gray is basic but vital. Everything looks good with gray and everything mixes with it. The fabric should be worsted wool that can be worn nearly all year-round. A two-or three-button style is best there button is just as traditional and can often be more slimming, either with a single rear vent or without.

The world, of course, is not black and white, it’s gray and with good reason. It’s elegant and formal. A man in gray is serious and unassailable. The tailoring on this suit should be the same as with the navy suit .Make sure the trousers are cuffed, and if they have little buttons on inside of the waist, they’re for suspenders.

Light Gray Suit

For a third suit, light gray is a smart option. It is just as versatile as its darker cousin, and can be worn further into the summer months. A khaki suit is an alternative for this as well.

Opt for some variation between your gray suits. For instance, if the dark one is two-button, make this one there.

Khaki Poplin Suit

A warm weather essential for any man, the khaki suit is like navy for the summer. Split this suit in half when on the road and you have a pair of khaki pants or a khaki pants or a khaki jacket.
The khaki suit is slightly more casual than darker suits, Dressy and polished poplin is also lightweight, which makes it ideal for summer. Because the fabric is so lightweight, be sure the suit is pressed (or at least steamed) often. Otherwise, you can look like an unmade bed.

Bullet proof:

The most formal sport jacket there is, a blazer is appropriate for any work environment and arguably the hardest-working item in your closet. A blazer with a little bit of structure in the shoulders and lining will fit more like a suit jacket than a more casual coat. Traditionally, the blazer has gold buttons (it began as a nautical uniform), but almost any store will offer dark navy buttons as well, or replace them free of charge. Go for this option.

The Blue Blazer

The blue blazer is like the remote control: Quite simply, man cannot live without one. Perfect for the office, business lunch’s travel, and weekends, a blazer can dress you up and take you anywhere.
As with your suits, try to get a wool blazer that’s enough for summer and heavy enough for winter.
Two-button single-breasted is best but three-button is perfectly acceptable.

COLLAR
The collar of a jacket or suit should be lined with wool. This will help it lie flat against the neck and shoulders.

BUTTONS
Look for quality stitching around the buttons, meaning the thread is wrapped around itself many times to anchor them.

POCKETS
The pockets should be lined with rayon or cotton. This will help the jacket maintain its shape better. To ensure this even more, don’t open your jacket pockets.

Sport Jackets

When a suit isn’t called for, a sport jacket is. While not as dressy, it is certainly appropriate for the workplace. Indeed as dress codes for the workplace have relaxed over the years, the sport jacket has become not only acceptable, but necessary; it provides flexibility and credibility. Paired with nice trousers and a shirt and tie and sometimes without one, the sport jacket still looks extremely polished.

TESTING PATTERNS

Many patterned jackets trace their origin to the hunting and fishing pastimes of Scotland, which explains the names of those sporting-inspired designs: Hounds tooth, herringbone, etc. Sport jackets provide an excellent opportunity to get some color, particularly earth tones, into your wardrobe. Since the patterns are often more casual looking, pay more attention to the therefore preferable.

HERRINGBONE
An excellent way to begin patterns because it’s tweedy without being stuffy. The chevron design comes in large and small, but smaller is subtler, and therefore preferable.

HOUNDS TOOTH
Like herringbone, hounds tooth comes in large and small variations and, again, smaller is better. Black-and-white is classic, but shades of brown are no less traditional.

CHECK
Whereas hounds tooth is more ragged (but not ragged-looking), the square check is neater and usually more bold.

PLAID
In a suit, plaid sometimes knows as a prince of Wales plaid can be formal, but in a sport jacket its well, sportier. Here, variations of brown are more versatile than black-and-white.

TWEED
Whether flecked or heathered, simple tweed adds color and texture to your wardrobe. And some of the other patterns, a tweed is more seasonal, ideal for cold weather.

We remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

The Roi Wardrobe - Return On Investment In Custom Clothing

2007-10-12T05:28:00.000-07:00

INVESTING IN YOUR FUTURE
Beginning a career, like launching a business, comes with start-up costs. Some of these will be obvious (suits cost a fair amount of money) and some will seem hidden (tailoring, dry-cleaning, etc.) but none of them should break you. A plan to spend your money is the key to spending it wisely.

UNDESTANDING NECESSARY EXPENDITURES
Things to keep in mind when building your wardrobe:
1. You might already own some of the items you need.
2. Choose one or two items to invest in a suit and a sport jacket and spend less on the rest.
3. Men are often judged by the shoes and the watch they wear; consider investing in these or at least choose wisely.
4. Easy ways to save: Seasonal sales, sample designer outlets .
5. Go easy spending money on shirts.
They wear out, get stained, and the same version can always be purchase again six months to a year.6. Choose ties that can work with almost every jacket you own. This will make them stretch further.7. Ignore trends. Buying the occasional fashionable tie is to be expected, but in general, stick with styles that will never go out of style.

SO HOW DO I BUDGT MY MONEY?
Year One - SHIRTS, TIES, WATCH
Year Two - PANTS, SHOES, OUTERWEAR
Year Three - SUIT, SPORT JACKETS, BRIEFCASE
In year one of building your work wardrobe, you have the biggest need and the least amount of capital. What’s the solution? Plan carefully and be smart about your expenditures. To put it in architectural terms, build out from the foundation of the suit and sport jacket. This is where the key investment belongs because you want all the possible quality and versatility you can afford in these items. Smart choices here will pay off for several years.Don’t waste your limited resources on ties or fancy watches, etc. Ties and shirt at this stage should be simple, and relatively inexpensive especially considering the beating they will take between long hours at work and dry-cleaning wear and tear. An expensive watch will just look inappropriate you want your management to believe you need a raise, not the opposite.
Year Four - SHIRTS, TIES, PEN
Year Five - PANTS, SHIRTS, TIES, SHOES
Year Six - SUIT, SPORT JACKETS, OUTERWEAR, WATCH
By the fifth year of your career, your wardrobe foundation should be solid and you will have started building up the essentials. Suits and jacket are still the priority here because they cost the most and have the greatest versatility. You may also want to invest in a nice overcoat at this point because, although pricey, it should last you for years.Likewise, an expensive watch would be a good investment at this stage of your career assuming you purchase something that can last you until retirement. If you want to splurge on shirt or ties, make sure they are for special occasions, public speaking, important dinners and that you treat them carefully. Good shoes will take a beating, of course, but by now should have several pairs so you can rotate them. Now is the time to start investing in quality, than quantity.

MEET JOE FRIDAY
When contemplating your Friday wardrobe, to tie or not to tie? There’s a perfect candidate for the job (hey, just like you!)…. the black knit tie! Its texture will soften any suit, but will add a bit of polish to a casual shirt or sport coat. It should be tied with a four-in-hand knot to ensure that you don’t look like grandpa (which isn’t a bad thing when you are his age). The black knit tie is a classic that is welcome in any man’s closet. (Nice to meet you, Joe!)

The Ten…
It worked for Moses; it even works for David Letterman. There is something comforting about having some heads-up guidelines in lots of ten to help make sense of complicated subjects such as civilization or late-night TV. Obviously the bigger challenge is in figuring out what goes with what at 7 in the morning avoiding costly mistakes by buying what either your significant other or sale person gushes over, and, in general, just dressing yourself every day to avoid embarrassment. In light of the sheer magnitude of this we offer these thirty commandments…From – Dress Smart for Men

We remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Different Looks For Different Times.

2007-09-19T22:16:00.000-07:00

Professional. By now, you should know the basic tenets of looking more professional, but just to be clear, looking more professional means meeting the sartorial standards of your office or industry. No matter the standard, looking more professional most likely means going one step above where you are now: From business casual to appropriate, and from appropriate to corporate.

Authoritative. If you want to look like one of the “suits” you have to wear one. Take a look at your superiors: What do they wear? Pinstripes? Double-breasted suits? French cuff shirts? Remember, management always looks a little stiff, a little too proper, so don’t overdo it.

Creative. In creative fields such as publishing, media dress codes are notoriously relaxed . So how do you look creative when you are supposed to be creative? Well, black usually does the trick. A black suit, a black sweater with a white T-shirt underneath, black shoes. It shows everyone that you can look professional and still maintain your personality.

Independent. Every man wants to be his own man, and looking independent is a part of that. The key is finding a way to do it without looking unprofessional. Wearing jeans to the office would not be a good approach. But always wearing a cowboy belt might be. Yes, it’s a become your trademark. Here’s a range of similar ways to express independence in many ways by being dandyish or rugged, bohemian or preppy just as long as you look professional first.

Friendly. If your image is a bit aloof, you need to warm it up. No one wants to work with someone who seems distant or superior to them especially if you’re not. So what will make you look more friendly? You have to know your audience. If you’re a white then a button-down oxford shirt and tie, with the jacket off and the appear too threatening to women, a bow tie actually declaws most men possibly because there’s almost nothing that’s as asexual as a bow tie. Can you loosen up in your office? Try dressing business appropriate. Wear a sport jacket with a shirt and no tie. You will look approachable. Bring color also work wonders. A bright tie will seem cheerful, whereas something dark can often seem funereal. Oh, and would it kill you to smile every once in a white?

Organized. If your appearance is neat and tidy and that includes your desk and/or office people will assume that you are organized. Even if it means sweeping all that junk into your desk, do it. No one has to know what you look like on the inside. As for clothing, your shoes polished, and your shirts pressed. Your ties should always be knotted to the top. And make sure your watch is set five minutes ahead.

Affluent. Sad, but true, some people do judge a look by its cover. If you want to invest in two areas that can make you seem like you’re packing a big portfolio, splurge on a good pair of shoes and a nice watch. The shoes you can’t really skimp on you don’t need to spend $1,000 but $200 is about right but a watch doesn’t need to cost more than $100 to look expensive. These days, Timex, Swatch, Fossil, and other manufacturers put enough bells and whistles on their timepieces that you can fool almost anyone.

We remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

The Importance Of Formal Cloths In Today's Life.

2007-09-19T22:12:00.000-07:00

In the high-tech, high-speed world we live in, instant gratification is often not soon enough. We like our news 24 hours a day and expect tomorrow’s information to be here yesterday. Among the many perils of this fast-paced society is that we are quick to make judgments about the appearances of others. In such a world, we need to send signals immediately and hope that people get the message we intend to send. When Steven Case, chairman of America Online, and Gerald Levin, chairman of Tim Warner, nearly as much news as their two companies, their clothing generated nearly as much news as their business deal. Case, the epitome of a laid-back dot-com mogul, appeared at the press conference in a tie, while Levin, a lifelong corporate soldier, chose not to wear one. Of course, at the CEO level, one can, for the most a clear signal that two corporate worlds had already begun to blend.CLOTHES-MINDEDSo what are your clothes saying about you? It’s not always easy to know because, like having bad breath or spinach in your teeth, people are not likely to tell you when you are dressed inappropriately. The goal is to determine the ultimate message you want to send. And for the most part, that message is simple: You want to appear competent at all times and show people that you belong.Each office, Whether it’s a white-show law firm or a red-hot advertising agency, has a dress code. Adhere to it and you signal to everyone that you are part of the team. This is not to say that individuality can’t be expressed, but sometimes the best impression is no impression at all. In other words, you dress so appropriately for the office that no one notices. It is simply assumed that always look the part.

Of course, adhering to the clothing standards of an office or industry does not guarantee that you will make a good impression. Imagine the two junior salesmen with very similar skill sets are up for the same promotion at an insurance company where the men all wear suit or sport and most wear ties. One of the candidates always dress in a sport jacket, crisp white shirts, and creased trousers, but he never wears a tie. The other always wears a suit and tie to the office, but his shirts are usually wrinkled, his ties are frequently stained, and his shoes look as though they haven’t been shined since he bought them. Who gets the job? Well, the first guy may never wear a tie, but he clearly pays attention to other clothing details, and others will relate that to his work ethic. He looks sharp and ready for action and eventually, perhaps from the money he’ll get from the promotion, he’ll get himself a few ties.The lesson here is that dressing smart is not always about dressing formally. Paying attention to the subtleties of style may impact your appearance far more than simply adhering to an overall dress code.DRESSING AS IF YOUR PROFESSIONAL LIFE DEPENDED ON ITIn today’s business environment, there are more potentially hazardous clothing situations than ever breakfast meetings, client lunches, black-tie dinners, golf outings, board presentations, TV appearances and dressing smart means you have to be prepared for every one of them. Clearly, you cannot wear the same outfit for all of those occasions, but you can maintain a certain standard that suggests you could be ready for any one of then at a moment’s notice. For instance, a coworker calls in sick and can’t make in to a charity dinner that night. Your boss mentally runs through replacement options. He knows that you come to work in a suit every day, so he asks if you have a tuxedo. You do, of course, and suddenly you become the tenth person at the table seated two places away from the CEO.
We remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

How To Clothe Your Self

2007-05-15T22:03:00.000-07:00

Dress Smart - The Packaging Of You – How To Clothe Your Self

YOUR PERSONAL BRAND
As David McNally and Karl Speak stated so well in Be Your Own Brand, “A brand reflects a perception or emotion maintained in somebody else’s mind… It doesn’t matter nearly as much as you think. It matters a whole lot what other people think.

YOU ARE THE BRAND
With corporations spending millions on establishing brands, redefining brands, and expanding brands, it should come as little surprise that you, too, have a brand: Yourself. And how you package that brand will be integral to the path of your career. By understanding that your identity can be defined by the way you dress and by deciding what clear message you are going to send out, you are defining your image and not allowing other to shape it. for you. This is the first important step to taking control of your career.

CLOTHES AS BRAND ATTRIBUTES
Tom Wolfe always wears a white suit. Johnny Cash is the Man in Black George Will favors bow ties. Pat Riley lives in Armani suits. Men such as these define themselves by what they wear. Their trademark styles immediately telegraph who they are and what they stand for. Signatures such as these have long been understood by politicians. Consider some past presidents: Bill Clinton sported Donna Karan suits, suggesting that he was the very model of a modern man. Ronald Reagan epitomized the man who wears red power ties. Jimmy Carter chose cozy sweaters to imply that he was a warm and fuzzy president, a man of the people. And John F. Kennedy famously brought about the demise of the men’s hat because he refused to wear one.The same principles apply in business. A boss who rolls up his shirt sleeves at work is telling his staff that he is unafraid of hard work. A young assistant who carries a briefcase is letting everyone know how hard he will work and how organized he is. In the early stages of a career, having a signature look is hardly important. In fact, if one is too stylish it may actually be a distraction for many in the office. Early on, you want to show people that you are competent and reliable. There will be plenty of time to amass that Hermes tie collection.

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
What may be appropriate in your office may not be ideal for the world at large. Simply following a dress code blindly, without taking your audience into account, can be perilous. For instance, a black suit, which is perfectly acceptable attire in New York City, may seem off-putting and too edgy for those in the South. Likewise, a white-collar manager who works mainly in the office might seem out of place if he dressed in a suit and tie to meet the branch office in the Midwest. The message you are delivering may loud and clear, but you may be delivering it to deaf ears.

THE CONVERSATION YOU NEVER HEAR
Like ancient Greek poetry, an office dress code is rarely written down. When you are hired, you are unlikely to be told how to dress for your first day on the job, and this may leave flummoxed. So what can you do? Simple: Look around you and ask. When you went on interviews, what wear the people who hired you wearing? What were the people who work for them wearing? Pay attention and follow suit. If that fails and you are still unsure, ask before you begin. It will only reflect well on you one more example of how conscientious you are. Similarly, if you have already been working somewhere and you are inappropriately dressed, you may not hear it until it is too late. Don’t show an employer a weakness such as poor dressing. It’s too pay attention to your peers. Who knows, the dress code may be changing right before your eyes and you wear busy waiting for the memo.

“Be your self’ is the worst advice you can give some people.”… said by TOM MASSON

Dress Better, Spend Less: Wardrobe Economics -

DRESSING FOR THE JOB INTERVIEW
You spent years getting the education, weeks setting up the appointments, and days polishing the resume, so don’t let a few minutes of bad clothes or poor grooming undermine all that. This is your first, and perhaps only, encounter with a potential employer, and you need to make the most of it.Think of a job interview as a blind date, albeit a professional one, You and your interview have a finite amount of time to figure out if you have similar interests, compatible work ethics and skill sets, and whether you are comfortable enough with one another to spend eight hours a day together. And, just as on a blind date, you want to make the best first impression. Appearance counts. It’s not that you have to be attractive to an interviewer, but you do have to appear professional and highly competent because if you don’t the next guy will.

INVEST IN YOURSELF
Preparing for a career comes with start-up costs, but there will be a return on investment a salary. While it may hurt the bottom line at first to buy a suit, shirts, ties, and a nice pair of shoes, you have to trust in your ability to get a job and understand that this will be a relatively low-risk investment. The right suit, paired with be a and tie, will provide you with a good shirt and tie, will provide you with enough c9onfidence to walk into any interviewer’s office. It’s a confidence that speaks not only to your skills as a potential employee, but also provides you with peace of mind; while interviewing, you shouldn’t be thinking about what you’re wearing.

DOLLARS AND GOOD SENSE
Tempting as it may be to go out and purchase expensive first suit, it would be very unwise. Looking good has nothing to do with how much money you spend, and at this nothing to do with how much money you spend, and at this point in your life, why blow your budget on a $1,500 suit, when one for $250 will suffice? You need to determine what your greatest needs are and understand where to put the most money and where not to.

SHOP SMART. QUALITY = VALUE
If splurging on an Armani suit isn’t answer right now, what is? Quality. Whether it’s a handsome suit or a good pair of shoes, it is more important to buy items of quality rather than name-brand designs. To understand how quality can make a difference, go to a department store and try on some high-end suits notice, how they are constructed, how the fabric feels to the hand. Then, head over to the cheaper racks and look for suits that resemble the pricey versions you just tried on.

WARDROBE ECONOMICS
To dress well without spending a fortune requires foresight. If you know what you are willing to spend the most on, and roughly how high you can afford to go, you will be a much smarter shopper. One of the most basic rules when staring out is to stick with the classics: Blue suits, white shirts, simple black lace-up shoes. These items can last you for years and will never go out of style.The majority of your investment should go to that first suit. After all, it is the armor that will protect you as you head off to interview, and you need to be flawless. A single-breasted navy suit in medium-weight wool is the way to go. You can wear it all year, and it won’t go out of style before your third promotion.Think about the elements that will go best with it: Shirts, ties, shoes. And again, remember that you don’t need to spend a lot to get good quality: A $25 tie can look just as sharp as a $150 tie.

REALITY CHECK
Whether you are graduating from school with a small national debt in student loans or wear recently laid off, the idea of spending money on clothes may appear laughable. Deal with it; if you don’t have the vision and courage to bet on yourself then what’s the point? It always hurts to win but so does losing. Pay attention, read care-fully, make a list and stick to it. You are buying your uniform for your first job, a new job, a new start what could be money better spent?

We remind with Best Regards,
E-Tailor's at www.mycustomtailor.com

How To Clothe Your Self

2007-05-15T21:53:00.000-07:00

Dress Smart - The Packaging Of You – How To Clothe Your Self

YOUR PERSONAL BRAND
As David McNally and Karl Speak stated so well in Be Your Own Brand, “A brand reflects a perception or emotion maintained in somebody else’s mind… It doesn’t matter nearly as much as you think. It matters a whole lot what other people think.

YOU ARE THE BRAND
With corporations spending millions on establishing brands, redefining brands, and expanding brands, it should come as little surprise that you, too, have a brand: Yourself. And how you package that brand will be integral to the path of your career. By understanding that your identity can be defined by the way you dress and by deciding what clear message you are going to send out, you are defining your image and not allowing other to shape it. for you. This is the first important step to taking control of your career.

CLOTHES AS BRAND ATTRIBUTES
Tom Wolfe always wears a white suit. Johnny Cash is the Man in Black George Will favors bow ties. Pat Riley lives in Armani suits. Men such as these define themselves by what they wear. Their trademark styles immediately telegraph who they are and what they stand for. Signatures such as these have long been understood by politicians. Consider some past presidents: Bill Clinton sported Donna Karan suits, suggesting that he was the very model of a modern man. Ronald Reagan epitomized the man who wears red power ties. Jimmy Carter chose cozy sweaters to imply that he was a warm and fuzzy president, a man of the people. And John F. Kennedy famously brought about the demise of the men’s hat because he refused to wear one.The same principles apply in business. A boss who rolls up his shirt sleeves at work is telling his staff that he is unafraid of hard work. A young assistant who carries a briefcase is letting everyone know how hard he will work and how organized he is. In the early stages of a career, having a signature look is hardly important. In fact, if one is too stylish it may actually be a distraction for many in the office. Early on, you want to show people that you are competent and reliable. There will be plenty of time to amass that Hermes tie collection.

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
What may be appropriate in your office may not be ideal for the world at large. Simply following a dress code blindly, without taking your audience into account, can be perilous. For instance, a black suit, which is perfectly acceptable attire in New York City, may seem off-putting and too edgy for those in the South. Likewise, a white-collar manager who works mainly in the office might seem out of place if he dressed in a suit and tie to meet the branch office in the Midwest. The message you are delivering may loud and clear, but you may be delivering it to deaf ears.

THE CONVERSATION YOU NEVER HEAR
Like ancient Greek poetry, an office dress code is rarely written down. When you are hired, you are unlikely to be told how to dress for your first day on the job, and this may leave flummoxed. So what can you do? Simple: Look around you and ask. When you went on interviews, what wear the people who hired you wearing? What were the people who work for them wearing? Pay attention and follow suit. If that fails and you are still unsure, ask before you begin. It will only reflect well on you one more example of how conscientious you are. Similarly, if you have already been working somewhere and you are inappropriately dressed, you may not hear it until it is too late. Don’t show an employer a weakness such as poor dressing. It’s too pay attention to your peers. Who knows, the dress code may be changing right before your eyes and you wear busy waiting for the memo.

“Be your self’ is the worst advice you can give some people.”… said by TOM MASSON

Dress Better, Spend Less: Wardrobe Economics -

DRESSING FOR THE JOB INTERVIEW
You spent years getting the education, weeks setting up the appointments, and days polishing the resume, so don’t let a few minutes of bad clothes or poor grooming undermine all that. This is your first, and perhaps only, encounter with a potential employer, and you need to make the most of it.Think of a job interview as a blind date, albeit a professional one, You and your interview have a finite amount of time to figure out if you have similar interests, compatible work ethics and skill sets, and whether you are comfortable enough with one another to spend eight hours a day together. And, just as on a blind date, you want to make the best first impression. Appearance counts. It’s not that you have to be attractive to an interviewer, but you do have to appear professional and highly competent because if you don’t the next guy will.

INVEST IN YOURSELF
Preparing for a career comes with start-up costs, but there will be a return on investment a salary. While it may hurt the bottom line at first to buy a suit, shirts, ties, and a nice pair of shoes, you have to trust in your ability to get a job and understand that this will be a relatively low-risk investment. The right suit, paired with be a and tie, will provide you with a good shirt and tie, will provide you with enough c9onfidence to walk into any interviewer’s office. It’s a confidence that speaks not only to your skills as a potential employee, but also provides you with peace of mind; while interviewing, you shouldn’t be thinking about what you’re wearing.

DOLLARS AND GOOD SENSE
Tempting as it may be to go out and purchase expensive first suit, it would be very unwise. Looking good has nothing to do with how much money you spend, and at this nothing to do with how much money you spend, and at this point in your life, why blow your budget on a $1,500 suit, when one for $250 will suffice? You need to determine what your greatest needs are and understand where to put the most money and where not to.

SHOP SMART. QUALITY = VALUE
If splurging on an Armani suit isn’t answer right now, what is? Quality. Whether it’s a handsome suit or a good pair of shoes, it is more important to buy items of quality rather than name-brand designs. To understand how quality can make a difference, go to a department store and try on some high-end suits notice, how they are constructed, how the fabric feels to the hand. Then, head over to the cheaper racks and look for suits that resemble the pricey versions you just tried on.

WARDROBE ECONOMICS
To dress well without spending a fortune requires foresight. If you know what you are willing to spend the most on, and roughly how high you can afford to go, you will be a much smarter shopper. One of the most basic rules when staring out is to stick with the classics: Blue suits, white shirts, simple black lace-up shoes. These items can last you for years and will never go out of style.The majority of your investment should go to that first suit. After all, it is the armor that will protect you as you head off to interview, and you need to be flawless. A single-breasted navy suit in medium-weight wool is the way to go. You can wear it all year, and it won’t go out of style before your third promotion.Think about the elements that will go best with it: Shirts, ties, shoes. And again, remember that you don’t need to spend a lot to get good quality: A $25 tie can look just as sharp as a $150 tie.

REALITY CHECK
Whether you are graduating from school with a small national debt in student loans or wear recently laid off, the idea of spending money on clothes may appear laughable. Deal with it; if you don’t have the vision and courage to bet on yourself then what’s the point? It always hurts to win but so does losing. Pay attention, read care-fully, make a list and stick to it. You are buying your uniform for your first job, a new job, a new start what could be money better spent?

We remind with Best Regards,
E-Tailor's at www.mycustomtailor.com

Who Wears What To Work - Industry Dress Codes

2007-03-19T01:44:00.000-07:00

The ideal look, as you claw your way to the lower middle rung, is that of a hip funeral director… To the delight of your boss, your sartorial restraint will signify a comforting subservience.”

SIMON DOONAN
Author, writer for The New York Observer

No industry standard is foolproof different companies within the same industry often have their own rules but there are some general guidelines that tend to remain consistent within a particular profession.

ACADEMIC

Till tweedy after all these years. While suits are not out of the question, most professors tend to wear business appropriate clothes: Jackets and ties, sweaters, turtlenecks, etc.

ACCOUNTING

Those in executive accounting positions tend to dress in corporate attire. But for all other accounting
Titles bookkeepers, assistants it’s more casual. In smaller accounting firms, corporate casual attire can mean anything from jeans and khakis to a sport jacket. Larger firms, however, often require their paraprofessionals to dress professionally, or business appropriate.

ADVERTISING

Like many creative media, the dress code in advertising tends to be corporate creative. For entry-level positions, that means looking sharp, but not stiff and too dressed up a nice pair of pants and a dress shirt should do it. Midlevel employees can take liberties within a corporate casual to business appropriate range, but if they’re meeting clients outside the office, they should do their homework and know how the clients dress. Senior executives dress with similar freedom, in everything from Armani to jeans. Clearly, the more conservative the firm or a particular client the more conservative the dress code.

ARCHITECTURE

The dress code in architecture is similar to that in advertising: Casual but neat. Business appropriate is always acceptable, but suits are not necessary unless you’re meeting clients who are unless you’re meeting clients who are likely to wear them.

FINANCIAL

Banking has eased its dress code in the last decade, but the standard seems to be regressing. If you don’t have to wear a suit, you should at least remain business appropriate.

INTERNET

Ever since the dot-com bubble broke, the dress code for the industry has gotten somewhat more serious. (When your company is worth billions on paper you can wear what you want. When it’s no longer worth the paper that paper was printed on, you have to look professional. Still, business casual to business appropriate is the norm here.

LAW

The law is still very serious business. Corporate dress codes still apply at most white-shoe firms, but you could get away with business appropriate at some smaller firms.MEDIAJobs in the media television and film production, publishing generally inspire a creative take on business attire. Anyone who is a producer tends to be at the higher end of the style spectrum. But, in general, business casual to business appropriate is the way to dress.

MEDICINE

Aside from the white lab coat, doctors tend to wear a shirt and tie underneath or at least a nice dress shirt. As with everything in medicine, neatness counts.REAL ESTATEIf you’re selling real estate, you want to dress in a manner that your clients can relate to. So, if you’re selling high-end homes, dress high-end. Affordable housing, dress business appropriate. The key here is making your clients feel, well, at home.

RETAIL

Looking presentable is goal. Most stores will either want you to wear their clothes or at least represent the clientele. In other words, if you work at a high-end store, you should have a reasonably high standard of dress. After all, if you are recommending a $1,500 suit to someone, you can’t be seen in a T-shirt and jeans.

SERVICE INDUSTRY

Service position hotel managers, restaurant workers often require a uniform. Otherwise, the rule of thumb is to wear crisp, well-ironed, and presentable clothes that fall into the business casual or business appropriate range, depending on the position.

FOUR-IN-HAND

Your first goal is to learn how to tie your tie. There are four basic styles, but for your job interview,Simple and straightforward is best-the four-in-hand

STEP BY STEP
1. Begin with the tie’s wide end approximately one foot below the narrow end. Cross it over the narrow end and bring it back underneath.
2. Cross the wide end over again and bring it up through the loop.
3. Holding the front of the knot loosely with the thumb and index finger, take the wide end through the loop in front.
4. Tighten the knot slowly, holding the narrow end and sliding the knot to the collar.

Dressing for Your Goals Throughout Your Career

How you dress at a certain point in your career is often based on what level you attained or hope to attain. Are your clothes ready to climb the ladder of success?

GET A JOB

Whether you are just out of college, between engagements, or looking to get back to work after a layoff of years, getting a job is your mission. And every detail matters.The main goal for you is to dress the part and let your potential employer know that you seem competent and would fit in. Research the company and determine how its employees dress. Then outfit yourself accordingly so that your first impression is a good one. Of course, if you have to alter that you are dramatically just to get a job; perhaps that job isn’t right for you after all. When you step through the door for that initial interview, let them think you already work there.

SUCCEED IN A JOB

Once you’re in the door, the object is to stay there. To do that, you need a wardrobe that works overtime right alongside you. It must be filled with versatile clothes that you can wear in every foreseeable situation and even a few you never saw coming. One again, though, looking the part will only get you so far. You have to back up your style with substance.

GET A BETTER JOB

In order to get ahead, you have to dress for the job you want to have, not for the job you are hired to do. Reassess yourself. Do you look like the kind of man who can be an authority figure? Do you respect clothes command? Or are you still dressing like someone’s slacker assistant?Now that you’ve proved yourself for a while, you feel you’re entitled to some more money, a bigger office, and greater responsibilities. If your superiors see that you look worthy of a better job it will likely influence them to give you that opportunity.

DRESSING SMART-THROUGHOUT YOUR CAREERS

No job lasts forever. Most career paths are long and winding. As you change jobs, careers, cities, and perhaps even worldviews, reassess your wardrobe and what your goals are. Are you still dressing for your last career? Do your suits look as though they belong in a time capsule? Has your body changed dramatically, but no one notified your clothes? Along the way, every few years, reflect on where you have been and where you are going. Then take a look at your closet and determine if your clothes should come along for the ride.

We Remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Cracking The Dress Codes of Business

2007-02-26T20:33:00.000-08:00

Cracking The Dress Codes Of Business

DRESS CODES OF BUSINESS

Company dress codes are not well defined and are rarely written down. They are mostly gleaned by observing: “What is there basis dress code that every office usually falls into, as one personal dress code. Follow these guidelines and you will be safe.

CORPORATE DRESS CODE

The most formal standard of dress there is, the corporate dress code means suits with shirts, usually white and ties. This the dress code of law firms and investment banks. In the past few years, the corporate dress code has eased somewhat, but it is recently coming black strong. Once again, the “suits” upstairs are wearing suits.

BUSINESS CASUAL DRESS CODE

If every day were casual Friday, this is the dress code that would apply. In the business casual world, not only is a suit not necessary, but a jacket may not even be required. But a casual dress code does not mean that you can let it all hang out. In fact, neatness may count more than ever in this environment. If you wear khakis and a white oxford shirt to work most days, make sure they’re clean and pressed. Polish your shoes and never wear sneakers to the office. Wear sweaters that fit well and not ones that are baggy, wrinkled, or have holes in them. A sense of professionalism must be maintained at all times.

THE EVOLUTION OF BUSINESS APPROPRIATE

Business has often been cast as a Darwinian struggle, and the development of business appropriate dress in the workplace is an excellent example of the phenomena. Over the past 20 year the pendulum of corporate dress has swung from one extreme to the other: Starting with the buttoned-up world of pinstripes and power ties to the worn down world of faded jeans and T-shirts. CEOs of powerful industries established both trends. In the go-go days of the Wall Street-tech bubble it became practically mandatory to dress casually to establish your credentials.Then the bubble burst, and as the economy changed so did the dress landscape. A new dress code evolved, not from the top down but instead lead by the people on the job. Without a memo in sight, people stared to upgrade their look jacket with nice dress shirts and slacks, and even an occasional tie. There’s tacit evolutionary understanding that as the times get tougher, the smart species survives by adapting to the environment.And so business appropriate has emerged as midpoint between business casual and corporate dress codes. Silicon Valley meets the man in the gray flannel suit, and business appropriate is the offspring.

BUSINESS APPROPRIATE AND BUSINESS APPROPRIATE CASUAL DRESS CODE

This dress code is somewhere between corporate and casual, and can, in some ways, be the most difficult to navigate. The business appropriate dress code requires that you have a secure sense of what is appropriate for your office and industry. A suit is no longer mandatory, but if you wear one perhaps you don’t put on a tie with a dress shirt. A sport jacket and trousers with a dress shirt would also be an acceptable alternative. In the business appropriate world, one can even opt to wear a nice polo shirt or sweater with a sport jacket. The idea is that you can allow yourself some comfort, but you must always look polished and professional.
The Evolution of Dress Codes
Corporate
SUIT
Mandatory
SHIRT AND TIE
Mandatory
The suit and tie ensemble is a constant. A classic of American business, it has grow from a stiff authoritative structure to a more comfortable expression of business. But don’t be confused. It is still about joining the club
Casual
JACKET: WITH TEE
Mandatory
WITH SHIRT OR SWEATER
Optional
JEANS
Only okay if you’re the boss or the office is homeThe days of “whatever, I’m too busy” or “too creative to bother about what I’m wearing” are over. Casual means pulled together, nothing faded or ragged. In many ways it’s difficult to pull off without appearing to be trapped at summer camp.
Business Appropriate
SHIRT
Mandatory
TIE
Optional
JACKET
Mandatory
SUIT
Preferred
Rapidly becoming the “new stander,” it is more about dressing the context of the day or occasion to tie or not to tie is the question. But there is a covert understanding that a jacket is a necessity.
Business Appropriate Casual
SHIRT OR SWEATER
Mandatory
JACKET
Not required but preferred
“Casual” under this dress code means understanding that a more relaxed look is not an excuse to look like you came into work during the weekend. A good rule of thumb is if you’re called in to see CEO you won’t need to make excuses about being casual.

Get Job
YOUR DRESS CODE
Regardless of the dress code employed by your office or industry, over time you will begin to develop your own sense of style and perhaps even some sartorial trademarks. Do you only wear ties with polka dots on them? Are you the kind of man who insists on cowboy boots with a suit? Does everyone notice your cuff links? Whatever your personal dress code is, you must, of course, still look professional. And as you climb the corporate ladder, it will become easier to express your personality through your clothes. After all, who will tell the boss he shouldn’t wear pink checked shirts?

LERNING INDUSTRY DRESS CODES

Just as offices have dress codes, too, do industries. And even if your office does not adherer to the industry standard, when you go for an interview or meeting at another office, the best preparation is to research what that company’s policy is. Call someone in the human resources department and get a sense of what the guidelines are. In general, industry dress codes have become more relaxed, but a safe rule would be to maintain a high level of dress whenever you are uncertain. Going to a law office? Wear a suit and tie. Meeting people at an advertising agency? Business appropriate would not be inappropriate. Feeling at ease with the way you are dresses will alleviate some of the pressures that you may be feeling about the job itself.

DRESS CODE EXCEPTIONS

Even if you understand your office industry dress code perfectly, there will still be exception to the rules. For instance, you work in a corporate dress code office, but there is an off-site workshop at a local hotel and you have been told you can dress down. The smart move would be to dress business appropriate. Or perhaps you work in a business appropriate office but you are meeting clients for lunch who are business casual. Simple solution: Remove your tie. No matter what the situation is you should always be prepared to adapt your wardrobe and get down to business.

Due Diligence
SHOE TREE
nother smart investment aid more consistent than your friends’ stock tips shoe trees are cedar molds that fit inside your shoes. They help dry out the sweat of the day, keep the leather from sinking and cracking, and keep your shoes odor-free and new looking.

NO EXCEPRION

Want to be sure to create a bad impression in whatever dress code your employer prescribes, or blow your job interview? It’s simple: Never polish your shoes, let the heels get worn and the leather cracked. If however, you would rather make a good impression or land that new job, some preventive maintenance can a long way.

SHINER
Either go to pro or spend some time each weekend 15 minutes per pair polishing your shoes 1. Take a rag that’s moist and swirl good wax polish on your shoe in a circular motion. 2. Keep up this motion as the previous shine disappears and is replaced with a deeper shine. 3. Then use another rag and buff to the shine level you prefer. Buy an edge dressing, which is simply a dye to paint the leather edges. Every six months have your shoe repairman check the soles-good for shoes, good for your career.

We Remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Clothes Talk, People Listen

2007-02-12T23:30:00.000-08:00

“We’d all like to be taken for what we’d like to be.”MALCOLM FORBES“

In corporations where a shirt-sleeve atmosphere reigns, it is possible to acquire high visibility by always wearing a jacket, which makes one look more solid, conservative and reliable than anyone else.MICHAEL KORDAPower

!In the high-tech, high-speed world we live in, instant gratification is often not soon enough. We like our news 24 hours a day and expect tomorrow’s information to be here yesterday. Among the many perils of this fast-paced society is that we are quick to make judgments about the appearances of others. In such a world, we need to send signals immediately and hope that people get the message we intend to send.

When Steven Case, chairman of America Online, and Gerald Levin, chairman of Time Warner, nearly as much news as their two companies, their clothing generated nearly as much news as their business deal. Case, the epitome of a laid-back dot-com mogul, appeared at the press conference in a tie, while Levin, a lifelong corporate soldier, chose not to wear one. Of course, at the CEO level, one can, for the most a clear signal that two corporate worlds had already begun to blend.

CLOTHES-MINDED
So what are your clothes saying about you? It’s not always easy to know because, like having bad breath or spinach in your teeth, people are not likely to tell you when you are dressed inappropriately. The goal is to determine the ultimate message you want to send. And for the most part, that message is simple: You want to appear competent at all times and show people that you belong.
Each office, whether it’s a white-show law firm or a red-hot advertising agency, has a dress code. Adhere to it and you signal to everyone that you are part of the team. This Is not to say that individuality can’t be expressed, but sometimes the best impression is no impression at all. In other words, you dress so appropriately for the office that no one notices. It is simply assumed that always look the part.Of course, adhering to the clothing standards of an office or industry does not guarantee that you will make a good impression. Imagine the two junior salesmen with very similar skill sets are up for the same promotion at an insurance company where the men all wear suit or sport and most wear ties. One of the candidates always dress in a sport jacket, crisp white shirts, and creased trousers, but he never wears a tie. The other always wears a suit and tie to the office, but his shirts are usually wrinkled, his ties are frequently stained, and his shoes look as though they haven’t been shined since he bought them. Who gets the job? Well, the first guy may never wear a tie, but he clearly pays attention to other clothing details, and others will relate that to his work ethic. He looks sharp and ready for action and eventually, perhaps from the money he’ll get from the promotion, he’ll get himself a few ties.

The lesson here is that dressing smart is not always about dressing formally. Paying attention to the subtleties of style may impact your appearance far more than simply adhering to an overall dress code.

DRESSING AS IF YOUR PROFESSIONAL LIFE DEPENDED ON IT

In today’s business environment, there are more potentially hazardous clothing situations than ever breakfast meetings, client lunches, black-tie dinners, golf outings, board presentations, TV appearances and dressing smart means you have to be prepared for every one of them. Clearly, you cannot wear the same outfit for all of those occasions, but you can maintain a certain standard that suggests you could be ready for any one of then at a moment’s notice. For instance, a coworker calls in sick and can’t make in to a charity dinner that night. Your boss mentally runs through replacement options. He knows that you come to work in a suit every day, so he asks if you have a tuxedo. You do, of course, and suddenly you become the tenth person at the table seated two places away from the CEO.

How to Dress Smart-The Chic Simple Process

ASSESS, DEJUNK, RENEW-UNDERSTANDING THE CHIC SIMPLEE PROCESS
Building the perfect work wardrobe does not happen by accident. You could go to work for a decade and not have a proper wardrobe because you didn’t identify your needs carefully enough. You could have built one in several years, but because you didn’t take care of your clothes properly, they are actually working against you. Or perhaps you simply have a wardrobe that is outdated.

The key to an ideal work wardrobe can be explained in there easy steps:

1. ASSESS: YOUR LIFE, YOUR CLOSET
When you are finally ready to be serious about professional life, you have to accept this reality: All the clothes you normally wear are play clothes. Sure, you may get compliments on them and they might even look fine in a nice restaurant, but your career is serious business and you should now understand now understand that you must have work clothes to match.
The first step in assessing your clothing needs is to recognize that your closet is like your desk. The better organized your desk is, the easier it is to find that stapler you need. The same is true is true for shirts and ties, shoes and suits. Arrange your closet by work and play, week and weekend. The suits stay with the sport jackets, the jeans and khakis are arranged with each other. Your dress shirts should be easily delineated from the casual shirt you wear on Saturdays. Sneakers don’t mix with dress shoes, and so no. With a little bit of work your closet will be ready for work.

2. DEJUNK: TAKING INVENTORY
Now that your closet is neatly arranged, what do you have in there? Are there clothes you haven’t worn is a year or so? Get rid of them. Are there sport jackets that are too big? Take them to the tailor. Pants that are two sizes too small? Give them to a thinner friend. Ties with soup stains? Let the dry cleaner hit the spot. Shoes with holes in them? Walk away.
The best way to determine your needs is to make a list. In one column, list all the thing in your closet. In the column next to it, name all the clothing that would make that item more versatile Left: Black-and-white houndstooth jacket. Right: White shirt, black tie, gray pants, black pants, black shoes, gray polo sweater>. The right-hand side will then become your shopping list. And if there are items in the list that can go with several other things in your closet such as the gray trousers, then circle those items and make them a priority when shopping. The more versatile the purchase, the smarter the shopper.

GOT SILK?
Too overwhelmed to deal with your closet? Start small. Look at your collection of ties the gifts, the mistakes and start to divide into recycle and keepers. Next week take the keeper pile and do it again.

We remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Wardrobes That Win In The New Workplace

2007-02-05T21:58:00.000-08:00

“It is possible through the skillful manipulation of dress in any particular situation to evoke a favorable response to your positioning and your needs.”JOHN T. MOLLOY - New Dress for Success“The more you know, the less you need.”AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL SAYINGIf you’re So Smart, Why Do You Dress So Stupid?-Clothes & Career“Let us be thankful for the fools; but for them the rest of us could not succeed.”MARK TWAINInterview WardrobeSeconds..tick, tick, tick, tick…Mission Impossible seconds are counting down as the HR manager stretches out a hand and BANG! You are registered, judged, and mentally filed away. So what’s on that file? Have you set up the groundwork for a smooth interview and job offer, or a wary, “we’ll see what’s here?” This section is about putting together the most winning combination of visual reinforcements and clues, so you can make a positive impression on your interviewer. Button line you’re reading this because you want a job. Help yourself get that job. Read on.DRESSING THE PARTIn 1912, the New York Highlanders took the baseball field in what would become the most famous uniform in sport history: Pinstripes. By the 1930s, the pattern on their uniform had come to define the first power look for men. As orderly as the lines on a banker’s ledger, the pinstripe suit signified a man’s stature in the corporate world. Meanwhile, the New York Yankees had become the most dominant team in the major leagues, and their pinstripes had already taken on a mystique: Did Yankees owner Col. Jacob Ruppert really insist on the uniforms just to make Babe Ruth look slimmer? Or perhaps the message was even simpler: In pinstripes, the Yankees wear all business.Today, whether it’s baseball or banking, how a man dresses can affect not only his performance, but also his career itself. If you don’t present yourself properly on a job interview, you may not get in the door. Once inside, you need to look the part to stay there and move up. And eventually, if you want to move high up or out, you need to be aware of the messages you are sending others.THE POWER OF IMAGEConsider the paintings of the Impressionist Georges Seurat: From far away, they are seemingly of a idyllic Sunday afternoon by the lake or a day at the Eiffel Tower. But move closer and you see that Seurat’s images are, in fact, tiny dots of color. His pointillist style is actually nothing more than perfectly positioned brush strokes, which, when viewed as a whole, produce the big picture.Dressing smart requires the same thinking: How you put all of the elements of you wardrobe together can either create an image that is visually pleasing or something that’s big mess. In order to break down the elements of your appearance dot by dot. Does your suit frame your body well? Is that tie too distracting? Are your shoes tripping people up? By examining each aspect of your wardrobe you can develop the style that best suits who you are and eventually use that style to set yourself apart.STYLE AND SUBSTANCEHow a man dresses and looks is obviously important, but what defines his style? The people we often consider the best dressed do not typically wear clothing we remember. There is not usually one item that stands out on such a man, he merely seems to put everything together well and carries himself with great sophistication. He is well groomed; his hair, nails, and general appearance seen clean and polished .His style is often defined by confidence, which some are born with and other acquire over time. It is a confidence not simply in what he is wearing, but rather in who he is. In other words, style without substance is meaningless. A great shirt and tie might help you get a job, but they will never do the work for you. Without the talent and drive to back up the promise of your appearance, you are merely an empty suit.THE TREND GAMEFashion is a scary word for men and for good reason. It is mostly concerned with trends wearing the clothes that will be appropriate for one season, and perhaps not even that long. The world of fashion is obsessed with name-brand designers and labels that will impress a small section of society. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be fashionable, of course. But as with the things in life, following Trends is best enjoyed in moderation: A bold shirt, a graphic tie, an eye-catching pair of cuff links.Style, on the other hand, is timeless. A blue blazer, gray flannels, loafers, these items considered classics for a reason: They will never go out style and will never be inappropriate. When building a wardrobe for work, it is always better to err on the side of classic. After all, if you intend to be on the job for several years, shouldn’t you expect the same of your clothing?DRESSING SMART FOR SUCCESSIn 1975, John T. Molloy published his now classic book, Dress for Success. At the time, there was nothing like it to guide a man through the principles of proper attire in the workplace, and his sartorial homilies taught a generation how to “dress like a million so you can make a million.” Molloy’s philosophy was relatively simple: Clothing affects business performance and influences the way superiors and peers view you. And, playing to our most basic “keeping up with the Joneses” mentality, Molloy argues that even if you don’t want to dress to get ahead, the next guy will.Over the years, much of Molly’s advice still held true, but the workplace changed dramatically in the past quarter century. Molloy never foresaw the advent of casual Fridays and corporate policies that supposed to dress for a meeting with 20-something dot-com millionaires who wear wearing ripped jeans and T-shirts?Today, however, the economy has shifted yet again, and the days of casual dressing in the office have waned. As corporate pants and suits and ties. Work has once again become business as usual, but what does business look like?

We remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Do You Dress Smart?

2007-01-15T20:59:00.000-08:00

You only seven seconds to make an impression. Clothes make the difference! So dress smart!

Here is a short question and answer game to test your knowledge.

1. - I work for a traditional law firm with a strict corporate dress code. I am traveling with my boss to a three-day conference that we leave for no a Sunday afternoon. Can I wear my weekend jeans and sneakers on our flight?

2.- Do I need to wear a suit to my interview if know the office dress casual?

3. - I don’t see my upper management very often, so is there any point in making an investment in my business wardrobe?

4. - I am an accountant at a firm that employs a corporate dress code. I have a meeting at a client’s firm that has a casual dress code. Should I follow their dress code for the meeting?

5. - Throughout college and summer jobs I have always worn loafers Without socks would that be appropriate on casual Fridays in The summer?

6. - I am forty year old in a youth-oriented company, and I’m in Competition for a promotion. Should I update my image with
A more hip look?

7. - I think my boss dresses too casually for his position. Is it okay For me to dress more formally than him?

8. - Can I wear a button-down shirt with a pinstripe suit?

9. - I just got a promotion where I now oversee an entire department. A suit is just a suit whether I pay $ or $$$, so do I need to change My wardrobe?

10. - I believe I should be judged by the work I do and not the way I look. Does it really make a difference to dress the part, if my work is good?

And the Answers are ....

1. no 2. yes 3.yes 4.no 5.no 6.no 7.yes 8.yes 9.yes 10.yes

So, How did you do?

We Remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

What To Wear To A Wedding - Ideal Clothing For The Wedding Guests

2006-12-06T03:36:00.000-08:00

What To Wear To A Wedding - Ideal Clothing For The Wedding Guests

Advice for what a wedding guest should wear to every type of wedding.
You've gotten the invitation for your friends' wedding, happily circled the date on your calendar and started shopping for their gift, when all of a sudden it hits you – what are you supposed to wear??? The etiquette for proper wedding guest attire can vary greatly depending on the style of the wedding. You'll have to become a little bit of a detective, but fear not. There are clues everywhere.

Start off with the invitation. Is it in flowing engraved black script on a heavy cream paper with formal language? Odds are the wedding will be similarly formal. Does it cheekily ask you to come see them get hitched? Wedding guests should look for a nice casual outfit. And of course, it may tell you directly on the invitation - black tie, casual attire etc.

Think about where the wedding is set – if it's outdoors avoid anything that will get caught in the wind – you won't want a battle of wills between the wind and your modesty! Also, avoid high heeled shoes that will sink in the sand or in the grass.

If it's in a hot location avoid the suit and go for a breezy dress to help you keep your cool. Indoors at the country club or fancy restaurant? Make your outfit slightly more tailored and dressy.

Daytime Wedding

For her:-
A fun floral dress.
A skirt and a sweater set with sling back shoes. (We have some surprisingly affordable and stylish skirts right now that will work for a daytime wedding).
A light colored suit – try to stay away from black, navy or anything that looks like you're going to the office.
A beautiful hat that coordinates with your outfit.

For him:-
In the summertime, a light-colored suit, especially linen or seersucker.
Winter weddings call for warmer clothing, including wool suits, a navy blazer with charcoal pants, and perhaps a sweater and tie underneath a blazer.
A dress shirt, tie and dress pants is acceptable, but dress it up with a blazer if you can.
If the invitation says formal, wear a dark suit. Tuxedoes are not appropriate before 6 pm.

Evening Wedding

For her:-
Dress as you would if you were going out to the theater or to dinner.
a cocktail dress – nothing too sexy but something fun to dance in. Black is fine.
a dressy suit or a cocktail suit.
Wear darker colors and look for something sophisticated.
Avoid beads or sequins unless the invitation specifically says black tie.

For him:-
A dark suit is always appropriate
If the invitation says casual or semi-formal, you can wear a blazer and slacks with a nice tie.

Black-tie optional

For her:-
A cocktail dress, perhaps to the floor.

For him :-
If you have a tuxedo, or just like wearing one, by all means do so.
Otherwise, wear a dark suit. Dress as formally as you can.

Black tie

For her:-
A formal dress, usually to the floor
bring out those beaded purses, fancy wraps and formal jewelry that's been waiting for an occasion such as this
black tie weddings almost always involve dancing, so don't wear anything too constricting.

For him:-
A tuxedo is the only appropriate thing to wear. If it says creative black tie, he should still wear a tuxedo, perhaps with a black shirt or collarless white shirt.

DON'T WEAR:

White. (This rule has relaxed some, and you can get away with wearing a printed dress with a white background and some cream colored clothing. Just be careful not to upstage the bride.)
Black to a daytime wedding
Jeans
Anything too sexy or revealing
Anything torn, with holes, stained, too big or too small for you!
Anything sleeveless or strapless to a religious wedding. Bring a wrap to cover your shoulders.

We Remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

The S-numbers Game - Makers Tout The Super Of Their Suit - We Put 10 To Test!

2006-11-26T20:50:00.000-08:00

The men’s floor at any upscale retailer has suits in a wide range of prices colors and cuts. But many have one thing in common: The now-ubiquitous labels that promote the quality of the fabric with number like “Super 110s” and “Super 150s.
Just as cotton bed sheets trumpet thread octane, suit makers are using these number to tout their wool. Higher numbers translate to narrower fibers, which makers say are softer to the touch. It’s one of several tactics the suit industry is using to combat slowing sales. On the high end, makers are pushing suits in the Super 220s range for thousands of dollars. Discounters are also adopting the system, hoping to convince shoppers that a superior suit can be had at lower prices.
Industry groups are now calling these numbers into question, prompted in part by makers of superfine wool fabrics concerned about lower-priced suits being la-bled with high Super numbers. But the issue isn’t limited to inexpensive suits.
In a test of 10 suits by the Wall Street Journal, ranging in price from $290 to $1,995, four came back with a Super grade below what was advertised. We also tested for durability and wrinkle-resistance, and found that some suits with higher Super numbers didn’t deliver superior performance on those measures.

The in store wrinkle test
Though there’s no way for shoppers to verify a suit’s Super number without access to a textile laboratory, there are a few simple tests shopper can perform themselves in stores to gauge the quality of a suit. One trick to figure out how easily a suit will wrinkle - clench a sleeve in your fist for a few minutes, them let it go a good-quality fabric should re-bound quickly. Rayon linings known as Bamberg are generally more durable than silk or other materials, while twills, like herringbone, tend to be stronger materials than plain weaves.
The boom in S-numbers is part of a broader by suit makers to set their garments apart from the competition. Sales have cooled from the torrid pace of a couple of years ago, when the casual style of the dot-com era went out of vogue and men started dressing up again. Through September this year, Sales in the U.S. are down 10% from the same period a year earlier, according to market researcher NPD Group.

Selling with S-numbers
Makers say S-numbers are proving be effective sales tools. Many men have a hard
time deciding what to buy. The numbers add a quantitative dimension that makes decision-making less intimidating. There are also bragging rights. S-numbers give men “something to discuss at a cocktail party,” says Roger Cohen, president of the U.S. division of suit maker Cornelian.
That was the attraction for Craig Weiss, a 51-year-old psychologist in Pennsylvania, who bought $3,000 navy blue Brioni suit years ago. He says he thought a higher S-number was “a thing to aspire to.” But Mr. Weiss says the suit let him down, wrinkling more than his less-expensive suits did. It also felt so light and delicate that he worried about it ripping. “It took all the fun out of wearing it,” he says, adding that he now wears the suit only for special occasions and buys lower S-numbered suits for everyday use. Brioni says it has not heard any complaints about its Super 150s.
Part of what makes the S-number system confusing is that higher quality wool doesn’t also mean more durable wool. The number relates only to the diameter of the fiber, measured in microns. Thinner fibers are usually more fragile. These suits tend to bunch up when tailored and can wear out after a few dry cleanings. “A very high S-system number doesn’t guarantee the best garments,” says Andy Gilchrist, author of “The Encyclopedia of Men’s Clothes.” Such wools wrinkle almost as much as linen. They are delicate and not as durable as less-fine wool.

The fineness of the fabric is only one measure of a suit’s quality. Strength is also a factor, and it also depends on the length of the yarn and whether it’s reinforced with another strand to make it two ply. In some cloth, only yarn that runs vertically is reinforced, while in others, reinforced yarns run horizontally as well. The latter, called “two by two,” tends to be stronger and better at recovering form wrinkles.
Suit makers acknowledge that fabrics with high S-numbers are delicate and lightweight. But are delicate and lightweight. But some say that a suit made of high quality Sipper 150s or above could be worn to the office once a week and week and would last four or five years, if it’s rarely dry cleaned. That’s roughly half as long as a good-quality Super 120s suit under the same conditions. Several salespeople at stores from York advised us not to buy suits with high S-numbers for anything but special occasions.
To determine the accuracy of advertised S-numbers, we purchased 10 suits at retail outlets and sent them to Vartest Laboratories, a New York firm that tests fibers and fabrics for lab measured the diameter. The lab measured the diameters wool fiber in microns. In addition, we tested two other factors: durability and how susceptible the material is to wrinkling.
Six of the suits we tested passed with flying colors, with results that matched or exceeded their promised s-numbers, including two of our least expensive choices and Arnold Brant and Jos. A. Bank, both Super 110s that cost less than $300. A pricier Hickey Freeman Super 120s was found to have Super 130s fibers. Hickey Freeman declined to comment.

Warp and weft
Our overall winner in the other two categories strength and wrinkle-resistance was the @300 Arnold Brant suit. Its warp, or vertical yarns, withstood nearly 37 kilograms of pressure before ripping that’s about 18 kilograms more than the industry’s minimum standard. We also tested the weft of all our suits, or horizontal yarns, since some fabric makers reinforce only the warp.
The first Super 100s wool was developed in the 1960s, by an English fabric mill. The first merchants to see it were so astounded that, in fit of exuberance, they dubbed it super 100s, according to the book “The Suit: A Machiavellian Approach to Men’s Style,” written by Michael Anton under the pen name Nicholas Antongiavanni. By the mid-1990s, high-end clothiers, custom-suit makers and Italian mills began using Super numbers more often to market directly to consumers. Soon, the numbers began appearing on labels inside suits or on the sleeves. Says Arnold Brant, President of the clothing company that bears his name: “if it’s a navy suit and it says Super 120s, it tells the customer this is a wool that’s a better grade. This is not a typical navy suit.”

Some suit makers think S-numbers have been overdone. Oxxford Clothes, whose handmade suits are sold for thousands of dollars, plans to stop labeling everything below Super 150s, starting very inexpensive suits advertised as Super 120s and that muddies the water, chief executive
Others, like Ermenegildo Zegna, an Italian firm that makes fabric as well as suits, don’t tout the S-number on their labels either. Djordje Stefabovic, executive director of communications for Zegna, says the company relies on its reputation for making fine fabrics: “As yarn suit producers, we didn’t want to pay that number game.

We Remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Your Closet - How To Store Your Clothing - Suits, Shirts And Accessories

2006-11-06T04:41:00.000-08:00

Every closet should be lined with cedar. Cedar protects against moths that will attack garments, particularly those with a residue of sweet spills. Cedar also absorbs other body odors; consequently clothes just come out of a cedar closet smelling better. Why construct an Inner Sanctum any other way?

Every man has a different way of organizing his closet, but what’s important is that it’s organized. In an extremely detailed fashion, with Excel spread sheets if the size of one’s wardrobe warrants. You’ve invested a lot of money (haven’t you?) into your clothing, and you should protect your investment by keeping it neat and storing it properly. Doing so will prolong its life and maximize your return on investment. Suggestions for organization follow with other helpful hints on how to make an Inner Sanctum out of an ordinary closet.

Begin with organizing by season. Even if you live in a warm climate, certain colors just don’t work in fall and winter, and need to be segregated into a spring and summer section. Men who live in warm weather year round may also do business in colder climates. A special area should be reserved for these items.

Keep all your winter tailored clothing together- suits, sport coats, and trousers. Trousers on hangars, but not clipped either at the knees or on the cuffs. Hanging them otherwise encourages unsightly wrinkles, and will force you to press them each time before wearing. Hang your coats on wooden hangers with a larger shoulder area to hold their shape. Each hanger should have a bar for trousers as well. Obviously, hang matching suit pants with suit coats, and matching trousers with sport coats. This minimizes space requirements. Arrange coats by color, lightest to darkest, or vice versa depending on your preference. Dress winter clothing should be made of wool or cashmere. Flannels and heavier cashmeres go with winter, twills fall and early spring,

Organize your remaining tailored clothing into a spring and summer section. Lighter color palettes should dominate this area of the Sanctum. Separate this clothing in the same way, lightest to darkest (or vice versa), coats on hangers with wide shoulders and trousers hung on accompanying bars. Dress fabrics for spring can be lighter wools, linens, or even silks, depending on the climate and formality required in one’s business dealings.

Casual clothing should also be sorted by season and hung separately from dress items. The inexperienced dresser, or someone dressing in the uncertain light of early morning could easily confuse the two. Casual fabrics here may change- perhaps some heavier cotton or corduroy for fall and winter trousers. More silks, linens, and lighter cottons for spring and summer.

There are two schools of thought about dress shirt storage and organization. If you travel a lot, have your dry cleaners fold your shirts, and store them on a shelf or in a drawer. They’ll be easier to pack, and if used promptly, will wrinkle less than if you tried to fold and pack them yourself. Whether or nor you hang them or have them folded may also be determined by how much hanging space you have in your closet. If possible, move your top hanging bar up, and install a second bar halfway below it to accommodate additional shirts and tailored clothing. Or add an extra row of shelves on either side if you need the space for folded shirts.

Organize dress shirts either by color or by season, or if you have a lot of them, by both. Everyone has favorites, but develop a system to rotate them to ensure even wear. Again, grouping them by color from lightest to darkest works best; a well-dressed gentleman should have darker shirts only for sport or casual wear, unless you’re Tony Soprano.

Sweaters should ALWAYS be folded. Hanging them stretches out the fibers and decreases the life of the garment. Separate between warm weather silk, cotton, and blends, and winter wools and cashmeres. Again, organize them by color, lightest to darkest or the reverse. Sweaters are best stored on shelves so they can breathe.

Ties can be rolled and stored in a pullout drawer, but are best hung on a motorized tie rack fitted to one of the hanging bars. Alternatively, they can be hung on a wooden strip with metal pegs anchored to one of the closet walls. Arrange them by color- this will automatically separate seasons.

Belts should be hung on a similar wooden rack affixed preferably to the back of the closet door. If you don’t have a door, you can either anchor the rack to the wall, or hang them on a circular rotating rack hanging on one of the closet bars. Use the same procedure with braces if you have them. Braces can also be stored on a rotating tie rack, but will need longer length for floor clearance, and tend to fall off. Belts and braces should also both be arranged by color.

Ideally pocket squares should be clipped to a rotating fixture resembling those seen in finer men’s stores. If you cannot acquire a fixture, drawer storage is best. Fold them along their natural lines and arrange by season and color.

Cuff links, watches, and other jewelry should all be stored in a jewelry box, either in or out of the Inner Sanctum depending on the size of the closet and the size of the box.

Shoes should be arranged on racks to keep them off the floor and you from tripping over them in the middle of the night. Each should have a set of cedar shoe trees to preserve the shape of the shoe and absorb moisture from the leather. Each shoe should also be in a flannel shoe bag to protect the finish.

It’s also a good idea to own a wooden valet. It can be placed in or out of the closet, and made of quality wood. The valet should be used either to set out the next day’s ensemble, or to let clothes breathe before putting them back in the closet. Many gentlemen use them for both purposes.

In this article we’ve frequently discussed spring/summer vs., fall/winter seasons. What determines the changing of sartorial seasons? Historically the spring and summer season begins at Easter, and ends with Labor Day. Today common sense and weather patterns rule the day. It’s always nice to throw on some spring clothing in the midst of a winter warm spell. Likewise, it is a foolhardy not to add an extra layer during a summer cold snap.

From - Suit Your Self

We Remain wiht Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Dress For Interview Success

2006-10-15T21:01:00.000-07:00

While the college campus may be the perfect forum in which to exhibit your flair for the latest in fashion style, the interview is not the place to do so. With very few unusual exceptions (my apologies to Apple Computer), sandals and sweatshirts are out. Oxfords and business suits are still in. I don't like a necktie (noose?) any better than the next person, but it is still a fact of life in interviewing. Even though many companies have relaxed the internal company dress code, interviews still follow the conservative standard. Don't buck the trend.

Unfortunately, most college grads are woefully underprepared with proper interview dress. They feel they can "get by" with what is already in their wardrobe. Usually not. Dress for the world outside college is quite different from the campus scene. Remember that stylish is not conservative. You should be doing the talking, not your clothes.

This is not to say that you need to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe. Go for quality over quantity. One or two well-chosen business suits will serve you all the way to the first day on the job and beyond. Then, when you are making some money (and have a chance to see what the standard "uniform" is for the company), you can begin to round out your wardrobe. For now, no one will fault you for wearing the same sharp outfit each time you interview. If you desire some variety within a limited budget, you might consider varying your shirt/blouse/tie/accessories as a simple way to change your look without breaking your wallet.

For those of you who need a quick review of the basics, follow these guidelines for successful interview dress:

Men and Women
* Conservative two-piece business suit (solid dark blue or grey is best)
* Conservative long-sleeved shirt/blouse (white is best, pastel is next best)

* Clean, polished conservative shoes
* Well-groomed hairstyle
* Clean, trimmed fingernails
* Minimal cologne or perfume
* Empty pockets--no bulges or tinkling coins
* No gum, candy or cigarettes
* Light briefcase or portfolio case
* No visible body piercing (nose rings, eyebrow rings, etc.)

Men
* Necktie should be silk with a conservative pattern
* Dark shoes (black lace-ups are best)
* Dark socks (black is best)
* Get a haircut; short hair always fares best in interviews
* No beards (unless you are interviewing for a job as a lumberjack!)
* Mustaches are a possible negative, but if you must, make sure it is neat and trimmed
* No rings other than wedding ring or college ring
* No earrings (if you normally wear one, take it out)

Women

* Always wear a suit with a jacket; no dresses
* Shoes with conservative heels
* Conservative hosiery at or near skin color (and no runs!)
* No purses, small or large; carry a briefcase instead
* If you wear nail polish (not required), use clear or a conservative color
* Minimal use of makeup (it should not be too noticeable)
* No more than one ring on each hand
* One set of earrings only

One final note on interview dress: while it goes without saying that your interview clothes should be neat and clean, very few interviewees give the same time and attention to their shoes. Shoes? Yes, shoes. I am aware of at least one Corporate Recruiter who forms first impressions based solely (pardon the pun) on shoes. This person does not have a shoe fetish--he subjectively judges that those who pay attention to details like their shoes are also likely to be diligent in their work life. And it is not just that person's opinion. Many have said that you can judge a person by their shoes. You will find that many ex-military officers (many of whom have found their way into management positions in corporate America) are especially aware of a person's shoes. It is not enough to be clean, pressed, and ironed. Make sure your shoes are conservative, clean, and polished.

We Remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

The Tuxedo : Renting And Buying Basics

2006-10-08T22:10:00.000-07:00

Unless you're exchanging vows on a beach in Kauai, your best Bermuda shorts won't make the cut -- you'll need formalwear in which to greet your bride. If you have season tickets to the opera, you may already be a tuxedo owner, all set to look snazzy on your big day. But otherwise, the question is whether to rent or buy.

TO RENT OR TO BUY?
Money is the main factor in your decision. Renting will cost about 10% to 30% of the price of a new tuxedo; the average price for a decent tux is between $300 and $500. If you attend three or four formal events per year, buying a tux may be worthwhile. Plus, a good tux is an investment -- you can wear it for years. But if you'd rather slather your body in hot tar than wear a coat and tie a couple of times a year, go for the rental. It's not a big hassle, and you won't be stuck with thin lapels when extra-wide ones come back in style.

Also, if you look toward Howard Hughes as your anti-germ model, you may want to go for your very own, sanitized tux. Rentals are used by who knows how many men, not all of whom share your high hygiene standards. Of course, rental tuxes are cleaned between each use (another cost to factor into your decision), but if you really can't stand the thought of another sweating-buckets nervous groom donning your tuxedo, buying may be for you.

RENTAL TIPS
Rental-minded types should keep the following tidbits in mind when choosing a wedding ensemble:

Choose a formalwear store that has updated their inventory regularly since 1976. (If you see powder blue and ruffles, run.)

A good formalwear dealer will know how to measure you properly (inseam, waist, jacket size) and give you a fitting in advance of the wedding.

The dealer should also listen to you. If you're of the fashionable persuasion and want a dark blue, 5-button mandarin collar tux, but the dealer's praising a silver tux with tails, you'll know you've come to the wrong shop. Politely say thanks but no thanks and vamoose on out of there.

The store should be able to supply you with all the accessories you'll need: bow tie, cummerbund, cufflinks, suspenders, even shoes.

Finally, have all your groomsmen get their monkey suits at the same shop, so you'll be wearing matching duds. Even though they may live in various parts of the country, reserve their tuxedos at least three months in advance and you'll be set.

We remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Cotton - Hemp - Jute - Custom clothing

2006-09-12T22:08:00.000-07:00

COTTON, cool, soft, comfortable, the principal clothing fiber of the world.
Its production is one of the major factors in world prosperity and economic stability.
Cotton "breathes". What would we do without cotton? Since cotton wrinkles, polyester was added to give it wash and wear properties for a busy world. In recent times, the consumer determined that polyester, although easier to care for, took away the cool from cotton and also added a "pilling" effect to cotton/polyester blends.
Consumers now often request "100% Cotton". Permanent finishes also added to the all cotton fabric gave a wash and wear property to cotton. cotton. The cotton fiber is from the cotton plant's seed pod The fiber is hollow in the center and, under a microscope looks like a twisted ribbon. "Absorbent" cotton will retain 24-27 times its own weight in water and is stronger when wet than dry. This fiber absorbs and releases perspiration quickly, thus allowing the fabric to "breathe".
Cotton can stand high temperatures and takes dyes easily. Chlorine bleach can be used to restore white garments to a clear white but this bleach may yellow chemically finished cottons or remove color in dyed cottons.
Boiling and sterilizing temperatures can also be used on cotton without disintegration. Cotton can also be ironed at relatively high temperatures, stands up to abrasion and wears well.

Mercerized cotton is treated to permanently straighten the cotton fibers which then becomes a smooth, rod-like fiber that is uniform in appearance with a high luster. Cotton is often blended with other fibers such as polyester, linen, wool, to "blend" the best properties of each fiber.

HEMP is currently being used by designers in clothing. When thinking of hemp, the illegal plant, marijuana comes to mind. No, hemp fabric does not contain the narcotic chemical that, when smoked produces the "high" that smoking marijuana produces. Marijuana is from the dried flowers and leaves of the Cannabis Sativa plant. Hemp fabric is made from the stems of the plant. The stems are processed to dissolve the gum or pectin and separate the fibers which are then processed again and woven into yarns and fabric.
The finest hemp for fabric is produced in Italy. Hemp fabric is like linen in both hand and appearance. Hemp fabric withstands water better than any other textile product. It wrinkles easily and should not be creased excessively to avoid wear and breakage of the fibers.

RAMIE is also similar to linen and is a bast of plant fiber. It is natural white in color, has a high luster and an unusual resistance to bacteria and molds. Used in fabrics, and often mistaken for linen, it is extremely absorbent and dries quickly. Ramie has excellent abrasion resistance and has been tested to be three to five times stronger than cotton and twice as strong as flax. It is an inexpensive fiber from an East Asian plant and can be spun or woven into a fabric.

JUTE is a glossy fiber from a plant. It is seen most often in sacks, rope, twine, and as backing on carpeting. These days jute is also being used in clothing by top designers to create great looking breathable formal and casual wear that does not wrinkle as much as linen - yet carries the casual drape and feel of a rich natural fiber

We Remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Flight Suits - Your Wardobe When You Travel

2006-09-03T21:24:00.000-07:00

IT'S the beginning of another summer travel season, and passengers at some of the busiest airports look little different than if they were shopping at a mall, their increasingly casual wardrobe of T-shirts and shorts having eclipsed any remnants of the golden era of travel, that time before airline deregulation led to cheap tickets, when dressing for the airport meant dressing up.

But take a closer look, and it's apparent that many travelers are even less well dressed than if they were at the mall. Savvy passengers have discerned the subtleties of passing hassle free through the Transportation Security Administration's checkpoints. Chic at the airport this summer means no lace-up dress shoes, no belts, no heavy-metal jewelry, no jackets required.

Dressing up isn't worth the effort when it is likely to lead to the sort of indignities experienced last week by Donna Repko, a business traveler at O'Hare Airport in Chicago. After passing through security in the late afternoon rush on her way home to Boston, Ms. Repko suddenly turned to a screener and said with a sense of urgency, "I think my jacket got caught in your machine." A moment later, a gray plastic bin poked its way through the X-ray machine. Scrunched beneath it was a ball of white pleated cotton, smudged with black streaks. "This is why I don't dress up for travel," Ms. Repko said.

For decades, the old fashioned have lamented the way young people - and now most people - dress for air travel. The advent of more stringent security measures in the nearly four years since the 9/11 attacks might have been expected to usher in a return to formal dressing, as a way of appearing respectable and drawing less scrutiny. But in fact the opposite seems to have happened.

"If you have on a fine suit, you don't want to fold it up and put it through that machine," said Richard B. Lanman, a medical lecturer from Los Altos, Calif., who travels at least three days a week. "I think there is generally an incentive to be more casual. I'm more inclined to dress down. There has been a continual degradation of any fashion sense in the past decade. You can't believe what you're seeing." Ann Davis, a spokeswoman for the security administration, said there was no style of dress or item of clothing that led screeners to single out passengers for extra scrutiny.

Among the 50 or so passengers interviewed this month at airports in New York, Atlanta and Chicago, there was no consensus about whether any clothes attracted extra attention. But there was wide agreement that the simpler and more dressed-down, the more efficient the experience.

On its Web site, the security administration advises against wearing metallic jewelry, belt buckles and hidden body piercings and says passengers who set off the metal detector will be subject to hand-wanding or a pat-down that includes the torso. "Screeners do have some discretion and can refer a passenger to additional screening if they notice any irregularity to a passenger's contour, or if it appears there is an item protruding underneath their clothing," Ms. Davis said.

At Kennedy Airport in New York last week , passengers who would normally consider themselves fashionable were willing to commit a faux pas to get through security. John Robshaw, a textiles executive, wore a denim shirt tucked into denim jeans, but no belt. Sarah Flood, an oncology nurse, was in white short shorts, a green T-shirt and blue hoodie that matched her carry-on bag. "This is not my fashion day," she said, a newly purchased bohemian cotton skirt, the look of the season, packed in her checked luggage.

As they have become conditioned to the intrusiveness of modern security measures, undressing and redressing in front of revolving casts of strangers, travelers have developed new routines of composure, evolving their wardrobes to speed them along. And clothing makers have come up with innovations to meet their needs. Shoe companies like Florsheim, Clarks and Rockport sell "airport friendly" shoes without steel shanks. Underwear makers promote support bras made without an underwire, as even a small bit of metal can trigger a sensitive alarm.

"Americans have simplified the way they dress for travel," said Valerie Steele, the chief curator of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. "It's not a question of dressing better or worse. It's about dressing in a way that is more transparent."

At the USAir terminal at LaGuardia Airport in New York, the sartorial adaptations to modern air travel played out with a sense of theater. After collecting their boarding passes, a handful of businessmen stepped over to a ficus tree and rested their briefcases on a concrete planter as they patted themselves down, checked their pants pockets for keys, coins, pagers and cell phones, which they transferred to bags or jackets, then removed the jackets and merged into the line waiting to pass through security.

Without being told, they took off their shoes and placed them into gray plastic bins. They neatly folded their jackets - the pockets now full of the metal objects of everyday necessity - on top of their bags.

"People travel a lot differently today than they did 20 or 30 years ago," said Joanne Smith, the president of Song Airlines, Delta's discount division. For professional women, wearing a jacket now means wearing something underneath that won't cause embarrassment when the jacket is removed. Those who will only wear high heels sometimes have to make other concessions.

"I usually wear dress heels, and I take them off to avoid further screening," Ms. Smith said. "I don't like to be barefoot, so I put a pair of socks in my bag or I always try to wear hose. I know. I'm a glamour don't. But I feel very old fashioned that way."

Bishop Cheen, a financial analyst, said he had to dress up for business, and after a meeting in Manhattan on an unseasonably hot and humid spring day, Mr. Cheen, 56, was wearing a slightly disheveled suit, which he paired with an overstuffed Jansport backpack to keep his hands free while fumbling with his boarding pass and ID for his trip home to Charlotte, N.C.

He had it down to a science: he pulled a plastic identification holder from the backpack and slipped his driver's license inside, displayed on a string of metal beads around his neck.

"If I wasn't traveling for business, I'd be in a T-shirt, and I wouldn't be wearing these shoes," he said, pointing to his lace-ups.

Men like Mr. Lanman, the medical lecturer, have another secret: wearing a dress shirt with a pocket to store their boarding passes and identification, although it didn't appear to be much of a secret on a recent Delta flight to Atlanta, where business class resembled a nerd convention, recalling the days of pocket protectors. "I'm in a constant feud with my wife over this," Mr. Lanman said. "She says it's not cool."

The most obvious difference in the way people dress since security measures were increased is the popularization of easily removable footwear like loafers, flip-flops and sandals. More than a quarter of the people traveling that afternoon at LaGuardia wore flip-flops. Having slipped out of their footwear to be screened, they looked like members of a religious pilgrimage.

On its Web site, the security administration pointedly says passengers are "not required" to remove their shoes before entering a walk-through metal detector. Screeners, the site says, might "encourage" them to do so if they are wearing boots, platform shoes or the many kinds of dress shoes that contain metal. But even the casual traveler seems to suspect duplicity in this policy. The widespread assumption is that refusing to remove one's shoes is a red flag to screeners.

Doug McNamee, who works for a pharmaceuticals company, bought a pair of loafers specifically designed for modern air travel last month. He said he was told the shoes had no metal in them. But the first trip he took, the shoes caused Mr. McNamee to become the subject of additional screening.

"It may have been an overzealous salesman who said these shoes did not have a steel shank," Mr. McNamee said. "Or maybe it was a sensitive scanner, but I would try anything to get through security faster. I get frustrated standing in line watching people in boots that lace halfway up their legs. I am desperate to get a high-speed lane for business travelers. I'll give my fingerprints, hair samples, saliva, anything."

As most passengers have gotten used to the new security administration procedures, security delays have decreased significantly across the nation in the past year, the agency says. At many airports the majority of wait times recorded by the security administration now approximate its targeted goal of under 10 minutes, meaning all that travelers like Mr. McNamee have to do is wait.

from the NYT - by ERIC WILSON

We remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

How To Hire A Custom Tailor To Make Mens Suits And Mens Shirts

2006-07-30T23:46:00.000-07:00

If you can't find the clothes you're looking for at a store, consider having them made. Good tailors can create garments that reflect your personal style and fit your figure impeccably. They also can perform minor miracles when you need an item updated or altered.

The Steps:
1. Ask friends or your favorite online custom tailoring site for recommendations. A local fabric store is another possible source for referrals. Otherwise, look up "Custom Tailors" in any search engine.

2. Talk to tailors about their skills and experience. Do they specialize in a certain sort of work, such as bridal gowns or suits? Women's or men's clothing?

3. Check availability and turnaround time. If possible, give the tailor a deadline that's a few weeks before you need an item, in case of an unexpected delay.

4. Inquire about their rates. Although tailors should be able to give you a ballpark estimate, they'll need specifics before they will give you a firm price. Good websites though will display their pricing upfront.

5. For custom designs, ask to make sure they can replicate the style and design you have in mind.

6. Send any garments or pictures that would help illustrate what you'd like done. If a tailor is reluctant to try something, ask why; his or her expert opinion might change your mind.

7. Take advantage of what tailors can do to update or alter existing garments. Generally, it's far easier to take in or shorten clothes than to let them out or lengthen them. Adding cuffs, narrowing pants legs and changing necklines are all possible. Complexity adds to the price, and some alterations aren't worth it unless the piece is very high-quality, or a beloved, irreplaceable garment.

8. Once the tailor has a firm idea of what you expect, get a description of the work, the price and the delivery date in writing.

Overall Tips:Make sure that when sending in sizes, you measure both legs and arms for symmetry.

The more complex the job, the more the measurements and details will be required by the tailor.

What to look for:
Personal recommendation
Skills, experience, and specialization
Availability and price
Knowledge and thirst for detail.

Thailand and other Asian countries are known for having tailors and seamstresses who make exquisitely crafted custom-tailored clothes in a few days (or even a few hours) for unbelievable prices. A suit can be as inexpensive as $200 or shirts can be as economical as $40 for a good custom made one.

Steps:1. Ship any item of clothing that you want copied and send magazines and clothing catalogs that show designs you want made. A talented tailor can copy many garments swiftly and skillfully.

2. Ask other shoppers, view their testimonials to save your self time and money.

3. Browse fabrics, either at the tailor's site or in fabric stores. In addition to the variety of silks in Asia--such as raw silk, print silk, patterned silk and brocade--you can buy cotton and other fabrics. Flip through swatches in the site and tell them the fabrics and patterns. A tailor will charge for any fabric or trims you do not supply.

4. Give the tailor adequate guidance. If you're using a picture for reference or duplicating an article of clothing, explain any modifications you want to the piece. For example, perhaps you like a dress shirt in a photo, but you don't want the chest pocket, or you may want a slit up both sides of a suit coat, not just the back center.

5. Discuss price in advance. Expect to pay a flat rate that includes measurement and fittings. If ordering more than a few items you can always expect some sort of discount - either a flat dollar or percentage amount or a free custom made item.

6. Find out when the clothes will be ready. However, make sure you allow enough time.

You can have clothes custom-made for friends and family if you have their measurements. Ask if the tailor will continue the relationship via mail, if you want future garments created.

What to look for:
Clothing you want copied
Magazines and catalogs
Trusted referrals
Quality fabrics
Adequate guidance
Upfront price agreement

We remain with best regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Clothing Colorus And Their Meanings

2006-06-26T22:43:00.000-07:00

RED: Wear red when you want to appear assertive or spontaneous. Avoid it when you want to avoid conflict or dispute.

Blue: Wear blue when you want to appear trustworthy and loyal. Choose dark shades of the color when you want to appear businesslike. Wear pale shades of blue when you want to appear innocent and naïve.

BLACK: when you want to appear reserved, unapproachable or authoritative... or dynamic and exciting when worn with your personal image tools. Avoid it when you want to appear folksy or highly approachable.

GREY: Wear Grey when you want to appear neutral or unobtrusive, or when you want to give a “safe” appearance. Avoid it, particularly in pale shades, when you want to appear assertive, spontaneous, authoritative, dynamic, etc.

BROWN: Wear brown when you want to appear down-to-earth, casual or sympathetic. Avoid it when you want to appear authoritative or assertive.

GREEN: Wear green when you wish to appear calm and relaxed, but not when you want to appear pioneering or assertive.

YELLOW: Wear yellow when you want to be noticed, when you want to appear joyful, and also to inspire a flood of mental activity. Avoid it when you need to concentrate or when you are feeling nervous

ORANGE: Wear orange to appear energetic and spirited. Do not wear it when you seek relaxation.

PURPLE: Wear purple when you would like to appear romantic, artistic, spiritual or regal. Avoid it unless you have a good eye for color and fashion.

LAVENDER: lavender is usually associated with romantic and feminine types and is considered soft and delicate.

PINK: Wear pink when you want to appear soft and feminine. Pink shirts for men need to be accompanied by a suit in a “power” color and a bold tie.

We Remain With Best Regards,

E-Tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

The Burn Test

2006-02-15T21:21:00.000-08:00

The Burn Test -

CAUTION. WARNING. BE CAREFUL! This should only be done by skilled burners! Make sure there is a bucket of water nearby and

that you burn in a metal bucket or non-plastic sink.
To identify fabric that is unknown, a simple burn test can be done to determine if the fabric is a natural fiber, man made

fiber, or a blend of natural and man made fibers. The burn test is used by many fabric stores and designers and takes practice to determine the exact fiber content. However, an inexperienced person can still determine the difference between many fibers to "narrow" the choices down to natural or man made fibers. This elimination process will give information necessary to decide the care of the fabric.
WARNING: All fibers will burn! Asbestos treated fibers are, for the most part fire proof. The burning test should be done with caution. Use a small piece of fabric only. Hold the fabric with tweezers, not your fingers. Burn over a metal dish with soda in the bottom or even water in the bottom of the dish. Some fabrics will ignite and melt. The result is burning drips which can adhere to fabric or skin and cause a serious burn.

Cotton is a plant fiber. When ignited it burns with a steady flame and smells like burning leaves. The ash left is easily crumbled. Small samples of burning cotton can be blown out as you would a candle.

Linen is also a plant fiber but different from cotton in that the individual plant fibers which make up the yarn are long where cotton fibers are short. Linen takes longer to ignite. The fabric closest to the ash is very brittle. Linen is easily extinguished by blowing on it as you would a candle.

Silk is a protein fiber and usually burns readily, not necessarily with a steady flame, and smells like burning hair. The ash is easily crumbled. Silk samples are not as easily extinguished as cotton or linen.

Wool is also a protein fiber but is harder to ignite than silk as the individual "hair" fibers are shorter than silk and the weave of the fabrics is generally looser than with silk. The flame is steady but more difficult to keep burning. The smell of burning wool is like burning hair.

Man Made Fibers

Acetate is made from cellulose (wood fibers), technically cellulose acetate. Acetate burns readily with a flickering flame that cannot be easily extinguished. The burning cellulose drips and leaves a hard ash. The smell is similar to burning wood chips.

Acrylic technically acrylonitrile is made from natural gas and petroleum. Acrylics burn readily due to the fiber content and the lofty, air filled pockets. A match or cigarette dropped on an acrylic blanket can ignite the fabric which will burn rapidly unless extinguished. The ash is hard. The smell is acrid or harsh.

Nylon is a polyamide made from petroleum. Nylon melts and then burns rapidly if the flame remains on the melted fiber. If you can keep the flame on the melting nylon, it smells like burning plastic.

Polyester is a polymer produced from coal, air, water, and petroleum products. Polyester melts and burns at the same time, the melting, burning ash can bond quickly to any surface it drips on including skin. The smoke from polyester is black with a sweetish smell. The extinguished ash is hard.

Rayon is a regenerated cellulose fiber which is almost pure cellulose. Rayon burns rapidly and leaves only a slight ash. The burning smell is close to burning leaves.

Blends consist of two or more fibers and, ideally, are supposed to take on the characteristics of each fiber in the blend. The burning test can be used but the fabric content will be an assumption.

We remain with best regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Mens Clothing Continues To Evolve

2005-11-17T20:00:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time, men adhered to strict fashion rules, never daring to buck the sartorial system. But today´s top designers say the modern man is now willing to take risks to create a more personal look.
So what are the new ground rules for masculine elegance in 2006?

Ahead of Paris men´s fashion week, which begins Friday, AFP asked a diverse cross-section of
Designers, form Japan´s Naoki Takizawa at Issey Miyake to Veronique Nichanian at Hermes, to describe the recent men swear revolution.
“Today´s man is more comfortable with himself and lets his real personality shine through,” said Nichanian. “Before, he followed trends, but basically never deviated from a set dress code. Today, he mixes it up a bit.
Takizawa, who will present his spring-summer 2006 collection for Issey Miyake on Friday, added: “There is no longer one standard definition of elegance with a few variations, but a multitude of dress codes and attitudes”.
At the fashion house of reclusive Belgian Martin Margie, who never makes public appearances or comments, a company spokesperson said: “Many designers finally got what they had been asking for, after such a long time!”

“There are on more universal fashion diktats, but rather personal fashion diktats, but rather personal tastes, creative expressions and in dividual styles. Men can wear what they want, without thinking about fashion per se.”
For Franck Boclet, the designer at Francesco Smalto, actors Nicolas Cage and Vincent Cassel are typical of the new modern male “who takes care of himself and likes to dress up.”
“Men are more and more chameleon – they can dress in a different way every day, according to their moods,” Boclet noted.
Jose Levy, designer for Emanuel Unger, hailed English football star David Beckham – famous for his moves on both the soccer filed and the red carpet – for “reassuring men who would have never otherwise dared” to strike a pose.
The Frenchman calls it the “new pleasure in dressing,” explaining: “Before, at 20, men went to work at a bank in something that looked like Dad´s suit. Today, there are actually suits for young people!”
Levy´s countryman Pierre Henri Matt out, who will unveil both his personal line and a collection for Dormeuil in Paris, said: “Men´s behavior has changed a lot in the last decade. They care a lot more about their appearance.”
Matt out predicted that men would follow a course taken by women 20 years ago, embracing “beauty products, fashion, shopping and the fact that they belong to a world of labels.”
Nichanian said the evolution of societal morns, family, and the workplace made the men swear revolution possible

We remain with best regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Why Do Men Button Left Over Right And Women Right Over Left?

2005-11-03T21:09:00.000-08:00

The theory most often uttered is that men used to dress themselves, while women had the help of a maid. Since most people are right-handed, the buttoning was inverted for the sake of the maid.

Another theory says that women were forced to button themselves using the inferior hand, in order to show them that they themselves were inferior (to men, of course). This theory is based on the assumption that women buttoned their own dress, thus inherently contradicting the first theory.

Both theory are somewhat shaky. The former implies that a significant part of the female population had a maid available. N.B.: "Significant" does not necessarily mean "numerous", but "influential". Depending on the era we're looking at, the rich were the significant ones - the ones who made fashion - and they had maids. But does their influence also extend to such insignificant details as buttoning? The second theory is somewhat medieval. Misconceptions about female inferiority did exist until the early 20th century, but in the main the 18th century did away with most of them.

Both theories assume that the preference for one hand plays a role. Being left-handed, I readily complain about anything that makes life unnecessarily difficult for lefties, but I have never felt that buttoning, whichever way around, was a problem. You nomally use both hands, anyway - the rest is a matter of habit rather than of motoricity.

"Depending on the era": Which era are we looking at, anyway? Since when does the gender-related right-left distinction exist? If we know when the distinction was first made, we may discover the reason. So let's look at historical depictions.

Until the late 18th century, buttons are rare on women's dress. In the few earlier pictures, the direction often can't be determined. At least I've found one 14th century example where the buttons seem to sit in the right-hand edge (i.e. the "male" side), and two ditto examples from the 17th century. In the late 18th century, we find buttons on female dress relatively often, e.g. on comperes, jackets and redingote dresses. In every case, the buttons sit on the right side. In the 1830s, buttons are rare on women's clothes and evenly distributed between ruight and left, then nothing until the 1850s. During the 1850s, left sligthtly outweighs right. From the late 1860s on, buttons are quite common on women's dress - all left.

So the changeover from "mostly right" to "mostly left" must have taken place between 18010 and 1860, with nothing definitely decided yet until 1860. Since the middle of the 18th century, the production of women's clothes was largely in the hand of female artisans - would they have taken part in a scam that degrade women as in the second theory? And if they did, why did they stick with the "male" right-side buttoning for over 50 years? Maids did exist in the 18th century as muich as they did later, so why did it take 100 years until the buttoning was switched (according to the first theory) for their sake? Why should anyone do anything for the sake of the servants, anyway? Moreover, in the 17th and 18th century, there should have been as many men who had a manservant as there were ladies who had a maid. With the many buttons on the waistcoats and coats of the time - the closing of the lower ones required the wearer to bend -, one should assume that men, too, had help for dres!

sing. If the buttoning was switched for the sake of the servants, why was it done for the maids, who may have had to close a few buttons every now and then, but not for the manservants, who had to close dozens of buttons every day for sure?

There's a good hint by Janet Arnold referring to the fashion of the late 19th and early 20th century: As if to make up for the fact that clothing could be more easily made with the help of the sewing machine, the construction was made more complicated by adding trims (Patterns of Fashion 2, p. 4). A few yeare later Thorstein Veblen published his "Theory of the Leisure Class" (1899) according to which it was the main role of late 19th century women to demonstrate wealthiness by being demonstratively, obviously unproductive. Requiring an hour or more for dressing and not being able to dress without the help of a maid would definitely count as being unproductive, so a "wrong way around" buttoning could have been a code telling those in the know that "I have a maid to help me dress!" That would fit nicely with the beginning of left-hand buttoning, but wouldn't have buttons in back, which were used as early as the 1810s, put the point across much more obviously?

Moreover, the late 19th century happened to be the very time when women started to think about such things as emancipation and equality. One of the means they used was the adoption of features of male dress. If left-hand buttons had symbolised female inferiority, it would probably have been given up quite early, using a relatively unspectacular place to signal the new female awareness. But quite contrary: The era when emancipation first is expressed in clothing (the 1849 Bloomer costume) is roughly synchronous to the era when mainly-right buttoning makes way for mainly-left.

This leads me to a completely new theory: Since female clothing took on more and more features of male clothing in order to express emancipation (a process that, I'd like to point out, contemporaries were not aware of) it became necessary to establish a feature that signalled that an item of clothing was, despite its male appearance, nevertheless female. Otherwise someone could be led to believe that the lady wore a man's coat, a man's shirt etc., and use that as a a moral handhold against her since wearing the clothing of the opposite sex was immoral. The closer female clothing got to male clothing, the more important the "little difference" of buttoning became. At the end of the 20th century, the buttoning was the only thing that differentiated a female blouse from a male shirt.

My personal theory, therefore, is that the right-left-differentiation is a result of the gradual approximation of female and male dress and the resulting necessity of distinction. - A. Bender

We remain with best regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Dressing To Hide Your Weight

2005-07-19T00:16:00.000-07:00

It's something every overweight man has to deal with. How do you dress to impress? Its not as easy as it sounds, as many people believe that overweight men arent as trustworthy, dependable or intelligent as fit men. We all know that deep down thats not true, but thats a perception many people have. If you arent losing weight as quickly as you had hoped, or if you have no plans to lose weight, you may find yourself trying to hide your weight. Here are some tips on how to do it.
#Dont buy clothes that are too small. If you buy clothes that are too small and expect to be able to somehow hide your weight, youre kidding yourself. Buying clothes that are too small only accentuate the fact that you are fat. Tight clothes stretch and show people exactly how much fat you have.
#Dont buy clothes that are too big. If you buy clothes that are too big and baggy, it will make you look fatter than you really are. Thats because with baggy clothes other people dont see a waist line or your body at all.

#Buy clothes your size. Your clothes must fit correctly. This is the first step to hiding your weight. Not too tight and not too loose.
#Tuck your shirts in. By not tucking your shirts in, you not only look messy but you also look overweight. If you tuck your shirt in you create a vertical line. A vertical line is more slimming than not having one.
#If you have a big butt, dont wear pants with pockets. Pockets tend to puff out the back even more than normal.
#If you are short and hefty, dont wear pants with cuffs. Cuffs provide a bulkier look than perhaps you should have.
#Dont wear jackets with built-up shoulders. Dont wear fluffy jackets at all. These jackets make you look bigger than you really are.
#Dont wear body-tight sweater vests. These vests while you may think because its a sweater will make you look thinner, actually make you look big because of how tight they are.
#Wear squared-off vests. By wearing squared-off vests, youll look better than by not wearing one.

We remain with regards,a
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

How To Ensure A Proper Fit

2005-06-30T22:39:00.000-07:00

Button-down shirts

Shirts divided into more basic areas...

Sleeves & Cuffs
Dress shirts tend to shrink after a few washings, so before buying and getting a shirt tailored, make sure the sleeve is slightly longer in order to counteract any eventual shrinkage. So what's the right length when it comes to shirt sleeves? They should cover your wrist and reach the beginning of your thumbs. As well, your cuffs should be tight enough to prevent them from slipping down your wrist. If you opt to leave your button-down shirt untucked, it should hang just above your pants zipper (at back pocket level). When wearing a jacket and extending your arms, the sleeves should land between a half-inch and one inch past the jacket. Anything longer is cause for tailoring or buying a smaller shirt.

Collars & Shoulders
If the shirt's seams meet at the shoulder, you know it fits quite well. Your forefinger should be able to fit in between your collar and your neck when the shirt is buttoned to the top. The collar's tips and outer edge should be covered by your blazer or suit jacket's lapels. To ensure that this happens, always fit your dress shirts and button-downs before fitting your jackets and blazers.

Blazers
The blazer or jacket's sleeve should rest at your thumb knuckle when your arm is extended, and the blazer or jacket should cover your backside. The blazer/jacket's collar should leave about a half-inch of your dress shirt's collar visible. If you plan on wearing your sports jacket frequently over sweaters, bring a thin or regular knit sweater with you when trying on or tailoring the blazer or suit jacket.

Pants & Trousers
Determining whether you have the right fit when it comes to slacks is fairly simple. Try them on without shoes; they should just touch the floor. With shoes on, the back part of your pants should barely touch the ground (one rule of thumb is that pants should break at about 1/3 of the way down the shoe). And if you need one more sign that your slacks might not fit well, remember that your socks should not show when you walk. When belting slacks, don't pull too tight, or you risk bunching up the fabric around your midsection. This will make your gut appear larger than it is. If you're hemming your pants at the waist, place them below your belly button. And of course, remember that slacks -- like shirts -- usually shrink when you wash them. Buy (or have a tailor create) pants just a shade longer than what you actually need.

Jeans
Jeans, like any casual clothes, shouldn't require any sort of tricky tailoring or complex tips to look right. You should, however, be familiar with the basic jean varieties out there, so that you can make a purchase with your body's best fit in mind. There are three basic jean styles: regular, relaxed and loose.Regular fit is as the name implies; traditional and somewhat slim-fitting. Relaxed fit features an extra half-inch in the butt. Loose fit includes anywhere between one and four inches of additional fabric in the butt and thigh. Jean leg styles include straight, flare and boot. Flare-cut jeans are wider around the calf, while boot-cut jeans are flared around the ankle.

Neckties
The simplest way to ensure a well-fitted necktie is to have a well-fitted shirt to wear it with.Here are some guidelines to remember:
Your tie should always hang barely above your belt buckle. The size of the tie knot should not lift the tips of your shirt collar. The inverted triangle of the tie knot should fit snugly into the triangle created by your buttoned-up shirt collar.

Topcoats & Overcoats
Some resources suggest buying a coat that's one size larger than your suit size, to ensure that it'll fit over your sweaters and suits.Topcoats come in two basic designs: knee-length and midcalf. The coat's sleeve should rest at your thumb knuckle when your arm is extended. The coat's back should be straight and flat, like a suit jacket. Horizontal wrinkles will indicate that the coat is too small. Vertical wrinkles will indicate that the coat is too large, and requires tailoring.

Belts
When it comes to belts, you should buy one size bigger than your pants. A 34" waist means a 36" belt. The buckle's notch should fit into the center hole of the belt (usually hole number three; most belts have five holes). The tail of the belt should end just past the first loop on your pants. The edge of the belt buckle, the row of buttons on your shirt and your fly should all line up vertically.

We remain with regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Store Your Clothes...Properly

2005-06-20T22:56:00.000-07:00

Are you tired of seeing your clothes piled up on the bedroom chair? Do you wonder why your garments require ironing every time you put them on? Better yet, have you ever stretched out your favorite sweater by hanging it? If so, it's high time for you to learn how to fold and hang your clothes -- the right way.Properly storing your threads will keep them looking their best and extend their "shelf life," and allow you to maximize your closet space. The first step is determining which items in your wardrobe should be hung and which should be folded.

What you should fold
# Fold your sweaters (especially the heavier ones), T-shirts and underwear.
# Knitwear: If hung, knitted garments will likely stretch eventually.
# Garments made from stretchy fabrics such as spandex and nylon, to make sure they maintain their original shape.
# Relatively fine or delicate articles of clothing.

Folding tips
Everyone has their own secret technique when it comes to folding shirts, but in the end, it doesn't matter what a T-shirt or sweater looks like once it's sitting in a drawer. The technique you use to fold your garments isn't so important. Some prefer to fold their sweaters in half before folding the sleeves in; others prefer to start by folding the sleeves and then folding the sweater in half. Either way doesn't make much of a difference. What is important is that your garment must be flat and wrinkle-free before you start folding it, and the fabric must remain nicely spread out throughout the folding process. By doing so, you'll keep your garments free of creases and will therefore get to skip out on ironing before wearing them. Where shape is concerned, some prefer to fold their garments in a perfect square while others prefer a rectangular shape. Just keep in mind that a rectangular fold will help you maximize deeper storage spaces while a square fold is more practical for spaces with minimal depth.extra folding tips. Mix it up. Once in a while, try to alternate the way you fold your garments in order to prevent creases from setting in permanently. Make smaller piles. Avoid piling up too many sweaters or T-shirts in order to reduce the strain on those at the bottom of the pile. The extra weight might emphasize the creases in the garments and might even cause them to set in permanently. Use tissue. If you're a perfectionist, then you might want to place a thin layer of white tissue between folds to help prevent creasing. Because this technique is rather time-consuming and costly, it's usually limited to retail stores. Stay organized. Always try to keep your closet neatly organized. Separate your Ts from your long-sleeve knits, and your heavyweight sweaters from your lighter ones. It will make choosing what to wear for that hot date that much easier.

what you should hang
# Pants, with the exception of pajamas, track pants and sweat pants.
# Suits and items like button-down shirts, blazers and overcoats.

Hanging tips
When hanging your garments, make sure that they are evenly spaced out and easily accessible. They should drape naturally rather than be bunched up together; this will prevent them from creasing and allow the air to circulate for proper ventilation.

Shirts
When hanging a shirt, make sure it's completely buttoned up in order to keep the collar in place and prevent the neckline from creasing, and in some cases, getting distorted. (In the instance where a shirt doesn't button up all the way to the top, you can always use a safety pin to hold the collar in place.) For heavier shirts, consider crossing the sleeves around and over the hanger to prevent the sleeves from stretching.
Pants
Always remember to remove your belt from your slacks before hanging them; this will prevent the waistline from distorting. Next, fold your slacks along the pants' natural creases, so that both legs of the slacks lie flat against one another (parallel); make sure any pleats are folded down. You can use a hanger with clamps or slide the slacks onto a trouser rod or regular hanger. Note: Hangers with clamps or grip clips will make your life easier and help you maximize your closet space. If you use regular hangers instead, you might want to consider those with non-slip rubber to prevent the slacks from slipping off.

Choosing the best hangers
Plastic tubular hangers are known to offer minimal support and should be used for lighter items such as button-down shirts. Padded, shaped and traditional suit hangers are best for jackets, suits, thin shirts (i.e. linen), and tailored garments. The bigger the hanger, the more support your clothes receive, thereby helping to prevent unsightly creases. Wardrobe valets are also great for hanging suits, but they are rather expensive and will take up a lot of wardrobe space. Try to avoid wire hangers altogether -- you know, those you get from your local dry cleaner. When used to hang pants, they can create a crease right at your pants' thigh level. They can also rust and may eventually stain your clothing. You can also find various types of practical hangers made especially for hanging belts and ties.

More storing tips...
Empty your pockets. Remember to remove everything from your pockets, as some bulky items could distort a garment's shape. Air out your garments. Before hanging or folding your clothes, make sure they are completely dry to prevent mildew from building up. As well, if you were hanging out in a smoky club, it's a good idea to let your clothes air out before storing them away (no one wants a smoke-infested closet). Do it right away. You should also get into the habit of hanging and folding your clothes as soon as you get undressed, unless they need to be aired out (see above). Don't hesitate to ask. Finally, if you don't know how to store a new garment, simply ask the salesperson for advice.

We remain with regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Custom Clothes Make The Man - Part 1 - Suits, Sports Jackets, Pants, Trousers

2004-07-30T06:28:00.000-07:00

Up until the late eighteenth century, it was often the man who dressed more flamboyantly than the woman, his wardrobe filled with laces and bows as well as high-heeled shoes with shiny buckles. Even our presidents were not immune, as a sartorially splendid George Washington appeared at his first Inaugural wearing a brocade jacket, lace shirt, silver appointments, and high-heeled shoes with diamond buckles.
However, as the country changed, so did clothing styles. With the emphasis on democracy and the glorification of the common man, clothing became less ornate, less ostentatious. By the time Thomas Jefferson was inaugurated, he followed the fashion of his time by taking the oath wearing a plain blue coat, drab colored waistcoat, green velveteen breeches with pearl buttons, yarn stockings, and slippers.
At the turn of this century, menswear was still heavily influenced by the Victorian era, as reflected in suits which at times resembled an extension of the upholstered look of the Victorian furniture popular in American homes in the period.
And yet the first decade of this century saw the important introduction of the sack suit, a style characterized by any shapeless coat without a waist seam, the body and skirt having been cut in one piece, and the Ivy League - style clothing from England. It was also during this period that certain other fashion innovations began to appear, such as the polo coat (introduced from England by Brooks Brothers around 1910) and the button-down collar (also introduced by John Brooks, in 1900, after heดd discovered it being worn by polo players in England in order to prevent flapping during play).
The 1920s were a time of experimentation, as the suit silhouette turned to the natural-shoulder look, and the first sports jacket - the Norfolk, modeled after the hunting suit worn by the Duke of Norfolk in the early eighteenth century - was produced. This decade also saw the rise and fall of jazz clothing, which had little semblance of balance or respect for the human form, with its inordinately long, tight-fitting jackets and narrow trousers; the cake-eater suit, named for college students who wore this slightly exaggerated copy of the natural- shoulder suit; and the knicker suit, featuring plus - four knickers that fell four inches below the knee. The 1930s was undoubtedly the most elegant period for menswear, as men gravitated toward the English drape style and the sportswear industry exploded. The British drape suit made it safely into the 1940s, though it was then referred to as the British blade, British lounge, and, finally, as the “lounge suit,” a fitting name for its casually elegant style.
World War II resulted in a marked austerity in dress, due in large part to the restrictions placed on the clothing industry by the War Production Board. After the war, men were ready for another change in their clothing styles, and in 1948 the “bold look” began to be seen.
The 1950s are best remembered for the “gray flannel suit” worn by the conservative businessman. Now men were back to the natural-shoulder silhouette. As reported in Apparel Arts ด75 Years of Fashion, “No style was ever so firmly resisted, so acrimoniously debated - or more enthusiastically received in various segments of the industry. Natural shoulder styling eventually became the major style influence. Brooks Bros., once a ดcitadel of conservatism,ด became a font of fashion as the new ดIvy Cultด sought style direction. Charcoal and olive were the colors.”
In addition to the introduction of man-made fibers, this period also saw the arrival of the Continental Look from France and Italy, featuring short jackets and broad shoulders, a shaped waistline, slanting besom pockets, sleeve cuffs, short side vents, and tapered, cuffless trousers. This “slick” look made little inroad on those who were staunch adherents of the more conservative Ivy League look, but it was a significant phenomenon nonetheless, as it moved Americans further away from the stylish elegance of the 1930s.
The sixties brought the Peacock Revolution - a phrase popularized in this country by George Frazier, a former columnist for Esquire magazine and the Boston Globe - which began on Carnaby Street in London and featured a whole array of new looks, including the Nehru jacket and the Edwardian suit. In contrast to the fifties, during which time choices were limited, a wide range of alternatives was now available as the focus moved to youth and protest. The designer Pierre Cardin even created an American version of the slim-lined European silhouette, which, along with the immense popularity of jeans, led to the acceptance of extreme fittedness in clothing - a far cry from the casual, comfortable elegance of preceding generations.
During this period, the American designer Ralph Lauren was attempting to convince the American male that there was a viable alternative to this high-style clothing. This alternative was a version of the two-button shaped suit with natural shoulders that had been introduced by Paul Stuart in 1954 and briefly popularized by John Kennedy during his presidency. Lauren updated the Stuart suit by using the kind of fabrics usually reserved for custom-made suits and dramatizing the silhouette by enlarging the lapel and giving more shape to the jacket. Laurenดs following remained small, however, as most men leaned toward the jazzier Cardin-style suit.
The seventies were the era of the designer. They were also a time of intense fashion experimentation, coming at a point when the largest growth in the number of people buying fashions occurred and manufacturers tried desperately to capture the one- third of the buying public that was spending two-thirds of the money. Toward the end of the decade, after years of following the fitted clothing styles of Milan and Paris, there was a dramatic turnaround as a number of European designers and manufacturers began biting off pieces of the American style of dress. Brooks Brothersด baggy garments and button-down shirts, both indigenously American, began to be produced in European versions, for Europeans had suddenly become attracted to the looser, more comfortable style of dress and were eschewing the tight-fitting silhouette theyดd embraced in the past.
While the European look still retained a foothold among American men (represented by designers such as Giorgio Armani, Basile, and Gianni Versace), the pendulum had begun to swing in the direction of a less stylized, more natural-fitting garment. A new generation of American designers joined Ralph Lauren in presenting an updated, purely American style of clothing.
Today, American menดs designers are continuing to rediscover the traditions of their past, exploring the American heritage in menswear. Of particular interest to most is the 1930s, the era of elegance, in which designers continue to find much to inspire them. Yet the experience of the last twenty years has taught them that men want not only quality, shape, and elegance but comfort as well. Clothes that lead the marketplace today are made of high-quality materials. They are soft and comfortable, but their designs still reflect the qualities of traditional Old World style.
For nearly two hundred years now, men in prominent positions have been going to work wearing proper business suits. Over the years, there have been occasional rebellions against this custom, and, in fact, a mere twenty years ago the future of business suits in this country looked bleak, as dire predictions of men appearing at work wearing jump suits and the like abounded. Yet today, perhaps more then ever before, the business suit is the accepted uniform of the successful entrepreneur.
Naturally, this brings to mind the following questions: Why has the business suit enjoyed this longevity? What purpose does it serve? Why should a man even bother wearing one when it seems to limit self-expression and stifle individuality?
Perhaps a starting point in responding to these questions appears in an advertisement placed by the pre-eminent menดs clothing store, Paul Stuart, which states that “a proper function of the business suit is to offer a man a decent privacy so that irrelevant reactions are not called into play to prejudice what should be purely business transactions.”

While this is certainly true, there is no reason why a man in a business suit has to look bland. Even in a business situation, it is possible to dress within certain professional parameters while still managing to avoid the trap of looking as if one just walked off the assembly line. The business suit can and should at least offer the suggestion of character and a sense of individuality. If, for instance, one works in advertising as opposed to banking, one can get away with a bit more verve in a suit rather than adhering to the more conservative look required in the latter profession. But even a man working in banking should not exempt himself from thinking about dress, for whatever one wears says something about the wearer.
More than any other single item of clothing, it is the suit that ultimately determines the overall style of a manดs dress. Although the shirt, tie, and hose all have an important contribution to make to a manดs style, none plays nearly so major a role as the suit, which, since it covers 80 percent of the body, actually defines the general mood and impression of oneดs appearance. Accessories should relate to the suit and not vice versa. To think otherwise would be tantamount to beginning the decoration of an empty apartment by first purchasing an ashtray.
THE SILHOUETTE
“The silhouette” is the term used by the clothing industry to describe the cut or shape of a suit. Women have long realized that the shape of a garment sets the tone of their appearance, but only recently have men realized that they too have a choice of styles that accomplish the same important task for them.
For this reason, the silhouette should be the primary consideration in the purchase of any suit. The fabric and details, which may add to a suitดs attractiveness, and even the fit should be of secondary concern, since it is the silhouette that actually determines the longevity of the garment. If this statement sounds the least bit dubious, think of the tight- fitting rope-shouldered, wide-lapeled, flared-bottom suits of fifteen years ago. Where are they now? In all likelihood, if one still owns these garments, itดs been some time since theyดve seen the light of day.
Today, there are three distinct silhouettes that have demonstrated their longevity: the sack suit, the European-cut suit, and the updated American-style suit. The first two choices offer distinctly different approaches to dressing: the sack disguises the figure of a man, while the European model leaves little to the imagination. The third style, the updated American-style suit, is almost an amalgam of the other two, hiding the body as well as flattering it. To my mind, it is the one silhouette that looks most comfortable on the American physique: casual, but eminently proper, stylish but without the studied elegance of the European model.
The Sack, or Brooks Brothers Natural-Shoulder, Suit
The sack, or the Brooks Brothers natural-shoulder, suit has been, for almost a century now, the backbone of American clothing. First popularized near the turn of the century, it was a silhouette characterized by a shapeless, nondarted jacket with narrow shoulders (which were soft and unpadded) as well as by flap pockets, a single rear vent, and a three- or four-button front. Designed large in order to fit many sizes, it was the first mass-produced suit and it looks it. After all, it was not called the sack suit for nothing.
Perhaps the biggest strength of the sack silhouette is also its basic weakness: it hides the shape of its wearer and takes away any sense of individuality. The reason it has managed to exist successfully for such a long period of time is simply that it appeals to the common denominator. Since it is so anonymous, it offends no one, enabling the wearer to walk into any environment and be acceptably attired.
For those seeking anonymity in their clothing, or wishing to hide an ungainly figure, this may be an acceptable style. But for anyone else, the sack-style suit is woefully inappropriate.
The European Silhouette
Only since the late 1960s has the European-cut silhouette been a major factor on the American scene. This shape relies upon severity of line to project its style. The dominant shape and style in France and Italy for the past thirty years, it has been maintained in a jacket with squarish shoulders, high armholes, and a tight fit through the chest and hips. It is two- buttoned, its back is usually non-vented, and it has a much more structured feel to it than the sack suit. The trousers tend to have a lower rise and fit more snugly through the buttocks and thigh, sitting just under the waist so that one feels them fitting through the hips and thigh, hugging the line of the leg.
As Stephen Birmingham pointed out in Vogue, European men liked to “ ดfeelด the clothes they wore...a man in a European-cut suit was very much aware that he was inside something. Sitting down was a delicate operation, and crossing the legs was not to be undertaken lightly....”
In the 1960s and ด70s, the European fit gained much popularity in this country, in part because of the mass acceptance of jeans and the notion that clothes ought to express a manดs physicality. This silhouette offered a radical alternative to the sack suit and appealed particularly to women, who perhaps unintentionally promoted this exaggerated style, which emphasizes a manดs sexuality at the cost of subtlety and comfort. While it is true that a man wearing this silhouette did look thinner, it is also clear that he was compromising taste and style in order to feel thin.
After the initial excitement of this style wore off, American men realized they were projecting a character that was not their own. Europeans, after all, have long dressed in a more formal, studied manner. Their clothing evolved to reflect not only their thin and lithe body types, but also their penchant for elegance and formality. Americans, on the other hand, have always preferred a more subtle and casual style. With their broader shoulders and wider chests, they require a softening in the lines of their clothing, not the hard angles identified with
the European styles. Recognizing this, they are returning in greater numbers to endemic styles that are designed to complement their larger physiques; clothing that is soft and comfortable, but with a tasteful subtlety that is the purest idiom of the
American heritage.
The Updated American Silhouette
The updated American silhouette is a combination of the best elements of the sack and the European-cut suit. The jacket has some of the same softness and fullness through the chest and shoulder areas of the sack, to which it adds some of the European notion of shape.
Long the staple of fine dressers, from Clark Gable to Fred Astaire to Cary Grant, this soft, shaped suit was essentially a spin-off from the sack. The three-button sack coat was modified to a two-button version with some suppression at the waist by Paul Stuart. As mentioned earlier, this style was then modified further by Ralph Lauren, beginning in the mid-1960s. Both his espousal of it and the subsequent support of a score of young American designers gained, for this updated American style, the national recognition and the widespread acceptance it has today.
Like the European model, the new American-style jacket is tapered at the waist, giving the wearer something of a V-shaped appearance. The jacket, with its two-button design, has a longer lapel roll. In further contrast to the sack, this style also has a somewhat higher armhole and the chest is a bit smaller. All these details work to give it more definition than its dour predecessor.
These modifications give the updated American suit a freedom that allows the materials to adapt themselves to the wearerดs physique. This is as it should be. Angular clothing tends to impose itself on the body. It has its own shape, and the wearer must fit into it rather than the other way around. The adaptation of clothing to the wearerดs physique, on the other hand, is the ideal expression of oneself. Like a good haircut, the cut of a suit should never call attention to itself. Elegance or style can be achieved only through softness of line. This is why the updated American-style suit jacket has a modified natural shoulder and is cut with a slight taper at the waist, while the trousers take their line from the shape of a manดs leg.
This article is credited to Alan Flusser

We remain with best regards,
your E-tailors at www.mycustomtailor.com

Some Facts About Wool - Used For Clothing And Garments

2004-07-30T06:24:00.000-07:00

Facts about WOOL

Wool fiber actually has tiny pores. When it's dyed, the pores open and the dye is absorbed into it. That's why wool garments look and stay so rich in color.

Wool can be stretched up to 70% of its natural length and still retain its shape when released. In other words, it won't sag and wrinkles relax easily.

Wool's natural climate control system keeps you comfortable because it insulates you from heat and cold by trapping little pockets of air.

Wool is so strong, it's used to cover tennis balls and billiard tables. So fine, it's the choice of tailors and designers around the world.

How to Care For Your Fine Woolen Garments

Brush after every wearing with a soft firm bristled brush.

Hang your clothes where they can breathe. Luxury fabrics have a resiliency and are able to shed wrinkles. They need air to help them spring back into shape.

Give your clothes a rest. A 24-hour rest will not only rid them of wrinkles but will also help them wear longer.

Empty your pockets between wearings. Heavy objects strain pocket seams and pull the fabric out of shape

Treat stains promptly. Take your clothes only to a reputable dry cleaner.

Press and dry-clean your clothing at least once a season, and especially before storing.

Store your clothes carefully. Make sure they are clean before storage. The smallest stain can invite moths. Cedar lined closets, or fresh cedar blocks, are best for storing your tailored clothing.

Fold the knits.

To remove wrinkles, hang your garment in a steamy bathroom.

How to Care For Your Fine Neckwear and Eliminate Wrinkling.
Step 1: Always unknot your tie when not in use and give it a few days rest before further wear.

Step 2: Roll your tie tightly and let it sit for a day or two.

Step 3: Hang the tie after wearing and the wrinkles will disappear.

Cleaning Stains on Neckwear
Step 1: Water Stains: Brush tie one way with a dry wool cloth, or

Step 2: Choose a professional with a good reputation in neckwear care to dry clean your ties.

Eliminate Fraying and Loose Threads

Step 1: If the tie’s threads pick, never pull the treads or shave down with a blade or scissors, this will damage the tie instead.

Step 2: Light a match and carefully burn off the excess frayed threads without burning the tie. This will give new life to the tie.

We remain with best regards,
your E-tailors at www.mycustomtailor.com