The Ultimate Toronto Thread

[Ebichuman]

Instead of trying to come up with a universal truth, one needs to judge the dressing style against multiple - and changing - variables. For context: I am at a major Bay St law firm and previously was with a Big 4 and a major bank.

Most of the senior executives /partners dress in pretty formal business attire: dark suit, tie. Many however wear ill fitting or downright cheap (cheap, not inexpensive) clothes, especially shoes. It's not uncommon to see partners dress very casually: jeans or khakis or sweatshirts. Clearly they're not meeting clients these days or they work in one of the hip practices like start-ups.

Below the partner rank you mostly see crappy suits, too tight and too short. If you overdress a bit it will probably be positively noticed (and you sure as heck don't want to under-dress in a big way especially when business attire is required).

If you're an IT help desk support analyst and show up in a three piece everyday people will talk. You should realize that you're an outlier and that you will get some attention. But on the other hand, I don't think it would be terribly detrimental. Most people do not pay that much attention to the clothing.

As a mid-senior level associate (I believe that was the level of the OP) a tasteful and well tailored double breasted suit is perfectly fine, IMHO.

Just don't overdo it: http://www.bacoluxury.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Gianni-Cerutti-e1420720312690.jpg

 

[RogerP]

Final Pro-tip: Being the best dressed person in the room isn't ever a bad thing. Peacocking with a three-piece suit the way you are may not be doing you any favours for your career. If one of my staff dressed that way, I'd probably think he lacks self-awareness and good judgment.

This is all just my opinion anyway, because the guy asked about wearing the DB suit.

Agreed. Being the best dressed assumes the context of the governing standard of dress. If that standard is a formal business suit and yours is the sharpest of the bunch, then kudos to you for being best dressed. Wearing a tuxedo to a baseball game doesn't make you best dressed, however. It makes you an idiot.

 

[KWang94]

This is true however I've found that certain rules can be broken. I work in an overly casual office and yet I'm still showing up every day in a 3-piece. In terms of DB. I think it's something that is more of a statement piece for power in an office setting.

This is bad advice.

 

[induere_to]

My dream is to show up to Pitti one day in a plain white t-shirt and jeans.

But for now, I'm going to remain wearing double-breasted suits to my... I guess, casual (?) workplace.

 

[ryewo[i dmfsOZI490w]

My dream is to show up to Pitti one day in a plain white t-shirt and jeans.

But for now, I'm going to remain wearing double-breasted suits to my... I guess, casual (?) workplace.

In what way would you consider working in a store that sells dozens of suits, sportcoats, ties and topcoats a casual workplace and job?

In fact, I think you're making the exact case for why people shouldn't overdress (and underdress) - you're dressing in a way that represents the S&M brand, as much as your own personal preferences. I don't think Rick would appreciate it if you showed up in a jeans and t-shirt to help him sell suits to people.

 

[Encore]

It gets more exciting when I saw "spiermackay" is watching this Thread.

 

[KWang94]

LMFAO Tim, you're killing me.

God, I wanna go to Pitti so badly one day. The only thing is, I don't personally know anyone there so I'd probably feel really awkward.

 

[djdanniedee]

I think he was being sarcastic....

In what way would you consider working in a store that sells dozens of suits, sportcoats, ties and topcoats a casual workplace and job?

In fact, I think you're making the exact case for why people shouldn't overdress (and underdress) - you're dressing in a way that represents the S&M brand, as much as your own personal preferences. I don't think Rick would appreciate it if you showed up in a jeans and t-shirt to help him sell suits to people.

 

[ryewo[i dmfsOZI490w]

I think he was being sarcastic....

Whoooosh!

 

[KaleidoscopicK]

I’m interested in hearing from those who have first-hand accounts related to this topic.

I work in an office where you could wear a suit every day or you could wear a sweater and chinos, and neither would really cause anyone to comment or bat an eye.

I did hear about a guy I knew who was told to stop wearing contrast collar shirts at his work since they were “reserved for the executives”.

I’d like to hear more such stories (for fun and perhaps to set me up for success should I find myself at an interview at such a place).

Sure, I'll bite.

I currently work in a corporate banking environment that has become business casual. I use that term somewhat loosely: as an unwritten rule, jeans are not limited to Fridays and i see sneakers such as Converse and Air Jordans worn on different days of the week.

Despite noticing the workplace being pretty bizcaz during my interview I dressed conservatively during my first week, wearing dress pants, shirts and shoes. I unearthed my Spier and Mackay clothing from the closet, opened my pack of Sozzi dress socks I ordered from @SpooPoker (I can only hope such an opportunity happens again) and gave my dress shoes a quick polish.

I opted not to wear any suiting during this time: I decided to use the trousers from my suits, and I had a couple pairs of chinos. I initially felt a little lacking on business casual attire, but I had enough stuff lying around for a rotation that wouldn't look too repetitive.

Some observations after my first two weeks:

• For men, it's mostly dress shirt and pants. A couple wear cardigans or sweaters over them. Jeans and dress shirt is common too.
• Some men wear suits. Some are ill fitting, others look tailored.
• One co-worker in my position suits up four days a week - in a variety of colours and shades - and sports colourful pocket squares and bowties. He looked great in a two-toned grey suit the other day: it changes shades at his navel. Definitely a fashion-y suit, but it suits his personality and our work culture allows for that.
• An older man is going full casual dadwear: light blue jeans, tees and chunkier sneakers.
• As expected, the females put more effort into what they wear, and the variety shows. I've even seen a couple of women wear suits! (No dress shoes, however.)

On Week 3:

- I decided that suits are okay. the orphaned Spier and Mackay jackets reunited with their fellow trousers, and my grey SuitSupply suit entered into my rotation. I decided against wearing ties for now, out of not just laziness, but because I have a weak rotation (my lifestyle before this job didn't suit wearing them). I got a mix of compliments and questions about why I was suddenly wearing a suit to work. (Because I felt like it, damn it!) I wear suits once or twice a week, depending on my mood.
- I started wearing workwear attire. My Lone Wolf mechanic boots and my Viberg service boots from @grizzlygiant are finally hitting the cold concrete and tiled floors of the PATH after months of pristine solitude, and out came my work shirts from Monitaly and Sage de Cret. It's my preferred approach to business casual attire.

By the end of my first month, I began to use Casual Friday as an opportunity to wear my casual clothing, both "regular" and contemporary. Some examples of what I've worn are my Buddy Japan tennis trainers, Uniqlo U, OAMC, and Junya Watanabe. I'm hoping to work a couple of casual suits into my wardrobe throughout the next twelve months, beginning with Camoshita and possibly other brands like Sage de Cret and even Engineered Garments.

As @Ebichuman alluded to, knowing your company's culture is important. If it was more rigid, I would never consider wearing stuff like Kapital (still working on that), Junya or OAMC to the office.

In the case of the user wondering if he should wear a double breasted suit: I'd personally err against it given what he wrote. But it's up to him to do his research and see if he can justify it.

(I really would avoid doing it, though.)

 

[induere_to]

I could sell a suit wearing nothing but lingerie.

 

[KWang94]

I could sell a suit wearing nothing but lingerie.

Should we make a bet on this?

 

[Quesjac]

I could sell a suit wearing nothing but lingerie.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/223229489850

 

[Vinilo1969]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/223229489850

That’s how it’s done.

 

[Encore]

SARTORIAL TALKS - All About the Double-Breasted Suit