What are 3-5 staple suits?

[retronotmetro]

If you wear suits to work, it is good to remember that the smaller your lineup, the less distinctive the suits should be. This allows you the greatest flexibility if a couple of suits need to go out to the cleaners, etc., because it won't be as noticeable that you are wearing the same suit more than once in a week.

For a business suit lineup, I'd go with the same kind of items as drizz. I'd get the following suits in the following order:

1. Solid navy
2. Solid charcoal
3. Navy or charcoal gray pinstripe (or both)
4. Any medium gray (solid, pinstripe, or glen plaid)
5. A variation of cut and pattern on your favorite one of the above--that is, if you like navy and have a 3B solid navy, get a 2B navy herringbone or nailhead. Or if one of your pinstripes is a wide spaced stripe, get a narrow spaced one.

If you need heavier suits for winter, I'd change these priorities to make the fourth and fifth suits be a plain medium gray flannel and either a navy or dark gray chalkstripe flannel.

 

[Sator]

Originally Posted by Concordia

One of our semi-retired posters once said that he tried to order a black suit for just this purpose on Savile Row and the salesman steered him to an Oxford grey-- nearly black but with just a hint of surface interest. "You'll thank me later, sir." And he did.
In the Victorian era there were strict protocols about wearing black and how long a widow had to wear black afterwards etc etc. The were even stores which sold jewelry, black edged pocket squares, bespoke funeral attire etc just for the purpose. Interestingly, in Japan black is still absolutely de rigeur at funerals - any other colour and it might as well be hot pink. If you see a funeral there everyone wears black - friends, family, young and old - right down to the socks. I wonder when all of that tradition fell by the wayside.

 

[zjpj83]

Originally Posted by Sator

In the Victorian era there were strict protocols about wearing black and how long a widow had to wear black afterwards etc etc. The were even stores which sold jewelry, black edged pocket squares, bespoke funeral attire etc just for the purpose. Interestingly, in Japan black is still absolutely de rigeur at funerals - any other colour and it might as well be hot pink. If you see a funeral there everyone wears black - friends, family, young and old - right down to the socks.

I wonder when all of that tradition fell by the wayside.

In Judaism, there are still strict customs that are adhered to. The only thing that has changed a bit is that, traditionally, the bereaved ripped their clothes and wore those ripped clothes for the next week; today, less orthodox mourners wear a ripped black ribbon on their clothes to represent ripped clothing. Still, though, the bereaved do not attend parties or other celebrations, do not shave or cut their hair, and do not listen to music for 30 days.

 

[LabelKing]

Originally Posted by Sator

In the Victorian era there were strict protocols about wearing black and how long a widow had to wear black afterwards etc etc. The were even stores which sold jewelry, black edged pocket squares, bespoke funeral attire etc just for the purpose. Interestingly, in Japan black is still absolutely de rigeur at funerals - any other colour and it might as well be hot pink. If you see a funeral there everyone wears black - friends, family, young and old - right down to the socks. I wonder when all of that tradition fell by the wayside.
Jewelry made out of the deceased's hair was often worn as mourning jewelry as were jewels that had the names of the deceased engraved. Dark tortoise-shell was also favored as a luxury material for mourning items.