What should a basic professional wardrobe contain?

Patrician · Aug 9, 2008

What should a basic professional wardrobe contain according to You?

How many..
..suits?
..shirts?
..shoes?
..ties?
..belts?

What colors, patterns, styles etc...

What should one strive towards when building a professional wardrobe?

EDIT: Imagine profession to be banking and such, office-like.

manouche · Aug 9, 2008

Depends on the profession.

If you are a diver, I would say 3 diving suits + a Seiko + a Rolex.

0b5cur1ty · Aug 9, 2008

Originally Posted by manouche

If you are a diver, I would say 3 diving suits + a Seiko + a Rolex.
Surely the Rolex is optional?

username79 · Aug 9, 2008

Id say you need a few pairs of underwear to start with.

manouche · Aug 9, 2008

What should a basic professional wardrobe contain according to You?

How many..

..suits?

6
Dark grey, navy, plain striped, 2 buttons, 3 buttons

..shirts?

20
White
Sky blue
Blue
Pink
Lilac
Plain, striped
All french cuffed

..shoes?

6
1 plain in black,
1 wing type in black,
1 black with red shades,
1 black with blue shades,
1 suede brown,
1 full brogue in black

All oxfords

..ties?

50
All colors

..belts?

1 black

What colors, patterns, styles etc...

82-Greg · Aug 9, 2008

I'd also say depends on your seniority within the organization and profession.

I see a linear relationship with more seniority, the higher quality and quantity one would expect.

Patrician · Aug 9, 2008

As for profession imagine banking / office. Please keep in mind that this thread should be about a basic wardrobe, which to me does not include 50 ties and 20 shirts. What is the fundament of wardrobe? How many shirts, suits etc does one need simply to survive

Patrician · Aug 9, 2008

Originally Posted by manouche

..Shoes?
6
1 plain in black,
1 wing type in black,
1 black with red shades,
1 black with blue shades,
1 suede brown,
1 full brogue in black
All oxfords

..Belts?
1 black
You cannot seriously tell me to use a black belt with a pair of brown shoes?

Hard2Fit · Aug 9, 2008

My quick dime:
3 suits (1 navy, 1 charcoal, 1 pinstripe or glenplaid)
1 blazer (navy)
>8 dress shirts (white, sky blue, etc.)
>8 ties
2 dress shoes (1 black, 1 brown)
2 belts (matching shoe colors)
2 dress slacks (1 tan, 1 medium grey)
1 chesterfield coat (grey or navy)
1 nice watch
Assorted socks

Btw, always keep two dress shirts unpacked.
I recommend one white and one sky blue.
They'll come in handy some day.

bmulford · Aug 9, 2008

Originally Posted by Patrician

As for profession imagine banking / office. Please keep in mind that this thread should be about a basic wardrobe, which to me does not include 50 ties and 20 shirts. What is the fundament of wardrobe? How many shirts, suits etc does one need simply to survive

presuming no casual friday: Suits: Suits if it leans towards the formal, or a combo of sport coats with trousers. Presuming formal: Minimum of 3 Suits, 5 preferred - to allow for rotation each day of the week. If you can get only 3, get mid-gray, charcoal gray, and navy. If 5, add a modest stripe navy and striped gray. Shirts: 6 Minimum. One for each day of the week+one to wear if you spill something or damage a shirt unexpectedly. Stick with basics like barrel cuffs, and mid-spread collar, 3 white, 2 light blue, 1 striped or checked white+blue. Shoes: 3 Minimum: 1 Black captoe, 1 dark brown captoe, 1 burgundy or wingtip of your preference. Belts: Minimum 2: 1 black matt, and 1 brown matt finish Ties: 6 minimum. 3.5 inches, only class stripes, neats and solids. No fancy prints. Select a dark and light in Navy and Red, 1 grey (silver tone is ok), and 1 in brown mid tone. Pocketsquares: 2 minimum. White Linen. Extras: 1 Modest white faced, roman numeral watch with leather strap 1 Overcoat in Charcoal

Patrician · Aug 9, 2008

For a basic wardrobe

Suits:
3; one navy, one mid-gray, one charcoal.

Shirts:
10; All french cuffed. All wide-spread collar.

Shoes:
3; two black, one brown. All oxfords.

Belts:
2; one black, one brown.
Ties:
5; striped and solids.

Thats what I think would be a good start.

Doc4 · Aug 9, 2008

Originally Posted by Patrician

As for profession imagine banking / office.

Please keep in mind that this thread should be about a basic wardrobe, which to me does not include 50 ties and 20 shirts.

What is the fundament of wardrobe? How many shirts, suits etc does one need simply to survive

Basic decent minimum to live by? Okay, here goes ...

Two suits. One dark grey and a heavier fabric for winter. The other mid-grey and lighter fabric for summer. I'd say both single-breasted, buttons and vents to your preference (you prefer two buttons and two vents, right?) One for each half of the year, or when the other is at the cleaners.

Five dress shirts ... enough to last until laundry day each saturday. Three white, one light blue, and one striped (or a colour like pink or lavender or mint green, if you can get away with that.)

Three ties. Basic and conservative.

Two pair of black dress shoes ... don't wear a pair of leather shoes on consecutive days, as they need a day to 'recover' in between wearings. One black belt to match.

10 pair of socks ... 5 pair to match each suit ... again, enough to last until saturday wash.

One or two overcoats ... depending on what sort of seasonal weather you have. One for winter, and one for the other three seasons.

That's enough. You will be somewhat dull and predictable, but have a reputation as a well-dressed businessman (provided you get good quality well fitted.)

ozonemania · Aug 10, 2008

In my experience, you really need at the very least 3 suits. As above posters said, you need to let your suits rest after you've worn them, for at least a couple of days. If you have 3 suits or less, you will wear out your suits very quickly, and you will end up spending more in the long run replacing those suits due to wear and tear.

Shoes, similar argument. You can get away with 2 pairs, but if you just have 2 and don't take proper daily care of them, they will wear out much faster. Personally I would have 4 pairs.

Shirts, you should change shirt daily, so unless you do your laundry more frequently than once a week, you will need at least 5 shirts. That being said, I would still get more, even have extras of the same shirt if they work well for you.

The rest are more flexible, even more so if your workplace has casual fridays or allows for business casual wear.

Sator · Aug 10, 2008

Semi-Formal Evening Dress: dinner jacket, waistcoat & trousers
Semi-Formal Morning Dress: morning trousers to wear with three piece lounge coat with matching waistcoat

Informal Lounge Suits:
5 winter weight
5 intermediate weight
5 summer weight

Belts:
3 for wear in summer only - all others should be made with brace trousers

Shirts:
5 white dress shirts in winter weights
5 white dress shirts in intermediate weights
5 white dress shirts in summer weights/weaves
8 dress shirts in other colours in summer, winter or intermediate weights
Semi-formal evening shirt

Ties:
minimum of 16 understated ties (if the secretarial staff can remember your ties you need more, or they are too loud)
semi-formal evening bow tie

Pochettes/Pocket Squares:
4 - plain
6 - fancy

Shoes:
5 pairs of black Oxford shoes
1 pair of black Oxford boots for cold/wet weather
(brown shoes have no place in a professional wardrobe)

Hard2Fit · Aug 10, 2008

Originally Posted by ozonemania

In my experience, you really need at the very least 3 suits.

+1.

What should a basic professional wardrobe contain?

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