Everything you heard and read in the last ten years about business casual just went out the window. You are now a Professional Man and someone has just informed you that you will be expected to wear a suit, or at least a coat and tie, to work every day. Where do you start?

Right here, with Uncle Wentworth. Below I will show you how to plan and acquire a professional wardrobe of sufficient size and variety to make you look good AND feel good.

The first surprise is this: You can't do it all on eBay, or at least that is not my recommendation at first.  My first recommendation is to visit two or three fairly nice mens stores in your city and get a feel for the going rate for suits, etc.  Then, after you have looked around, go back to the one you liked best and  explain to the sales person that you need an interview suit. Chances are, the one thing you have is an interview suit, but the bad news is at least for a while, you are going to be wearing  interview suits nearly every day.   However, there is nothing wrong with a little variety early on. If your previous interview suit is  grey, then get a navy one. If it is navy, then go for grey this time.  Try hard to go at least one step up from the bottom rung in price and quality. The difference in quality will  show in longevity and  in the way it looks from the get go. Have it fully altered to fit you, including getting the sleeves perfect. If the sleeves are a half inch or more too long or too short, GET THEM ALTERED.  If you are fortunate enough to need the sides of the jacket taken in and the waist on the trousers as well, do so. This suit will be your baseline.

OK, by my reckoning, you now have two suits. If you have more, great, if you have less, then how did you get your job without an interview suit?  In order to be truly happy and well dressed, you are going to need five or six suits. And a sportcoat for Fridays, if you think you can get away with it. You can NOT get away with wearing your suit coat as a sportcoat, so don't try, but see below for orphaned suit halves.

All right, where were we. Oh, yes, five or six suits.  You have two. OK, check out a few national menswear catalogues. I recommend these four: Lands End, Paul Fredrick, Jos A. Bank, and Brooks Brothers.  You should also look at Sierra Trading Post. All of these entities have online presences and Jos Bank and Brooks have stores in many cities.  Lands End will allow you to return things at any Sears location, but we are shooting for acquisition, not returns. Buy  at least one suit from one of the catalogues. The reason I listed Sierra separately is that, even though their prices are very good,  they don't sell "suit separates" which is what I strongly suggest you buy first. Buy  at least one of your suits with two pairs of pants. There is a list below of recommended suit patterns that you can work from, but we will get to that in a minute.  My recommendation is that  you buy three suits on eBay.

Of the three suits on eBay, one should be a suit by a good maker in NWOT (new without tags) condition. This suit will probably have been altered and most likely worn. It will cost a lot less than it did new, so go for an expensive brand. Try for a suit by Oxxford, or Hickey Freeman, or maybe Polo Ralph Lauren (not Polo University and not Lauren or Chaps.) Get Polo Blue Label or Purple Label if you can afford it,  but be warned, the Purple Label offerings, while gorgeous, may be a  little flashy for your boss's tastes.  You might also look at suits on eBay from the catalogue sellers and you should probably consider suits from the stores Paul Stuart and J Press, though selection from them will not be as great on eBay. Their quality is top notch. Suits by Southwick are also good. You may have some other favorite brands, but these are the ones that will not steer you wrong.  Using your benchmark suit, try to find a suit with measurements that are as close as possible to your size.  When in doubt, the shoulders are the most important, but you should try not to buy anything that will have to be let out. Taken up is much better and far more likely to avoid leaving a mark- BUT DON'T BUY THEM TOO BIG.

That is for your NWOT suit. For your other two, you may have to slip down a rung or two in prestige and quality, but you should get these New With Tags (NWT).  In all cases, be sure you know whether the seller's quoted size is the measurement of the actual suit (i.e., the chest is 40 inches,) or the suit size (a "size 40"). You can avoid a lot of heartbreak by learning that a siz 40 suit has a chest that is closer to 42 inches. The crucial measurement, as I say is the shoulders. If the shoulders fit, chances are the rest can be made to fit- unless it has already been made to fit someone else.  One handy guide, though not foolproof, is the length of the trousers. If the coat seems OK, but the trousers are two inches too short or too long, maybe the coat sleeves are actually short or long, too. As I say, this is not foolproof, but leg length and arm length tend to be proportionate.  Obviously, a good place to start is with the size from the tags on your baseline interview suit.

OK, let's get down to some specifics.

You will want a dark grey suit, a navy suit, a striped suit in each of these colors, and maybe a glen plaid one or a tiny check or  herringbone one (sometimes called cheviot). If you live in a warm climate, you may want a tan or light brown suit for the warm months.  I discourage the buying and wearing of brown suits by beginners. I also think it is better to have three solid grey suits than to try to manage with too few. When in doubt, darker is better, but don't buy black. You aren't Johnny Cash..

Let's face it, the first week, you are going to have to manage with your two interview suits and the earliest arrival from the catalogues. Chances are, you will be working too late to do much shopping, but I recommend taking an hour or two and checking out the E before bed.  Something will show up. If you ordered your second pair of pants like a good boy, you can wear that suit on Monday, again on Thursday, go wild with your navy blazer on Friday, and try to get a fifth suit into the ranks by the second week.

Surely you have a navy blazer.  If not, try to get one of those quickly. Again, try not to buy the cheapest one, but try to get something you can wear a long time. Get solid navy, all wool. And get brass buttons, because you are not wearing your navy suit coat and calling it a blazer. No. You.Are.Not. It is better to buy a lightweight one (worsted or gabardine) that you can wear year 'round, though, if you are in a place where it gets COLD in the winter, you will need a flannel one eventually.

On the subject of weight, remember that there is probably not one weight that is ideal for all year, but the temperature in your office will vary less than you think. I would go lighter, rather than heavier, and get a decent overcoat.

Let's recap so far:
1 original interview suit
2 Bought "interview" suit from local retailer, to be used for measurements when eBay shopping
3 Catalogue suit with extra pants
4 NWOT suit from eBay
5 NWT suit from eBay
6 NWT suit from eBay
7 Navy Blazer

What I forgot to mention is that you need to learn the name of a good tailor. As soon as your mail ordered suits  (catalogue and eBay) begin to arrive, take them to the tailor. Unless you are a perfect off-the-rack fit, don't fool around with the nice alterations lady at your cleaner's. Go see a real tailor. Show him the interview suit you bought uptown. Let him know if it fits the way you like 'em. Ask him what he would fix.  Then get him to make the other suits fit you the same way.  This will cost money, but you should have been saving some by shopping on eBay.   Your catalogue suit will come with the trousers finished to your order, but you may need those sleeves attended to and, again, if you are lucky, you may need a little  "waist suppression" i.e, nipping in around the middle.  Be sure to "load up" your coat the way you will actuallly be wearing it before fitting. That would mean wallet, phone, checkbook, PDA, PPK,  whatever you tote. And learn to carry your wallet in your coat. You are going to be sitting a lot and sitting on your wallet is bad for your back.

Oops, you also need a pair of grey flannel trousers to wear with your navy blazer. In the South, you may be able to manage khaki gabardine, but don't go trying cotton khakis, at least not in the first six months.  BILL'S KHAKIS make wonderful cotton and wool trousers they call "Sport Utility Twills" and they drape well because of the wool. Anyone who looks twice will know you aren't wearing work pants. But to be on the safe side, Get Grey Flannel instead.

OK, we are running out of time and space, but here are a few more hints. Have at least two, preferably three pairs of good shoes. Alternate them.  Opt for conservative and versatile when you pick shirts, meaning BLUE, WHITE and Maybe Pink.  Don't wear the pink one every week, though.

Which leads us to the key to sanity in all of this: Have enough clothes that you can wear something different. Do not fall into the If this is my navy suit, it must be wednesday trap. Have at least one more suit than you have days to wear them.  Have at least three more shirts more than days. In fact, you probably will want at least two weeks' worth if you can afford them. After you have two weeks worth, start keeping an eye out for sales. Brooks Brothers will  put their blue and white shirts on sale right after Christmas and again in June or July. Keep a white one new in the bag for emergencies. Get a Black and Grey herringbone jacket for wintertime and a silk tweed jacket for summertime. Use them sparingly, only on Fridays and NOT ON EVERY FRIDAY. Let the secretaries know that your idea of really busting loose is a blue and white striped shirt with your blazer and grey pants.

Buy as many nice ties as you can afford. You can afford many more on eBay than you can anywhere else. Almost any tie goes with a grey suit and a white shirt. Being able to vary your ties will keep you from going crazy. Make sure you have at least a dozen. DO NOT WEAR the one with TAZ on it. Ever.

Taking care of your clothes makes them last longer. Wearing them less often makes them last longer. Buying an extra pair of trousers with your suits makes them last longer. Buying nicer ones Makes Them Last Longer.

I promised to tell you about Orphan clothes. Sooner or later, you are going to trash either a jacket or the trousers of a suit. If it is a navy suit, you can change the buttons and call the jacket your new blazer.  If it is a grey suit, you can wear the trousers  with a sportcoat. Don't do this until the other half is gone.  DON'T  WEAR HALF OF A STRIPED OR PLAID SUIT, no matter what your girlfriend says or does.  And don't try to pass off a grey suit coat as anything but a grey suit coat.  Of course, if you bought two pairs of trousers to begin with, you can simply stop rotating them and give up on the ruined ones.

I hope this little guide has been helpful. If you have found it to be, please give me a "helpful" vote. And, if you have a little time,why not see my other guides and reviews on a wide variety of topics.

Thanks

WT