My apologies in advance for this being such a long post. I started writing and before I knew it I'd written a complete essay.
Before venturing an opinion on the Flusser sport coats I should give some background info so you understand the limitations of my fashion and clothing quality knowledge. I'm new to the forums and a real newbie when it comes to dressing in anything beyond slacks and a shirt. Growing up in rural upstate NY and too many years in IT will do that I guess. I actually spent the last three years with nothing in my closet for work except black pants and white shirts. My wife finally got tired of the same look and bought me some colored shirts and some different colored pants a couple of months ago. This, along with a discussion in my MBA program about "executive presence", sparked my interest in dressing better.
Ties are definitely something that will draw strange looks at my company. Although we are one of the largest reinsurance companies in the world even our CEO rarely appears with a tie but he always has a nice sport coat. I started looking around the company and my department and noticed that there are a handful of people that wear sport coats regularly and it really sets them apart in an environment where the majority of people show up in khakis and polo shirts. I also noticed that the people that are wearing jackets and are the sharpest dressers are perceived as superstars in the organization. They do great work but there are many others that do things just as well who never get noticed. I think their "executive presence" is heightened by their appearance it helps them to stand out in a positive way and get noticed. I have come to consider it a key differentiator.
Not knowing anything about dressing well I looked for some books and websites to get some guidance. I checked out Alan Flusser's books from the library and found this website. My wife does a lot of shopping at Stein Mart and she said they had good prices on men's clothes. I went shopping there with her a couple of weeks ago and was pleasantly surprised to find Alan's line of clothing. I figured that with his emphasis on classic styles his stuff would be a safe bet. I really liked the look of his jackets and the prices. They were affordable but to my eye looked every bit as nice as the Ralph Loren jackets hanging next to them at double the non-sale price. They also fit just as well. My goal was to assemble a collection of classic styled jackets to go with everything and do it on a budget. It happens that Stein Mart was having a good sale and on one day I went they had an additional 10% of their already marked down prices. My wife also had a coupon for an additional 20% of any single item that I was able to use on another day. This, along with stops at a couple of thrift stores thanks to this site, enabled me to go from no sport coats to eight in two weeks for $320. Most of them thanks to what I think is a great price/quality proposition from Alan's Stein Mart line. It really helped that once I tried them on and liked the fit I was able to select from identically styled jackets in different materials and colors. I'm very pleased with what I ended up getting for the money. I wore one to work for the first time yesterday and received numerous compliments on it. Although this may be due to most of the people being as clueless as I was a couple of weeks ago.
Here's what I purchased from Alan's line at Stein Mart. All are single breasted, two button, rear vent.
Med Tan - silk - China - $70
Lt Blue -silk/synthetic blend - China - $50
Med Tan windowpane with blue, green, and lt tan - silk/wool - China - $60
Green - Super 100 - Vietnam - $60
Blk/Wht hound's tooth - Super 100 - Vietnam - $60
Total of five jackets covering the color spectrum for $300.
At the thrift stores I found the following.
Classic navy, rear vent, two button, patch pocket, blazer in like new condition. It was made in the US by Racquet Club for Dillard's (an upscale Midwest dept. store) as part of their official Wimbledon collection. The buttons have the Wimbledon crest on them. I'm not thrilled with the patch pockets but I think it was a great buy for $6.
Navy twill, two button, rear vent, looks and feels like it has been washed a couple of times but is in perfect condition. Made in the US and the tag says, "Murray Hill Collection tailored for Baltman & Co. 5th Ave, NY", paid $8
I also bought a heavier wool sport coat in dark tan twill, three button, side vent. The only label on it is a tailor's label inside one of the pockets with the name of the shop and the customer. It's at the cleaners so I cannot check it for specifics, paid $6.
Total of three jackets for $20
They all fit well enough to wear now but could use some slight shortening of the sleeves. I've had a good tailor shop recommended to me and I will have them all altered over the next couple of months.
I think Alan's Stein Mart jackets offer a great way to quickly build a decent, classic, wardrobe for a reasonable price. I'm sure that as I become more knowledgeable about fabrics, fit, and construction quality I'll want to step up to higher quality jackets but in the meantime I'll look better than ever and I didn't have to break the bank.
Wuchak
Before venturing an opinion on the Flusser sport coats I should give some background info so you understand the limitations of my fashion and clothing quality knowledge. I'm new to the forums and a real newbie when it comes to dressing in anything beyond slacks and a shirt. Growing up in rural upstate NY and too many years in IT will do that I guess. I actually spent the last three years with nothing in my closet for work except black pants and white shirts. My wife finally got tired of the same look and bought me some colored shirts and some different colored pants a couple of months ago. This, along with a discussion in my MBA program about "executive presence", sparked my interest in dressing better.
Ties are definitely something that will draw strange looks at my company. Although we are one of the largest reinsurance companies in the world even our CEO rarely appears with a tie but he always has a nice sport coat. I started looking around the company and my department and noticed that there are a handful of people that wear sport coats regularly and it really sets them apart in an environment where the majority of people show up in khakis and polo shirts. I also noticed that the people that are wearing jackets and are the sharpest dressers are perceived as superstars in the organization. They do great work but there are many others that do things just as well who never get noticed. I think their "executive presence" is heightened by their appearance it helps them to stand out in a positive way and get noticed. I have come to consider it a key differentiator.
Not knowing anything about dressing well I looked for some books and websites to get some guidance. I checked out Alan Flusser's books from the library and found this website. My wife does a lot of shopping at Stein Mart and she said they had good prices on men's clothes. I went shopping there with her a couple of weeks ago and was pleasantly surprised to find Alan's line of clothing. I figured that with his emphasis on classic styles his stuff would be a safe bet. I really liked the look of his jackets and the prices. They were affordable but to my eye looked every bit as nice as the Ralph Loren jackets hanging next to them at double the non-sale price. They also fit just as well. My goal was to assemble a collection of classic styled jackets to go with everything and do it on a budget. It happens that Stein Mart was having a good sale and on one day I went they had an additional 10% of their already marked down prices. My wife also had a coupon for an additional 20% of any single item that I was able to use on another day. This, along with stops at a couple of thrift stores thanks to this site, enabled me to go from no sport coats to eight in two weeks for $320. Most of them thanks to what I think is a great price/quality proposition from Alan's Stein Mart line. It really helped that once I tried them on and liked the fit I was able to select from identically styled jackets in different materials and colors. I'm very pleased with what I ended up getting for the money. I wore one to work for the first time yesterday and received numerous compliments on it. Although this may be due to most of the people being as clueless as I was a couple of weeks ago.
Here's what I purchased from Alan's line at Stein Mart. All are single breasted, two button, rear vent.
Med Tan - silk - China - $70
Lt Blue -silk/synthetic blend - China - $50
Med Tan windowpane with blue, green, and lt tan - silk/wool - China - $60
Green - Super 100 - Vietnam - $60
Blk/Wht hound's tooth - Super 100 - Vietnam - $60
Total of five jackets covering the color spectrum for $300.
At the thrift stores I found the following.
Classic navy, rear vent, two button, patch pocket, blazer in like new condition. It was made in the US by Racquet Club for Dillard's (an upscale Midwest dept. store) as part of their official Wimbledon collection. The buttons have the Wimbledon crest on them. I'm not thrilled with the patch pockets but I think it was a great buy for $6.
Navy twill, two button, rear vent, looks and feels like it has been washed a couple of times but is in perfect condition. Made in the US and the tag says, "Murray Hill Collection tailored for Baltman & Co. 5th Ave, NY", paid $8
I also bought a heavier wool sport coat in dark tan twill, three button, side vent. The only label on it is a tailor's label inside one of the pockets with the name of the shop and the customer. It's at the cleaners so I cannot check it for specifics, paid $6.
Total of three jackets for $20
They all fit well enough to wear now but could use some slight shortening of the sleeves. I've had a good tailor shop recommended to me and I will have them all altered over the next couple of months.
I think Alan's Stein Mart jackets offer a great way to quickly build a decent, classic, wardrobe for a reasonable price. I'm sure that as I become more knowledgeable about fabrics, fit, and construction quality I'll want to step up to higher quality jackets but in the meantime I'll look better than ever and I didn't have to break the bank.
Wuchak
