A New Man Enters the Haberdashery

[Mycon]

Evening gents. After years and years of dressing down, my recent marriage and subsequent 30th birthday made me realize that it was time for a change in my clothing. Normally I would wear polo shirts or tees with khaki cargo pants and Sketchers. My workplace trended towards very casual (old school pharmacy so we all wear white coats over our clothes anyway) but I ran into a problem. After years of having trouble finding pants that fit right (even my cheapo cargos started to get really uncomfortable) I finally found the problem. According to the tailor for my new suit, I am a 42 waist slim fit which plainly does not exist in casual pants. This was confirmed when my wife asked me to try on a pair of grey slacks and they turned out to be the most comfortable pants I have worn in years.
This led to a flurry of purging and re-buying. Haggar is now my best option for nice-looking pants that fit like a dream. Jos A Banks has provided me with tons of well-made sport shirts that still look nice for workwear. I also got a full-length black wool topcoat on a great sale. My white athletic socks are being steadily replaced with black, brown, and argyle. The change in people's reactions when I am out and about now is quite remarkable. Instead of being a lost face in the crowd, I stand out and command respect. I like it. A lot.
(pics will be forthcoming later in the thread)

Other than just my story, I have a few loose ends to tie up. When a gentleman is just lounging around or taking care of tasks at home on the weekend, what is the apparel? I found some jeans that fit well and look nice, but I'm really not a fan of denim. I have the fit problem with corduroy that sent me on this journey to begin with (tight in the waist with massive parachute legs). I still want to look respectable, but don't really need to dress for work when I'm not there. Plus, I don't want to risk snags from errant cat claws.

Second, I am still questing for shoes. I work on my feet at all times, especially since I just got promoted to full time .
This puts me on my feet for 9 and 1/2 hours each day subtracting lunch. I've tried a couple of nicer shoes, but haven't found anything that really does the trick. Most notably my Red Wings Iron Rangers proved to be way too hard to be viable.
I've been wearing a pair of fairly casual black pebbled leather Nunn Bush, but last week's 54 hour schedule completely destroyed the support in them. I have a more robust pair of oxblood leather that I have been breaking in, but I'm not sure how they'll cope with a 10 hour shift.

 

[graysonhenryrussell]

Are you 42 in the jacket size or is 42 your waist size? Not being disrespectful here, just trying to get an idea for an answer for you.

 

[techblade01]

Welcome to the Haberdashery!

 

[ByMyBeard]

For shoes, the most comfortable I've found have been Eccos. I got a pair 3 years ago before going to a trade show where I'd be on my feet all day. That same pair is still comfortable today. And I recently went back to that same trade show with the same shoes, and no issues.

 

[paintflinger]

I would think that proper foot support trumps a soft shoe any day of the week. May be that you need more arch support.

If you don't like denim, I would look for a canvas alternative or maybe some chinos.

 

[August West]

Welcome.

Where do you stand on the issue of wearing a hat indoors?

 

[Doc4]

The change in people's reactions when I am out and about now is quite remarkable. Instead of being a lost face in the crowd, I stand out and command respect. I like it. A lot.

Welcome to the Haberdashery, and welcome to the wonderful world of feeling good about yourself because you dress well.

Other than just my story, I have a few loose ends to tie up. When a gentleman is just lounging around or taking care of tasks at home on the weekend, what is the apparel? I found some jeans that fit well and look nice, but I'm really not a fan of denim. I have the fit problem with corduroy that sent me on this journey to begin with (tight in the waist with massive parachute legs). I still want to look respectable, but don't really need to dress for work when I'm not there. Plus, I don't want to risk snags from errant cat claws.

There ya go!!

If the jeans that fit are made by someone who makes other casual pants too, then that may be somewhere to start.

The problem you face is that the past decade or so has seen a trend toward "slim fit" clothing, so most pants will fit slender on the legs ... the exact opposite of what you need, if I understand the "parachute" comment correctly. I have never tried them, but I know that Bill's Khaki's makes three settings of "fullness" of pant legs, including their fullest model that hearkens back to the big-pant-legged days of WWII.

Welcome.

Where do you stand on the issue of wearing a hat indoors?

Oh, and gun control. ... Tony wants to hear your position on gun control.



We'll start you off on the uncontroversial topics.

 

[gegarrenton]

lol.

 

[Toothpick]

Welcome to the Hab! Glad you found us.

I would second the Chinos. But I think Dockers makes a pant that is more along the lines of denim but in the khaki color. I don't think they are called Chinos though.
they are not pleated or creased like the typical khakis. They actually look more like jeans which sounds like what you want.
They also do not have the annoying back pockets that khakis have, where the inner pocket is like 5x to big.
These simply have fabric sewed to the outside of the pants as a pocket, no inner back pocket.





No inner back pocket which I love

 

[strop]

Oh, and gun control. ... Tony wants to hear your position on gun control.



We'll start you off on the uncontroversial topics

You forgot about men under 50 wearing fedoras!

 

[Brandon P K]

Welcome!

 

[BSAGuy]

For weekend pants, look for something like Mountain Khakis, Columbia hiking pants, or maybe Carhart owrk pants. For shoes, look at stuff for restaurant or hospital wokers. They are on their feet a lot. Could you wear Crocs at work. Not sure if you are behind a counter or not. Those are definitely soft and are great for hard floors.

 

[Kent Kimmons]

Wearing hat indoors: Generally against it.

Fedoras under 50: Maybe, but under 40 and you are violating the 11th commandment (unless your name is Frank Sinatra)

Gun Control: 1000% for it! A modified weaver stance and a two-hand hold seems to tighten my groupings up significantly.

 

[jkingrph]

Here is my opinion as an "old school pharmacist". I spent my first ten years as an active duty USAF Pharmacy Officer. As such we had to wear the required uniform along with the standard brogue style shoes ( anything with similar toe structure and appearance was acceptable, such as roper type boots in black). Having a very narrow foot, I could not wear the issue type shoes so settled in with an Allen Edmonds shoe with what they call a double oak, or double thickness sole. While stationed in Turkey for a couple of years the bx carried a Stetson brand of similar construction, at a very good price so I wore those and actually brought a few extra pair back to the states. Tennis type shoes were simply not allowed.

I have continued with my Allen Edmonds to this day and have never had any foot problems. These shoes have a very hard full length leather insole that is at first not comfortable, but it soon molds to your foot and is very comfortable. Lately during colder weather I have been wearing some of their dress boots, such as chukka , or a dressy wingtip model called the Dalton with a thick leather sole, or a slightly heavier wingtip model called the Longbranch, with a Vibram type sole. All are very comfortable for standing.

I have always found the slightly dressier slacks, shirt, and shoes make one stand out from the common crown and tend to bring on a bit more respect.

 

[blantyre]

I would second Allen Edmonds shoes

http://www.allenedmonds.com/?gclid=...XV5maHRdIb4Rg37EoXhtZQfeh_l2jSOW-gaAmSM8P8HAQ

- they are good quality and even though expensive good value for money IMO. They also make a range of width sizes that even Alden doesn't cover in most models. AE has frequent sales and deals on slight seconds that can ease the price a bit. The only risk here is that this stuff, like shaving gear, can spiral into an expensive collecting and maintenance hobby!

 

[mglindo]

As far as shoes go, I second the ECCO brand. First pair I tried on, it felt like I had been wearing all my life. It did not need breaking in as a lot of shoes do. I now own three pairs, two of which are slip-ons. My son, a major university professor, loves them and says that a lot of professional businessmen wear them also.


Mike