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.
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.