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Highly successful business professionals have an edge.

Sometimes it’s superior knowledge… they are often the smartest person in most rooms. Or, sometimes, it’s their feel for business… they ask the right questions at the right times. Or, sometimes, they get more than their allotment of luck, often due to being exceptional in the first two.

This edge makes them memorable. We know how they walk, how they talk, and how they look.

It is only human nature. How a person looks—how they’re groomed and dressed—often forms first impressions.

For most of us, 2020 upended many rules about how we conduct business. We will likely never go back to the same way of doing things. Zoom meetings are now the norm. Even if you went to the office, it was often in a business casual outfit while most of your team and workforce was stuck at home, in sweats more often than not.

Dressing well for business, while taking a slight detour over since 2020, will not go away. This book addresses how things have changed and how you can get it done.

Making a case for dressing well at work.

Once-rigid office dress codes have taken multiple blows to the body in the last couple of decades. A business casual dress code has supplanted a formal professional dress code in many workplaces.

Seeing Mark Zuckerberg making a big presentation in a hoodie pretty much sums up what has happened.

However, remember when Congress requested his presence to “discuss” Facebook’s lax handling of its customer’s personal information, Zuckerberg broke out his trusty dress for success power suit.

Like Zuckerberg and his run-in with Congress, we all have moments when looking the part is important. It could be in the board room when professional attire is a must, at the boss’s office, at dinner with a client, at a job interview, or attending a social outing when a smart casual look featuring a polo shirt, chinos and loafers will do just fine.

Opportunity will raise its hand at any time or place.

Casual wear and trendy are cool right now, but we see a dramatic shift back to what we know works for how to dress for business.

How do I get started dressing well for work?

Looking your best is always going to be in vogue.

You are investing when you plan how you want to look. We believe your appearance deserves the same energy and creativity as any other part of your work life. In a post-COVID-19 world, we believe how you’re judged will be relaxed for some time, but eventually, the pandemic will fade, and the business pendulum will swing back to normal with a few long-lasting modifications.

So, where do you start? Like you do for your work, you start with a plan: goals, strategies, tactics, budgets, and timelines. At Savile Row Custom Clothiers, we have an intuitive process—The Wardrobe Management Solution—that helps clients plan and build a high-quality, flexible wardrobe.

Wardrobe Management Solutions

Wardrobe Management Solutions

Here’s what happens at each step:

Analysis. Grand plans are built on great information. We dig into what’s important to you by asking you a series of “agree-disagree” questions. In addition to the list below that we’ve always used, we’re now adding whether or not your office conditions have changed since Covid and how? Is a more casual look more widely accepted than before?

Here are some of the other things we will want to know:

  • My image is extremely important to me.
  • I like dressing up.
  • Dressing well is good for my career.
  • I want to be known as a good dresser.
  • It’s crucial in my company to look the part.
  • I consider myself well informed about clothes.
  • I am willing to spend more on high-quality business suits and menswear.
  • What I wear when working is an important decision for me.

Vision. This is the fun part: imagining your future wardrobe. We start with your job and its expectations for how you dress and then discuss your role models—both in and out of business—and how they dress.

Our goal is to help you define what you want your clothes to say about you, always in the context of your job (which can often take you out of the office) but with a certain degree of self-expression. We will want to know if your job is more permanently virtual now. Are you still going to be taking a lot of Zoom meetings? Are you going back to more face-to-face meetings? In short, how has how you do your job changed? And how will all these things impact how you dress?

Armed with these answers, we attack your closet, identifying strengths, weaknesses, and gaps. How well do your clothes fit? Did you put on a few pounds of pandemic weight? Do you like what you are wearing? Is the styling current and on trend? Do you have enough of the right clothes to be able to rotate them to make them last longer? Are your clothes still in style?

How do I get started dressing well for work?

Plan. We do all the heavy lifting, starting from how aggressive you want to be (and can be) in building your new wardrobe. How fast do you want to move to make the changes? What is your budget? We will build a plan to help you create a perfect wardrobe for the office and any social setting.

Implement. There’s no specific roadmap for this phase. We can do it all at once or over a time that works for you. How fast we go will depend on the condition of your current closet, what kind of feedback you’re now getting for dressing at work, and how big of a change you’re shooting for in style and fit. As they say, it’s a process.

Update/Maintain. Things change, both personally and professionally, and they can impact your needs. We suggest meeting with you at least twice a year (typically in spring and fall) outside the clothes purchasing process.

Doesn’t this look eerily like the project plans you’ve worked on?

It works!

More information on Savile Row’s Wardrobe Management Solution is on our website.

Are suits and ties a thing of the past?

No. Their once-lofty spot in the office wardrobe has been evolving with changing styles, business needs, and, of course, the pandemic.

For example, we have been seeing an exploding array of blazers and sports coats in multiple colors and patterns that have given suits a run for their money. And, as often as not, sports coats are paired with jeans and a great pair of shoes.

We have many clients who wear suits daily and are finding ways to dress them down. An interesting trend is wearing a suit without a tie. Some say that it has become its own category.

Are suits and ties a thing of the past?

Suits remain a significant piece of our business at Savile Row Custom Clothiers. That’s why we produced a free eBook: The Businessman’s Guide to Buying Custom Suits.

One thing is crystal clear: The definition of dressing well for business is no longer just a suit and tie.

Six key considerations in building your wardrobe for work.

Whether you’re buying custom-made or off-the-rack, we tell clients there are six major components in the process:

  • Fit
  • Style
  • Selection
  • Fabric
  • Construction
  • Accessories

Following is a drill-down of each component.

Fit: Start at the beginning.

If you’ve been lucky enough to be born a perfect 42 regular, fit has likely never been much of an issue for you.

However, for the other 99% of men, fit is an elusive target.

For example, how often have you seen men whose suit coats or sports coats don’t fit close to their shirt collar? There’s a gap, and obviously, something is wrong. If you notice, so do others, even if they don’t know why they notice.

Fit: Start at the beginning.

Nine times out of 10, there’s nothing wrong with the suit or the shirt. The man wearing the suit doesn’t know that he likely has an unusual posture, causing the suit coat collar to pull away from the shirt. These kinds of tailoring details are often missed at a department store where the quality of the sales staff and the alternations department is inconsistent.

Suit or Sport Coat: What is the Right Length?

This has never been a more complicated question than today.

Walk down the street of any city or town, and you’ll see two extremes: a longer, fuller cut traditional style (often an older man) or a trim, shorter style (often a younger man).

The style that is right for you is based on a few important questions:

Which style do you like best? There’s little worse in the world of style than to look at yourself in the mirror before you go to work and not like what you’re wearing. While office norms are an important consideration in your style decision, you ultimately should love what you wear.

What best suits your body type? Following on the previous point, your eyes will be the best judge. That said, a fuller cut, well-fitting suit coat or jacket can benefit a heavier man, whether short or tall. Short or tall, a thinner frame is better suited for the newer, shorter, trimmer styles.

Which style is more appropriate for your office? It depends on your company’s dress code and, back to the first point, your style preferences. Whether you like more traditional styling or today’s shorter, more trim style, both will work for you at the office. My advice is whatever is accepted at your workplace, dress to the high end of the range (or higher). If it’s casual, throw in a sport coat to mix it up. You will never go wrong dressing well, although the folks in jeans and t-shirts might throw a few barbs your way.

What is the proper length of suit coat? It depends on your style preference. More traditional suit coats or jackets typically cover the rear end, which would be where the butt and hip meet. The new shorter style jackets tend to fall between that point and the waistline. I have seen some styles near the waistline (something tells me that was a department store associate gone rogue).

There have never been more choices for suit coats and sports coats. Whatever style you choose, make sure you find a reliable source like Savile Row Custom Clothiers that can perfectly fit your style preferences to your physical characteristics.

Suit or Sport Coat: What is the Right Length?

Sleeve Length: What is the Right Sleeve Length for Suits and Sport Coats?

There used to be “rules” that we followed… no more. It’s all about your style preferences. If you ask us what we think looks best for suit jackets and sport coats, we will say no more than one-half inch of your shirt cuff should be exposed at the end of your coat sleeves. The shirt cuff should hit right around the large wrist bone when your arms are relaxed. When in doubt, err on the side of too long with your suit coat sleeves. It’s an easy adjustment for your tailor to make if needed.

But that’s us. You may have noticed that today’s slim fit and shorter coats also have shorter sleeves. I recently saw a photo where at least three inches of the shirt was exposed, with the man’s arm relaxed at his side. Imagine what happens when he raises his arm.

Who’s to judge? The great thing about custom is that you can have it any way you want. One coat might be a little shorter, and another be more traditional.

Like a famous fast-food restaurant used to say: Have it your way.

Buttons: Bringing Closure to an Important Detail.

The two sides of the coat should come together and button comfortably, with the lapels smooth against your body.

For a more traditional style, close just the top button on a two-button coat. If you notice an X-shaped crease forming or the lower edges flaring, it’s too tight.

A small opening at the bottom of the coat, just above the waist of your trousers, is perfectly fine, and very little, if any, of your shirt below the coat buttons should be visible.

Buttons: Bringing Closure to an Important Detail.

The trimmer styles are just that. In fact, most trimmer suits or sport coats or jackets that we make have very little extra space. However, the same rules apply when a jacket is too tight: if the fabric wrinkles when it is buttoned, it is too tight.

Trousers: Getting a Leg Up on the Right Fit.

A big problem with off-the-rack men’s suits is that we buy the suit based on the coat and hope the tailor can pull a rabbit out of the hat with the pants.

While pants should fit smoothly across your legs and buttocks, the drape shouldn’t form sagging wrinkles below the seat; an indication they’re too baggy. If the seat is too tight, you’ll typically see horizontal wrinkles under the buttocks.

Trousers: Getting a Leg Up on the Right Fit.

While a baggy pair of trousers can be altered to a certain extent, the more oversized they are, the more likely the pockets will be distorted in the alteration process.

If the trousers are too tight, make sure there is enough extra fabric for alterations if a few pounds sneak in down the road. Generally, most custom-made clothing shops add extra fabric to their trousers for just this purpose. Higher-end retailers and department stores typically carry brands that do the same.

However, buyers beware of those low-priced stores (brick and mortar or online)… extra fabric is a luxury they can’t afford at their prices.

When it comes to the length of pants, the traditional approach is for the hem of your pants to fall just on the top of your shoes, with a slight crease where they hit. The back of the pant should fall no lower than the top of the heel of your shoes.

However, once again, the styling is up to you. Some men are shaking things up with slimmer fits and shorter lengths, sometimes well above the ankle.

Shirts: Don’t Be the Guy Who Wears a Sail for a Shirt.

While so seemingly simple, men make a LOT of mistakes with shirts, so let’s break it down:

Collar: You should be able to fit one finger comfortably between the collar and neck. The difficulty with most off-the-rack collared shirts is that they are cut in one-half-inch intervals. At Savile Row, we cut our collars to the one-quarter inch.

Body: The shirt should fit comfortably around your torso, with three or more inches of extra fabric. Too tight is an obvious problem for work, but so is too big … the sail. At Savile Row Custom Clothiers, we have three distinct styles for custom shirts: trim, medium, and full. If you own a shirt that fits you well, we can duplicate it for you.

Shirts: Don’t Be the Guy Who Wears a Sail for a Shirt.

Sleeves: Like the body, they should fit comfortably with a small amount of extra fabric. Unlike most department stores, we have the ability with custom tailoring to fit hard-to-fit bodies, like weightlifters or those men with long arms. The best length for a sleeve is to hit just below the wrist bone (or just above the hand). This length will allow the shirt to peek out from under a suit or sport coat and also ensure it doesn’t crawl up when you raise your arms.

Cuffs: While there are many styles, the issue of fit is universal: You don’t want the cuff slipping down over your hand. If you purchase custom shirts, you can have the cuff on your watch hand-made slightly larger to accommodate the watch.

Tucked or untucked. Untucked is a relatively new style and one that is often butchered at the office. Check out our article on To Tuck or Not to Tuck.

Also, our article on Mastering Custom Tailored Shirts will give you more insight into the benefits of custom versus off-the-rack.

Style Can Be an Elusive Target.

Most offices leave style up to the employee, giving you a lot of leeway to develop your unique look.

Style is more than just choosing the proper jackets, shirts, and pants. Let your choices of shoes, belts, ties, cuff links, pocket squares, and other accessories take your wardrobe to the next level.

Some people choose to emulate others in the office. A fashion mentor is never a bad idea, but those who wear what they love (rather than what someone else loves) tend to be much happier with the finished product.

Style is a constantly moving target, so having someone you trust is essential, whether a colleague, friend or a custom clothier. Here are a few high-level things to consider in making your style decisions.

Suit Coats and Sport Coats: Single- or Double-Breasted?

Single-breasted is the go-to style at most workplaces. It typically has two buttons and a notch lapel. Single-breasted is the vast majority of what you’ll see off the rack.

Suit Coats and Sport Coats: Single- or Double-Breasted?

Some men prefer double-breasted coats, but the style is not for everyone. You will have options with buttons from four to eight. Double-breasted suit coats typically have peak lapels.

It’s OK to Vent About Suit Coat Vents

You have three basic styles: no vent, center vent, and side vent:

Side vent. This style is most popular today with custom suit coats, sports coats, and off-the-rack coats. Your body type will determine if this is right for you. A side-vented coat is my preference.

No vent. Your body style will determine if you can handle no vent. You see this style in trimmer tailored coats.

Center vent. Started in America, this was a popular style off the rack. It is generally considered more traditional and is used less often today.

A Vested Interest: Are Three-Piece Suits Coming Back?

Whether worn with a suit or alone, vests are definitely back in the mix.

Three-piece suits fall squarely in the traditional style bucket. They are the most formal suit style and are mostly seen at black tie events and weddings. You just don’t see many at the office.

A Vested Interest: Are Three-Piece Suits Coming Back?

You can have a lot of fun dressing a suit up or down with a vest. Most men wear two-piece custom suits for the office, but if the vest figuratively fits you, go with it. And we’re seeing vests show up on their own to dress up a business casual look.

Button, Button: How Many Buttons on Your Suit or Sport Coat?

Despite their small stature, buttons can have a big impact:

One button. Used mostly for tuxedos, but it’s not unusual with tailored coats to see this style, typically on peak lapel suit coats.

Two buttons. This style, in my opinion, works best for most men. Always button just the top button. Off-the-rack coats will almost always be two-button.

Three buttons. You can use either button the top two buttons or just the middle button. This style was popular several years ago when pleated pants were in style.

Lapels: A Top-Notch Trend When It Comes to Lapels

Most of my customers prefer a notch lapel. The “notch” is where the collar of the suit coat or jacket connects with the top of the lapel. It’s a clean, simple look.

The peak lapel, once a staple on double-breasted suit coats, is also popular on single-breasted.

Lapels: A Top-Notch Trend When It Comes to Lapels

Shirts: This is Where You Can Have Fun.

While solid shirts are an office staple, many of our customers who buy custom casual shirts are stepping out with patterned and often-bold shirts as the “stylish” component of their business casual wardrobe.

While we love to see customers explore style, we always discuss how a shirt will fit in at the office.

There are two basic types of collars: straight and button-down. Straight collars come in a wide variety of styles. They are typically dressier, but we see them on casual shirts. Button-down is a traditional look that is still very popular for business casual, and there are several creative variations of the style: tabs, eyelets, curved and hidden buttons.

Shirts: This is Where You Can Have Fun.

And men are having tons of fun with buttons. For some, they are the centerpiece… put matching thread with a cool button, and your shirt is instantly one of a kind.

Consider the Fabrics of Your Decisions.

Fabric may be the most important and underrated consideration regarding suits, sports coats, and trousers.

While custom suits and sport coats are made from many different fabrics—wool, cotton, silk, and more—wool is by far the most popular:

  • Its natural properties allow it to breathe and shape to your body.
  • It is long-lasting.
  • Because of its breathability, it can be worn in both warm and cool climates.
  • There are many levels of quality and styles.
Consider the Fabrics of Your Decisions.

Super Numbers Can Tell You a Lot about Wool Fabrics

Like any technical term used by a business, the super number for wool fabric is often misunderstood and almost always poorly defined.

However, a high-level understanding of super numbers will help you make better decisions regarding suits and sports coats.

The super number is simply an approximate measurement (in microns) of the diameter of each strand of yarn, generally in the range of 13-19 microns.

For context, a human hair is on average 75 microns.

So, how do we make this techno-term practical for you? Your first question might be: Are higher super numbers better?

When it Comes to Wool, Know the Super Number

When it Comes to Wool, Know the Super Number

Great question. The answer is it depends on you.

I think of super numbers in three broad ways:

Durable. If you wear a suit two to three times a week, a more durable fabric like a super 100 would be a good for you. Lower super number fabrics—80-110—have larger strands that typically stand up to higher use.

This is where style and use intersect: super numbers 120-150. Durable and has a great feel. These strands are typically smaller and the “hand” on them is soft. And they will better conform to your body. They also have a more expensive look to them. That said, if you are the guy in example #1, you can expect that this fabric won’t last as long as your super 80.

Amazing feel, less durable. Super number fabrics higher than 180 take luxury to a very high level. The hand of this fabric is the best our business has to offer, but it comes at a price: it is more expensive to produce and will not stand up to high use. But the finished product is a sight to behold.

Super Numbers Can Tell You a Lot about Wool Fabrics

This is why wool is the predominant fabric for suits and sports coats, as well as outerwear and sweaters. The fabric can be woven to handle different climates, from tropical weight to flannels for cold weather.

So, while a Super 250 fabric may feel amazingly soft—and will likely be the most expensive suit in the store—be sure to dig deeper to fully understand what you’re buying.

Stretch is Back!

Baby Boomers will remember when 100% polyester became a staple fabric of a man’s wardrobe. It was hailed as a breakthrough, and it was inexpensive.

What’s not to like (other than it had the breathability of a space suit)?

While 100% polyester was quietly buried a few decades ago, the benefits of stretch remain today.

Stretch is Back!

This is no more apparent than with many of our highest-quality fabric manufacturers that have created lines of clothing with “stretch” as a key component.

Construction: Build it right to fit your situation.

Canvassed construction is the cream of the crop in custom suits and sports coats. The concept has been around for centuries: place a fine piece of canvas material—often a blend of wool and horse or camel hair—between the outer wool fabric and the inner lining.

Construction: Build it right to fit your situation.

At Savile Row Custom Clothiers, we offer two distinct grades of tailoring for custom suits and custom sport coats, which you can pair with any grade of fabric:

  • Full canvas, hand made in England. It is our highest quality and most luxurious garment. Using a high quality canvas material between the outer layer of fabric and the inner lining of a suit or sport coat provides the ultimate in feel and wearability. The canvas is hand sewn in the entire front panels and lapels and becomes a structural component of the coat to help the outer fabric retain its shape and allow the coat to conform to your body for a better fit. Prices start at $1,545.
  • Half canvas. This option combines canvas fabric with fused construction on the front panels. This provides excellent structure for the coat without the hand sewn component. Prices starts at $895.

We have a third line of clothing focused on men looking for a quality ready-to-wear suit or sport coat at a great starting price of $650. This line is perfect as an entry-level suit or for an occasion such as a wedding or party. And, even better, if you need it quickly we can turn it around in less than a week.

Accessories: The little things add up for a Man’s Suit or Sport Coat.

Accessories: The little things add up for a Man’s Suit or Sport Coat.

Custom bemberg lining. This element is so important. Think of it this way: Why would you buy an expensive wool suit that will naturally breathe and put in a polyester lining that does not breathe? Trust me, it happens. Bemberg is the highest grade of cupro, a cotton-based product that breathes exceptionally well. Also, some styles of our linings can be personalized with almost anything, from your favorite college mascot to pictures of your family and your company logo.

Personalization. Our suits at Savile Row Custom Clothiers come with your name on a label in the lining.

Be prepared wherever the office takes you.

Here are some suggestions to determine what is appropriate to wear wherever the office takes you:

In the office. Do you interact with senior executives regularly? Do you supervise a staff of primarily internal office people? How often do clients come to your office? How often do you interact with the public, outside vendors, or businesspeople? When in doubt, dress up.

With the client. Are you making daily sales calls or meeting with senior executives of other companies? What is your client’s dress code (always ask)? I always suggest to clients that, at a minimum, they dress to the client’s dress code. Most clients appreciate it when you dress up to meet with them.

With the boss. The boss sets the tone. The adage that you should always dress for the next position in your career is in play here.

Big meeting/meal. Is it a country barbecue or a posh dinner at one of the area’s finest restaurants? Are you trying to close an important deal? What are your other team members going to be wearing? It’s OK to ask.

Big presentation. It’s easier to be seen as an expert when you take your look seriously. Even if your audience is casual, as the expert, you should probably err to the side of formality when in doubt.

Office party. If you’re helping to plan the event, do everyone a favor and give them some direction. Consider the setting and the timing of the event. Is it on the weekend? Is it at a winery in the country or a 5-star restaurant? Will you be speaking, or will you be the focus of attention?

Industry event. Think networking. Think about making your next career move. Think about how investing in your brand will ultimately pay big dividends. Dress up.

Making a case for custom.

Custom clothing is no longer just for the few.

Consider what’s happened to the television business. For a couple of hundred bucks today, you can get a large, high-quality TV that might have cost more than $1,000 five years ago.

You can still spend a lot on a TV, but you don’t have to.

Making the case for custom.

That’s exactly what technology and competition have done for the custom clothing business. If you have searched online for custom clothing lately, you’ve found suit and sport coat prices equal to or below many off-the-rack retailers.

So, with price no longer a significant disadvantage for custom clothing, how does custom stack up to off-the-rack as a good option for your office wardrobe (seems like an easy decision to me)?

Fit: Your clothes are tailored for you and you only. Every man is different, which makes custom such a great option.

Selection: You are limited only by your imagination. Sometimes new customers feel a bit overwhelmed with the options, but that’s when we do our thing to help narrow down what works for you.

Style: You get to be you, not the guy in the office next to you. Style is all personal.

Cost: Technology is having an amazing impact on our business. I’m now seeing machine-made suits that rival the look of traditional tailoring and can be less than $1,000. And prices continue to be more and more competitive.

Quality: Quality is a fact, not an opinion. It’s important to understand the differences in fabrics and construction. This is definitely where the devil is in the details. With so many options between custom, off-the-rack, and on the internet, it’s easy to get sidetracked and forget about this important component. A custom tailor won’t let you forget.

With price no longer a significant disadvantage for custom clothing, how does custom stack up to off-the-rack as a good option for your office wardrobe?

With price no longer a significant disadvantage for custom clothing, how does custom stack up to off-the-rack as a good option for your office wardrobe?

What is the Best Source for Building a Business Casual Wardrobe?

The honest answer is it depends.

If you’ve gotten this far in our article, you’ve likely already shopped at several online custom clothing retailers. I wish I could stick a microphone in front of you and hear your thoughts.

Off-the-rack retailers are under siege by new online competitors using new technology to bring custom clothing to the masses.

So, it’s worth examining here (because I’m guessing you’re considering it).

Let’s take a couple of examples of men and see the best option(s). For our purposes here, let’s assume they both believe dressing well is an important component of their career goals.

Customer 1: 6-1, 180 pounds. Works out five days a week. His weight never fluctuates more than 5-7 pounds. He’s a consistent 42 regular. Let’s call him “Mr. Perfect .” From our experience, less than one in 10 fit this description (but they are who we see in all the ads).

Customer 2: 6-1, 240 pounds. Occasionally walks to the park. His weight fluctuates by double figures, but primarily up, not down. He’s an imperfect large 42 and tall. Let’s call him “Mr. Imperfect.”

 Mr. PerfectMr. ImperfectConclusion
FitLots of options from all sources. Every retailer carries a 42 regular.All sources can serve his needs, but all can’t fully provide the help he needs to get the right fit.Mr. Perfect faces few risks with any of the sources. Mr. Imperfect faces major obstacles with off-the-rack and online. He will need significant help to look good in his clothes.
Style and SelectionLimited with off-the-rack. Many options with custom.Severely limited with off-the-rack because of his size. Many options with custom.Custom, either online or brick and mortar, blow away off-the-rack. No contest.
QualityFewer options with off-the-rack and online.Fewer options with off-the-rack and online.With off-the-rack and online, you must be comfortable with trusting someone you don’t know and/or can’t see.
ServiceA mixed bag. Luck of the draw off-the-rack. Long distance with online. Face-face with custom store.Fit issues will require enhanced service needs. Luck of the draw off-the-rack. Long distance with online. Face-face with custom store.When something isn’t right with your clothes (it happens to the best of us), are you comfortable with a person you don’t know or can’t see making it right?

Mr. Perfect, Mr. Imperfect Conclusion

Fit. Lots of options from all sources. Every retailer carries a 42 regular. All sources can serve his needs, but all can’t fully provide the help he needs to get the right fit. Mr. Perfect faces few risks with any of the sources. Mr. Imperfect faces major obstacles with off-the-rack and online. He will need significant help to look good in his clothes.

Style and Selection. Limited with off-the-rack. Many options with custom. Severely limited with off-the-rack because of his size. Many options with custom. Custom, either online or brick-and-mortar, blow away off-the-rack. No contest.

Quality. Fewer options with off-the-rack and online. Fewer options with off-the-rack and online. With off-the-rack and online, you must be comfortable with trusting someone you don’t know and can’t see.

Service. A mixed bag. The luck of the draw off-the-rack. Long distance with online. Face-to-face with custom store. Fit issues will require enhanced service needs. The luck of the draw off-the-rack. Long distance with online. Face-face with custom store. When something isn’t right with your clothes (it happens to the best of us), are you comfortable with a person you don’t know or can’t see making it right?

The takeaway is clear: If dressing well at the office is important, and you’re not Mr. Perfect, find a retailer or custom tailor you trust to help fit your imperfect body shape into clothing that will enhance your career.

The real answer is to find a source that will help you meet your needs, not theirs.

Is Dressing Well Really Good Business?

It’s more than that: It’s a competitive advantage for you.

I have served thousands of clients in the 37 years since I started Savile Row Custom Clothiers, and most would agree with this statement.

Dressing well at the office sends a clear message that you want to be a player; that you are invested in your career and success.

If you’d like to talk, just call me at the shop at 314-721-SUIT (7848), or visit us at savilerowstl.com.