Dressing Well is Always Good Business, Especially in a Post-Pandemic World

Table of Contents

• Making the case for dressing well at work
  • How do I get started dressing well at work?
  • Are suits and ties a thing of the past?
• Six key considerations in building your wardrobe for work
  • Fit: Start at the beginning.
  • Style can be an elusive target.
  • Consider the fabrics of your decision.
  • Construction: Build it right to fit your situation.
  • Accessories: The little things add up for a man’s suit or sport coat.
  • Be prepared wherever the office takes you.
• Making the case for custom
• What is the best source for building a business casual wardrobe?
• Is dressing well really good business?

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Highly successful businesspeople 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 a result of being exceptional at the first two.

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

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

For most of us, 2020 upended so many rules about how we conduct business.  It is likely we will never go completely back to the same way of doing things. Zoom meetings are now the norm.  Even if you went to the office, most of your team and/or work force was stuck at home.

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 the case for dressing well at work.

Once-rigid office dress codes have taken multiple blows to the body in the last couple of decades.

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 customers’ personal information, Zuckerberg broke out his trusty blue 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, the boss’s office, dinner with a client or attending a Little League baseball game. 

Opportunity will raise its hand at any time or place.

Casual COVID is cool right now, but we are seeing a dramatic shift back to what we know works for how to dress for business.

How do I get started dressing well for work?

As the world returns to a new normal, you’re going to see a wider range of looks than ever before.  But looking your best is always going to be in vogue.

We believe your appearance deserves the same energy and creativity as any other part of your work life.  You are making an investment when you plan how you want to look.  In a post-COVID-19 world, we believe how you’re judged will be relaxed for a period of 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? Just like you do for work, you start with a plan that has 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.

Here’s what happens at each step:

1. Analysis. Great 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:
   1. My image is extremely important to me.
   2. I like dressing up.
   3. Dressing well is good for my career.
   4. I want to be known as a good dresser.
   5. It’s important in my company to look the part.
   6. I consider myself well informed about clothes.
   7. I am willing to spend more on high quality clothes.
   8. What I wear when working is an important decision for me.
      
2. Vision. This is the fun part: imagining your future wardrobe. We start with your job and its expectations for how you dress, and then move into a discussion about 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). 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?

3. 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.
   
4. 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 both style and fit. As they say, it’s a process.
   
5. Update/Maintain. We suggest meeting with you at least twice a year (typically spring and fall) outside of the clothes purchasing process. Things change, both personally and professionally, and they can impact your needs.

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

It works!

There is more information on Savile Row’s Wardrobe Management Solution 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 and business needs and, of course, the pandemic.

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

That said, we have many clients who wear suits every day and are finding ways to dress them down. An interesting trend is wearing a suit without a tie. Some say that has become its own category. 

Suits remain a significant piece of our business at Savile Row Custom Clothiers. That’s part of the reason 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 many times have you seen men whose suit coat or sport coat doesn’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.

Nine times out of 10 there’s nothing wrong with the suit or the shirt. What the man wearing the suit doesn’t know is that he likely has an unusual posture, causing the suit coat collar to pull away from the shirt. These kinds of tailoring details are most often missed at a department store where the quality of both 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 of your style decision, you ultimately should love what you wear.
• What best suits your body type? This is 100% your call. 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. A thinner frame, whether short or tall, 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, and 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? 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 somewhere 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 sport 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.

Sleeve Length: What is the Right Sleeve Length for Suit 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 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 bone of your wrist 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 trimmer and shorter coats also have shorter sleeves. I saw a photo recently where at least three inches of the shirt was exposed, and that was with the man’s arm relaxed at his side. Imagine what happens when he raises his arm.

But, 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 flare, then 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.

The trimmer styles are just that. In fact, most trimmer suit or sport coats or jackets that we make have very little extra space. However, the same rules apply for 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.

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, buyer 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 shirt collars is that they are cut at 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 the biggest mistake men make is it being 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.

• 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 the 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 peak out from under a suit or sport coat and will 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, which can give you a lot of runway to develop your unique look (or go down in a fiery crash).

Style is more than just about choosing the right 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, which is why having someone you trust is so important, whether it’s 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.

Some men prefer double-breasted coats. 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 and sport coats, as well as off-the-rack. Your body type will determine if this is right for you. A side-vented coat is my preference.
• No vent. You see this style in more trimmer tailored coats. Your body style will determine if you can handle no vent.
• 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?

Vests—whether worn with a suit or alone—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 most seen at black tie events and weddings. You just don’t see many at the office.

Most men go with two-piece custom suits for the office, but if the vest figuratively fits you, go with it. You can have a lot of fun dressing a suit up or down with a vest. 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 custom-made 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. This style was popular several years ago when pleated pants were in style. You can either button the top two buttons or just the middle button.

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 now popular on single-breasted as well.

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 are seeing them pop up 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.

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 most underrated consideration when it comes to suits, sport 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.

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 sport 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?

Great question. The answer is it depends on you.

I think of super numbers in three broad ways:

1. Durable. Lower super number fabrics—80-110—have larger strands that typically stand up to higher use. If you wear a suit two to three times a week then a more durable fabric like a super 100 would be a good for you.
2. Durable and great feel. This is where style and use intersect: super numbers 120-150. 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 then you can expect that this fabric probably won’t last as long as your super 80.
3. 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 it will not stand up as well to high use. But the finished product is a sight to behold.

This is why wool is the predominant fabric for suits and sport 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 so you 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.

This is no more apparent than with one of our highest quality fabric manufacturers: Scabal. For 2020 it has introduced a range of fabrics it calls Turbo Travel. Through new technology, Scabal combines a soft wool base with a performance microfiber to produce a super-stretch fabric that is almost crease resistant, yet with great breathability.

If travel is part of your job or your job has you sitting a lot, then this new technology is worth a look.

Construction: Build it right to fit your situation.

There are three types of suit coat construction: fused, full canvas, and half-canvas, and they are very different (this doesn’t apply to the pants).

Canvassed construction is the cream of the crop in custom suits and sport 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.

The canvas material is hand-sewn to both layers and becomes a structural component of the coat to help the outer fabric retain its shape and to further aid in the coat conforming to your body and fitting you better. In short, it provides both structure and support for the coat.

There are two levels of canvassed construction:

• Full canvas. Canvas is used for the entire front panels (both sides) and the lapels. It is the best option to protect the outer fabric to help the coat conform to your body. It is the most expensive canvas option.
• Half canvas. This option combines canvas material with fused construction on the front panels. It is less expensive to produce (e.g. no hand stitching), but the coat will be slightly stiffer and may not conform to your body as well as full canvas.

Fused construction is the majority of what you’ll see off the rack. It utilizes an inter-liner rather than a piece of canvas, that is glued to the outer fabric. Like canvas, the inter-liner provides structure and shape, but it is stiffer and won’t conform as well to your body. It is also much less expensive to produce.

To make it easier for Savile Row customers, we created four distinct grades of tailoring:

• The Silver Make (Fused). It features the latest in German fusing technology. This coat is primarily machine made and is one of the best values in custom clothing today and includes:
  • Plastic coat buttons and zipper
  • Fully lined
  • Generous seams for alterability
• The Gold Make (Half Canvas). It features a significant level of hand workmanship combined with advanced pattern and cutting technology, and includes:
  • Padded felt canvas under the collar
  • Padded Italian canvas lapels
  • Full floating chest piece
  • Hand sewn armholes
  • Belt loops sewn into waistband
  • Snugtex waistband
  • Heel guards

• The Platinum Make (Full Canvas). The Platinum unites old world craftsmanship with modern technology, producing sought-after bench-grade garments, including:
  • Hand felled canvas under the collar
  • Collar outlet tabs
  • Layered cotton German shoulder padding
  • Hand sewn boutonniere loop
  • Coat front stabilized with half Italian canvas and soft German interlinings
  • Polished horn buttons
  • Functional sleeve buttonholes
  • Hand topped trouser
  • Heel guards
  • Hand pic-stitching in all locations
  • Hand sewn buttonholes and buttons
• The Milan Style. These coats have a soft, unconstructed look and feel. They are made with a thin shoulder pad (or no shoulder pad) for a casual feel. The Milan can be made with cotton twills, cotton linens, corduroy, seersucker and wool/silk blends. These coats are partially lined to give this make a very light feel. Features include:
  • Shoulder padding: None or micro-thin (1/8”)
  • All interior seams are finished and piped
  • Many button options
  • Ticket pockets (optional)

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

Style has found a home with accessories for suit and sport coats:

• Buttons. Bone (versus plastic) buttons are popular today. You can also use custom colors for stitching of the buttons, creating another small but important custom option.
• Surgeon cuffs (working buttonholes on coat sleeves). This is another small touch that will distinguish a custom jacket from off the rack.

• 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 on a regular basis? 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 or with outside vendors or businesspeople? When in doubt, dress up.
• With the client. Are you making daily sales calls or in meetings 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. I think most clients appreciate 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 okay to ask.
• Big presentation. Even if your audience is casual, you as the expert should probably err to the side of formal when in doubt. It’s easier to be seen as an expert when you take how you look seriously.
• Office party. Consider the setting and the timing of the event. Is it on a weekend? Is it at a winery in the country or a 5-star restaurant? Are you going to be speaking or will you be the focus of attention? If you’re helping to plan the event, do everyone a favor and give them some direction.
• Industry event. Think networking. Think making your next career move. Think about how investing in your brand will ultimately pay big dividends. Dress up.

Making the case for custom.

Custom clothing is no longer just for the few.

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

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

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 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.

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

The real answer is it depends.

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

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 to 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/or tall. Let’s call him “Mr. Imperfect”.

	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/or can’t see.
Service	A 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?

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 36 years since I started Savile Row Custom Clothiers and most of them 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 give me a call at the shop at 314-721-SUIT (7848), or visit us at savilerowstl.com.