The Suits My Father Gave Me – Part 2
In these times of economic ups and downs it is important for one to stay as stylishly frugal as possible. This is why we must all take it upon ourselves to dig a little deeper into the suits of yore that have been sent to early pasture, give them a make over, and send them back to stud.
In this post a few weeks ago I wrote of two suits my father handed down to me that I deemed salvageable. One a two piece, two button, wool pinstripe the other a one button tuxedo with all the trimmings. Both are of the late 60′s early 70′s cut which means they have a bell/boot cut as well as wider lapels than what most see as “out” in the trend department. Always one to buck one to save the life of a nice suit and essentially only pay for tailoring, I took the two aged goodies to Imparali where Matt and his staff pinned, stitched, cut, and sewed these babies to fit my own figure.
Post tailoring I then brought them to my dry cleaner for a proper cleaning, pressing, and over all deodorizing (they had been sitting in pops closet for quite a while) and when I got them back they looked and fit beautifully. I am so excited for you to see the results so without further blabbing here they are.
First up is the blue pinstripe:
Vintage Wool Pinstripe
Next up, the is the tux. Now boys…before you all start commenting about how I broke this major rule of not wearing a bow tie and blah, blah, blah…let me just say that this tux will be worn as my slick black suit for night time events, possible performances, parties, and very semi formal socializing which is why I am wearing a regular tie. I’m saving my Indochino Tux for Carnagie Hall and major formal events since it is of a more classic cut:
Tuxedo Before And After
And for traditions sake, here's one with the bow tie.
The grand total for this adventure in restoration:
$229
My friends, you cannot get a better deal than shopping someone’s closet and investing in a good cleaning/tailoring. So I urge all of you who say, “I just can’t afford a suit” to go to the Salvation Army, your dad or granddad’s closet, an uncle, a cousin, even a friend of your father’s who may be close to your size, search through the moth balls, try on the suits, and (if they are not absolutely gigantic) bring them into a CUSTOM tailor for a proper fitting.
You can have 4 0r 5 nice vintage suits that will add some flair to your wardrobe and totally tailored to your body all for under $1,000 for the entire lot. Hell, you may even get away with getting 4 done entirely for only $800.
Gentlemen…go for it.
**Special thanks to my father who gave me these suits. I will wear them with the utmost pride.**
Looking good Dennis. Really. That tux is just too nice, I think your advantage is that you’re almost the same size as your father, which is why the suits still came out looking good. I love the fact that the tux jacket is one button and has a large lapel.
Wow, they look great. I need to start looking for suits at the Sally Anne.
Nice
came out a treat. come on though.. it is not a dark suit…. just wear it as a tux w black tie (bow) any chance you can get, fits you like a glove now. tux is a must-have. like it. j
J,
First off let me just say how much I love your blog and am so happy to see you posting here.
Now onto a healthy debate:
I already own a beautiful tux and this came to me as a sort of surprise from my father. The fabric of my father’s tux is not as quality as my own which is why I would rather use it as a “night” suit.
However, I see your point and I would definitely wear it as a full on tux here and there. I don’t think it hurts having two.
All the best,
Dennis Cahlo
This is unbelievable!
I’m in Miami for the next 2 months. I’m sure I could find some cool stuff in the thrift shops from the retirees that have migrated here. I can’t wait to try this out!
You rock
Jonathan,
I’m sure you can find some serious thrift in Miami. Check out the MY TAILOR link above. When you get back home you can bring everything you find there and he will get it fitted perfectly.
Best,
Dennis
Dennis,
Great site!
I’ll be at a black tie wedding next month, and you’ve inspired me to skip the rental for a tailored thrift store tux. I am new to the area–do you have any suggestions for tuxedo hunting in Brooklyn?
Also, do I need to be most concerned about the shoulder fit?
Best regards,
James
Hey James,
I’m going to make a very bold suggestion and have you try out INDOCHINO’S CLASSIC TUXEDO:
http://www.indochino.com/product/Classic_Tuxedo.html
I own this tux as well as the one my father gave me. If you ask them to put a rush on it, you will totally have it on time for the wedding. If you follow my INDOCHINO MEASURING TIPS link on the bottom of the banner on this site you will most likely have a great tux for a really long time. Plus, Indochino offers insane customization options like functional button holes on the sleeves as well as a slew of other goodies.
If you really want to go thrift, I suggest you have a look see at GOODWILL on 23rd street in Manhattan. I believe it’s between 2nd and 3rd Ave and they SOMETIMES have Brookes Brothers Tuxedos on the rack. It’s really hit or miss.
Now, where ever you end up getting your tuxedo, have it finished off by Matt at Imparali. All his info is under the banner in the MY TAILOR section.
Hope this helps!
All the best,
Dennis
Dennis,
I have no idea how I hadn’t discovered your excellent blog previously, but a friend of mine just sent me a link this evening and I’ve been reading through every great post. One question about these suits, can you disclose what you had done? For example, it almost appears that you had the armholes made slimmer on the tux.
Hi Marcellus,
Thank you SO much!
As for the suits, my tailor took the sleeves in on the jacket, took the torso, and lengthened the arms as well. He also lengthened the pants and trimmed the thighs down.
Best,
Dennis