Matching Suits & Shoes, by Janete Chun and from Put This On

This picture is 100% from Put This On (created by Janete Chun) but I think it's so helpful, and visually appealing in its simplicity, that it's worth re-posting across the web.

It's a guide to what color shoes go with what color suit, taken from Season 2 Episode 5 of Put This On. Definitely helpful. (To see a bigger version, right click and open in a new tab or window). Also check out Put This On's video series if you haven't. It's informative, interesting, and host Jesse Thorn is quite funny.

Best,

MD

Made-to-Measure Suits

There’s been some buzz around the web and in my own life about this recently, so I thought I’d quickly share. 

Made-to-measure (MTM) suits are becoming the seemingly new “it” thing in menswear. In the world of suiting, there’s off-the-rack (OTR) options you’d find at a department store; these are typically your lower end options. Despite their sometimes high price tags, they’re lower end for two broad reasons: One has to do with construction and materials. I’ll save that discussion for later, but suffice it to say most big companies use low-end products and quick process that sacrifice quality in order to cut costs. That’s just the way it is.

For our discussion though-TWO-the fit will never be perfect. OTR suits are designed to fit a generic body type, as determined by the company or scientists or whoever determines these things. The geniuses in R&D I guess. But they’ll never fit YOU because YOU are unique, at least in your body type. Your shoulders aren’t perfectly sloped, you may have a little paunch, or if you’re like me, you’ve got biceps like Terry Crews. This is why you should see a tailor. Always.

(That’s not to say OTR can’t be good either. There are companies that offer quality OTR products, and after visiting a tailor, this can be a great style option at a low price.)

The high end of the spectrum is your bespoke, your made to order. A tailor measures you from your brain to your balls to get the fit just right, in every place. You decide fabrics, buttons, and all the other details. As you can imagine, it’s expensive. Most #menswear enthusiasts say it’s totally worth it. I hope to find out someday.

In the middle is MTM, essentially a hybrid of the OTR and bespoke. The company starts out with a stock pattern, but tweak alterations can be made using your measurements, and you can have a say in the color/fabric, etc. 

Indochino's Essential Gray Suit- $379

From this review, this one (and another on the way from here), these suits are a good value. From figures I’ve seen, they’re a little more, if not just as pricey as some OTR options, but they seem well worth it. Indochino goes for under $500; The Proper  Suit at The Midwestyle was $650, and Suit Supply is apparently very reasonable, but with both I believe you have to visit their stores to get measured (Chicago and NYC, respectively).

I have NO experience with any of these products, but I’m extremely curious to give them all a try once my finances can allow it. Frankly, their prices seem really affordable when you consider the quality, fit, and options to customize. Right now I have two Ben Sherman suits I nabbed at the flash sale site Gilt for $250 each (for more info on this site, or a referral, please contact me). They’re good, not great, but I’m definitely satisfied with what I got considering what I paid. I only need two suits at this point in my life, considering I’m still in school and I only wear suits to job interviews and court appearances, but I know I’ll be needing more soon. MTM will be next.

More news as it develops,

MD

Thrift Stores & Vintage Tweed

So in this post, I talked about getting a tweed jacket while in Ireland, remember? As it turned out, tweed jackets were expensive. Like 300 euro expensive, which is a lot in American dollars (it’s the economy, stupid). 

As it turns out, I stumbled into a thrift store in downtown Dublin, where I found a Donegal tweed jacket for 24 euro, which is much more my price range. 

One of the employees of a menswear store in Dublin explained to me that this tag is sown into all Donegal handwoven tweeds. I'm not sure about the rate of counterfeiting, as I imagine there is some, but I looked for this tag while thrifting, so I'd at least have something to aim for.

Normally this is the point where I’d start explaining the ins and outs of thrift shopping, but I don’t know dick about thrift shopping. I’ve never done it, and I never really do. So I pulled some helpful articles from around the web if you’re at all interested in thrift shopping. I hear it can be a great place to find awesome pieces.

Put This On- how to thrift for menswear, parts one, two, and three

Put This On- eBay shopping

Put This On, season 2 episode 2 on thrifting, with Joshua Kissi and Travis Gumbs of Street Etiquette

A piece from The Style Blogger on his use of vintage pieces

Thrifty Gent's piece on thrifting, with links to parts 1 & 2

How to fight vintage clothes funk, from Valet Mag

I should mention that not only can you find unique pieces at thrift or vintage stores, but often you’ll find quality pieces as well, because in years past, craftsmanship was the name of the game in menswear. Nowadays, companies use cheaper materials and production processes in order to lower their prices and increase their profit. This also means things fall apart faster, requiring you to buy them again, and again, and again. That shit cray. Read this article by yours truly if you don’t believe me.

Thanks for reading, 

MD

Haters Gon' Hate

In my What not to Wears, I talk about what I don’t like to see guys wearing. Not that I really care, because if you want to look like shit, go ahead dude you’ll only make me look better by comparison. But to assuage your fears that I’m a negative nancy, harping on things guys wear because they just need to run to the store or they just want to be comfortable, understand that others across the web feel the same way.

Short Jorts, Tank Tops and Other Horror Stories- this article by Steve Dool of Four Pins. The writers on Four Pins are great, and their stuff cracks my shit UP. If for no other reason, read this for the comedic value.

Put This On piece downplaying trendier tailoring- by Jesse Thorn. Have you figured out I like this guy yet? There’s a reason I read PTO every day.

Justin Bieber blows, but Zac Efron? Dude's legit. Have you even seen 17 Again?

StyleGirlfriend hates on tank tops- tank tops suck. Even more so if you’re totally jacked and you just want to show off your guns. You look like a tool. End of discussion. 

If the StyleGrilfriend isn’t turned on by tank tops, then you’re not impressing anyone. And she's the type of girl you'd want to turn on.

Everyone makes mistakes, and I’m a forgive and forget Christian, so no worries. Brush it off and move on. Just keep in mind that people, of all kinds, really do judge you on what you wear. Try new things, experiment and express yourself, but stay classy for God’s sake.

Thanks for reading, as always,

MD

Put This On's video series

Today’s post is little more than a referral to another favorite website of mine. While traveling abroad, I had brought one sport coat, and eventually wound up buying another. People have frequently asked how I’ve been able to pack the jacket without getting it overly wrinkled, and each time I’ve shown them the trick I learned in the video I’ve linked to. If you’ve got the time, I suggest watching the entire episode. Put This On’s video series is a quality production, but it’s also entertaining. Give an episode a watch (they’re less than 15 minutes) if you’re at all interested in some interesting (maybe even eccentric) menswear enthusiasts. 

Check out their episodes here,

MD

StyleSeek & Blogger's Rights

I moved to Dublin this weekend, and so I’ve only just reestablished my Internet capabilities. Today I was planning a post on StyleSeek, but in the interim weekend where I was cut off from humanity America, I missed this.

Without delving into a huge diatribe, I’ll try to break down the issue in a quick minute. StyleSeek is run in part by Ryan Plett, the photoblogger behind [you have broken the internet]. It’s an enjoyable site where Ryan (the #menswear world is all on a first name basis), posts fashiony, photography-y pictures that serve as his (or our?) inspiration. I say “enjoyable” because there’s usually a healthy dose of side-boob. Just kidding, it’s actually a pretty cool site worth checking out (not kidding about the side-boob though, wink wink, nudge nudge). 

Anyways, StyleSeek runs off a similar format, except the ideal market is customers, not casual blog readers. It starts with a short quiz to determine your style identity, then leads to pictures, AND blog posts, reposted from across the web. The idea being, you see something you like and you have immediate access to buy whatever that is. You can also add these pictures to your “Style DNA,” so what pops up is always evolving to your personal style. 

When StyleSeek launched, it had been using an improper (no, naive) method of blog sharing. They started out posting full articles from other peoples’ blogs, without the authors knowledge or consent, assuming a link to the blog would suffice in the eyes of the blog’s author (and IP law). The issue has since been fixed, so I’m not going to kick StyleSeek while they’re down. For more on the issue itself, check out Jesse’s article over at Put This On. I truly enjoy Put This On, and although I don’t know Jesse Thorn personally, I’ve come to respect his menswear advice. I empathize with him and agree with him based on his situation. Besides all the issues Jesse raises, you can’t expect a full, reblogged post to drive users to another’s site. Without an impetus to actually visit the blog in question, chances are most readers will read the article in full and continue browsing StyleSeek without giving the original blog a second thought. 


I started blogging because my career path in law wasn't turning out like I thought it would. I don't make any money off of it, and while I continue to do it because I'm passionate about it, I do hope that someday it will lead to SOMETHING career-wise. I'm too new to the game for StyleSeek's practices to directly affect Midwest-Dressed, but I'd be pissed if someone was making a dollar profit off my work without at least throwing some visitors my way.

But I digress. Like I said I don’t want to kick them while they’re down, especially since the issue has (hopefully) been resolved. As it turns out, and in my experience, StyleSeek has been pretty legit. It offers pieces focused on your personal style (while also allowing you to find where/how to buy them), but adds enough new stuff to keep constantly evolving your “Style DNA.” I question how long StyleSeek can keep the idea going, because it’s incredibly difficult to cater to the constantly changing styles of every single individual user, but I hope they can. I like being able to spot something I love, and immediately have access to purchasing it. It’s nice for compulsive people, or anyone looking to add new flavor to their personal style. I've already found this sweet backpack, since I was in the market for a new one anyways.

Thanks for reading, and more good stuff coming,

MD

Menswear Mantras

First, I apologize for the lull in posts. Class has been hectic, and I've been working on IT stuff to upgrade the blog and hopefully energize your experience. I don't know what that means but it sounded good in my head.

Anyways, here's some stuff to keep you busy until I'm back running at full speed. First, something from Put This On that I’m excited about because it captures exactly the essence of how I feel, and it has a shout out to KC (What up 816?)

You think The Sartorialist or Tommy Ton are planning to shoot in Kansas City any time soon? How about Philly? Williamsburg, Virgina?* Bloomington, Indiana?

The revolution isn’t over. We just shifted the battlefield.We’re not waiting for you to take our picture. We’re doing it ourselves. And remarkably, you’re still paying attention. 

“Happy to see this. Personally, I’m tired of “street style” that’s about photographs of fashion industry insiders at runway shows and trade shows. That’s just inside-baseball costume shots, and it’s disingenuous to present it as anything else. 

My respect goes to the people who dress well outside the fashion industry, and the photographers who are *actually* on the street, looking for real people who really dress well, not just whoever’s taking a smoke break from the Cucinelli show.” 

And another from Esquire titled "How Street Style is Ruining Your Style." 

"Back when designers claimed to be inspired by the city, there was a different kind of look that caught the eye. Mean Street Style. This man doesn't wear anything conspicuous because he doesn't want to be bothered. Mean Street Style has a no-bullshit utility. Its adherents do not own tweed vests or porkpie hats. Instead: a tough bag, good sunglasses, and solid footwear that helps you dodge the various slow and crazy people in the way. They may not smoke, but look like they are smoking, as effortlessly cool as Debbie Harry in the morning."

As you're taking a cautious step towards entering the menswear world, don't turn it into a goose-stepping stomp behind the fashion dictators of NY. Your style should ultimately be YOUR style. But it should still be good too.

More news as it develops, and some exciting stuff coming,

MD