Terrible epidemic in this city (Pittsburgh: purchase, shop, safety)

[wpipkins]

Originally Posted by Bert Peters

There is a terrible epidemic in this city, and it is men with baggy/poorly fitting suits. I am thinking about starting some sort of thing where I hand out business cards for tailors outside office buildings downtown/the T station to all the men looking like turtles in their terribly fitting suits.

I remember seeing Pittsburgh is one of the worst dressed cities in America, and dear goodness do I believe it. Heck, whenever these businessmen are wearing their casual garb, it's a baggy ass Steelers T-shirt, K-Mart designer jeans, and some flimsy pair of New Balance or Converse shoes. Like, what happened to wearing a polo, a nice pair of chinos, and a pair of boat shoes, or Cole Haan drivers maybe? Lol @ grown men wearing graphic t-shirts, and oh- dear goodness, CARGO shorts... please, stop with those. Ya don't need all those pockets.

But that's a side rant. My main issue is with the professional dress, or lack thereof. Please, go to a tailor, they'll fix up your $100 Burlington Coat Factory suit. Actually, better yet, maybe buy a more expensive suit? Before you cry about the price, note the quality is indeed worth it.

I work in downtown Pittsburgh and there are some of us who do dress. Today I went casual. For me casual means grey cotton linen blend flat front pants, a dark blue long sleeve chambray shirt (sleeves rolled up) and a pair of casual shoes by Prada. Every city has its fair share of over sized suits. My co workers are well dressed as well and typically live in the East End of Pittsburgh or are not natives to the Pittsburgh area. I never notice badly dressed women and men. I do notice well dressed people especially women. I love a woman in expensive shoes.....

I got several brooks brothers suits from burlington coat factory!!!! I had their in house taylor taylor them for me for less than $50.00. I also have found decent shoes in there as well. Don't knock it until you try it..

[Tinare]

I work with a pair of fashion police old biddies who constantly harp on what people wear, but who are completely tied to the calendar. Every year I listen (as it's over 80 degrees) about how they saw people wearing white before Memorial Day. (Oh the horror!) Or linen. However, one of them insisted that she still had to wear a wool sweater this past March when it was in the upper 70s, because "it was still winter..." While the other fretted about a trip to Arizona in late September last year because what was she going to wear? So many of her summer clothes were linen or seersucker but it was after Labor Day, so she couldn't possibly wear those light weight fabrics even though it was still over 100 degees in Phoenix...

Fashion magazines of the 50s and 60s seemed to have ruined the common sense of large swaths of a generation.

Anyway, my take has always been that people who spend a lot of time concerned about what other people are wearing don't have enough to do in their own lives. I wouldn't wear sweatpants to the office, but it's not my business if someone else does.

[SammyKhalifa]

Originally Posted by Tinare

I work with a pair of fashion police old biddies who constantly harp on what people wear, but who are completely tied to the calendar. Every year I listen (as it's over 80 degrees) about how they saw people wearing white before Memorial Day. (Oh the horror!) Or linen. However, one of them insisted that she still had to wear a wool sweater this past March when it was in the upper 70s, because "it was still winter..." While the other fretted about a trip to Arizona in late September last year because what was she going to wear? So many of her summer clothes were linen or seersucker but it was after Labor Day, so she couldn't possibly wear those light weight fabrics even though it was still over 100 degees in Phoenix...

The other day and associate of mine appeared with me at an evening function wearing (the horrors!) a dinner jacket and not proper tails.

I could have died.

[Paint It Pink]

Originally Posted by SammyKhalifa

The other day and associate of mine appeared with me at an evening function wearing (the horrors!) a dinner jacket and not proper tails.

I could have died.

I'm surprised you didn't! That could have been a fatal, heart attack inducing event.

[BrianTH]

For a taste of where some of the people above are coming from:

Mad Men Style: Fashion and character in “Signal 30.” - Slate Magazine

The men are . . . spending the night “in the country,” so a plaid blazer was called for, as opposed to the staid business suits these men all favor in the city. Ken and Pete are wearing typical preppy plaids, but Don’s is more stylish and bolder, befitting a wealthy city man who’s a decade older than them. Pete and Ken are also dressed in similar shades of beige and blue, which denote both their youth in relation to Don, as well as the fact that they both do the same thing for a living. They’re accounts, and Don, in his attention-grabbing red and black plaid, is creative.

[JayDiFiore]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

For a taste of where some of the people above are coming from:

Mad Men Style: Fashion and character in “Signal 30.” - Slate Magazine

WWDDW (What would Don Draper wear) is never a bad question to ask.

Feel free to throw in a nicotine patch on a case-by-case basis.

[fleetiebelle]

Pittsburgh is a casual town (what did that one blog say, "game-day casual"?) but it's possible to be comfortable and casual without looking rumpled and unprofessional. And I'm not just saying that because I hate flip-flops with a white-hot passion.

[Geeo]

In the 80s I had a suit and tie (sometimes with suspenders) on every day, but no more. Now it's flat-front pants and a blazer. I don't miss the ties at all. I'd say I still do ties a few times a month for meetings with outside people, but my industry is much more casual now. If you go downtown, you can spot the lawyers and people in sales by their suits and they look great, for the most part.

The business world is much more casual these days, but still requires some standards. I bought a few Hickey Freeman suits from Larrimors in the mid-90s and can still wear them. They're expensive, but they last forever.

As for sweat pants and t-shirts in public, I harken to the famous "Seinfeld" episode where Jerry said to George: "It means you've given up! You just don't care anymore!"

[Duderino]

Don't worry Pittsburghers; you're in good company. According to GQ, it seems that there isn't any major American city that dresses well. Apparently Boston and LA are worse.

The 40 Worst-Dressed Cities in America: Style: GQ

[sskink]

SammyK - love it. As a balding guy, I've been waiting for powdered wigs to make a comeback.

I've spent the past 7 years working in a home office and in the kitchen of a cafe. When I was at the cafe and needed to go get supplies, I wasn't going to change out of shorts and crocs just to appease other shoppers. That would just be dumb and vain.

Prior to that I was in corporate for 20+ years. I still own 7 suits, 8 sportcoats (including some well-regarded designers), my own tux and 40 ties, including a couple of bowties. I used to match my socks to my tie and I could tie a proper bowtie while driving. I've got Bostonians and Florsheims on my shoe rack.

In other words, I can clean up nice when the occasion calls for it.

I also have 12 oversized Hawai'ian shirts and a guayabera. Guess what I'm wearing today?