I hate shopping for clothes. More specifically, I hate directed shopping for clothes, where I go in with a specific goal in mind and aim to fulfill it in short order. Maybe some people can go into a store needing pants and come out again half an hour later with a few well-fitted pairs-- I am not such a person, and attempting such a thing is becomes a trial by ordeal. In any case, I needed a new suit for this weekend so off my lovely girlfriend and I went to the snooty outlet mall. Yes, I voluntarily went to an outlet mall on a weekend. I braced myself for pushy shoppers and screaming kids.
I wanted something in summer material so I wouldn't die of overheating. Brooks Brothers had a seersucker suit-- didn't think they made those any more, and perfect for hot weather-- one size too large. So off we went to other stores, where we found suits for winter, suits in colors reminiscent of baby poop, suits too large, and suits too small. Lucky me, my jacket size is one that some stores simply skip right over, like I should simply grow or shrink a little on demand. Exhausted and frustrated, I was ready to go way over budget, buy something that didn't fit well, or embrace nudity as the new formalwear.
I observed that Brooks at least carries my actual size. My lovely girlfriend, wise woman that she is, herded me back in their direction. I pulled a grey wool suit with a subtle plaid off the rack, tried it on, and to my great surprise even the pants fit (this is a miracle). Some while later I exited with the suit, a dress shirt, a tie (I now have all of two), and a black belt that is actually black. I had the very helpful salesman all to myself. There were no shrieking kids or fellow shoppers driven to psychotic acts in pursuit of the best bargain. The suit was a good price.
It still tried to cook me to death, but such, I gather, is the price of being well dressed.
2 comments:
As they're always saying on What Not to Wear, get comfortable with the idea of tailoring. I'm also a non-standard size (being short like I am), and I've occasionally had things tailored when the petite section of the store just wasn't doing it for me. So if you find a suit that you otherwise love but it's not the right size, take it to a tailor.
Kimberly
True, and I'll be getting the sleeves altered on this. I think, though, that there is a point of diminishing returns on how much tailoring work can be done on something that fundamentally doesn't fit.
I certainly am looking forward to having my not-quite-wedding suit made custom.
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