Just curious…
How many suits do you own? Are they all exactly the same? How often do they go to the cleaners? And are you a man or a woman?
I’m imagining that men are more likely to just have the same exact suit several times over and far fewer of them.
I don’t wear one, but several recent and current co-workers do.
All male. Several locations in Spain. All of them have enough suits or combos (two trousers, one jacket) to change clothes every day, but they may wear the same jacket on Monday and Wednesday - just not two days in a row.
That amounts to two or three jackets and 4-6 trousers; double up because you need different clothes in winter and summer (even if you’re going to be in a stable-temperature place, people expect to see different colors, wearing black in the summer makes people ask who died).
Look at your watch. Then look at the person asking the question and grin evilly.
Well, I can answer on my dad’s behalf. He had a closet full of suits – maybe 40 of them in all. They would come in and out of style, so there were maybe half of them in circulation, as it were, at any given time. Unfortunately, they didn’t fit me, so my brother-in-law’s brother got them when he died.
Op, are you talking matching suits, or coordinated tops and bottoms like this (trousers and sport coat)?
I don’t do it everyday anymore, but I did for many years. 4 suits. Would dryclean once a month (one suit per week, along with the shirts). My rotation was like clockwork. Wear suit furthest left on the rack; when hanging up, place to furthest right. When picking up drycleaned suit, it always went to the front of the line. I’d wear white shirts 3-4 days per week, blue once and a different color (pink, yellow, striped) 0-1 times per week. Rotated shirts too, but not as strictly. The goal was to be able to dress quickly, without thinking and worrying about matching.
For many years I had to wear suits every day. Three months ago I got a job that’s business casual. Rock!
Anyways, here’s what I have:
6 skirt suits (In purple, blue, black, brown, pink, and red)
5 pant suits (2 black, taupe, green, and maroon)
I also have a couple jackets I wear with slacks. They’re not matching sets, but they coordinate. For tops, I have probably between 8-12 collared dress blouses, and another dozen shirts/sweaters I can wear with them.
I don’t necessarily prefer skirts, but when you’re as short as I am it’s just easier sometimes than having to hem everything up.I was everything at home.
not really a suit unless the coat and pants are made of the same fabric. this combo is probably one suit and one sportcoat/pants outfit.
Anyhoo, young male suit wearer (not every day, but usually at least four days a week) here. I have seven year round suits: two navy, charcoal, navy chalk stripe, charcol chalk stripe, grey glen plaid, b/w houndstooth. I have tow summer suits: khaki poplin and blue seersucker. I also have a blue blazer, a camel hair blazer and a herrignbone tweed blazer, and five pairs of wool trousers (charcoal, khaki, blue, olive, olive window pane). Another the big cost is shoes. I have four pair of lace ups: black cap toe, black wingtip, oxblood/black saddle, brown split toe, and tow pair of loafers (brown and black). Belts are easier. Only have three: black, burgundy, and brown. I get the pants (suit or seperate) cleaneed after about eight wears (every 2 months, generally), but I get them pressed after each wear. I clean the jacket rarely - usually only if there is a stain.
I’ve read that you should clean your suit once a season (dry cleaning does a number on the fabric)
I heard the same, although I also heard one should always dry clean suit slacks and jacket together. My suits usually got 5-6 wearings between dry cleanings, as I didn’t keep as many on hand. Commuting via NYC subway, everything gets dirty and grimy faster than non-subway commuters. Once a season would not have been enough, but once a month may have been slightly too much.
I heard that too, but I just can’t bring myself to do it. Besides, I can’t wear a suit off the rack, I have to wear seperates, so if I wear the pants out before the jacket, I’ll just get new pants. I’ve done this with two suits.
Five suits, all different usually only wear four of them, one’s an “extra.” Dryclean once a month or so, or right before a trial. I don’t wear a suit every day, though, only when I have an important hearing, or if that’s all that’s clean.
All of them are in the same colour, US Airways Blue or United Airlines Black.
I quit wearing them though. I told my “clients” (I don’t work for them but don’t know how else to refer to them) that I was switching over to sundresses and am now making do with said tactic with a blazer thrown on top to give some semblance of propriety.
My life is so much better. I cleaned them way more often than once a season.