Continuing on a theme from my last post...

Damn, I hate suits.

I have no real objection to the concept of suits - and they look totally adorable on so many of my (younger, thinner) classmates. But I find it almost impossible to find suits that actually look good on ME.

Recently, not long before I was set to travel for a moot court competition, one of my favorite suit purveyors had a sale. (Their stuff is fairly spendy at full price, but they have awesome sales.) And since I still hate all my suits, I thought I'd give some stuff a whirl. I ordered a charcoal lightweight wool skirt suit, a black lightweight wool skirt suit, and a black lightweight not-wool skirt suit. Unfortunately, I loved the black lightweight wool jacket, but the store had sold out of the skirt, so I couldn't get an actual suit, which is what I was looking for. I loved the charcoal skirt, but was iffy about the matching jacket. I thought the black lightweight not-wool skirt suit was fine (and the jacket has a very cute striped lining), so I kept that and took it to the competition. 

(It's probably worth noting that I was deciding all this about two days before I left, when I was also trying to learn/polish my oral argument and do a ton of other stuff, so I was a little crazed at the time.)

Of course, after wearing the damn suit all day for the competition, I discovered that: 1) the jacket and skirt were both boxier than I'd thought they were, and 2) the skirt pulled a bit more about the hips than I'd thought it would. So it was not the world's most flattering suit on me.* 

And just now, I packed up the other stuff to send back, and made the mistake of trying on the charcoal suit again. And deciding that I like it MUCH better than the one I kept and wore. 

Because I really can't afford to keep both suits (and don't need that many suits right now, since I won't start a real job till next fall, and even then I don't think I'm going to need to wear a suit very often). Grrrr. I hate suits.

     
     
*That said, I don't think ANY suits are especially flattering on me. Suit jackets are pretty much all designed to nip in at the waist, which sucks when, like me, you don't HAVE a waist, or, indeed, lean toward the apple shape. And most suit skirts are pencil-y, which I like as a professional look, but they don't look very good on the apple figure, either, because they just make you look widest in the middle. The concept of a pants suit is totally appealing, but for some reason, while I can generally pull off this store's pencil skirts not-too-terribly, their pants do not fit me at all. 

Comments

[Dr. Crazy]

NK, my figure is different from yours - more hour-glassy - but the only advice I can give you about suits from my big-hipped experience is that you have to try on hundreds - and I mean hundreds - and then, once you find one that seems to work right in terms of shape (etc.), you buy big and hire a tailor. I'm in a 14/16 right now and the size on the suits I own that fit me is 20/22. Seriously.

[New Kid on the Hallway]

You're right, I have to do that! The biggest problem is that buying jackets big is a problem, because tailors hate cutting down shoulders, and to get things that fit my waist well, they're too big in the shoulders/chest and look funny on. Although I suppose I could try a different tailor... But thanks for reminding me of that option!

[EH]

Dr. Crazy is totally right. But I'm with you on Pendleton, at least for jackets - I have four or five from there (there's a store located a block from the courthouse - I would check clearance when I was done with an appearance!) and I've had good luck. Also, so many Pendleton jackets look good with casual pants!

[shrinky]

What about one of their cute sheath dresses instead of a skirt? You could belt it to create a waist and put a matching jacket over it.

That said, I'd like a good suit too, but have struggled to find one. I'm in more of a creative field, which gives me more leeway.

[Miss Kat]

I have a job interview on Thursday and should, probably, wear a suit. I know I'll feel more uncomfortable in it, but I also think the profs interviewing me will like the professionalism of The Suit. Glad to hear I'm not the only one that hates 'em...

[Janice]

I mostly opt for a jacket and somewhat different bottoms combination. Say, a red jacket, ivory shell and black pants or a black jacket, white shirt and grey skirt. This allows me to use jackets from the companies that tailor my upper half well with bottoms from the other chain that produces something halfway workable.

As a grad student, I sewed some of my own suits and separates. It's pretty edifying to see how much you have to alter a pattern to get a proper fit!

[Anthea]

I know from dress making that its improtant to realise that suit makers from different countries have their own idea of what constitutes the shape and cut of a suit. Italian suits have a different cut to English suits, to North American ones. I know that shirts from North American for men tend to be boxier (have more fabric in them)and they place more of an emphasis on the shoulder. British shirts tend to slimmer and not so boxy. It might be that you look better/feel more comfortable in a suit that has a different cut to the ones that you've been trying so far. Just a thought! It's worth trying lots of suits on to see what fits you and flatters you, stick with it and find a tailor so that they can recreate a new one if you need it again!