Suit You Sir!

Christmas 2016. I felt that it was time to buy myself a new suit.

The old one, my faithful daily work attire, was giving a few clues that it should be retired to the back of the wardrobe.

The turn-up on the right trouser leg had worked loose and was hanging down. Occasionally a bit of shirt tail would find its way through the floppy zipper, displaying the early stages of metal fatigue. The back pocket button had long since pinged, unceremoniously, in someone's house. Countless seat-belted driving miles had abraded the left shoulder of the jacket to give it an unhealthy glossy sheen.

I was also getting some feedback from attending meetings that my hoped-for good first impression( if indeed it is right to judge people on their suit and shoes) was waning a bit.

Most of my working wear purchases have been impulsive or at best reluctant but what with Christmas approaching and with thinking ahead to a New Year the time felt right to go suit shopping.

The City Centre was typically bustling, even for a thursday, as I started my first circuit taking in the usual Menswear and Department Stores.

Subconsciously, although based on previous experiences I was working down in the hierarchy of outfitters. If I said that the final destination,  if all other options failed ,would be a Charity Shop then you will get the idea.

As a fresh faced entrant to the world of employment, now many years ago I had suffered humiliation and deflation at the hands of a major fashion chain which I hesitate to mention- but it was Jaeger.

I had really liked their two piece suits and so with £300 cash in pocket (now about £800 in today's monies) I had made a direct line to a local store. The rather snooty male sales assistant looked at me , and the closest analogy I can think of now is, as though he were female, in Beverly Hills ,USA and I were Julia Roberts in the movie Pretty Woman.

I was as near as laughed out of the shop when I blurted out my budget. That put me off the high end tailoring sector apart from a gleeful return to a Jaeger Store just this year when I bought a shirt as part of their closing down sale. He who laughs last and all of that.

That bad experience sent me initially to a Factory Shop outlet for subsequent purchases. A pair of trousers intended for British Airways Cabin Staff, complete with BA label did me well with a blazer for a couple of years but thereafter I went back to the classic 2-piece with purchases from Next (very undersized-possibly styled on skinny Italian males), Paul Smith (a completely impractical pale coloured tropical travel suit), Marks and Spencer (solid, dependable, boring- so a perfect match then), Moss Brothers (Retail Outlet seconds with pockets sewn up) and Greenwoods (a bit fuddy duddy).

Latterly I have frequented Slaters Menswear and have not been disappointed. I in fact have a special relationship with that particular Company in that I won, amazingly, one of their national monthly raffles which allowed me to acquire a brand new, smart suit for my Father's Funeral.

I trailed around the aforementioned retailers but nothing really caught my eye.

Current fashions are for thin lapels, gaudy cloth and there must be a massive miscalculated global over-supply of waistcoats as the hard selling of such items is very evident.

I was just about ready to hit the Charity Shops when a window display caught my eye.

The suit on show was quite striking ,immediately commanding respect which is an important consideration. The colour, not my first choice, was bold but tempered by some contrasting, nicely placed trim. The mannequin wore the suit with work boots and I could see the practicality of this rather than in city shoes. The trousers were generous in cut, a bit retro in fact but the genius innovation of an elasticated waist would give longevity for my expanding waistline. As for the suit jacket it was almost frock coat length and broad in fit but as I am in my 50's that sort of chunky, upper body strength concealing style would be acceptable. The wide black belt was the perfect accessory to keep it all together.

I strode with revitalised confidence into the shop, confirmed the size of the garments, paid up in cash with no sense of mockery or derision from the staff and left as the proud owner of a plush, luxury velvet, bright red and fur trimmed Father Christmas suit.

I should get some good use out of that for certain, for certain, yes.