Power Suit Friday

My coworker decided to take a bit of a vacation,  well more of a month off work,  to go to vietnam.  In the months leading up to his trip,  we decided to have a bit of a get fit competition,  or a office version of the biggest loser.  As we were both doing new things such as,  eating healthy and going to a gym to do more than look at pretty women,  we decided to raise the stakes a bit on the wager.  The winner would get an all expenses paid night out ata swanky steak house with drinks followed by a whole wack of drinking afterwards.  We also decided that since Vietnam was the vacation destination,  now that we had both lost a bunch of weight,  we should get some custom made suits.  Logical i know.


Before my buddy took off for his month away from reality,  i had my measurements done up and browsed through online pictures to find the suits i wanted to have made.  In Vietnam,  they can not only make amazing suits but they can also duplicate any style, design or label that you would like.  at price points below 200 bucks per suit,  i had to go big on this one.  I settled on two suits,  a tuxedo for formal occasions and a three piece power suit for the times I decide to dress to impress (thats my bosses tag line,  so ill give him credit where credit is due).  Some people may ask,  why did you get a tuxedo made?  when are you ever going to need to own a tuxedo?  A very smart (and stupidly rich) man once told me years ago when i was much younger that every man needs to own two things,  a nice watch and a tuxedo.  the watch thing was before the time of the smart phone so im sure if this person was still alive today they would say "Mark you really need two things in life,  a tuxedo and the latest blackberry to tell time and chirp your friends on twitter".  Bottom line,  when successful person tells you you need to own a tuxedo,  you get a damn tuxedo. 

The pitfall with having custom tailored clothing made in vietnam is you have to do your research into what tailor to use.  My buddy was smart,  when in doubt, watch top gear.  Top Gear Top Tip:  when in Vietnam,  the only place to have suits made is A Dong Silk in Hoi Ann Vietnam.  The main risk is that some of the cheaper tailors will use polyester and synthetic blends in their fabrics....  A Dong Silk uses only 100% silk and the best 400s 100% cashmere italian and english fabrics.  The other part that can get kind of confusing is they do not understand "just make it like everything else".  They asked questions about every aspect of the suit,  it was a big learning experience for me.  i had to learn what a welt pocket was,  what tripple pleat and single pleat were,  they even asked if i wanted the buttons on the jacket sleve to be functional or not.  the result of all of this trans pacific haggling was to say the least exactly what i wanted for a price that would put moores clothing out of business. 



Fast forward to a couple weeks ago,  i had just recieved my new suits by mail from Denang.  Apparently they survived the random sketchy moped ride from Hoi Ann by the postman (who apparently looked alot like a random from the street).  I had to take the suits to a local tailor to do some minor adjustments but everything pretty much fit like a glove right out of the parcel.  The problem i was currently facing was when could i possibly wear a 3 piece suit to work or anywhere else for that matter without looking like the most overdressed person on the planet.  This was a major problem since most of my coworkers consider a golf shirt and khaki's to be dressed up.  This is when i decided to change the game a bit.  We had long held a tradition at the office of dress down fridays....  Why not change that to be Power Suit Fridays.  The first friday i was on my own in my endeavor,  but i was met with much critical acclaim for my actions.  (i even ended up getting called to a site with my boss to investigate a drainage issue and the client thought i was the boss...)

Since that first edition of PowerSuit friday two weeks ago,  the idea has taken off.  Today 3 of my co workers are rocking are rocking a power suit (albeit,  its no pinstripe 3 piece with fully silk lined trousers, and patent leather shoes) and i have recieved word that some friends of mine over at Ciena (formerly Nortel)  have taken up the cause at their own workplaces.

In conclusion,  I would like to see Power Suit Fridays become an event that everyone can participate in (provided you own a three piece suit).

I should probably get back to looking fresh to death in my office.

-ciao