dem beats

Sting ray boots are pretty neat. Next pair I get will be Elephant though. Isn't elephant endangered?

You are a prime candidate for Allen Edmunds. Spendy, but they come in your exact size. Regrettably not the trendiest, but they are bombproof, rebuildable and come in 4EI will check then out!

Manta ray maybe. Fish boots might be ok.

Dress boots? Ostrich boots ain't dressy unless you're R2 or a texan.

I just always have several pair on hand for when I blow them out and keep the leather in good condition.

Dress shoes are important. I sadly don't know much about dress shoe brands. 12 4E doesn't fit will with most. I wear 13s and try to find wider toes.

They come in handy when all the ladies moisten up to much from seeing how good I look in a suit.If there is a group it could become a slip and fall hazard.

She is fully aware it is stupid and pointless. Really weird comming from her as she is really "sensible" about fashion. I probably spend more time thinking about my clothes. For what ever reason she has just mentioned this on and off over the past few years.

Pm me a picture of what LV purse she would like. I get them on the cheap here on base, they are 110% real and I would be more than happy to ship for you. J Very cool! She'll flip for a new LV if she is like any of the girls that I know.She was straight up with me. She want's one to make other chicks even more intimidated. Female version of a power tie and a Ferrari I guess.

Pm me a picture of what LV purse she would like. I get them on the cheap here on base, they are 110% real and I would be more than happy to ship for you. J NO SHIT!?!?!?!?! WTF awesome. Is that any/every base? I have a retired navy guy here who can go to the exchange and save you the trouble, but I am all about it.

every woman needs a good pearl necklace........J No doubt!

No vacations possible for a long while. She has a ton of jewelry. Maybe sapphire studs. But she has everything else.....

Only thing that MIGHT be affordable I mean. She shot down a NEW phone. Shot down a NEW tab unless her grad school makes her get an ipad, then better to let it be a school cost....

I'm going to give her my old cell phone I think. I want to S4 or the new HTC one. I'm going ro give her my galaxy 10.1 as I want either a cheep laptop and cheep new tab or the surface from Windows. The ONLY thing she has mentioned is a Louis Viton (sp) purse.

.....I have no idea what to give the wife for graduation/promotion. .. and June will be our 5th year anniversary.

Amen.

MN said yes to same sex marriage. Kinda news worthy!

Sport coat is good advice. I just recommend suits until you have a position or as you said. One suit many shirts. Can you even wear extra long coats Sean, nothing on a rack works for me, I would guess even harder for you.

Who would trust email to handle that????

A shirt that is 2x the price of a stock shirt because it is custom is actually half the price. Yep, in my experience shirts that fit last 4x as long as ones that don't. That HAS to be part of the cost equation.That being said if you are changing sizes soon investing in long lasting isn't logical. To put that in perspective. If I gain 10lbs my shirts will not fit. Your equation makes sense but even if I lost 100 pounds the pull across my back would not be fixed. My arms are relatively lean and all I care about is being able to grab things in front of me. Even if it was HUGE around the middle my neck and shoulders won't change more than a little bit. You are correct though it doesn't make sense to have a shirt that won't last long but I have enough money to spend on work clothes, where I can wear a shirt that doesn't fit at the end of 6 months oooor just have torn up shirts after 6 months. Kind of like tools. Even if used rarely the better the tool the more reliable it is.

I'd go to Nordstrom's first. I wouldn't buy anything, but I'd get fitted for shirts. Grab the gayest looking sales guy there and see what he can find. If they can't find anything then I'd try Brooks. Not sure where they are outside of Maple Grove though, yuck. What do you consider to. Be the best materials, brands, and colors for business?I need to start suit shopping soon. J Brand is what fits that isn't made from shit. K&G suits and the like will NEVER press right as they aren't sewn right. Not worth it. Same problem occurs with fabrics that aren't DRY CLEAN ONLY. Those can stay pressable, ones that shrink cannot. *note, not shirts those HAVE to be washed and not drycleaned. Cotton is king in shirts IMO, but that is for comfort. It's an absolute bitch to iron, but considering my past that is easy for me. Adding some poly to the shirt will greatly reduce ironing time. Suit should be wool....did you work in drycleaning?? One of my oldest buddies is in the that biz... if you 2 are fuggin related... buahahahah he is a tall SOB too.

Another BIG tip is to buy when there is a sale. Like now at my local men's warehouse. BoGo is great. I also recommend you buy your suits and shirts at the SAME TIME until you are really comfortable matching alone. If you buy shirts and ties to match a suit you will look like a billion bucks. And you can ALWAYS just wear the shirt and tie without the suit. Then hang up the shirts next to the suit that match the combo in your closet. Boom instant DESIGNED outfit without thinking in the morning. As for shoes and belts, if you can buy them together and roll up the belt and put the matching belt in the left foot of the shoe it matches. BOOM instant match there. Saves you acting like a woman I the morning finding the right combo. Also if you find out last min you have an interview, it is ready to go. You also asked about the essentials. Blue shirt, white shirt, black shoes and belt, brown shoes and belt. In suits, a black is standard, Navy is often the king, I wear the best pinstripe I can find being wide it helps me out. I don't own a white shirt..... lol

Do you know your size J?

The WORST for me is big and tall. Sure I can get my shoulders in, but they expect someone with shoulders my size to be sooooooooo fat it is unbelievable. And I am fucking rotund at the moment. The coat still had 7-8 inches extra. And you cannot take a suit in that much without wrecking it usually.

Not that less expensive or lesser known garment makers don't do a great job. But for a fucked up shape like Sean or myself, what is normal leaves a lot to be desired when you don't fit into the average shape. I need to go ask the Vikings linemen where they shop.