Wanted: Tips on clothing in general, and suits in particular

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derangedhermit

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Most folks that I see, including myself, are casually attired when shooting pool at the local room. But I have always admired men who can shoot their best game while wearing a suit, and wearing it well. I'd like to try it.

If you sometimes wear a suit while shooting pool, what tips do you have to pass on about not letting your attire interfere with your game?

And for anyone, what clothes, shoes, hats/caps, etc. do you prefer to wear (especially for longer sessions), what do you avoid, and why?
 
derangedhermit said:
Most folks that I see, including myself, are casually attired when shooting pool at the local room. But I have always admired men who can shoot their best game while wearing a suit, and wearing it well. I'd like to try it.

If you sometimes wear a suit while shooting pool, what tips do you have to pass on about not letting your attire interfere with your game?

And for anyone, what clothes, shoes, hats/caps, etc. do you prefer to wear (especially for longer sessions), what do you avoid, and why?
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Get a really nice tie-clip.

Shoes with leather soles always look best but try to find one that has a little rubber so you don't slide.

Avoid cuff-links. If you can't, make sure the sleeve length is slightly longer (shouldn't be noticeably longer) since you won't be rolling up your sleeves much.
 
derangedhermit said:
Most folks that I see, including myself, are casually attired when shooting pool at the local room. But I have always admired men who can shoot their best game while wearing a suit, and wearing it well. I'd like to try it.

If you sometimes wear a suit while shooting pool, what tips do you have to pass on about not letting your attire interfere with your game?

And for anyone, what clothes, shoes, hats/caps, etc. do you prefer to wear (especially for longer sessions), what do you avoid, and why?
Click to expand...

I've never wore a suit for pool but I have gone to pool after work in a shirt and trousers. I have to say its quite awkward as collar gets in the way and as the work shirts arent so comfortable it impedes on me.

I do believe that you should wear a certain style of clothing all the time for pool though - treat it like a uniform for work. My top half is the priority so I try to wear polo shirts where I can. The absolute minimum is short sleeve shirts all the way and ensure they aren't too big that when I lean over table I could knock a ball.

On bottom I wear jeans but make sure they are loose fitting not like Levis which don't give much room around the legs. They do me for max of 5 hours which is the most I play for but for tournaments I wear trousers with polo shirt and shoes with rubber. As I say - thats my 'work dress' if you will...

I've got my first 24 hour fundraiser coming up so I need to invest in clothes that will be super comfortable. So that probably means wearing tracksuit bottoms and a sport jersey of some kind with some really comfy trainers. The trainers I have at the moment hurt my feet after a few hours (Lonsdale) and I'm left thinking 'how on earth will I do 24 hours if I can't do 5 comfortably?'
 
I've been all over the board. I won my first tournament wearing jogging pants, tshirt and no shoes. *eyeroll* bad decision on no shoes (had flip flops there but kept sliding). Never did that again.

Most of my league nights I went straight from work so dress pants and shirt (rarely tie). I often wear cufflinks and rarely had them be an issue.

Like anything proper fitting clothes goes a long way. Baggy definitely impedes as much as too tight.
 
Maybe you can find some clips of Rich Geiler, he's always dressed quite snazzy and still manages to play okay. :yes:
 
I've played in suits, vests, and business casual. I think the old saying the better dressed you look the better you will feel. I do like the advice about the tie clip, trust me, flipping the tie over and over takes your mind off of the shot. I actually prefer to wear jeans and a long sleeve shirt or polo. I have tried all sorts of footwear and seem the most comfortable in a comfy pair of cross trainers/running shoes. I agree with previous posts that dress shoes with rubber soles are definitely a better choice.
 
In my banking days, as in working at a bank, I used to play while suited up.

The tie-clip others have noted is important if you are wearing a tie, I would also unbutton my collar button, but kept it covered with my tie; this felt a little more relaxed to me, and nobody would notice because the tie knot would cover the button.

I do want to emphasize however that it's important to wear high-quality clothing that fits you well...

A quality suit, or shirt-and-tie outfit, made from good materials will breathe well, will not cause you to get hot, or otherwise won't make you feel like you need to change clothing.

Quality shoes, maybe the most important single piece of clothing to consider, will allow you to play for hours without making you feel like your feet need to be amputated and that your back is going to snap in two. It really pains me to see some of the shoes that players wear when they dress up for tournaments.

Making sure your clothing fits well and will allow you to move around without restricting you. A good pear of slacks or trousers will allow you to move and bend way better than jeans and some long shorts.

Quality and fit don't have to mean expensive, but don't cheap-out on dressy clothing, it just makes it harder to find a good fit and good quality... You'd be better off with sweats, tshirts, and sneakers vs. going cheap.

Now I feel motivated to quit being such a slob... My new New Years resolution.
 
I wear a suit to work everyday. I would hate to play with a jacket on. I just watched Crane beat Balsis from 1966 and they wore suit jackets. Amazing.

Personally, a nice dri-fit polo works great with jeans.
 
In the movie, "Color of Money", at the Atlantic City Tournament, there were lots of players that dressed nicely. Kinda gave a little flair to the place & the event.

Back in the early seventies, lots of players dressed well. I remember Teddy Copeland, he was like a model for a clothier.

Today, the biggest percentage of folks dress like bums.
 
For women I recommend tight mini-skirts, high heels, and free pool.



Stockings-and-Pool-Girl.jpg

Open-Shirt-Stockings-Pool-Girl.jpg
 
Attire for Pool

A bit of nostalgia here.....my favorite attire for pool is lace up leather dress shoes, nice slacks, and long sleeve sport or dress shirt. It reminds me of my college days in 1968 at North Texas State University in Denton, Texas. Back then, lots of guys dressed up to attend school.

There was a great pool hall across the street from campus called the Royal Rack. We played nine ball or six ball for the princely sum of fifty cents a game.

I lived at home and commuted to school. I had to drive right past my local pool hall in Lewisville on the way to school and then again coming home. Sad to say, I succumbed to the lure of one or the other of those two pool rooms. I skipped lots of classes so I could shoot pool all day. I was a lousy student, but a stellar pool player.

It sure was fun, though. To this day, dressing up for shooting pool reminds me of some of the best days of my life.

Jfred
 
Check out most any youtube video of Ronnie O'Sullivan. In tournament play, he, and his opponent, are always well dressed (minus a suit jacket).
I've wondered what Earl the Pearl would like like all dressed up, along with his weights and hand/wrist appliances. Talk about making jump shots illegal!
 
derangedhermit said:
If you sometimes wear a suit while shooting pool, what tips do you have to pass on about not letting your attire interfere with your game?
Click to expand...

Tell your tailor to make the suit so that you have full use of your arm under extension. He will cut the fabric and adjust the stitching so that your arm is unimpeeded, and the suit will still drape perfectly.

{Note: most off the rack suits cannot be successfully altered like this and get both the drape and freedom properties simultaneously.}
 
The suit and tie era was associated mostly with 14.1. I miss the old days when there would be players dressed to the nines. There's something about first class that goes a long way.
 
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This is a no brainer. Buy some Simonis Tournament Blue cloth. Take it to a tailor and have him make you a suit. When any chalk gets on it you can get it off with either Quick Clean or the Simonis X-1.

Get a pair of blue suede shoes. The blue chalk falling down will help to clean them and keep them looking new.

To go along with this get a pink Panama Hat with a purple hat band to add a little flare. This will serve 2 purposes. If you aren't making enough hustling pool you will be dressed to hustle women.


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I would wear a Pearl Grey Suit, black shirt, light solid grey silk tie, black shoes or Cowboy boots and a Pearl Grey fedora or Stetson hat. Carrying, of course, my favorite Schon cue in a 1x2 black lizard case. You may want to splurge and buy some Kamui chalk too.
 
Possible Solution

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