How Many Suits Do I Need in My 60s? One Is Enough

Do I still need a suit at this point in my life? To be honest, I can hardly think of a single occasion where I would clearly need one.

I do not have a job that requires a suit every day. I already own the black formal suit that Japanese men keep for funerals. When I think about it that way, I cannot find a reason to buy a suit again.

And yet a small doubt stays somewhere. Is it really fine to own none at all?

Contents

The chances to wear a suit really are few
Still, going down to zero made me uneasy
Renting is one way, but
The answer I reached was very simple
The old suits no longer fit, and that is the reality
The less often a man wears a suit, the less room he has to gamble on it
I remember the suit I had made when I was young
What it comes down to

The chances to wear a suit really are few

When I picture the occasions still ahead of me, they look like this.

The wedding of my child, or the kao-awase, the formal meeting where the two families sit down together before a wedding
Some ceremony or gathering
An occasion where the invitation says heifuku, literally plain clothes, though in practice it still means a jacket, and I am left unsure how far that goes

At most, zero to one time a year. For some people it may be once in several years.

So I do not need several suits. That part is clear.

Still, going down to zero made me uneasy

On the other hand, I also carry these feelings.

I do not want to scramble at the last minute
At my age, I do not want to look careless
I do not want to look out of place in the room

The chances are few. But they are not completely zero.

As long as those rare but unavoidable occasions exist, the choice to own no suit at all left a little unease in me.

Renting is one way, but

Of course, renting is an option.

If the point is only to get through the day, it may well be enough. But when I actually thought it through, this is what came up.

The size often does not fit
Body shape and age tend to make the look feel off
Arranging it at the last minute is more trouble than expected

I felt that getting by somehow and feeling at ease are two different things.

The answer I reached was very simple

After turning it over in my head, this is where I landed.

I do not need several suits. One is enough.

And it should be one that does not chase trends, is not flashy, and works in any room.

One suit that is hard to go wrong with is enough.

The old suits no longer fit, and that is the reality

At the back of the closet there are several suits from when I was young. I tried putting my arms through the sleeves.

The waist does not close. The shoulders are tight. The length is slightly off. My body has changed, so that is only natural.

Fitting a suit from twenty years ago onto a body in my 60s is asking too much. The fabric is worn out as well. There were moth holes in it.

I kept them because throwing them out felt wasteful, but a suit I cannot wear was nothing but garbage taking up space. It is far more sensible to get rid of them and own one suit that fits the body I have now.

The less often a man wears a suit, the less room he has to gamble on it

A man who often wears a suit can afford a little fun with it, a little fashion.

But for a person who wears one only rarely, a single mistake hits hard.

So these conditions came first for me.

It does not look out of place for my age
The size puts no strain on the body
It can be used for a long time

Putting these first from the start is simply easier.

I remember the suit I had made when I was young

Around the age of twenty, I stretched myself a little and had a suit made to order. Honestly, it did not get much use.

Even so, looking back now, I do not think that it was unnecessary. What remains is more the feeling that I was glad to have it.

There are moments when simply owning a suit saves a man from hesitating, no matter how few times it is actually worn.

What it comes down to

From here on, the chances to wear a suit will surely keep decreasing. Even so, there are these things.

Not scrambling when the moment comes
Not agonizing over what to wear
Not giving off the look of a man in borrowed clothes

For that, keeping just one turns out to be a surprisingly reasonable choice.

Maybe I do not need it. But having it puts my mind at ease.

If I am going to buy a suit at this late stage, that is about the right way to feel about it.