Suits: What to buy and what to avoid

[WORKEROUTER]

I have a couple entry-level sales interviews this week, and need to get a good-looking suit. Problem is I can only spend around a couple hundred bucks for one.

Ideas? Went to JC Penny's and they looked pretty crappy. I'm thinking of some outlet stores...

 

[seanchai]

How many hundreds of bucks are you looking to spend? You can get a suit at Banana Republic (boring charcoal three button, the career fair suit) for ~$425, some other suits there for less. You can get a nicer suit for much, much less with a little effort and some choice thrift shops. I wouldn't go cheaper than about $300 for your first suit.

When you go check out a shop, make sure you ask the best dressed dude for help, and specifically NOT chicks. They really don't know anything about the subject in my experience as a suiting salesman.

Do you have your shirt, shoes and tie all set?

 

[Labourer]

I find the 'Pierre Cardin' suits very comfortable to wear and they look good - when I used to wear a suit that is lol but I would definately buy another if I need one.

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Go to Men's Warehouse. They have a huge selection plus their salespeople know a lot about style and fit. Also, they do alterations that will make mildly priced suit fit like a more expensive one.

 

[seanchai]

Go to Men's Warehouse.

*cringe*

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

*cringe*

Eloquently said...

Care to substantiate?

 

[doctoroxygen]

Men's Wearhouse suits are poor-fitting and poor quality for a price that could be beat by better quality, better fitting suits just by looking around. I'm not sure the things that matter to seanchai and I, stylewise, matter to everyone here, though.

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Men's Wearhouse suits are poor-fitting and poor quality for a price that could be beat by better quality, better fitting suits just by looking around. I'm not sure the things that matter to seanchai and I, stylewise, matter to everyone here, though.

I don't know what they try to sell in your area but here they sell Calvin Klien, Ralph Lauren, Pierre Cardin, Kenneth Cole and Clairborn. You can't do better on quality, fit or style unless you go custom.

 

[doctoroxygen]

You can frequently get Kiton and Brioni suits for between $300 and $500 on eBay, for instance, both of which are paragons of RTW suits in terms of quality and fit. The only problem with these is that you have to wait for the deals to appear, and you have to be willing to look hard for them. If you need a relatively cheap suit and you need it now (or very soon), I would recommend the 3 button from BR than seanchai recommended. Try to get one on sale, as they're definitely not worth the retail price.

 

[MetalFortress]

I have a couple entry-level sales interviews this week, and need to get a good-looking suit. Problem is I can only spend around a couple hundred bucks for one.

Ideas? Went to JC Penny's and they looked pretty crappy. I'm thinking of some outlet stores...

Hit up Express. Their suits look classy and fit well. Then again, their blazers might be a bit expensive...

 

[seanchai]

I don't know what they try to sell in your area but here they sell Calvin Klien, Ralph Lauren, Pierre Cardin, Kenneth Cole and Clairborn. You can't do better on quality, fit or style unless you go custom.

You can do much better than those, RTW, in terms of all of those criteria. Vintage Pierre Cardin is awesome; modern PC is not. KC is poorly made. For the money I'd go to BR, but they're not particularly nice-fitting either.

Still, a MW suit is a suit, and they're relatively cheap. It'll serve your purpose if your purpose is wearing a suit.

You could check out H&M if they're in your area - the quality is garbage but the fit is top-notch and the price is unbeatable for what you get.

 

[Demon]

I wear Calvin Klein jackets and Claiborne pants for most activities, but I'm currently budgeting for a few executive suits from Noble House. Noble House (or any Hong Kong tailor) is definitely not for entry-level sales associates, but it's good to keep in mind once you move up.

 

[Monster]

Suits at Men's Warehouse are mostly factory seconds. But if you don't see anything wrong with them why not, they have good prices.

 

[Ice Cold]

Whatever you buy - make sure it's wool and nothing else.

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Suits at Men's Warehouse are mostly factory seconds. But if you don't see anything wrong with them why not, they have good prices.

True. The imperfections tend to be mis-sewn lining or something else out of sight. I have seen misaligned pinstripes on a shoulder before but it was pretty minor. I can live with an imperfection or two if it saves me a couple of hundred bucks, especially if they tailor it to fit properly.

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

You can do much better than those, RTW, in terms of all of those criteria. Vintage Pierre Cardin is awesome; modern PC is not. KC is poorly made. For the money I'd go to BR, but they're not particularly nice-fitting either...

So tell me exactly where you can find vintage PC for a couple of hundred dollars.

 

[seanchai]

So tell me exactly where you can find vintage PC for a couple of hundred dollars.

That's not the point. Vintage PC is well put-together, modern is not, meaning it is not worth the couple hundred dollars spent on the modern stuff. Just because you can't necessarily find vintage does not make modern your second-best option.

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

That's not the point. ...

No, if you bothered to read the original post you'd realize that Workerouter only wanted to spend a couple of hundred dollars. The point was about affordability.

 

[seanchai]

No, if you bothered to read the original post you'd realize that Workerouter only wanted to spend a couple of hundred dollars. The point was about affordability.

Am I wrong to assume he wants value for the money? If I am, then might I recommend those $100 suits you can get with two shirts and a pair of socks in the backalleys of big cities. Can't beat those in terms of affordability.

My point is you can do a lot better than MW for slightly more. If he just wanted advice on where to get the absolute cheapest suits he wouldn't have specified that JC Penney had bad quality ones.

 

[WORKEROUTER]

Went to the Macy's 16 hour sale the other day. Bought a jacket over 50% off by Polo. Originally was $365. Got it for $145.

Fits well and looks good.