For various reasons, I think I need to get a dark blue suit that is not $150 Macy’s stuff that I have been wearing… Seriously, my current clothes are what I used to interview for college internships. Anyway, where should I do this? What sort of styles are good now? I am completely not fashion conscious and am out of touch with what is cool nowadays. If no feedback, I think I will just go to Brooks Brothers or something… and I understand that some people here look down on that…
I like banana republic’s suits. You may need to get them tailored a bit if you want a slimmer look, but I find they’re just fine off the rack.
Note that I don’t work with - or associate with - many fashion-pretentious people.
I’d highly recommend going to places like brooks brothers, harry rosen, holt renfrew, henry singer, etc if you’re looking for good suits, or even just get bespoke from a tailor
Banana republic is good, slightly trendy versus bb’s more “professional” look. But if you do go to banana republic, sign up for their email list first. At least here in canada, I get a 30 or 40% off coupon almost every week. Paying full price there is just dumb.
Don’t do Brooks Brothers, their cut is super wide with no athleticism so your suits will never look sharp. I’m not a suit expert though so I"m sure others here will point you to good places, I just know Brooks Brother’s suits don’t usually look very sharp as a result of the cut. Banana Republic may be okay. I’d recommend hitting up maybe a hugo boss or something and asking them what they have. But I’m just totally guessing.
I think what it comes down to is that when it comes to suits, brand name means a lot more than it does for regular clothing. A nice gucci with a few adjustments will look an awful lot better than some off the rack retail name. It’s all about the material after all.
Where you located? Just visit one of those chinks around Chinatown who could hook up with some legitshit straight from the sweatshop.
may i humbly suggest the following ?
I recently went through this exercise when, for various rasons, I needed to buy a three piece suit (ballin’ out of control! Seriously, merely adding the third piece to the suit makes you at least 200% more badass (in my case, off of a low base)). I think prior to that the only suits I had were $99 specials from Joseph A Banks.
I went to Brooks Brothers and got a custom tailored suit (I agree with BlackSwan’s comment about off the rack suits though). That may be above and beyond what you need, but my point was:
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it will last a long time
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I need a real suit that doesn’t look like shit (there are some high end meetings where this is required)
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I’m not planning to get larger, so hopefully it fits for a long time
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Closely related to 3, I am “not fat” (5’11" 165) which means that pretty much nothing in the US fits me
So it depends on what you need the suit for. If you need something “good enough” and don’t need it immediately, I would wait for a decent sale at Jos Banks or even Nordstrom (they have suit blow out sales twice a year, including high end stuff). Hard to go wrong with Canali or Zegna at a good price, but only if you need something fancy. The material and cut do make a really big difference.
harry rosen and holt renfrew do not operate in america.
See, I would say that’s not entirely true.
I do agree that you can spot an off the rack no-name suit a mile away. But I’d argue the cut and fit are far more important than name or fabric. If a suit is poorly fitted, no gucci label and no amount of high end fabric will fix that. It will simply look bad. LIke you borrowed your parent’s suit for an interview or something. If it’s well fitted, it’ll just make you look damn good and the name will not be nearly as important. Of course a high quality, nicely fitted suit brings both those together into a badass set of apparell.
I’m not an expert though, so take everything I just said with a grain of salt.
True, I generalized with off the rack. I’m sure custom taylored Brooks Brothers looks sick.
Sears has nice suits on sale every so often.
Wow!! I would have phrased it differently but he’s right. You can get some incredibly nice suits straight from Hong Kong, but you’ll have to know your fabrics to make sure you don’t get ripped off.
Hugo Boss makes really nice suits in the $600-800 range. Nordstrom is a great place to go. Sort of a lower end luxury store without the pretentiousness of a Neiman Marcus (needless markup).
whatever you do, DO NOT ever buy a suit from brooks brothers. there are several characteristics that may qualify you for a brooks brothers’ suit:
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you are over 6’5’’, or weigh more than 300 pounds
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you intend to interview at a circus for the newly opened clown position, and would like to make a favorable first impression with baggy clothing and vibrant colors
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you’ve been born and raised in new england, went to a douchey prep school there and your idea of a suit is something similar to your old school uniform. You also think that the gold buttons on your navy blue blazer would complement nicely the green-and-pink striped tie prominently displayed on the mannequin inside the store
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somebody pointed a gun against your head and told you that you must choose between Brooks Brothers and Mens Warehouse
go to Hickey Freeman on Market St just past the interesection of Fourth St walking towards Third St
I think I need to go to a dedicated suit store, not Nordstrom sale or something like that. To be honest, I don’t think I can tell the difference between a good fit/cut or just a normal (not sucks) one. This probably requires the discerning eye of a practiced (and usually but unrelatedly sexually ambiguous) sales person…
Fuck buying off the rack, get MTM or even bespoke from a tailor for the same price as a Zegna off the rack. If you want to go into a retail store, most brands have their own made to measure lines which are definitely a step above what you can get off the rack, Zegna’s line is called Su Misura and is very good. If you are ever in Vancouver I can connect you to my friend who is a rep for that line.
Personally I am an advocate for MTM rather then off the rack. Mostly because with my body shape I look like I am wearing a fuckin tent when I wear off the rack suits that fit my chest/shoulders/neck and ass. There are a number of options available at different price points. On the cheaper end there are a number of tailors in HK that fly across NA and Europe. They will be able to measure you up and have a suit made for you with your choice of cut/fabric and it will fit your dimensions exactly. You could also likely find a tailor locally that will be able to provide the same service. If you are cautious individual and want the security of a brand name department stores like Neiman, Nordstroms and Harry Rosen of these services. The beauty of a MTM suit, or even full bespoke from a non-department store tailor is that not only will the suit will fit better, you will typically be able to get super 120’s or wool/cashmere/silk blend Zegna/Dormeuil/etc fabrics for anywhere between 800-1500 bucks.
Most of these websites look like shit but in order to give you a sense of the process and what I am talking about, you should check them out. I always beleive that when making purchases its better to be overwhelmed with information/options then make a poor decision simply due to ignorance.
http://www.maxwellsclothiers.com/
http://www.lgfgfashionhouse.com/en/PMen.aspx
Also, wait till february, thats prime sale season.
LOL!
is fashion sense a big thing in your office?..walking through the financial district in uk/hongkong and other cities, i cant help but notice how pretty many ppl look…occasionally you get a quasi modo character hiding in the shadows for a quick smoke during the lunch break but by and large…ppl are really pretty…are plump ppl with balding scalps frowned upon in the office?
Being in public accounting I’ve had the chance to be in more different offices then I can count. Banking (IB, PWM, and S&T) is the best dressed place I’ve been around. Especially the skirts. By contrast, male and most female CPAs in general dress awfully. I’m not sure if its a lack of knowing how to dress, or simply not caring, but most can’t find a good looking outfit. In private industry, most places don’t care but there is a huge range. One time I went to a manufacturing client and their accounting clerks were all wearing like XL t shirts and blue jeans.
Its really nice for me since I barely have to try and I’m already the best dressed person on my team.