Suit recommendations - help needed

[archi77]

Greetings. I tried searching but wasn't getting what I was looking for...

I recently received a promotion at work, and in talking with my in-office mentor, he suggested I upgrade my attire. We have a "business casual" office - most everyone where's khaki's and polo shirts. Up to this point, most of my wardrobe has been from the mall and Kohl's sales. However, as I am now a supervisor, and will be meeting with our office management daily and some of our corporate officers from time to time, I would like to start wearing suits... or at least nice slackers with shirt/tie.

My promotion did not come with a lotto payout, so I don't have the money for $500 suits, but I also don't want a $75 Sears special... I've had them before, and they were fine for a couple hours at a wedding or something, but not comfortable enough for all day, every day. They also need to be fairly "rugged"... I am an architect, so while it is an office job, I am constantly moving, drawing at a drafting table, tossing large rolls of paper on the desk, etc. In general, it feels like I do calisthenics all day! So it can't be restrictive.

Where do I begin??

 

[adriang]

A good option might be Brooks Brothers, especially if you can get to an outlet mall around a sale. I picked up a really good suit (including extra pants) for about $350 last year. I never take much notice of the retail prices, but it was allegedly about $700. I got mine at the one in Vegas, and I reckon I looked at about 30 suits from all of the usual suspects. (I was prepared to go up to about $600).

It wears well, I travel a lot for business, and it takes the whole off and on planes thing well, without getting creased and looking like it's been slept in.

 

[Doc4]

You will get lots of suggestions here, but ...

Bottom line: buy quality, slowly. Buy one suit (on sale if at all possible) for as much as you can. Get a plain, mid/dark grey-to-charcoal suit, or navy blue. Presumably, you will be buying a second soon-ish, so one of them now and the other next.

Stay away from patterns, pin-stripes, and bold colours. You will be wearing this suit frequently, and bold and patterned suits draw attention to themselves in a bad way after repeated wearings.

Worsted (a type of fabric) wool makes good, durable suits.

 

[Stevew443]

My suggestion would be to get one good dark suit (charcoal grey would be my choice) and then pick up some nice dress trousers and a couple nice sport jackets. You can be very dressy in the suit and at the upper end of business casual with the trousers and sport coat. I have found several nice sport jackets at Kohls, and the prices were not that out of line.

 

[reverseapachemaster]

If the other people at your level don't wear suits then it's probably overshooting for you to do it, especially on a daily basis. Chances are high that you'll wear them for a week and when you feel out of place you'll go back to wearing slacks and a dress shirt or polo.

You could get a lot of improvement on your attire by wearing quality, well-fitting dress shirts and slacks. Clothes are a lot like blades. There are lots that will do the job but every brand fits differently and you need to find what fits well on you. The Kohls house brand might be fine if it fits well on you. Better to spend $20 on a well-fitting shirt than $100 on an awkwardly-fitting shirt with slightly nicer stitching.

 

[elsmooth]

My 2 cents.

Any advice you receive on fit first is great advice. A $2K suit that fits poorly is going to look far worse that a $200 suit that fits well. Also, charcoal is your best bet (as previously stated). Navy with subtle pinstripes is a close second IMO.

If you're looking for brand advice...there's a lot of it, and a lot of it will be subjective (like what I'm about to say). The best value in fabric and construction I personally have seen is from Jack Victor, via Sierra Trading Post. Getting a 30-35% off coupon and applying itto one of those is a good way to get a very well made suit (with good fabric) for a very reasonable price. After shipping, it'll probably run you around $250-$300. Risk of course is that the fit won't be acceptable or fixable...but that's online shopping risk for you. Assuming the areas that should fit off the rack (i.e. shoulders) are good to go, you'll be a few minor adjustments away from having a very good piece at a very fair price.

Good luck!

 

[avsmusic1]

I will echo the other advice on fit.

Candidly, the price range you're looking into for a suit is challenging. There are not many good options consistently available and sale hunting may leave you with a nice quality but a bold pattern that is not as useful.

My suggestion is to find a brand that fits well and start with a couple blazers/sport coats. In my experience, you should focus on shoulder measurement, sleeve girth, and jacket length (in that order). The sleeve firth is really only applicable if you're arms are slim and the jacket length is only really important if you're a height that puts you in-between the S-R-L standards. A decent tailor can adjust the other measurements (sleeve length, waist, etc) in a fairly cost effective manor. It always helps to have a jacket that fits well from the start though.

 

[LogisticEarth]

From the way you're describing your job, it might be a good idea to get a couple sport jackets/blazers for now and save up for a decent suit in the future. Wearing one suit every day can get dicey, and will wear the suit out quickly. Especially if you buy on the lower end of quality (e.g. a $200 suit). To be honest, it seems like $400-500 is entry level for decent suits. If your budget really is that tight right now, it honestly might be a good idea to head over to some local thrift/second hand shops and see what they have for sport jackets. You'll often find some quality stuff. I just got a fairly new blazer that retails for $150 for $20 at a trendier second hand store. If you find a decent one at Goodwill or Salvation Army you can sometimes get blazers for as little as $5. This may not seem glamorous, but nobody has to know where you got it from! The only thing better than being dressed well is being dressed well an not blowing a whole lot of money.

 

[01HDFXD]

Jos. A. Banks seems to be a good compromise between price and quality, and they are usually having twofer type sales.

 

[dfoulk]

Hart Shaffner Marx suits at Dillard's are amazing and were the one's everybody really wanted when I was in a "wear a suit to work everyday job" a while back. By far the most comfortable suits I've ever worn. Feels like you're wearing silk pajamas. These are not cheap suits, but you can sometimes catch them on sale which makes them much more affordable. I'd go for quality over quantity and slowly add to your wardrobe as you are able to do so.

 

[LogisticEarth]

Jos. A. Banks seems to be a good compromise between price and quality, and they are usually having twofer type sales.

They are constantly running sales because the suits are only worth half of what they list them for. It's just their marketing gimmick. The $1000 suit they sell might really be a $400 suit, and the $500 retail price suit is really only a $200 suit. You can do worse for quality, but just don't be fooled into thinking you're actually getting a great deal. Just take whatever their sale price is and treat it like a normal retail price. If it's still seems like a good deal at that price, then go for it.

 

[01HDFXD]

They are constantly running sales because the suits are only worth half of what they list them for. It's just their marketing gimmick. The $1000 suit they sell might really be a $400 suit, and the $500 retail price suit is really only a $200 suit. You can do worse for quality, but just don't be fooled into thinking you're actually getting a great deal. Just take whatever their sale price is and treat it like a normal retail price. If it's still seems like a good deal at that price, then go for it.

I definitely agree. Their sale prices are fair, but their MSRP is way overinflated.

 

[gegarrenton]

They are constantly running sales because the suits are only worth half of what they list them for. It's just their marketing gimmick. The $1000 suit they sell might really be a $400 suit, and the $500 retail price suit is really only a $200 suit. You can do worse for quality, but just don't be fooled into thinking you're actually getting a great deal. Just take whatever their sale price is and treat it like a normal retail price. If it's still seems like a good deal at that price, then go for it.

I had a buddy drop about 2k at a Jos. A last year, I told him he should probably check his receipt, he probably owns the franchise now!

 

[DE85]

If you do go with Jos. A Bank stay far away from the Executive line of suits. They will not last being used for anything other than hanging in the closet. You can often ignore brand names sewn in the coat, look at the materials its made from. Look for 100%wool and for the movement you will want to look for 120's wool, any higher it will likely be too delicate to last. The advice by LogisticEarth to go for sport coats would probably more fitting especially if you have to show up on site of the project. Good Luck with the promotion!

 

[reverseapachemaster]

Jos A. Bank is a decent place to pick a suit (but as I said above, look at the fit) as long as you hit them on deals. Sometimes you can get suit prices below $200 by buying multiple suits on a deal. However, don't think you have to walk into a specialty shop to find a good suit. Lots of good suits to be found at big box clothing stores like Macy's.

I also agree that thrift stores can sometimes yield very nice suits, especially if you look around nicer neighborhoods where the thrift stores are local. Goodwill often ships merchandise around the country, rather than keeping it where it was donated, but local shops don't have anywhere to ship so it will stay put. Look at the material and degree of wear on the suit. Specifically, look at the elbows, back and the seat of the pants. Check the seams for tears. Unstitched seams can be re-stitched but you don't want to have visible repair work on tears if you can avoid it. Also make sure the jacket lining is in good shape. If it's discolored, torn, or hangs off the fabric (a sign it was washed instead of dry cleaned) then pass unless you love the suit so much you want to pay to have it re-lined. Also, obviously, try it on to determine the fit.

 

[archi77]

If the other people at your level don't wear suits then it's probably overshooting for you to do it, especially on a daily basis. Chances are high that you'll wear them for a week and when you feel out of place you'll go back to wearing slacks and a dress shirt or polo.

Sorry, I didn't explain clearly enough. Most of the office wears the polos, but most of "my level" and ALL of those above wear suits of some degree (some wear blazer with slacks, a couple wear full 3-piece suits, etc.) So a suit won't be out of place for me, at all. And I will definitely need one the days I am meeting with Corporate officers... they're all wearing them - unless it's a golf meeting.

From the way you're describing your job, it might be a good idea to get a couple sport jackets/blazers for now and save up for a decent suit in the future. Wearing one suit every day can get dicey, and will wear the suit out quickly. Especially if you buy on the lower end of quality (e.g. a $200 suit).

That's a great idea, I didn't even think of blazers. I might look into that more.

Part of the reasoning for the suggestion that I upgrade my wardrobe is that I am expecting another promotion by year's end, as well, once I complete my licensing. Once licensed, it's been pretty much put in writing that I will become a manager, as our office has over 100 employees, but currently only 4 licensed architects (I will be #5...) So this upgrade is just the first step in what I foresee to be many more upgrades. On a plus side, the Manager's promotion will come with a decent pay increase!

 

[MrSpeedy]

First off, congratulations on your promotion! Is wearing dress slacks, shirt and tie an option? That could be a good transition. I'm not a fan a sport jackets/blazers, but the right one could work.

If you want to get a couple of suits quickly, Jos A. Bank is an OK option. I'd spend a little extra to have them professionally tailored (I don't trust their in-house tailors). Brooks Brothers has semi-annual sales, so keep an eye out for those.

 

[babydials]

End of season department store sales (especially if you have a coupon) can be great. Right now we are at the tail end of the end of season sales, so finding a decent suit under $250 should not be all that hard. Getting one or two and supplimenting with a sport coat and blazer would work. As someone else stated avoid patterns (a subtle herringbone or nail head is fine). Avoid flannel. The more classic the lapel with the longer you will be able to wear it.

 

[Oldmso54]

My son just graduated college and went to both Jos. A. Banks and Men's Wearhouse. He ended up getting 2 suits at Men's Wearhouse. Better service, better quality, better advice.

The recommendations on FIT over PRICE are spot on. As is QUALITY over QUANTITY.

 

[Acmemfg]

Don't know where in Maryland you are located, but a trip to JS Edwards in Baltimore may be in order. What you need is to have the garment you purchase properly fitted. You are NOT gonna find this service at Kohl's or Target. A proper tailor can take a piece of burlap, work his magic, and have you looking country gentleman cool in your now Hopsack blazer. Don't waste money at Men's Wearhouse or the like. You get what you pay for in quality men's wear.