I'm 22 and looking to buy my first suit. Need some help

[grabberorangemustang]

Hello everyone! First let me start off by saying how much I appreciate everyone's help on these forums. You all have been nothing but helpful and genuine since I have joined. I appreciate the help I have received with wet shaving, pens, and other questions that have arisen since joining.

On to more "Manly" stuff... I am graduating with my Bachelors in Business Management and Entrepreneurship in May and I have a career fair coming up next month. I currently don't own a suit, nice shoes, ect. So I thought that I could come here for advice from people who have gone through the same thing. I am looking for a budget friendly, but not cheap quality, suit,shoes,pants,shirt,tie,ect. I see lots of ads and commercials for suit stores, but I don't know who to trust, or who has good deals. I live North of Atlanta GA if that helps in picking a good store that can "fit me" and help provide advice. I'm not here to ask for top of the line designer advice, simply a good reputable suit store/designer that offers a quality suit to someone on a college budget.

I am thinking something Charcoal/Grey. I know that is the "in" color, but I have been told by many people to not wear black to a career fair because you don't "stand out"... You tell me.

Thanks yall

 

[adfawson]

check out shop style (you will have to state what price range you are wanting to stay in), T. M. Lewin and indochino, I think that might be around the price range you have in mind. I personally get all my shirts from T. M. Lewin, and have suit from them as well, and it works well for me and their products are good quality.
I love Tommy Hilfiger ties.
As for shoes, I am still looking for the right ones for me.

 

[Doc4]

Read this ... http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/105206-The-quot-only-one-suit-quot-thread

... and this ... http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/443249-Mechanical-Engineer-Interview-suit

In a nutshell ... you are right to prefer darker grey over black.

What is your budget, and what stores do you have personal access to? (No point telling you to go try on a suit at "The Suit Shoppe" if the nearest one is 500 miles away.)

Especially for young professionals starting out, you get a lot of "slack" in interviews for wearing inexpensive suits. You're "a college kid", so don't really have the budget for Armani &c. Where you can let yourself down is messing up the "inexpensive details" like not having the suit fit properly, a shoddy tie knot, unshined shoes ...

Nobody is going to hire you "because of your suit". They will, however, see obvious flaws in your presentation as indicative of underlying problems that they should avoid. "If the kid can't even bother to get the sleeves of his suit tailored, and can't manage a decent shine on his shoes, how is he going to get a big project done on time?" That sort of thing.

If you nail the suit &c, they won't even notice it, and your personality and qualifications can shine through.

 

[mdex]

<I have to type faster.... beaten to the punch!>

There are many threads on this topic, but to summarize if I may...

Charcoal / Grey or Navy is the first suit you should have in your wardrobe. They can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion with different shirt / tie / accessory combinations, but there most likely isn't an event that this type of suit can't tackle. Stay with a conservative fit, but also remember your 22 so a more 'fitted' look will probably suit you more. Stick with 2 button, notch lapel and flat front pants unless someone who knows your shape and really understands fashion tells you otherwise (some body types just look better in other cuts). Having the suit fit well is more important then the brand etc. A less expensive suit that fits well will 99 times of of 100 look better then a really expensive one that doesn't fit. Shoes are another important area, stay fairly conservative with the first pair, and make sure they have a great shine on them.

Unfortunately I don't have any knowledge as to whom is good in your area, but you can look into some of the online MTM options out there. Most are not overly expensive and will most likely fit better than off the rack clothing.

 

[IDvsEGO]

yeah, dont wear black. How much are you looking to spend? how often do you think you will wear the suit? North of Altanta huh? How far North? I live in Dekalb county and work in Gwinnett. I can help you out with some local stores once we zero in on the specifics...mostly price.

General advice
- stay with as much wool as you can. Wool isnt hot like everybody says. Suit wool is different than that peacoat in your closet. at least natural fibers.
- stick with 2 buttons for the jacket
- leave enough money for alterations. $10 bucks for pant length, maybe naother $10 for waist. Around $30 for the jacket sleeves and maybe waist fitment. You may get lucky and have it fit off the rack though
- for off the rack fit...you cant adjust the shoulders so be sure they fit right. There are tons of articles on what that means but you want hte shoulder pad to not exceed your actual shoulders. a test is to put your shoulder against the wall. IF the shoulder pad crunches up before your meat hits the wall, its too big. They should touch aroudn the same time (or for some moderns uits, the pad wont really be there)
- for color stick with charcoal or navy for your first suit. No black, as you said.
- online ordering for a first suit is tricky. you wont get the fit right I almost guarantee it. even if you just try it on local and order fromt he stores web site for your specific size or to use the coupons.


I only were a suit maybe 2 times a year so I don't spend a lot of money. I just bought a Stafford slim suit in 100s wool (just a decent entry level quality is all that means). Nothing fancy but all wool and decently built. I paid $145 after discounts and coupons. Had to order online but had it shipped to a store so I could try it on and return immediately. I ordered 2 pair of pants in different sizes to be sure I had one that worked. If you want to spend a little more go check out J Crew Factory stores, Banana Republic (only with coupons, never full price), and J Crew regular stores. The stuff in places like Macy's is usually not the best value out there. The Bar III suits will do if you are in a rush but aren't that well constructed from what I have read. H&M is pretty trendy and not that well put together but will do in a pinch with sales. Same with Express.

For ties, thetiebar.com or Marshalls/TJ Maxx are great sources. I find a lot at local Goodwill stores too but that may be for the more experienced shopper too. Easy to go wrong with the width or not match that odd pattern up well enough to pull it off. Still, I have found 3 or 4 basic rep stripe ties there.

Stafford dress shirts at JC Penney (I dont work for them, I promise) are a great bargain on sale. On sale they go down to $15. Thin but have a nice fit and are fine for occasional wear.

You need shoes too? A dark brown or black cap toe is forever useful. I really don't like black shoes but they are classic. I wear dark brown wingtips with my suit even if it is borderline to the style gurus. Don't care, I like it.

 

[grabberorangemustang]

Wow you guys are incredible! Looks like I have a lot of reading to do! IDvsEGO, I am in Cherokee county and honestly would love recommendations. My budget? I have some black shoes that I could use if I had to, but I was thinking less than $4-500?

 

[BSAGuy]

Plenty of good advice above. Try Jos. A. Bank or Men's wearhouse. Definitely no black suits ever for business. Navy, gray, pinstripes, etc. Plain white point collar shirt. Conservative tie. Black shoes and belt.

Good luck with landing a job.

 

[T-Mac]

Congrats and good luck.

Make sure your belt matches your shoes and your tie is the same width as your lapel.

I'll echo whats been said so far. The only thing I can think to add is not to be afraid of somewhere like Men's Warehouse. It might not be fancy high end brand name, but you can get a really nice suit. As some of the other guys said, proper fit is the most important thing and they have people who can help you with that. I've also got some killer deals on suits/shirts/ties at Nordstrom Rack, I think there are some around Atlanta. Good brands for good prices and they can tailor for you.

 

[Eaaqas]

Send a pic once you choose! +1 to dark gray / blue. They are very versatile colors.

 

[dgreen92807]

Plenty of good advice above. Try Jos. A. Bank or Men's wearhouse. Definitely no black suits ever for business. Navy, gray, pinstripes, etc. Plain white point collar shirt. Conservative tie. Black shoes and belt.

Good luck with landing a job.

+1 - Bonus: If you buy a Suit, Blazer or Sports Coat at Men's Wearhouse, they will press them for free while you wait. This has saved me on a few occasions where I needed to get a Jacket or Pants "refreshed"; especially while on business travel.

 

[IDvsEGO]

Cherokee County... You have options nearby. Couple of outlet malls and regular malls. If you want to be brave and try an online only place suit supply, combatant gentlemen, and spier Mackay are well regarded. In my experience you can do better than Joseph a banks or men's warehouse if you shop smart. Either same quality for cheaper or better quality for same price. If you want to post or pm your height, weight, and pants size I can dig for some specific deals. I won't be able to tell your exact size but can guess a pretty close number.

For shoes, black is safe. I prefer brown. Dark brown or burgundy. Browns are more modern or European so your parents may look at you funny but your peers won't. DSW has a house brand named Aston Grey and they are decent shoes for the coin.

 

[grabberorangemustang]

Thanks for the added help yall! It's sad that I don't know my neck size or any of that! I have had the same job since I was 15, so I haven't needed a nice "getup".

My size is
6'1
165lbs
32x34-36

 

[grabberorangemustang]

I like this color, if that helps.
http://www.menswearhouse.com/mens-s...th-cole-charcoal-slim-fit-suit-307C308C309C17

 

[IDvsEGO]

I would guess you should start at 38R for the jacket. I am 5'11 and 150 with 30-32 inch waist and wear a 36-38R. For your neck...I wear a 15.5 or 16 depending on the shirt. I have had KC suit and liked the banana Republic modern slim fit better. You can find 40% off coupons all the time and if you sign up for email list you get a stackable one time use 25% off coupon too. Makes it cheaper than that KC. Make a trip to the j crew factory store and try out their Thompson suits. Those are my first two easy to find recommendations. That charcoal is a popular and common color. Shouldn't be a problem.

 

[IDvsEGO]

Thompson coat
https://factory.jcrew.com/mens-clothing/suiting/PRDOVR~47226/47226.jsp?color_name=charcoal
Thompson pants
https://factory.jcrew.com/mens-clothing/suiting/PRDOVR~47227/47227.jsp
short review
http://dappered.com/2012/07/in-person-j-crew-factory-thompson-worsted-wool-suit/

Stafford 100 slim jacket
http://www.jcpenney.com/stafford-ex...00+slim&catId=SearchResults&_dyncharset=UTF-8
Stafford 100 slim pant
http://www.jcpenney.com/shops/pants...00+slim&catId=SearchResults&_dyncharset=UTF-8

The BR option is lighter so I didnt include it.

I would wear a shoe like this with it personally
http://www.dsw.com/shoe/mercanti+fi...od5700077&activeCats=cat20192,dsw12cat1970002

 

[grabberorangemustang]

Awesome! Thank you so much for putting the time into helping me out! I will try some on in the next few weeks and let yall know how it goes

 

[IDvsEGO]

No problem. I had most of the info on hand since I was doing very similar shopping myself. There are plenty of other options, these are just the ones I narrowed it to for myself. I really wanted to order the Combatant Gent but they were out of stock and not resupplying until after I needed it. Google them, pretty impressive for the money.

 

[Edcculus]

Will you also be interviewing around the Atlanta area? If so, consider a bow tie. Not out of place in the least bit in the South, but it will make you stand out (in a good way)

 

[grabberorangemustang]

Will you also be interviewing around the Atlanta area? If so, consider a bow tie. Not out of place in the least bit in the South, but it will make you stand out (in a good way)

Yes I will be. I hadn't thought about that, and I will look into them. I have seen some very nice handmade ones.

 

[grabberorangemustang]

No problem. I had most of the info on hand since I was doing very similar shopping myself. There are plenty of other options, these are just the ones I narrowed it to for myself. I really wanted to order the Combatant Gent but they were out of stock and not resupplying until after I needed it. Google them, pretty impressive for the money.

https://www.combatgent.com/suits/the-grey-slim-fit-suit

This one?