Newbie needs some help finding dress shirts

Hey guys, I am a newbie to the Haberdashery forum of B&B. I am a junior at Rutgers Business School in accounting and the amount of times I have to dress formally is increasing! I find myself really enjoying this, but I have a little bit of a problem. Most of the dress shirts I own were given to me as gifts by family members who did not know my true shirt size. Then when I go to wear them with a tie, I can never get the top button done. I got measured at the Polo store today and they said I was an 18-32/33. I am looking to pick up a few dress shirts for school and would like to keep the price down if I can, but I still want to get some decent shirts. Do you guys have any suggestions as to where I could start looking?

Thanks!

What is your budget? There are many options, but they can be all over the board.

Costco: nice shirts for $17.99.

I do most of my clothes shopping in the factory outlets that I have near my house. I am typically unwilling to pay mall prices for clothes. A big part of that is because of my budget but I don't want to be too much of a hypocrite because I am obviously on B&B spending all kind of money on shaving items I guess I'd like to keep it as low as possible but while still wearing something respectable.

I just picked this up off of Amazon. I forgot to check one of the most obvious places. Hope it fits right:

http://www.amazon.com/Kenneth-Cole-...r_1_1?s=apparel&ie=UTF8&qid=1392606839&sr=1-1

I am still willing to take suggestions on where to shop in person though, I can still use any insight that you experienced gentleman would be willing to offer.

Jos A bank on sales, Charles Tyrwhitt clearance, Paul Fredrick(you can get up to 4 white shirts choosing fit, collar style, cuff, and free monogramming for $20 each), J.Cew Factory, Banana Republic Factory, and Brooks Brothers outlet.

For the price of the ones you got you could get any number of these.

I know you live near a Brooks Brothers Factory store. Their "346" line is especially designed for those stores but the ones I've had have held up just fine for the past 4-5 years. And I think they are running some sort of sale right now.

Josh I will try to head over there sometime on my lunch break in the next week. Thanks for the great suggestion!

Nick - no problem. I also like Charles Tyrwhitt too but since they are online only, I figure it would make sense to take a look at the BB Factory line before the sale ends. Another brand that gets less pub but which I like as a no-nonsense lower-price tier are Eagle dress shirts. They can be found at Macys and are eligible for their crazy sales and coupons. For instance I used some stackable coupon/promo and got a few shirts for around $30 or so.

AABCDS said:

Costco: nice shirts for $17.99.

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This. I have about 10 shirts from Costco and they are great for the money. I also picked up the Costco Italian wool pants for $40.

I'm in the same boat as you, just finished my undergrad and have an accounting internship before I start grad school. I'm in public accounting, and depending on the industry you go in to, business casual is the most you will do, and usually no tie. The only people that wear suits are the partners drumming up new business, and a couple of the banks we audit require us to wear suits.

Hmm I usually wear bus casual every day so that shouldn't be an issue. A little disappointed though I was looking forward to wearing a shirt and tie everyday. I have a wonderful collection of ties going for myself, again all gifts. Congrats on graduating and your internship!!!

Ebay. Trust me on this. Seems like you wouldn't want to do this, but I've found out it's pretty good.

1) Know your size.
2) Stick with brands you know fit you in that size.
3) Only deal with sellers that do clothing and put up measurements and at least 6 clear, large pics.

The thing is, people who buy expensive clothing will usually take care of their clothes, and a dress shirt's a dress shirt. I've bought $100+ Brooks Brothers shirts for $7 that look and feel like they've been worn once or twice. Seriously, I've been tempted to try to return them, that's how good they were.

intheshaw said:

This. I have about 10 shirts from Costco and they are great for the money. I also picked up the Costco Italian wool pants for $40.

I'm in the same boat as you, just finished my undergrad and have an accounting internship before I start grad school. I'm in public accounting, and depending on the industry you go in to, business casual is the most you will do, and usually no tie. The only people that wear suits are the partners drumming up new business, and a couple of the banks we audit require us to wear suits.

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I absolutely love the pants too. I got one of each color.

Renaldo said:

Ebay. Trust me on this. Seems like you wouldn't want to do this, but I've found out it's pretty good.

1) Know your size.
2) Stick with brands you know fit you in that size.
3) Only deal with sellers that do clothing and put up measurements and at least 6 clear, large pics.

The thing is, people who buy expensive clothing will usually take care of their clothes, and a dress shirt's a dress shirt. I've bought $100+ Brooks Brothers shirts for $7 that look and feel like they've been worn once or twice. Seriously, I've been tempted to try to return them, that's how good they were.

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Exactly! My wife is a stay at home mom and I can't afford to buy Brooks Brothers new. Luckily there's eBay - plus, my rich neighbors have bought them, worn them once or twice and have donated them to the Goodwill. Thursday is 25% off day for law enforcement and military so I occasionally snag a couple shirts that nobody would guess were from a 2nd hand shop.

Land's End?

+1 on this. Also thrift stores and consignment for dress and casual shirts and ties. No need to spend lots of money on shirts.

DE85 said:

Jos A bank on sales, Charles Tyrwhitt clearance, Paul Fredrick(you can get up to 4 white shirts choosing fit, collar style, cuff, and free monogramming for $20 each), J.Cew Factory, Banana Republic Factory, and Brooks Brothers outlet.

For the price of the ones you got you could get any number of these.

Click to expand...

Teppanyaki said:

Land's End?

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I wore a number of Land's End shirts. Nice shirts. Only problems I have had is that once the pocket start to pull away, and my wristwatch tends to fray the left cuffs on several of them. Probably that could happen with any shirt. Land's End has great customer service, a nice selection of styles, fabric and sizes, and a good return policy (Sears). And their prices are reasonable. Additionally they have mailed me fabric samples.

Lands End has some very good clearance sales too and often have free shipping. I have a number of those in my closet. They only problem is they tend to be short and are the only maker I must order Long.