Understanding the Jos. A Bank Lines

I know many here aren't keen on Jos. A Bank in general. I abhor their constantly churning marketing/sale/promo gimmicks, ridiculously inflated MSRP tag prices, and especially their Buy 1 Get 3 style promos. That said, I've found that the local store is staffed by some very knowledgeable and helpful gentlemen that are able to measure and size me extremely accurately, and that those sizes tend to transfer across all of their lines with some minor size up/down modifiers depending on cut (I can wear a 39 Regular or 41 Slim, but 40 Tailored is my sweet spot, for example). As such, I can get measured any time I have notable weight/body changes and then trust those measurements to shop online in the constantly rotating clearance section where the company's real price/quality value seems to be.

As such, I've spent enough time on their site to understand the basic dichotomy of most of their lines, but where some of the lines fit aren't quite as clear to me.

These are my findings and question marks arranged from low to high end. Keep in mind my assessments of quality are from someone who is reasonably stylish but not an owner of fine suits or a daily wearer of suits (probably wear a sport coat 4-5 times/month and a suit once a month). I'll say my

Known Quantities

Executive (MSRP ~$650, Clearance ~$100)
Bottom of the barrel. Suits are fully fused and mostly Traditional fit. Suit pants are unlined. Dress/Sports shirts are a bit on the thin side with no wrinkle-free properties (though the sports shirts honestly aren't bad for non-ironed weekend wear). Chinos feel cheap with no wrinkle free properties even though they're advertised as such. The only thing I'd ever buy Executive would be a casual sports shirt for weekend wear or a tie.

Joseph (MSRP ~$650-900, Clearance ~$100)
Priced similarly to Executive. Pick stitching, high arm holes, mostly slim fit. Fully fused, pants unlined. Dress shirts are slim-fit equivalent of Executive. Overall a more modern/trendy equivalent to the Executive line, but (to me) I think the cut and fit make these feel at least somewhat nicer, as does the copper lining. That said, they may not hold up over time.

Tropical Blend (MSRP ~$700, Clearance ~$100)Priced similarly to Executive. Linen/wool blends. Fused, unlined. Similar to the Joseph line, these exceed their price point in quality.

Traveler (MSRP ~$800, Clearance ~$100)
Much more known for the shirts than the suits. Fully fused, lined to the knee, natural stretch 100% wool, treated for wrinkle/stain resistance. Shirts also formaldehyde treated for wrinkle-free no-iron wear out of the dryer or with a quick shower steam. Chinos also treated for wrinkle free and stain resistance. First real step up in quality across the board and they actually do travel well (I usually steam or use wrinkle release after removing from my carry-on). Also carried in all three fits (Slim/Tailored/Traditional) across the entire line. Clearance items are usually priced the same or only slightly higher than Executive/Joseph.

Signature (MSRP ~$900-1100, Clearance ~$200-300)
Similar in quality/construction to Traveler but with nicer merino wools and without the travel-friendly treatments. Still fully-fused, lined to the knee. Shirts are also similar or better quality compared to Traveler, again without the wrinkle-free treatments. Clearance prices are usually ~2x-3x that of Executive/Joseph/Traveler and waiting for the somewhat rarer Signature Gold promos in the same ~$230-$250 range is probably a better value.

Signature Gold (MSRP ~$1300, Promo ~$250)Steps up to half-canvased, still half-lined to the knee. Full range of fits, pleat/plain front, and pick/non-pick stitched. The promos are somewhat rarer, but when you can get these in the $250 range they're a very solid deal if you're looking for the next step up in quality.

Signature Platinum (MSRP ~$2200, Promo ~$550)
Full-canvased, 150s wools, improved stitch/pocket/hardware quality. Rarely on clearance but included in promos. If you can get these in the $500 range they're a solid deal if you're looking for that level of quality.



Question Marks

Classic
Outlet-only Executive line?

Stays Cool
Low end (some under $400 MSRP) seersucker? 100% cotton. Can't say I've ever looked too closely at the quality in-store, but these seem like the suit you buy to wear to one summer wedding a year and that's about it.

Natural Stretch
Similar to Stays Cool, but poplin?

Crossover
Joseph Collection without Pick Stitching?

Signature Gold Centocinquanta

Signature Gold with Italian Super 150s wools?

Thanks for your assessments!

I worked at JAB in my past life. Generally speaking their products are good and reasonably priced.

When it comes to sport coats I would advise to go with the Traveler line. They are treated to be stain resistant
and in my opinion hold up better than the Signature line.

As for the pricing & marketing, not only was it confusing for our customers but for the sales staff as well. Since they were bought
by Men's Warehouse they were going to get rid of the buy one get 2 or 3 free. However, I have not seen it happen.

Great post!

Just some minor low-sample-size updates:

Crossover Collection does seem to basically be Joseph Collection without pick stitching and less flashy lining... definitely fused, not great fabric, and maybe even a bit snugger fit than the Slim Fit of the Joseph. I grabbed a grey herringbone Crossover online for $88 and would have been happy enough with it for the price, but will be returning it because of the below...

On Labor Day I came across a Signature Gold (half-canvased) Tailored Fit mid-grey on clearance online for $99, only size left was mine (pretty common 40R). I've been buying 41R Slim so I don't have to get the pants let out, but a Gold for $99 in the color I've been looking for is absolutely too good to pass, and having the jacket fit near-perfect with only sleeves needing altered will well offset the need to have 1-1.5" let out of the pants. I was tempted to pad my cart with some traveler shirts and a tie from clearance to use the $15 off $150 coupon code, but it turns out these are FAR more common than I realizes with all of the deal-a-day sites having their own affiliate code.

nehpets4627 said:

Just some minor low-sample-size updates:

Crossover Collection does seem to basically be Joseph Collection without pick stitching and less flashy lining... definitely fused, not great fabric, and maybe even a bit snugger fit than the Slim Fit of the Joseph. I grabbed a grey herringbone Crossover online for $88 and would have been happy enough with it for the price, but will be returning it because of the below...

On Labor Day I came across a Signature Gold (half-canvased) Tailored Fit mid-grey on clearance online for $99, only size left was mine (pretty common 40R). I've been buying 41R Slim so I don't have to get the pants let out, but a Gold for $99 in the color I've been looking for is absolutely too good to pass, and having the jacket fit near-perfect with only sleeves needing altered will well offset the need to have 1-1.5" let out of the pants. I was tempted to pad my cart with some traveler shirts and a tie from clearance to use the $15 off $150 coupon code, but it turns out these are FAR more common than I realizes with all of the deal-a-day sites having their own affiliate code.

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Glad that things turn out for you. And yes once you know your size via the Signature, Traveler and Joseph lines you can get some outstanding deals via clearance. But you have to check the website daily or you can miss out. BTW, when I worked for them some employees would purchase suits via clearance sales only. The reason, the price was cheaper than our employee discount. The only good discount we got was the tailoring was free.

One of the big selling points for me is, at my current weight/proportions, a 40R Tailored Fit jacket requires zero tailoring other than sleeve length (while the nested pants require 1.5" out from the waist and hem), while a 41R Slim Fit is nearly as good save for a tad more in the shoulder than I like, while the pants generally only require hem. I have plans for a good MTM suit (currently wavering between Indochino and Black Lapel) in the coming months but, right now as I'm rebuilding my wardrobe after somewhat drastic weight loss, it's nice to be able to pick up suits that will serve me well for several years for ~$100 by just knowing my basic size info and watching for deals.

It's a good entry line for gents out of college and starting a job.

Austin said:

It's a good entry line for gents out of college and starting a job.

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I hear this a lot, but I don't think you're going to look out of place in any professional environment, regardless of position, wearing anything JAB sells as long as it matches and fits well (proper starting fit, sleeve length and hem, possibly waist suppressed)... this is where the majority of men fail, not in buying something too cheap but by buying something that's not close to fitting right to begin with and, if it is at least in the ball park, not making the effort to get it all the way there.

From my experience if you wear say a 40R you will need to go up to a 41R Tailored or Slim Fit.

Some guys are lucky and it sounds like you are one in that they fit into suits and just need the sleeves and the pants bottoms done.

BTW, you mentioned you are building your wardrobe. Is this for your work?

In the strictest sense you should buy based on what fits your shoulders and THEN pick the fit type (basically more waste supression and higher arm holes as go from Traditional to Tailored to Slim) but in practice I've found that 40R Tailored is my sweet spot, 41R Slim works well with the benefit of not needing to have nested pants let out, and 39R Traditional works well too but is a bit on the boxy side and I generally avoid.

I'm rebuilding my wardrobe after losing ~55lb over the course of 6 months (diet change and running, training first for a 10k and now two half matathons). I started out at 225lb and a 44R w/38-39" waist. I'm now down to ~170lb and 40R/~35" waist. I made some intermediate purchases on eBay at 42R/36" but spent very little because I didn't expect my weight loss to stop there (and it didn't). I've not pretty much plateud in the 170-175lb range and I'm looking to maintain that.

My dress clothes purchases are mostly for work but I'm not a daily suit wearer by any means... I'm barely a daily clothes wearer as I work from home ~15 days/month and I'm on the road the other 6-8 days/month. When I'm on the road is when I'll normally wear pants and odd jacket or suit depending on the client. I know it's a faux pas, but I will wear my suit jacket as an odd jacket to limit packing to a single jacket for any given trip... I do, at least, always have the suit pants and jacket dry cleaned together.

nehpets4627 said:

... right now as I'm rebuilding my wardrobe after somewhat drastic weight gain ...

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nehpets4627 said:

I'm rebuilding my wardrobe after losing ~55lb over the course of 6 months (diet change and running, training first for a 10k and now two half matathons). I started out at 225lb and a 44R w/38-39" waist. I'm now down to ~170lb and 40R/~35" waist. I made some intermediate purchases on eBay at 42R/36" but spent very little because I didn't expect my weight loss to stop there (and it didn't). I've not pretty much plateud in the 170-175lb range and I'm looking to maintain that.

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Okay, I thought "why not just try losing the weight again?" ... but then I saw the second post and obviously the OP just got mixed up earlier. So ... congrats on the weight loss.

And yes, finding a "sweet spot" clothing maker on the internet ... you know you can order something that will fit like a glove right off the e-rack ... is golden!

Type fixed, thanks!

Wow, congratulations on the weight loss.

As for wearing suits on the job some folks I sold to had to wear a suit everyday. And I learned from the smart ones when JAB had a buy one get three free some would get three of the same style like in three navy suits. When asked they would tell me a navy suit is a traditional suit that never goes out of style. Plus owning three, four or five would mean they could rotate the suit every other week or weeks. With proper care they would get years if not decades usage out of these suits.

Some of these lawyers and business men had some other interesting buying strategies when it came to ties, shirts etc.

Even when they do their Buy 1 Get 3/4/5/etc sales, the per-suit price is rarely (if ever) as good as their clearance prices. For example, on a Buy-1-Get-3 promo, your low-end Executive/Joseph suits would come in at ~$162.50 each, Traveler ~$200 each, Signature ~$225-250 each, Signature Gold ~$325 each, etc. Exec/Joseph are regularly $100 each on clearance, sometimes as low as $78 as size dwindles. Signature regularly hits $100 on clearance Gold, while rare, will dip to $250 on clearance or (as I found recently) even as low as $100.

If you value you time more than I apparently do and need 4 suits, 4 Traveler suits for $800 is hardly a bad deal, nor is 4 Signature Golds for $1300... BUT you can do notably better IF you're willing to check clearance regularly. If you only need 1 suit at a time and, again, have time to watch/wait thenclearance is by far the way to go.

Another update on the Crossover Collection... I didn't notice this until I was in the store returning it, but the grey herringbone Crossover Collection suit I'd gotten for $$82 on clearance was 65% Polyester and 35% Rayon. When I first received it in the mail I could tell it wasn't quite as nice of a fabric as my Wool/Cashmere Blend Joseph Collection (also pretty low-end, $99 on clearance), but I didn't check the material blend... that said, it's actually nicer than any polyester suit I've ever seen to a surprising degree, to the point that I just thought it was cheap 80s/90s wool.

I can't edit the original post anymore, but take note that Crossover Collection is, at least in some models, 65/35 Poly/Rayon blend, not wool.

Thanks for the insight.

Folks keep in mind with JAB sales simple arithmetic. When you see buy one get two or three free look at your average price per each suit. Then consider the cost of one suit when they have a sale at 60, 70 or 75% off the item price. Generally they are the same price per give or take $20 per suit. Also keep in mind you will either be paying for tailoring for one suit or four. And that may add up your per suit price.

Nice post. Thanks.

Excellent post. Thanks for the info.