Let me preface this by saying that I have absolutely no clue what to look for when I'm shopping. I have no idea what's quality, I have no clue what looks good on me. This applies to everything. I am the least metrosexual person you'll ever meet. Watching me try to shop is like watching a retard try to fuck a doorknob. In fact, whenever I go shopping I immediately see if they have any Giants apparel. Haha
Having said that, I'm kind of embarrassed to say this, but I have no idea how to tell a good suit from a bad one. What exactly is the distinction? The material? Like would you be able to tell if someone is wearing a Men's Warehouse suit and if someone is wearing like a Michael Kors one?
I was in Century 21 today (I usually have to be dragged to go shopping by either my mom or my friends. It's SOOOOO much easier when they pick out my clothes for me.) and I saw they had a bunch of suits on sale (and I mean HUGE sales), but I had no idea what I was looking at. Which brands and designers are considered the creme de la creme? I've heard by word of mouth that Armani and the Italian designers are considered the best and highest quality, but how do I know what to look for? Are Hickey Freeman, Michael Kors, Calvin Klein, Brooks Brothers... considered high quality?
I'm an attorney so appearance is obviously very important. I need to look professional. But I also need suits for when I go to events and dates and stuff like that. I need to look chic, suave and debonair.
Unfortunately, no one has really taught me the art of style (in part because I was never interested. Haha), so I guess I'm learning a bit late in life how to dress. Help me, Giants Brethren!
Joseph Aboud and Brooks Brothers are tailored more for my build.
Find some tailors that fit your build, then go from there in terms of materials, stitching, and styles.
I would 100 percent recommend Brooks Brothers shirts, but only when they have the 4 for 199 sale every few months. No shirt is worth 84 dollars when 6 weeks later you can get them for 50.
Charles Tywhitt also has these deals, you'll see it on the subway ads 3 for 99, also cannot go wrong with them.
I have a hard time finding suits I like in my size and I don't want a tailor to butcher one with major alterations, so I usually go get a suit made to order. Really doesn't cost any more.
Thats my Prom suit.
a few other tips:
- if you have a friend with good fashion sense, take them out for lunch and ask them to help you out with shopping, or at least ask them where they go for their outfits
- read men's health, GQ and other men's magazines for ideas
- do a color assessment to figure out what tones look best on you, depending on your hair and skin color
- if there is one area where you don't want to skimp on quality it is shoes....Johnston & murphy and ecco are very good quality, comfortable brands....shirts, trousers, ties, pocket squares you don't need to break the bank...keep your feet happy
- for casual clothes, dress shirts, seasonal clothing, see what is in style by reviewing high end fashion store magazines (I use harry rosen, which is a Canadian luxury menswear business) and replicate that look from H&M, Old navy etc
I have a few Joseph A. Bank suits also
What is the upcharge on tailoring services at Brooks Brothers. I have a 15 percent card off thru my job but haven't really purchased anything there in a while.
I still feel like 1500 for 2 suits is a bit nuts, especially when you can go to Suit Supply or Men's Warehouse and get 3 or 4 for the same price.
If anyone is in hot climates or like NYC during the summer, I would recommend checking out twillory.com.
They make fantastic dress shirts that are made with wicking material so you don't sweat like a madman. They look fantastic too.
a few other tips:
- if you have a friend with good fashion sense, take them out for lunch and ask them to help you out with shopping, or at least ask them where they go for their outfits
- read men's health, GQ and other men's magazines for ideas
- do a color assessment to figure out what tones look best on you, depending on your hair and skin color
- if there is one area where you don't want to skimp on quality it is shoes....Johnston & murphy and ecco are very good quality, comfortable brands....shirts, trousers, ties, pocket squares you don't need to break the bank...keep your feet happy
- for casual clothes, dress shirts, seasonal clothing, see what is in style by reviewing high end fashion store magazines (I use harry rosen, which is a Canadian luxury menswear business) and replicate that look from H&M, Old navy etc
Thanks for the advice, Les. Just curious, but what do you mean by a color assessment?
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before you invest in a lot of suits -and while you definitely should have at least three in your wardrobe, you should also know the culture of the company you are going to work for. the dress code where I work is casual (and a lot of tech companies are like that if you get an in house gig there) so if I wore suits every day I would stick out like a sore thumb.
a few other tips:
- if you have a friend with good fashion sense, take them out for lunch and ask them to help you out with shopping, or at least ask them where they go for their outfits
- read men's health, GQ and other men's magazines for ideas
- do a color assessment to figure out what tones look best on you, depending on your hair and skin color
- if there is one area where you don't want to skimp on quality it is shoes....Johnston & murphy and ecco are very good quality, comfortable brands....shirts, trousers, ties, pocket squares you don't need to break the bank...keep your feet happy
- for casual clothes, dress shirts, seasonal clothing, see what is in style by reviewing high end fashion store magazines (I use harry rosen, which is a Canadian luxury menswear business) and replicate that look from H&M, Old navy etc
Thanks for the advice, Les. Just curious, but what do you mean by a color assessment?
Yeah, color assessment makes no sense. Stick to Navy and Grey suits. I have a black suit, but never wear it.
You don't want to look like the last pick in the draft.
No one should wear a tan suit.
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has a semi-annual 2 suits for $1500 sale- check their website or even ask in a store - if you open a CC with them to pay for your suits you get I believe a 15% discount too, it's really hard to beat unless there is an up-and-coming competitor that has high quality and low prices.
What is the upcharge on tailoring services at Brooks Brothers. I have a 15 percent card off thru my job but haven't really purchased anything there in a while.
I still feel like 1500 for 2 suits is a bit nuts, especially when you can go to Suit Supply or Men's Warehouse and get 3 or 4 for the same price.
If anyone is in hot climates or like NYC during the summer, I would recommend checking out twillory.com.
They make fantastic dress shirts that are made with wicking material so you don't sweat like a madman. They look fantastic too.
I believe tailoring is included in the price, not sure. I use my own tailor though, one time at Brooks Brothers their tailor seemed a little "handsy" with me and kind of brushed a testicle - when I felt like he had no reason to be up there to begin with. sort of my personal "me too" moment, so I don't use their tailoring - my guy stays clear of my genitals.
but I think BB includes the price of tailoring with the fee. I agree they are on the expensive side, and i used to buy Men's Wearhouse suits, shit I even got the 2 for $199 suits at K&G when I lived in DC and was 24 years old in one of my first jobs.
but I learned through personal experience that I am sharing with Anakim that those suits a) don't stand up to dry cleaning - they get pilly and frayed much sooner than is acceptable or reasonable and b) don't hold their shape/crispness very long so while you will absolutely look great the first 6 months of wearing them they don't last.
and if you wear suits to funerals, weddings, christenings, bar mivas (sp?) or whatever then a cheap suit that looks good when worn sporadically is perfectly fine.
Anakim is a lawyer though, so I feel like he should look the part and IMO unless he's hustling clients outside of DUI court that is Brooks Brothers or high end, not Men's Wearhouse.
Start your search with a walk thru Brooks Brothers. If that's too rich for your blood, work your way down the list of men's stores.
Full Disclosure here. The last suit coat I bought was a Jos A. Bank for $5 at the Goodwill store....but I'm retired.
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In comment 14040391 pjcas18 said:
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has a semi-annual 2 suits for $1500 sale- check their website or even ask in a store - if you open a CC with them to pay for your suits you get I believe a 15% discount too, it's really hard to beat unless there is an up-and-coming competitor that has high quality and low prices.
What is the upcharge on tailoring services at Brooks Brothers. I have a 15 percent card off thru my job but haven't really purchased anything there in a while.
I still feel like 1500 for 2 suits is a bit nuts, especially when you can go to Suit Supply or Men's Warehouse and get 3 or 4 for the same price.
If anyone is in hot climates or like NYC during the summer, I would recommend checking out twillory.com.
They make fantastic dress shirts that are made with wicking material so you don't sweat like a madman. They look fantastic too.
I believe tailoring is included in the price, not sure. I use my own tailor though, one time at Brooks Brothers their tailor seemed a little "handsy" with me and kind of brushed a testicle - when I felt like he had no reason to be up there to begin with. sort of my personal "me too" moment, so I don't use their tailoring - my guy stays clear of my genitals.
but I think BB includes the price of tailoring with the fee. I agree they are on the expensive side, and i used to buy Men's Wearhouse suits, shit I even got the 2 for $199 suits at K&G when I lived in DC and was 24 years old in one of my first jobs.
but I learned through personal experience that I am sharing with Anakim that those suits a) don't stand up to dry cleaning - they get pilly and frayed much sooner than is acceptable or reasonable and b) don't hold their shape/crispness very long so while you will absolutely look great the first 6 months of wearing them they don't last.
and if you wear suits to funerals, weddings, christenings, bar mivas (sp?) or whatever then a cheap suit that looks good when worn sporadically is perfectly fine.
Anakim is a lawyer though, so I feel like he should look the part and IMO unless he's hustling clients outside of DUI court that is Brooks Brothers or high end, not Men's Wearhouse.
Yes, good point about dry cleaning. Do it 2x a year and for god sakes do not dry clean dress shirts!!
For suits the best thing is to run a HOT shower and let your bathroom get steamy, put the suits in and then spray it with a solution of water and vodka. The vodka will take away any smells. After about a half hr, open your bathroom window.
Just get them washed, starched and ironed. I do not trust the "non iron" shirts, what a load of bull. Costs like 1.85 a shirt and they look good.
Thanks for the advice, Les. Just curious, but what do you mean by a color assessment?
There are plenty of articles that go into detail about how to pick out a proper suit, and more importantly, how to learn about the proper fit of a suit. At your age/level, the fit of the suit is going to be far more important than the designer or material of the suit. Sure, there are exceptions, but a basic suit made of "decent" material that is cut expertly to fit you will look more flattering than an off-the-rack designer suit that doesn't fit right.
Suit Supply does a good job with mass-sale of suits. If you are an odd shape, places like MySuit will give you a decent suit that is made-to-measure (they take the general template of a standard suit size and adjust the inputs for about five different measurements before the suit is made at their manufacturer).
That said, the one thing I would advise to stay away from on the cheap end are glued/fused suits. They will come apart quickly and you will soon get a bubbling effect that is impossible to fix. Make sure the jacket is at least half-canvassed.
And I don't mean to sound like a Brooks Brothers sales person, I have zero connection to them (though I think there is someone on here who works for them or used to) but I have been in corporate America for 20 years working for brick and mortars for a lot of it and needing to wear suits every day.
and I traveled extensively.
Brooks Brothers shirts and suits will "un-wrinkle" in a hotel bathroom with the shower on hot in 10 minutes. and look crisp.
I have never dry cleaned a Brooks Brothers shirt.
suits I dry clean about what you said - twice a year, you just can't get that swamp ass smell that accumulates over time out without a good dry cleaning - even fabreeze is temporary. I like the pressing they do too at the dry cleaners.
not quite as long (shirts) as they used to, but suits still do.
This
*took, not take
Don't ask BBI for fashion advice.
I wear custom suits, but cheaper and solid alternatives are a few British brands like Ted Baker, Charles Tyrwhitt and T.M. Lewin. You can buy pants separately so if you blow them out, which happens much quicker than the jacket, you can buy a new pair and not have to buy a entire new suit.
This is true, I am ancient for a 40-something. And I have had the same Brooks Brothers sales guy in Natick, MA for 12 years. Same guy, knows my name, knows my size, knows what I do for a living, knows I'm going to try and get him to knock $100 off the price.
tailoring. Al cheap suits are glued (fused) together. Brooks Brothers have floating canvas chest pieces for comfort and tailoring. i would suggest cuffs for true classy look and also buttons for braces. you'll have to ask :)
Also, suits have gotten way more tight fitting over the last 15 years (granted in the early 2000s they looked like parachutes). If you're getting a few you may want to get one that's slightly less tight fitting in case the style boomerangs.
yes, tailoring is no charge.
if you wait for sales, the prices can reduce drastically. they're having a sale right now, actually. you also get 15% off for using their card and they have a rewards program that results in gift cards, plus they send you promotional discounts from time to time, including on your birthday. if you're patient, the prices are not astronomical, but the quality supersedes most.
I'm serious btw...
Brooks Brothers shirts are the worst in my opinion. When I worked on a desk I would constantly blow out the elbows. Total waste of $$.
Also, suits have gotten way more tight fitting over the last 15 years (granted in the early 2000s they looked like parachutes). If you're getting a few you may want to get one that's slightly less tight fitting in case the style boomerangs.
I have some interviews lined up in the coming days (bust out the Barney's suit!), but I'm also looking for suits for dates, events and other non-work-related things.
Try the sub reddit called "frugal male fashion"
You're going to end up almost getting the right suit, and almost getting the right suit is going to make you look like an asshole.
You can buy a Canali suit and look like an idiot.
And unless you are going to a gala don't where a suit on a date. (More on this later).
If you need suits for work get to the Suit Supply in Bloomingdale's. The staff at that location is flawless and will get you in the right suits. You need someone to help you with all of it. It's just not tailoring, you need to known fabric, details, cut, breasts (yes there are great suits that aren't single breasted). It's New York, you're going to need a cotton suit. You might even needed linen suit. You need a classic gray wool, a navy wool and black for semi-formal.
Find the salesman who looks the best in his suit and get him. Even if you have to wait.
For dates you need separates. Get a fantastic blazer, get layers. Get some killer sweaters. Get a great pair of boots. You're not going to prom. Do not wear a suit on a date.
You're also in your late 20s right? Don't get caught dead in Brooks Brothers suit for 15 years.