suits

[SuperBowlNachos]

I am needing to get a suit. For interviews mainly, but would also like to break it out for the occasional night out where I want to look like I'm not a poor college kid.

Is it even worth spending under $100? Or would I need to go up closer to $200?

I've never bought a suit, so any tips welcome!

[SuperBowlNachos]

Re: suits

My buddy needs one too. Any places have good sales? He would need one that was under $100. Men's Warehouse has some online that are buy 1 get one for $100, but it's a set size and wouldn't be custom tailored.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: suits

For interviews, you only need one suit and once you get a job (if you need a full suit) you can go from there. A white shirt and red tie is probably all you need and really shouldn't break the bank on. The biggest expense is obviously the jacket and pants.

Just go shopping is all I can say. I don't really have any brands because I pretty much bought mine for the same reason (though I needed mine for class presentations too). Look at the prices and then try and judge the quality.

[SuperBowlNachos]

Re: suits

Does it cost extra to get it custom tailored?

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: suits

Yes, but I didn't go that route so I'm not sure how much that costs. I don't think its necessary for this stage of the job process, though.

[Taur3asi3]

Re: suits

If your budget is 200 max it might be a good idea to shop around on ebay or thrift stores since really good stuff can be had for often significantly less than that. When you buy a full suit you're going to need to get the pants hemmed as they'll be unfinished and most likely the sleeves shortened, this shouldn't cost more than maybe 35.00. I'd also suggest going to the mall and checking out Express for men but their suits run atleast 250.

The most important thing is the tailoring. It's better to have a perfectly tailored 100.00 suit then a 5,000.00 suit that fits like garbage.

check out the men's clothing folder on http://www.styleforum.net/ and you'll get tons more recommendations.

edit: Also learn to measure yourself so some stupid salesman doesn't stick you in a suit that's 2 sizes too large http://reviews.ebay.com/A-Guide-to-M...00000000004731 except I'd add 2 inches to the chest measurement since thats how most jackets are sized.

[p_rushing]

Re: suits

Men's Warehouse should be able to help you out. You will need to get it tailored, but it isn't that much money and will make the suit look a lot better. $100 would be ok to wear out, but it's not going to be great material. $200 probably would get you something that is better material and feel, but you may find something at $100 also.

[Jasong7777]

Re: suits

Men's Warehouse should be able to help you out.

[fistofrage]

Re: suits

Jos A Banks.

I have to wear a suit to work every day so I've had to buy about 7 suits. If you watch for a sale, you can get into the executive suits for under $200. They are very good quality.

http://www.josbank.com/menswear/shop/Home_11001_10050

[Beantown]

Re: suits

I got lucky and went to Men's Warehouse at a buy one, get one half off sale time, so I ended up with two 300 dollar suits and a pair of shoes for 500. One black, one navy.

They're incredibly helpful in that freaking store. I walked in (with my mom ) and a guy came up to her, I told him what I needed it for and he walked me over to something he said: "I think you'll like" and, little did you know, first one he showed me was perfect.

[Trevytrev11]

Re: suits

The thing with Jos A Banks is they sell you a "$900" suit for $300 and you think you are getting a helluva deal, when it is the same or lower quality suit you can get at Macy's or Men's Wearhouse for $250 on any given day.

Or they sell you one suit for $900 and give you two free, when in reality you are just buying three $300 suits.

You should be able to go to any department store or men's wearhouse and get a decent suit for $200-$300. Stay away from the $100 suits, you are going to get what you pay for. However, if you are looking for a low budget suit, check out a K&G or Syms if you have one in your area. You should be able to pick up a designer label suit for under $200.

If you are a pretty normal size, the only thing you will likely need to get tailored is the length of your pants, which should run you $10 - $15. Depending on the length of your arms, you may need to have your sleeve's tailored as well, which may run you another $15 or so. Expect to probably pay $30 or $40 in alterations.

The good thing about the Men's Wearhouse is if you walk in and tell them what you are looking for and that you are on a tight budget, they will make it work for you.

Stick with either a charcoal or navy suit for your interview (in the past you were supposed to stay away from black and stripes, but I don't really think that holds much weight any more since suits have become more fashionable instead of just something businessmen wear to work). As Fresh Tendrils said a white shirt and plain red tie is all you want...nothing too flashy.

You'll want at least one or two suits anyway...weddings, funerals, etc.

[RAZRr1275]

Re: suits

Go to K&G - They have some pretty nice suits for around $200.

[Gotmadskillzson]

Re: suits

LOL half of my suits came from K&G and I bought all my dress shirts and ties from them too. Target and JC Penny sell some nice dress shirts though, I rack up on dress shirts.

When you working in the business world, you only need color dress shoes, black. Sure you can wear navy or dark brown dress shoes but black is the best.

Tailored suits and shoes cause a hell of a lot of money. I got some tailored made hand stitched dress shoes for $800. Hand stitched suit was $1,500.

Then if you really want to be dapper....dress hats can be from $40 to $2,000.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: suits

I didn't want to start a new thread for this, so I figured I'd bump this thread up.

Anyway, how do you guys tuck in your shirts and keep them relatively "in place" throughout the day? Even when doing the folds/pleats on the side (ie: taking the excess and folding it back), my dress shirts still look sloppy in the back and it drives me nuts. Apart from getting shirt-stays or getting tailored/more expensive shirts, I'm not sure what other methods to try.

[Trevytrev11]

Re: suits

I didn't want to start a new thread for this, so I figured I'd bump this thread up.

Anyway, how do you guys tuck in your shirts and keep them relatively "in place" throughout the day? Even when doing the folds/pleats on the side (ie: taking the excess and folding it back), my dress shirts still look sloppy in the back and it drives me nuts. Apart from getting shirt-stays or getting tailored/more expensive shirts, I'm not sure what other methods to try.

A lot of companies make slim fit shirt now days, which like the name says, run slimmer down the sides so you don't get that big "bunch".

Also, if you are not going to wear a tie with a shirt, you can try going down a shirt size. The neck size, I believe is correlated with the back and therefore when you get a shirt with a larger neck size, you usually get a little extra room in the shirt. If you are not wearing a tie and leave the top button undone, take it down a 1/2 inch or an inch and see if that results in a better fit.