As was foretold, we've added advertisements to the forums! If you have questions, or if you encounter any bugs, please visit this thread: https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/240191/forum-advertisement-faq-and-reports-thread/
Options
Teach me about suits
Jimmy King
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So, the time in my life has come where I feel I need a suit. More specifically, one for interviewing in, and with some luck, to only be worn once or twice. I will be making the rounds tomorrow (Saturday) and checking things out and hopefully making a purchase. On to the questions!
1) Is it standard for the place you buy the suit to do required tailoring to make it actually fit you? Is this normally included in the cost of the suit or is it extra? I'm pushing 6'3", I have lifted weights and done various sports on and off for years. I'm built like a tank with a gut. "Standard" cuts of clothes do not fit me. Coats big enough to get my arms through are almost always too broad for my shoulders. Pants which fit my waist are tight around my thighs, with the exception of things like baggy cut levi's silver tabs or the like. My suit WILL need tailored.
2) What is the real difference between suits? For example, there's S&K Menswear. They have full suits for $75-$150. Then there's JoS. A. Bank. They have suits that are $700+. Normally this would be out of the question, but JoS. A. Bank has a sale this weekend - 50% off. On the one hand, I am not thrilled with the idea of paying $300-$400 for something I hope to wear once. On the other hand, perhaps this expensive ones are significantly more comfortable to wear. Perhaps the $100 suits are total shit, more like the crappy, uncomfortable tux you rent for prom. I have no idea.
1) Is it standard for the place you buy the suit to do required tailoring to make it actually fit you? Is this normally included in the cost of the suit or is it extra? I'm pushing 6'3", I have lifted weights and done various sports on and off for years. I'm built like a tank with a gut. "Standard" cuts of clothes do not fit me. Coats big enough to get my arms through are almost always too broad for my shoulders. Pants which fit my waist are tight around my thighs, with the exception of things like baggy cut levi's silver tabs or the like. My suit WILL need tailored.
2) What is the real difference between suits? For example, there's S&K Menswear. They have full suits for $75-$150. Then there's JoS. A. Bank. They have suits that are $700+. Normally this would be out of the question, but JoS. A. Bank has a sale this weekend - 50% off. On the one hand, I am not thrilled with the idea of paying $300-$400 for something I hope to wear once. On the other hand, perhaps this expensive ones are significantly more comfortable to wear. Perhaps the $100 suits are total shit, more like the crappy, uncomfortable tux you rent for prom. I have no idea.
Jimmy King on
0
Posts
differences in materials and cut essentiall, but that doesn't always come with high end suits
A lot of the base price difference comes down to different materials - more expensive suits are going to be made of wool (better grades = more expensive), and cheaper suits are going to be synthetic, with blends in between. Synthetic suits are generally worse. They crease more easily, they're less comfortable to wear (especially in the heat or cold), and they can look shiny and tacky.
Most places will make minor alterations to a suit (ie, let down the cuffs, etc) for a small additional fee, but it sounds like you're after something a bit more drastic than that. If your town has a tall and big shop, check them out. If you're really stuck, get a quote from a tailor. The general rule with suits is that fit is more important than cut, material, and everything else. So even if you only get a crappy suit as long as it fits well you'll look good.
Any major department store or men's store will do alterations for free. Many stores even offer free alterations for life.
If you want to get schooled on what you should be looking at when you buy a suit, go to www.esquire.com and search for articles on buying suits.
I bought the suit I got married in here, and got tons of complements on it. Besides the fact it looks like the fucking bomb, it feels awesome too. I got mine for like $350 and it was usually like you're saying $800 or so. When you buy a suit for much less than that you do start to notice it's made from inferior fabric and just doesn't look as nice.
I own two suits, and you can easily tell which one is nicer and cost more. You don't need to spend thousands of dollars, but I'd check out that sale for sure.
http://msnbcmedia1.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photo_StoryLevel/080428/080428-ryan-seacrest-vmed-2p.widec.jpg
The jacket on this suit above seems a whole lot more trendy/lightweight than say this from the aforementioned JoS A Bank:
http://www.josbank.com/Images/Catalog/ProductImages/8503e.jpg
So my question is - where does one buy the celebrity suits? Or are they only for the rich and famous?
Last time I was shopping with a male friend for suits, it was all just baggy suits like the latter, nothing super tailored and light. Yes, I know you can get a suit tailored but when you're starting with fabric that looks 8x the thickness and shoulderpads the size of my boobs its obviously not just the tailoring.
The biggest thing about a suit fitting is making sure it fits in the shoulders. There's nothing a tailor can do to change a jacket that doesn't fit in the shoulders.
Color wise you want something navy or dark grey/charcoal. Don't get a black suit unless you're a john woo protagonist or buying it for funerals.
You want a 2 or three button suit. 4 buttons are for huge motherfuckers and 1 button is for a tux. You want a single-breasted suit, because you are not an aging greek merchant or a 50's detective.
Get a wool suit. Don't pop for the super-high threadcount. If they get into what KIND of wool you want, you probably want worsted wool - tweed, flannel and tropical/crepe being your alternatives.
The pants should drape over the tops of your shoes and almost touch the ground at the heel, when you are standing. Expect them to rise a bit when you sit down and wear some decent socks.
If you go to the jos a bank (which I recommend you do - half off from there is a pretty decent "only suit I own" ) they should be able to help you out a little bit with things like vents and pleats and lapels - remember, if it gets confusing, the suit has been around for hundreds of years now with only slight mutation, so a middle of the road conservative pick on any given suit decision should stand you OK.
I host a podcast about movies.
I think getting a bespoke suit is your best bet - in the long term, if you want a nice suit, you will need to get one custom-patterned for you. They'll fit better and look a LOT better. Getting Jos A. Bank on sale is a good bet - you should never pay full price for a suit that you get off the rack. First, you'll have to spend money on alterations, and two, unless you spend lots, it won't be worth it, for reasons I explain below:
For longetivity, you should get suit that has the lining and shell stitched together, rather than fused with glue - suits that are fused are harder to tailor, less flexible, and you risk making the lining bubble and run, effectively ruining the suit, if you dry-clean a fused suit. Cheap-mid level suits are more likely to be fused. I don't know if the suits you're looking at will be fused or stitched.
I like to get my suits made abroad, or by foreign tailors that are visiting - the labor in Hong Kong or Thailand is much cheaper, so you can get a top-quality suit for dirt cheap. I got two suits and two shirts made for $300. I"m 6"2 and broad-shouldered, so like the men's wearhouse stuff i owned in high school were terrible...i think it's really worth it. I can give you the e-mail of my tailor; they do mail order.
But i'd like to respond more directly to your point:
1) yes, they will make alterations for you
2) often the difference in price for a suit is whether the suit is fused or stitch, and you pay a premium for being in style and the label - jos a. bank is a high-end consmer brand.
A good article about the dangers of fused suits is at:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE4D61038F930A2575AC0A961948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all
http://mfanblog.blogspot.com/ is a fasihon blog that tries to make things accessible, which has been helpful for me.
BTW, this is true - you could just buy an old suit at a consignment store and have it tailored if you were only going to wear it once in your life.
With that in mind, I decided to go the half decent slacks and sport coat route. Not the sort of jobs that they usually care too much about your clothes as long as you don't look like a slob. I ended up just getting upper end stuff from S&K rather than doing the JoS A Bank thing. With any luck I'll only wear these once or twice and given the way my weight goes up and down depending on how strict I'm keeping my diet and how hard I'm working out, I'll need new stuff by the time I have to wear them again. This let me get a coat that fit pretty decent plus a couple different pairs of pants and shirts and ties for the cost of just 1 pair of pants and 1 coat from JoS A Bank, that way I wouldn't have to wear the same clothes if I have to do a second interview with the same place.
Jos. A Banks suits are excellent for what they cost, last forever, and are cut for larger guys. They’re sold at 50% off “retail prices†at least every other weekend, and many employers pay to get their workers an extra discount there. But they’re very conservative, and not appropriate for some events or workplaces (not that less conservative events are appropriate everywhere). If you plan on wearing a suit in cold offices Banks has some killer cashmere blends.
Nordstrom’s, Bloomingdales, and Lord & Taylor are also great places to get a suit. If you hit a sale and sign up for a store card you can load up for 50-50% off. Barney’s offers great deal on Hugo Boss suits at its outlet stores.
Little things to remember: Navy blue is NOT in style and probably won’t be any time soon. Don’t get cuffs on a suit if you plan to wear the suit with cowboy boots or shoes that aren’t very dressy. And if you plan on using the pockets remember to ask the tailor to cut them open for you. If you want a really impressive suit and have money to burn get one that has real buttonholes on the sleeves.