Suggestions on places for buying a suit?

[billyhallfan]

Hey all,

 

I am graduating soon from UW-Madison and I've got some interviews that I need to go too. Unfortunatly for my bank account that means I need to get a suit. I live in Madison but get to the Milwaukee area from time to time, but I need this suit by May 14th...I've been putting it off for too long, haha. Anyway, does anyone have advice on where to go to buy a suit? I obviously don't want to spend $500 but I want to spend enough for a good suit that will last, I think $250-300 is what I'm looking at.

 

Any help is appreciated,

thanks!

[CheezWizHed]

Men's Warehouse (its been a while since I bought one though) has a nice selection of high to low end suits and decent sales people to find what you need.

[chuckiehacks]

I'm feeling old, because I remember Billyhallfan the high school student on these boards.

 

I wear a suit everyday and can tell you that you get what you pay for. That's not to say you can't find a nice suit for $300, just don't expect it to last forever.

 

There might be a Brooks Brothers outlet at Johnson Creek. They have nice stuff, I've never priced their suits at the outlet however. Boston Store & Macy's sometimes have good sales as well. Jos. A. Bank is in most of the malls and always has sales, but I don't particularly like their suits.

 

Keep in mind that you'll need some tailoring. You want the suit to fit perfectly. If you need the jacket and pants tailored, you're looking at $50 easily.

 

If you wind up in a job where you wear a suit often, invest in some good ones.

 

Make sure you have nice shoes. And shine them.

 

/wardrobe rant

[Bikeage77]

Try Kohl's. I just got a Chaps (Ralph Lauren) suit for about 150. It was retailed at 300, but was half off. If you get a Kohl's card, they take another 25% off.

 

I'm good for being in a position to wear a suit about 1.5 times a year, so I know I want something nice, but didn't want to go nuts.

 

You may want to get fitted at a Men's Warehouse for your jacket size (though it's probably not manditory).

 

They're on sale now:

http://www.kohls.com/upgrade/webstore/home.jsp;jsessionid=C2VrPXRNmT2MtQgWJjQb9QQHD8TyfJ7v3jGLhRmJtSLZhLGJCLmT!-761950341!-1637315955

[CheezWizHed]

Keep in mind that you'll need some tailoring. You want the suit to fit perfectly. If you need the jacket and pants tailored, you're looking at $50 easily.

 

Again, its been a while, but Men's Warehouse tailored my pants same day (within an hour I believe) for about $10. They had enough variety in jackets that they could pick out the right size without having to tailor it.

[patrickgpe]

i agree, go to kohls if you are looking for a cheap suit. if you go to mens warehouse you will easily spend 500. at kohls you can get a nice one for 100.

[Invader3K]

Years ago when I was entering the world of outside sales, I bought several suits at S&K. These have all stood up very nicely, even ten years later. I think that company is the same as Men's Wearhouse now.

[OldHoss]

Best suit colors for interviews are navy, gray or charcoal. Get a white non-botton down collar and a subtle tie. Also make sure you wear good shoes. A new suit and a beat up pair of shoes looks worse than a beat up suit and a great pair of shoes. Shoes must have laces and no square toes. You can buy a nice pair of allen edmonds off of ebay for under $100. Match your belt (approximately) to your shoes.

 

H&M, JCrew, and Banana Republic all make suits in that price range that will have modern cuts and won't make you look out of date. What you can get from Mens Warehouse, Kohl's, Jos A Bank and department stores for that price isn't going to look very good. You don't want pleats or cuffs on the suit pants. You can order a suit from these palces online. But if you order online, make sure you know your measurements. You can also go to the store in the mall and have them order it for you. Sometimes this will cut out the shipping cost.

 

Last option is to head down to Chicago and hit Filene's basement or Nordstrom's rack. You should be able to get a very good suit (Hart Schaffner Marx, Hickey Freeman, etc.) for that price

 

But get that suit ASAP because you'll need to get it to a tailor. Hopefully, you are fairly average sized. If so, your tailor will only need to take in the pants or let them out and hem. However, if you have the chest and neck of a NFL linebacker or the arms of a gorilla, you'll need extra help and that requires extra time for the tailor.

 

Good luck with the interview!

 

Oldhoss

[thebruce44]

Go to the Allen Edmonds outlet in Port for shoes. Probably the best investment you can make. I don't know how, but a good pair of shoes makes or breaks your suit.

 

Next, as others have said, get a white button down, I like a point collar. This probably isn't the place to spend a lot of money as it will be hidden. I don't know much on ties, but everyone always told me to wear power ties for interviews, whatever that means.

 

I got my last suit from Jos A Bank. It was a $500 suit I got for $100 because I also bought an overcoat. I know it isn't worth $500, but it fits well and actually looks really good thanks to an awesome tailor job. Be careful about going to a place like Brooks Brothers. While classical style never really goes out, it can be uncomfortable and not really fit the body type of a younger person. My grandparents helped me get started with suits and dressing up in general. It didn't look good because I would go to places like Brooks Brothers or the local places and everything was boxy and the pants were jacked up high. Its just not a very modern look, which is fine for some people, but it may be really hard for you to pull off like it is for me.

 

I would imagine if you nail the shoes, tie, and get a cheap suit that fits you really well you will be able to pull off any interview.

 

Good luck.

[thebruce44]

Forgot to mention, I would go with a Navy suit if I only had one. It works for interviews and is very versatile for things like weddings.

[Menotti80]

I would go to Boston Store. Get one fitted not off the rack. You can get one for around $300 on sale

[hawing]

I'm good for being in a position to wear a suit about 1.5 times a year, so I know I want something nice, but didn't want to go nuts.

I'm afraid I don't have much substantial to offer in this thread, besides good luck for billyhallfan; but I'd be interested to know what a .5 wearing of a suit means. Just the jacket? Just the pants? Some other iteration of "halfway"?

[Menotti80]

Maybe like the Dean in "Community"???

[billyhallfan]

Thanks everyone, this helps a lot.

[Bikeage77]

I get put in a situation to wear a suit about 3 times in a 2 year span...

[Godspeed]

I'm feeling old, because I remember Billyhallfan the high school student on these boards.

 

I have nothing to add to this topic other than yeah, me too.

[billyhallfan]

well if it makes you guys feel any better I feel extremely old. I went home this last weekend to mow the lawn and a kid passed by on the sidewalk riding his BMX bike with a fishing pole in one hand and his baseball glove on the handlebars. I'd give anything to go back to those days...

[Blancofan1]

Put me in the camp that wears a suit everyday and I agree with most of the things said above. You can get decent suits at department stores for really good prices, but make sure that you try on a couple of styles to find what you like and what style fits the best. Buying a suit "off the rack" isn't necessarily a bad thing, if the style and fit works for you.

 

Personally I would avoid Men's Warehouse at all costs. I've bought a half dozen suits from them the past two years that averaged about $400 a piece after tailoring when they have the buy one get one free sale. I have yet to be impressed with any of their suits from a quality or durability stand point. None of them have lasted more than about 6 months with wearing them about once every two weeks. If you do go this route, or get a suit tailored somewhere be sure that you know what you want as far as fit goes. The last two times I went to Men's warehouse, the men measuring me insisted on cutting the pant legs about two inches shorter than I prefer. By the end of my last visit I had to speak with a manager and be re-fitted by someone else to get the suits tailored to the cut I wanted. I've also never been happy with the quality of the actual tailoring they've done either.

 

EDIT--Forgot one of my pet peeves when I interview someone. Wear socks that match your suit!! It really throws off the look if your suit and socks clash when you sit down.

[RobDeer 45]

My vote would be for Banana Republic as well. I think they are pretty sharp suits. But I really think the biggest thing is make sure it's tailored. That makes all the difference in the world. Like said above, get a sharp tie, good shoes and matching socks and you are good to go. Keep it subtle and clean and you will look sharp!

 

Good luck!

[GAME05]

i just picked up a suit today, actually. i got a Ralph Lauren one from Macy's for about $320 since they have a sale going on right now, and you get a 20% discount when you sign up for their Macy's card.

 

Kohl's is running a half-off sale right now, and i thought their Marc Anthony suits looked nice.

 

i've had limited experience in the Men's Wearhouse, but wasn't happy with their style of salesmanship. i walked right out the door when they said "Wow, that fits perfectly and won't need any tailoring at all!"

 

definitely the best tip is to get it tailored. a man looks better in a tailored-but-cheap suit then he does in an ill-fitting-but-expensive one.

 

also something to keep in mind: i got my first suit right after college, and it wasn't all that long before i was hulking out of the thing just from gaining weight with age. definitely wait to see if you're going to need to wear a suit every day at work before you buy a ton of them.

[Raw Biz]

I got two suits from Men's Warehouse after I graduated from law school in 2010. They had a buy one get one sale and I think the total with tailoring was about $500. Since then, I've lost almost 100 pounds so the suits are basically worthless to me. I highly doubt there's much tailoring they could do to get them to fit now. I wore each of them maybe 3 times each with job interviews/weddings (I haven't found a job yet so never really got to use them for why I got them). I wish there was someway to get some money back for them but since suits are mostly personal to the individual, there's probably not much I can do.

[GormanHarvey]

If you want a really nice suit, go to Tom James Co. on Wisconsin Ave. Might be more than you want to spend though? Ask for Jimmy if you go.

[YEP]

A power tie is usually the color red.

[LouisEly]

Strong second on Tom James. Their suits are of very high quality (but not flashy) and will not fall apart on you. I have some Tom James suits that are 10 years old and they show no signs of wear at all. They have a line of suit separates that will bring the price down, but as they say, it is better to have one or two high quality suits than five mediocre ones. If you get a basic navy or charcoal/black and switch up the shirts/ties no one will notice you are wearing the same suit every day.

 

If TJ is out of your price range, what is your body type? If you are relatively skinny you can get nice suits for reasonable prices from Banana Republic and the Calvin Klein outlet stores, but they are on the slim-fit side. Otherwise try Burlington Coat Factory or Marshalls/Ross; you can get name brand suits there for good prices if you are lucky to find your size.

[billyhallfan]

Thanks for all the help guys, I'm 5'10" and 190...so average build. I got one on sale from Boston Store, and once I find a job I'm probably going to get some higher quality ones...because obviously I'll need to get more if I need to wear them normally.