Ask HN: Where to buy men's suits?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3936699

by ctrager • 14 years ago

5 25 14 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

After working in jeans and T-shirts for many years it looks like I'm going to have a job that requires me to dress nicer. I am not trying to make a fashion statement. It's just a uniform, a tool. Any recommendations?

imcqueen• 14 years ago

Brook Brothers makes great suits. If you go to the outlet you can get a complete 365 suit for around $400 (they're still nice, I have one). The ones in the retail store are at least twice that.

I would probably avoid the J.A Banks of the world. Invest in quality threads, especially if you're going to wear them daily you'll get your money's worth. The same goes for the shoes, a comfortable pair of Cole Haans is worth the extra dough if you're walking in them all the time.

matthewowen2• 14 years ago

The 346 line isn't really comparable - they're made with different materials to different cuts in different factories.

ohgodthecat• 14 years ago

I don't know of any particularly good places but be sure to take it to a tailor and get it fitted for the extra 50-100 dollars. (If they don't have a tailor in the store)

tstegart• 14 years ago

I got both of my awesome suits from Suit Supply. It sounds like a generic store, but they have some sweet suits that fit really well and the people there are pretty amazing, at least the NYC store. Not sure where you're located but they're big in Europe.They also have alterations in store so you can watch everything being done. http://www.suitsupply.com/shop/1/Suits?filter_27=736

actionbrandon• 14 years ago

ive never used them, but indochino seems like a trendy startup type company you might like.

steventruong2• 14 years ago

Nordstrom. Most of the sales reps are trained to know a good deal about suits and are extremely helpful in helping you find the right suit (YMMV base on location). They also usually have a place that can hem and do tailoring in most locations. Some even have a dry cleaning center located inside the store (also YMMV).

That said, they can at least recommend you something if nothing else. Those guys are required to wear suits all day too.

ajdecon• 14 years ago

+1 for Nordstrom, based on their staff. Of several places I've been, they were the most sympathetic to my sheer cluelessness when trying to find clothing to suit my purpose. :-)

Might be I just got lucky, but it's been true at two locations so far.

cmer• 14 years ago

I've bought some amazing brand name suits at Burlington Coat Factory for very cheap. You should definitely look there if there's one near you.

rmATinnovafy• 14 years ago

What country?

hasker• 14 years ago

Why do people assume anything better than t-shirts means a suit? There are many degrees in-between.

JoachimSchipper• 14 years ago

The title includes "suit".

callmeed• 14 years ago

Banana Republic

leeny2• 14 years ago

Where are you located? I know a great suit guy in SF.

steventruong2• 14 years ago

I'm curious, who?

leeny2• 14 years ago

Harry of Harry O Menswear. It was located on 2nd between Howard and Mission for many years and closed down fairly recently. Last I heard, he now works at Nordstrom.

He outfitted my husband and 3 of my close guy friends for my wedding, and he referred me to an amazing tailor. That and his stuff is actually really affordable. As I recall, a decent-looking suit was something like $300 total.

Casseres• 14 years ago

Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc. Spending 20 minutes looking through the suits to see if there is one that a) looks good, b) right color, and c) fits - could save you several hundred dollars. You will find high-end name brands. People die or get too fat, and their suit usually gets donated.

If you think you're too proud: No one will know it's a used suit unless you tell them.

matthewowen2• 14 years ago

This is a really good idea, but probably a bad idea if you don't know much about suits; judging what a good colour/cut/fabric/fit is isn't necessarily easy at first. In a thrift store, there are likely to be a lot of inappropriate suits with no guidance to steer you away from them.

iamzoso• 14 years ago

The best suits i've seen and bought are from: www.bespokesuits.co.uk

bmelton2• 14 years ago

You can just buy a suit and wear it, or you can look good in it for the same cost. If price is the primary focus, look for second-hand, or used materials. If that's a bust, know that JC Penney makes the suit most worn by millionaires (according to a book I read that I'm having a hard time remembering -- something something habits of millionaires), and are generally a good bang for the buck. They aren't high fashion, but they're a suit, which fits the bill.

Now, an aside... when I got my first job that needed suits, I did kind of the same thing. I went out in search of the most cost-efficient suits that didn't look ugly. I stumbled across a sale at Macy's and ended up buying a couple of suits, and a couple of pant / sportcoat combos for approximately $150-200 a set.

Then I started going to meetings, only to realize that while I 'met the grade', I was judged on the quality of my suits by some of the higher ups. It wasn't like the business card scene in 'American Psycho' or anything, but I'd be asked "Who are you wearing?", and other 'rich people questions' I didn't think people ever actually asked. The worst answer I found was "I dunno", but an only slightly better is answering with the name of a poor quality manufacturer.

Subsequent advice takes that into consideration, if you'd like to avoid being singled out. Please note that the advice works well for 'government-quality' attire, and would likely not pass as 'wall-street-quality' attire or "big-law-quality" attire.

Jos. A. Bank is a respected name in suits, mostly because the average suit cost is about triple ($600-750) the minimum suit cost you can get, but they run sales approximately once a month with buy-one-get-one or buy-one-get-two specials and the like that can knock the effective cost down to $200 or less (which is about the most I'll pay for a suit.) You can buy the pants unhemmed and take them to a local drycleaner to have them tailored for a nominal fee which helps avoid the 'off-the-rack' fit.

If you are like me, I often admire bold color choices on others that I would never pick out for myself, or that I don't think would look good on me. A good place to go for fashion advice is Men's Wearhouse. I'm sure mileage varies, but I've been to a few locations in different locales, and I've always gotten great accessory suggestions for ties, shirts, etc., that I would have never picked. It isn't pushy, and you can 'suggest-down' to whatever level you're comfortable wearing (for when they suggest a hot pink tie or whatever) and a good rep will get your tastes and start suggesting accordingly.

You'll pay more generally, but they have pretty aggressive sales on occasion too.

pasbesoin2• 14 years ago

I've used Banks' in-house fitting/tailoring to satisfactory result. Your results may vary by retail location; at the location I've used, substandard results simply won't be tolerated (discriminating consumers).

At Banks, sales are definitely a way to go (and, for suits and trousers, help defray the cost of a good fitting). As a separate example, they have had some of the best-fitting polo/rugby shirts I've found. They are normally rather pricey, but if you pick them up at the end of summer they are quite reasonable.

A book that used to be heavily recommended is "Dress for Success". In essence, the recommendation and instructions are to learn to know and then insist upon certain rather conservative but attractive styles that never go out of fashion.

"Dress for Success" appeared some years ago to have entered that perpetual "revise and republish" life, similar to, for example, the career advice guide "What Color Is Your Parachute" (a new version every year). I don't know what that means for its quality, compared to when the same edition continued to be valid and current year after year.

P.S. Thinking about what I just wrote, you may want to drive over to the part of town where discriminating people shop. If you're unsure, think of contacts who would know and get some local recommendations. If you can get a reliable recommendation to an individual salesperson, or perhaps even better, fitter or tailor, so much the better. (Assuming there are still some that haven't been squeezed out of the economy.)

Tell them what you're after, and count on their advice to steer you to quality items. Don't begrudge the markup that pays for this service, as long as it's not excessive.

I have several 10+ year old suits that are perfectly serviceable (thankfully, also fairly lightly worn), by virtue of following this route.

Hopefully, such service has not completely disappeared from today's marketplace. Again, you may have to drive to the right part of town to find it.

bmelton2• 14 years ago

I perhaps should have specified that I do all my Banks shopping online. I didn't mean to imply that their in-house tailoring isn't awesome, I've just never had it done.

dtromero• 14 years ago

I just bought a suit from indochino.com - For less than $400 you get a custom made suit from China in about 3 weeks. Their "fit" guarantees are nice too. You have to do you measurements yourself or by an experienced tailor(I enlisted the help of my girlfriend) but they'll give a $75 credit to get it tailored further if needed.

The quality of the fabric is good IMO - much better than department store suits. I would say it's definitely worth checking out if you are looking for a suit.

I've bought $200 suits from department stores only to spend another $100 on tailoring.. for a bit more you get a custom quality suit - from a company with a compelling business model.

shadowz• 14 years ago

+1 indochino.com. I'm another happy customer.

gosub• 14 years ago

http://www.reddit.com/r/malefashionadvice

Ask HN: Where to buy men's suits?

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