My husband now sounds like my friend! He probably needs to up his budget – last time he bought a suit was 10+ years ago, at Macy’s. He doesn’t wear a suit very often, which is why he doesn’t want to pay much, but I may need to do some educating here.
I second upping your H’s suit budget by perhaps $200 with some extra money for tailoring, if necessary.
If this is his one good suit, and it will do for several years, it makes sense for it to be beautifully fitted. Fit is king. He should love wearing it for special occasions and look great doing so.
My male friend has had good luck at Joseph Banks, but we were there last week and their prices were higher than we expected.
When we bought son a suit for interviews, we got it at JBs. He was very slim at the time. They did the tailoring and did an awful job. The waist was so tight on son, it was very uncomfortable. I think it only got worn for that round of interviews.
That summer, I scheduled an appointment with a very nice woman from Nordstrum’s. Of all the suits, the Hugo Boss fit best, and they had a black one in his size (with great lining). This woman and the female tailor worked with my shopaphobic son. When he returned to an academic environment, I just worked with this saleswoman. She had his measurements, so could put together an nice wardrobe. Both times, she waited to bill when their sale started. Shipping everything across country cost $10.00 Six years later, he claims he doesn’t need anything new.
My son is rather like fireanddrain’s friend. The first store had better have what he wants. My male friend doesn’t mind going in and out Rack or other places, and he does well with Costco shirts.
Might be worth calling the nice buyer you used with your friend to inquire about the current price range for decent men’s suits, to get a ballpark of what he may be spending, especially since there are a lot of sales right now.
If this is going to be his only suit I would have him splurge a bit, too. When I thought my S would need some work suits I suggested Jos. A. Banks and Men’s Warehouse. He looked at me with that “no effing way” would I wear a suit from either of those stores.
Fortunately for my pocketbook, casual wear is his company’s culture. Even business casual is too formal. He is home this weekend for a visit and said he needs a few more pairs of jeans for work.
Getting back to the personal shopper day, I’m really curious about the discussions with the personal shopper about budget went. I’ve always been intrigued by the idea of using the shopping service but I’ve always been worried about getting pressured to buy stuff that I wasn’t sure about or not having my budgetary restraints respected. Can you talk a bit about how that worked?
S does pay for his own clothing, so he definitely felt that the cost of a tailored suit for himeslf was well worth it. I did suggest Men’s Warehouse as well as having a suit tailored in LA. I guess he decided the latter option made more sense for him. I guess much also depends on how hard/easy your H is to fit with clothing “off the rack.” For folks who generally need a lot of alterations, it can be an entirely different story than folks who can mostly fit things off the rack. It also mattesr if your H is pretty constant at his weight instead of going up and down sizes frequently, as to how much he would be willing to pay for a suit.
Another vote for Men’s Wearhouse. We have been pleased with suits for both sons and H. They were able to fit and tailor superbly our thin 6’5" sons. The salesmen knew their products, could pull shirts and ties, all within whatever budget we were using. We got 4 suits at the 2 for 1 sale years ago.
@pizzagirl, I was talking about the Brooks Brother outlet/factory stores. I did some digging around online and it looks like the outlets do not have tailors.
BB Outlet stores do have helpful salespeople though. The best price I have seen on suits there is two for $550. I have snagged navy blazers for $179. Since a new navy blazer was needed each year for a few years in a row there, I was happy to not pay BB retail prices.
Oh, ok, deega. I didn’t catch that.
My H and S recently bought suits at a local men’s shop. They have everything from nice “beginner” $300 suits to $1000+ suits, and they have excellent tailors that make a cheaper suit look fabulous. There was not pressure to buy more expensive, since both explained that they rarely wear suits. I like supporting the local business too!
I’m currently trying to help my D figure out a beginner professional wardrobe (more of a creative field). That’s harder! She’s built like Christina Hendricks, which can lead to challenges. She obviously doesn’t want interviewers to stare at her chest! And BTW, I spend a small fortune on professionally fitted 36F Chantelle bras for her. I’m thinking her look might end up “lock and load” fit and flare dresses with blazers. I have yet to see a pair of dress pants that really flatter her.
We actually found a lot of very discounted (and returnable) stuff online at Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus (!), Amazon, and Lord & Taylor and had it all shipped to my house - mostly in a brand that she knows works most of the time (Taylor Dresses), along with some new brands (Joie – way on sale). A lot of blazers in different styles and brands (she doesn’t have any, so no idea what will work). She’s coming home this week (she’s working on campus this summer), and she can try on lots of stuff with less stress and return what doesn’t work. But I’m kind of intrigued by the personal shopper thing if we don’t have success with the try at home method. Would a personal shopper work for a much lower budget 20 year old? Can anyone suggest brands and/or stores?
Nordstrom would work with you and there really is no pressure to buy above your budget. You may be tempted to, but that’s different!
Agree that Joseph A. Banks has a lot of sales and will discount suits even if they aren’t part of the sale. DH got the suit for our son’s wedding there. Very good price with the discount. And tailoring was excellent.
Even Macy’s has personal shoppers (not that I love Macy’s but it can be good for those on a limited budget.)
At Macy’s you NEED a personal shopper. There is no way a regular person can ferret through their totally disorganized merchandise to find things.
I hate Macy’s with a passion. We’re in a mid-size town, so there is a Macy’s (and a Belk’s), but they do not carry the nicer things you might find in a Macy’s or Belk’s in a city like Charlotte (closest Nordstrom). If we did a shopping excursion, it would have to be when I visit her in Rochester (NY) in a few weeks.
We found that Men’s Warehouse was very expensive for my husband. We got a great deal on a suit for my son. - they had a good sale on the slim fit suits for young men, but when it came to regular fit suits for my husband, we felt they were really overpriced. We ended up getting a suit off the rack at Macy’s. With the sale and coupons, it was under $300 and fits him perfectly. I just ordered the same suit in a different color because he likes the 1st one so much. I am not a Macy’s fan either but do find good deals for my husband’s dress clothes there. For myself, I refuse to shop there.
“There is no way a regular person can ferret through their totally disorganized merchandise to find things.”
So very true. The only thing I ever go to Macy’s for is my make-up (Bobbi Brown/Laura Mercier) but the rest of the store is a mess.
I think you could do $300 if it just an occasional suit. The wear and tear on men’s suits when they wear daily makes the higher expense necessary for many. But tailoring a must!