Joseph A. Bank has nice suits for $150-$300. I recently bought a grey tailored-fit suit for about $200. I added a nice shirt and tie for about another $50.
A nice suit is worth having, provided one is a stable size and buys a classic. If one fluctuates in size a lot or may still be getting taller, I’d not spend as much and try less expensive options + tailoring.
I would not go to ebay. I bet there are men’s suits on RealReal - with a few exceptions like purses, the purchases are generally returnable for full credit card refund within 14 days.
I’ve gotten suits from Ebay. You can’t tell everything about the fabric but if you just look for “Super 120s” or “Super 150s” the fabric should be fairly lightweight but still strong. If you want to be super picky about it then ebay probably isn’t your best bet, but if you just need something and don’t want to pay several hundred ebay is the way to go in my opinion.
The name of the maker and the description of the suit. As everything, buying from Ebay is buying items you happen to know well – meaning that you know how the size will work. It works better with relatively expensive items and with items that are fully insured against misrepresentation by sellers.
Getting a Mens’ Wearhouse, Joseph Banks, or Walmart type of clothing on Ebay makes little sense. The savings are not worth the hassle on such cheap crap. There was a time (think economic crisis on Wall Street) when very expensive suits were all over Ebay. Actually, there was a CC member who became a specialist in such resales. The market was getting suits of 3 to 5,000 for 20 to 30 percent of the price.
I think a better suit will last long and is a reasonable investment. The cheap stuff will languish in the closet after a couple of uses.
Thanks.
While I looked up Brooks Brothers, I noticed it seems to be based in New York City. I also found this link about the suits and clothing styles for the privileged college students IN THE PAST.
It is interesting to know that, in the old days, Princeton had more rich students even though its location was more isolated, in a small town/“farmland”, as compared to Harvard and Yale. (Now, it seems many students/parents may think the town where Princeton is at is “nicer” but this was not the case back then.) Also, most students at Columbia commuted to the school at that time (and it had more minorities even then.)
http://syndicate.details.com/post/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-ivy-league-look
The original link may be at:
http://www.ivy-style.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-ivy-league-look.html
I also learn of where the style of shoes pictured at the beginning of this article came from for the first time.
This is just the history, not how the current college students dress themselves.
This is a tangent to this thread but It is an interesting read for those who may be interested in the history of college student fashion.
I agree w @xiggi that Banks suits are tacky. I find Brooks Bros jackets to be boxy and lacking in style.
@mcat
On the off chance u might have a trip planned to Hong Kong, get a top quality, imported italian cloth, bespoke suit made there. You can also get extra pairs of trousers to go with the jacket.
I heard that it is very “cost effective” to get top quality suites there. Unfortunately, it is unlikely we will have a chance to travel to that part of the world. Ditto for DS. Thanks anyway.
As I mentioned above, LA has good, reasonably a priced tailors (at least my bargain-hunting S thought so and purchased there).
In Hong Kong you can get the quality & tailoring of Brioni or Zegna, for the cost of Brooks bros. Have had several suits made, including black tie attire.
Really depends on what the point is. A Sears suit that fits well (and that depends on body shape and so on) can be had for $100 or less. A decent shirt may be $50 or more, even at Sears.
How often the suit will be worn. Why the suit will be worn. Whether it will be a “first suit of many” or “the suit that needs to last for five years or more”.
Shop around, it is free to shop around. Joseph Banks has sales as does a few other places, where you can get quite a deal if 3 or so suits are bought at the same time.
(I got a very nice (women’s) suit that was originally $350 for $60 at Macy’s. Sweet!)
How much are you willing to pay? Because as others have said on this thread, I just scanned it, you can spend from a few hundred to many thousands.
What is this for? Presentation in college? No need to spend much. ( Men’s Wearhouse) Interview for a low/ entry level job? Get something you can wear for awhile, so spend a bit more. ( A department store or Jos. Banks)
Wedding only wear once? Go cheap. (Not talking about the wedding. Only the rehearsal dinner, etc.) Very professional job, get a good suit. Visit Barney’s , Brooks Bro’s, Nordstrom, Bloomies, etc. etc.
Or visit their outlets. My D1 got some good deals at outlets when she was just starting g out in the later category.
I think it depends on how often it will be worn and by whom. When my son was a high school senior, he and his friends did the Men’s Warehouse BOGO and each got a slim fit suit- they fit well and look good. However my son wears his 1-2 times a year so it was perfect for him. When we looked for my DH we found that the sale suits tended to be slim fit- any thing that fit was not included in the sale and was vastly overpriced. He wears suits most days so has quite a few. The last 2 he bought were from Macy’s. They fit very well off the rack and were around $250 each- the store did have a tailor but he ended up not using that service. I am generally not a fan of Macy’s but did like a lot of their suits. I also buy a lot of men’s dress shirts there.
Not surprising, since the slim fit suits are more likely to fit (some) younger men who are more likely to have less money to spend than the more usual suit-buying demographic.
It is going to depend on what he needs this suit for in the near future. Is he going to be wearing it to work after the interviews? If so, it would be a mistake to buy something cheap. There really are no ‘good’ suits at a $150-300 range. They will look like $150 suits and if this young man is going to be in a professional setting, he should have something that is of good quality. The other issue, aside from the look of the suit, is the durability. A cheap suit is not going to last like a better quality suit will. Go to the sales at a store like Nordstrom or Saks and buy something that looks good and will last.Their tailoring service will make sure it is a good fit.
I second Nordstrom as a good place to look. Brooks Brothers can be as well. I’m not a fan of mens wearhouse or joe banks, or sears or penneys, but if you’re going to be wearing it somewhere where everyone else shops there, it probably doesn’t make any difference.
Things have changed over the years, though, so it depends on what the suit is for, near-term and long-term. Engineers and tech people don’t wear suits that often (I’m told), which is probably an improvement since when they did it was usually the cheapest one they could find. Finance and banking are different, and if it pertains to that arena you should count on paying more than $500, and probably materially more.
Style has some bearing, but it depends on the industry. Generally it makes sense to follow the leader on these things. You don’t want a suit with the little belted back embellishment in a lot of places, and often double breasted is out of the mainstream as well.
Fabric choice is important, and lightweight wool is my personal choice for a universal application, usually in charcoal grey. They are fine for summer or winter. IMO, suits have a lot of tailoring in them anyway, so if you’re buying a less-expensive suit, the pricing point was reached by using a less expensive fabric, which isn’t good. If you look at enough suits and try them on and feel the fabric with your fingers, you’ll get a sense of what you get for the price difference.
If someone is in his 20s’, don’t let them tailor it snug. It needs to be loose enough so that you feel comfortable moving around in it, and should have room for a 10-15 pound weight gain. Also, depending on body type, make sure the sizing is right…especially the “short” vs"regular" vs “long” part. If you’re under 5’9" or so, some suits will be too long (those noted as size 42, 44 etc. “regular”. If you buy a regular when you should have bough a short, you’ll look like you’re wearing your dad’s suit. If you’re tall and you need a “long” size, but instead get talked into a regular, you’ll look like you grew a lot since you bought the suit. The bottom edge of the suit should hang into your cupped fingers with your arms hanging at your side, but not above or below the cupped palm. Being off by an inch is very noticeable. Also, if you’re tall with longer arms, you may have trouble with the range of selection, even at the larger stores. Same with being shorter with broader shoulders. In those cases, don’t get talked into what doesn’t actually fit.
One of the reasons my husband was unimpressed with Men’s Warehouse was because just about every suit in there was slim cut. That would have been great for him 30 years ago, but not now. Same with Macy’s.
Also, this turned out to be a bad time of year to shop. Inventory was low. The Nordstrom’s sales person told us if we’d come in a week or two later there would have been more options.
This is strictly my opinion, based on my experience, but a “good” quality suit usually starts around $800. At that price point, the fabric will be wool or other natural fiber, and the construction good enough that it will hang properly. In cheaper suits, everything is machine sewn. In more expensive suits, the lining and facings are sewn in by hand, so the suit has a nice drape. Cheap suits often look puckered at the seams and around the collar because of the lining and facings.
Shop the sales and try to find something discounted, especially at the end of the season. Most suits are three or four season, so it really doesn’t matter if you buy a “spring” collection…it can most likely be worn year round.
Be sure to follow @dadx advice about fit, which is probably even more important than anything else.
A savvy shopper can sometimes find that $800 suit for $400. I also think there are some good-looking basic suits at Joseph Bank–we just bought one there for my son on clearance for about 100 bucks. Some of the suits really were pretty cheap-looking though. The one we bought was all wool–it was a 37 slim, which may be why it was on sale. (The fact that he’s currently a 37 slim at age 23 is another reason we’re hesitant to pay a huge amount for a suit–I suspect he’s going to fill out more in the not too distant future).
It should be noted that JA Bank suits’ “regular prices” are listed in the $600-$900ish range. If you pay that price for one, you just didn’t wait long enough… for their next “buy ONE get TWO FREE” or “75% off!” sale.
(or those prices are artificially inflated…)