Having a suit that lasts for 20 years is fine but styles do change. Some professions require that a person look modern or up to date so keep that in mind when you are deciding how much to spend. DH has some beautiful Armani suits that still fit but look too baggy compared to the way suits fit today.
If you only wear a suit for special occasions then style is probably not as important.
My husband has a 1970’s gorgeous wool suit. He had the lapels and slacks re tailored and they look fabulous. This was a high end light weight wool suit…which he also happened to love. There are folks who can change those lapels. Of course…they can’t really make them bigger…but is hoping that style never comes back!
Well…I heard DS had bought a cheap one: about $200, despite we strongly suggested him to buy a more expensive one. But we keep our mouth shut.
Finally I see someone else who notices the same thing! I’ve mentioned this to a few people, and nobody knows what I’m talking about! I’ve only seen it on TV, but I want to reach through the screen and yank that jacket down! It looks like it shrank! The sleeves are too short also.
mcat- your son likely doesn’t care that much about a suit. At least he has one for now. Later he can spend more if he wants to and be in fashion. Consider the number of times he’ll wear it- like a fancy dress- how much per use??? I don’t consider $200 cheap, not expensive but there are cheaper ones out there on sale.
wis75, Thanks. Our next concern is that, because he bought it online, he might not bother to have it tailored. We will try to convince him to do that next time (likely 1-2 weeks from now.) Not sure whether his GF is more “seasoned” on this subject. (He really does not know much about this.) If yes, he could get some help there.
DH (a large guy) recently bought a suit at Men’s Warehouse last week. It’s a decent suit, on sale for $230 (plus tailoring). The “normal” price is about $600… the pants alone $199.
A few years ago for DS we tried to find an inteview suit at Kohls. No luck. But Men’s Warehouse was great. On one of those BOGO deals he got a great suit and a blue blazer. I think it cost under $500 total with extras (shirts, tie, tailoring)… He was stunned how nice the tailored suit looked compared to our original attempt at off-the-rack at Kohls.
As an engineering student, DS never had to wear the suit for interviews. (Employers suggested business casual or casual interview clothing). But now he has a nice suit for weddings etc. I think the blue blazer will get more use.
He did ask the employers to define “business casual”, right? “Business casual” does not necessarily mean the same thing everywhere.
Business casual here is a polo and khakis.
“Business casual” has been the subject matter of a few heated debates here on CC. Depending on the part of the country and the industry, it could range from what a pro golfer would wear to a suit sans tie. Lol.
Just a reminder… In this case, we are talking about a med student. I have not heard of med students wear polos and khakis to their interviews yet.
He did ask the employers to define “business casual”, right?" - LOL - Not sure. He should have. It’s always a good idea to ask.
It sounds like things are rather casual in software engineering field, even for interviewing. DS said at one interview he felt a bit overdressed in his oxford shirt and khakis.
What a timely thread! Our son started a new job on Tuesday. He’s been working summers where the dress is business casual and that’s what he thought he would be wearing at his new office. For him, business casual is slacks and a button down shirt. I had bought him an inexpensive suit when he first started interviewing for internships, freshman year of college - 2011/2012. The jacket is still in good shape but apparently a seam split during some dance moves. Last Friday night he read an orientation e-mail from his new company that said that dress was “business professional” !! That’s when I found out about his suit pants.
Saturday, he and I went out to Kohl’s and found what I thought was a good enough suit and a few pair of pants,etc. That night my daughter vetoed just about everything. She wears business professional at her work and said what he should do is look at the outlet stores, so we looked on-line and found some that were within an hour. There were Brooks Brothers, Van Heusen (I love their no-iron dress shirts), Banana Republic, etc. My daughter really likes Banana Republic and had a 20% off coupon so that was her first choice. We found two really nice suits that fit very well and looked good on my son. We also picked up 2 sport jackets and 2 washable pants. Total cost for everything was around $500. Now, I don’t think either suit will last more than 5 years but not because they aren’t well made but because he’ll will most likely fill out by at least 20 lbs. I suggested Brook Brothers but she thought they were kind of old fashioned.
I think the type of suit needed depends on where and in what industry you are employed. For a corporate guy working in finance, law or for a major corporation, I would be reluctant to go beneath a Brooks Brothers quality suit. Full price they run around $1300 + but the “Fitzgerald” runs under $1000. Of course few pay full price as they constantly run sales and they have the “corporate program” that enrolls most major corporations. That alone will give you up to a 30% discount. And then of course they have their outlets.
I am a big fan of Paul Stuart and although they are very expensive you will have the suits for life. H who is a banker, needed really good quality suits and made the investment. I don’t think he has bought a suit in years. As long as his weight stays stable he should be good with the ones he owns.
Proper tailoring can make a big difference in men’s suits.
I think those short, tight suits look great…on Pee-Wee Herman.
My son finally found time for some minor alterations but he may have “filled out” from his then skinny self a few years later- he’ll find out if he ever tries to wear it again. Since men in their early twenties may still be changing shapes with lifestyle changes since college I would hesitate to rush to spend a lot of money on getting too close a fit.
btw- one thing I find terrible about the business world is the emphasis on appearances- most of us don’t care, won’t notice the clothes/watch/shoes. I feel sorry for those people needing to show off in this way- skill matters a lot more. It is so superficial- I certainly do not judge the worth of someone I might deal with by the flashiness of their wardrobe.
I hope you are right wis75. My son is in a tech field and I have to think that his skills will be noticed more than the quality of his suit. I can tell if a suit is obviously not fitting well, but would have no idea if one was more expensive.
I am sure most men would prefer to go in every day business casual and in some fields they certainly can. For those industries where men need to be in a full suit, it is the clients that will care. Doubt co-workers give much thought to what anyone else is wearing and are certainly not judging anyone. The clients might though so the suit just goes with the landscape. Clients expect a professional appearance. How you get there doesn’t really matter. Outlet stores sell quality at a lower prices.
My dad used to wear suits to his engineering job. He always made a point to get an extra pair of slacks because they wore out faster. I thin often the jacket got hung up in the office while he was working.
I guess you are right HarvestMoon, but I’m thinking of people like my husband, an engineer. His boss, also an engineer, the sales people - engineers, and their clients - manufacturing companies. While there are certainly some people in there that may judge people on their expertise at first glance with their appearance, I think that many people that wear suits are not in the financial district in a big city and are like me, unaware of labels or cuts of suits. I personally don’t pay a lot of attention to what people are wearing after a first glance, because I’m too busy trying to remember their name.
I think it makes sense for a person that can afford it and wears a suit often to get one that is well made, but that’s about it. For most of us peons who wear a suit on rare occasions, there are better things to spend our money on.
