<p>My S needs to buy an interview suit. How much will he have to spend to get something decent? He is going to go with his GF who is a good shopper and has good taste but he needs a budget. He is in an artistic field so the suit will most probably only be used for interviews.
This is my last minute child. It has finally hit him today that he finishes his last class in 3 weeks and has no clue as to where he is going to go once he is done. He finished his electronic portfolio this week and finally finished his resume. He has not applied for a single job and has no suit.</p>
<p>Mens wear house. I checked and there is one near his campus. DS has several suits from them. Keep the receipt and they will alter for free if his size or shape changes. Macy’s and the other department stores hardly carry suits if at all.</p>
<p>Budget could be anywhere from 200 and up depending on how generous you are feeling :)</p>
<p>DS bought his at a Brooks Bros. outlet. I believe it was in the $300-400 range. Men’s Wearhouse could work also, or a sale at Macy’s or similar. It’s important that he go someplace that will tailor it to fit well.</p>
<p>“Average” size, or hard to fit?</p>
<p>If there’s a Syms anywhere nearby, they usually have good deals, a wide variety, and you can get a pretty good first suit for $200 or less. They also have a fairly good selection of suit separates, in case the jacket and pant size are likely to be different than what’s offered in a standard suit.</p>
<p>If his chest minus waist is about 6 inches (plus or minus 1 or maybe 2 inches being reasonable alteration range), he should have no trouble finding a good selection of suits and dress shirts of all price ranges off the rack (however, dress shirts might be even more “generous” in the abdomen than one might expect, which can look bad on those who do not need the extra size there).</p>
<p>If he is of athletic build (chest minus waist greater than 8 inches) or is otherwise hard to fit, then finding an off the rack suit and dress shirt can be considerably more difficult. Made to measure or bespoke suits and dress shirts can cost considerably more than the less expensive off the rack suits and dress shirts.</p>
<p>If he is skinny but not muscular, then there are “slim cut” suits made for such men.</p>
<p>It’s pretty hard to find anything of real quality (meaning non-fused/glued suits) in the $200-400 price-range, but just for interview purposes, something in that price-range should be fine.</p>
<p>2 areas where the suit jacket really needs to fit - the shoulders and back (make sure there isn’t so much material across the back that the fabric “rumples” a lot).</p>
<p>Depending on his build, may need to go for “slim cut”/“athletic cut.”</p>
<p>In general, keeping the receipt isn’t that important for most suit retailers as they sew a their own label into the suit. The exception is, of course, where they don’t.</p>
<p>Bought my son a Ralph Lauren suit at Marshalls/TJMaxx for $149. Had to to have the pants professionally hemmed.</p>
<p>Mens wear house does want the receipt. I don’t know why. I should have mentioned that my DS is a weightlifter so has to go to a place where they will fit and alter. Nothing works off the rack.</p>
<p>Bought son his suit last fall and he decided to take up weightlifting big-time afterwards. We had it altered once - just brought it in. The label of the store is inside the jacket - no problem with alterations and we didn’t need a receipt.</p>
<p>In general, I think that it’s best to have alterations done unless you’re in that small percentage where stuff fits off-the-rack.</p>
<p>One other suggestion, if you’re on a tight budget: thrift shops can have some very nice suits. You have to look carefully for wear and for holes, stains, etc., but many of them are there just because the owners put on weight.</p>
<p>Budget for good shoes. They can be REALLY expensive. DS shoes as expensive as the suit.</p>
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<p>Or take it off. I agree on thrift stores and perhaps checking with relatives that may have a wide range of suit sizes to go with a wide range of weights that may no longer need some of their stuff.</p>
<p>Jos. Banks is very promotional. I bought my S a standard grey suit for about $125 on sale.</p>
<p>We had very good experience with Jos. A. Bank recently. Major brand suits and a great discount/promotion. Fortunately, only minimal alterations were needed.</p>
<p>An alternative to purchasing suits is to purchase a relatively conservative [i.e. dark] jacket and separate trousers.</p>
<p>Men’s Wearhouse worked out well for S’s internship wardrobe, which consisted of good quality classic slacks and jackets. The staff was knowledgeable and the prices were good. They have people who do the fitting and alterations in house, which I think is important. You might look into whether that alternative would work for your S’s interviews. Unless he is interviewing for jobs in the financial sector or some other very conservative area, a suit may not be the best choice. Charcoal and navy (or similar basic colors) slacks and two classic jackets might be had for the same $$ as a suit, and combined with a couple of classic dress shirts and good ties would give him greater flexibility.</p>
<p>Unless yous S and his GF know how men’s suits should fit, I would be VERY wary of going it alone at a discount place.</p>
<p>Jos Banks has great prices, but we found it hard to get the right size in a blazer for S through the mail, and then it had to be altered by a local tailor. If he can actually walk into a store and be fitted, it would be a good choice.</p>
<p>Brooks Bros is always a great choice, but certainly not inexpensive. I haven’t priced the suits at the outlet in our area, but we have gotten some great deals on other items, like shoes and sweaters.</p>
<p>We had a Jos A Banks open when our son needed a suit but they hadn’t hired tailors yet so they had to send alterations work out which meant that a suit would take three to four weeks to get altered. We wound up going to a local place which did a great job - they can do alterations in two to three days.</p>
<p>Definitely ask how fast they can do the alterations if you have in-person interviews coming up fast.</p>
<p>Jos. Banks has a lot of sales…check out their website. For men, though, spending a little more on a good quality classic suit in a navy or gray is a worthwhile investment. My DH has one that he had made custom 20 years ago. Let out or taken in over the years, it has never failed to serve him well. How many clothes have I gone through in that time – far more than $400 worth!</p>
<p>I agree that thrift stores are a good place to pick up a suit…even one that needs alterations. But he’ll need to look it over meticulously. Last thing you want is to find a sudden moth hole in a strange place (like the crotch) while you are sitting in the lobby waiting for the interview. </p>
<p>Don’t forget he’ll need some dress shirts (also findable at thrift stores…but worthwhile to buy new) and a tie or two. It sounds as if he is not looking for that 9-5 corporate life…therefore a tie (and maybe a pocket square/socks) is a great place to show his taste and style. Some decent shoes would help him too.</p>
<p>Also have him learn how to tie a tie. I’m pretty sure that there are plenty of YouTube videos available for that.</p>
<p>Look for dress shirts that go by neck size and sleeve length over those that go S-M-L-XL as you’ll get a better fit. Decide on button-down vs plain. Look for extra buttons at the bottom of the strip where the normal buttons are - these are used to replace lost buttons. I prefer two buttons at the wrist/forearm to one.</p>