Where to buy a suit: men's boutique or Men's Warehouse (or other chain store)?
I’m looking to buy my first suit and money is in an issue. I would like to get a suit that looks really good and fits perfectly in a basic charcoal/grey color that can used for many occasions in a semi-conservative style, so location shouldn’t be an issue. What it comes down to is service and price. A local store has incredible service – providing information without pushing me to buy anything and they sell products that seem to be built well, but don’t have the name recognition of the brands you see at other places. Also, this store would be selling a really good first suit (economically priced) for a little under $400 – other places would be selling TWO suits for about $100 more.
What should I do?
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11 Answers
I’m anxious to find this out too.. never owned a suit.. well.. other than my uniform at work.. if you count that… which I don’t.
I’m quite fond of Banana Republic suits. They’re a tad more expensive than your $400 limit, but check their website for sales.
Every BR suit i’ve bought (several) has lasted well beyond whatever lifetime you’re gonna get from a $100 suit, and the style sticks up.
Barring that, I’d try Macy’s. They’re closer to your price point, and the guys that work in the suiting dept are usually very knowledgeable.
I haven’t bought a suit in years—decades!—but if I were going to, I’d go to a department store.
Much as I like supporting local business, economics sometimes dictates otherwise. I had a great suit buying experience at the Men’s Wearhouse, I got two quality suits for a low price, tailoring included, and the service was great. I don’t think you could go wrong there.
A suit is one product for which you get what you pay for. You will be much better off in terms of fit and style if you do not shop at the two for $100 type stores.
Jos A Banks has been having some very good sales lately. Brooks Borthers is a great place for classic suits.
Do you have a Nordstrom’s Rack (Nordstrom clearance store) in your area? They will have suits at prices reasonable enough to have it taken an altered just right for you. Few suits fit a person perfectly off the rack, most of them need some tweaking. I agree Banana Republic has a good product and I love the Jos A Banks clothes.
Good tailoring can make a mediocre suit look great on you. Lousy tailoring can make an Armani suit look like it came from Target. My uninformed assumption is that the tailoring at a Men’s Wearhouse is going to be closer to the lousy end of the spectrum. You might consider asking your friends for a good, local tailor and take it from there.
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@earllyanis That is pretty great. My wardrobe is moving in the right direction.
H&M, Sisley, Topman etc. has reasonably priced suits that look richer than they really are.
Proper tailoring is a MUST.
A correctly fitting suit made of burlap will look and wear better than an ill fitting one made of the finest materials.
Don’t be afraid to try used suits.
I recently got a fine, up to date suit by NEXT for $45, after $90 worth of fine tuning I’m still way ahead of the game.
If Topman is good enough for Captain Jack Harkness it’s good enough for me.
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