I have an interview coming up in a few weeks, and I need a new suit. Can anyone recommend a good one I could buy in DC for around $300? Note that I really have no sense of clothing or fashion, so if you could actually tell me what to buy (as opposed to where to look), that would be the most helpful. BTW, the interview is with a government legal office.
Any suit you get for $300 is going to look like a $300 suit.
Try hitting thrift stores around your area for good quality suits and then spend $75 on getting it tailored to fit you?
I’ve had good luck with Men’s Wearhouse. My suit was somewhere around $250, but don’t forget you need a nice pair of shoes, shirt, and tie. I got a charcoal grey suit that I think looks nice.
Joseph A. Banks is everywhere in DC and they are always having a sale. You might be able to find one of their more expensive lines (call, I think, Signature) for that price on sale. You could also check the Filene’s basement at Wisconsin and Jennifer, NW. They have men’s suits and there used to be this very helpful old lady in the department (she may have retired) who was good with making sure you didn’t make a fashion mistake.
Since you said you don’t have much fashion sense, stick with the basics. Allow time for tailoring the suit which can be a week or longer.
ETA: stick with grey or blue for the suit, a white or light blue shirt and a striped tie if you want to play it safe.
Any tailoring you get for $75 is going to look like $75 tailoring. Good men’s alterations are becoming as much of a luxury item as good men’s suits.
I think looking in a thrift store is not the best way to go for someone who is not sure of what he wants in a suit. It is too easy to buy something that is out of date, or otherwise off.
For a federal government legal office job in DC, an off the rack suit is perfectly acceptable. It is likely what the person interviewing you is going to be wearing. DC has a justified reputation for not being a fashionably dressed city.
ETA: Jos. A Bank is having a suit sale right now for $299.99. http://www.josbank.com/menswear/shop/SubCategory_11001_10050_11502
Maybe not appropriate for the Oscars, but perfectly fine for K St. Throw a dart out your window, you’ll hit a Jos. A Bank store.
Buy this. Have them hem the pants with cuffs, long enough so that there’s a slight break when you’re wearing dress shoes. The sleeves should leave around a half-inch of shirt cuff showing. If you’re heavy or thin, they may have to alter the collar/back of the jacket to have it hang smoothly. Alterations can take a week, so don’t delay.
You’ll be fine. I work in a government legal office, and the price point you’re aiming at is appropriate; we’re not a law firm.
Collar altering is a particularly lost skill.
Wait, I’m confused. Are you two implying the respective $300 suit and $75 tailoring will look cheap?
I ask because I recently bought a suit on sale; the total after basic alterations was $200. The salesman who helped me was reasonably savvy and had me trying a bunch of stuff on until we found something good. It looks like a pretty damn nice suit to me, and I think I look good in it. Go figure. I wouldn’t expect to look like a millionaire, but who does? (Except millionaires?)
Score! Plus, in this scenario, I get a window! 
Thanks! Yah, sad to say, this is about the level of detail I need.
I’d probably think it looks like a perfectly good suit, too. But as with all things, once you get a lot of experience with a given set of items, you start noticing nuances in quality. People who wear Brooks Brothers suits all day probably would be able to tell you’re wearing a (relatively) inexpensive suit. A friend made precisely this point to me, actually - and if I were applying for a BigLaw job, I might spring for something more expensive. But I’m not really trying to “dress to impress” - I just want to dress well enough that my clothes don’t create a bad impression. For the rest, god help me, I shall have to rely upon my personality.
If you buy a suit at Banks, it will be cheaper and faster to get it altered off-site rather than with their tailor.
Good to know, thanks.
I just bought a Ralph Lauren suit at Macy’s a couple weeks ago on sale for almost exactly $300. It’s as nice as I could find for that price.
My incredibly unclear point was that if it is a job at which you’ll be expected to wear a suit, then a $300 suit will be noticeable.
If the suit is just for the interview, and your actual daily attire will be more casual, you’re probably okay with a $300 suit. But you would probably also be okay with a blazer, chinos, and tie in that situation.
The most important point was that the tailoring is what makes the suit. Off the rack and on to the body looks good for about .001% of the population.
But I defer in all respects to Tom Tildrum, because he is in your exact field and knows what the dress code is.
Some may moan, but J.C. Penny has good suits and suit-separates in that range. (Kohl’s has been known to, though the last time I was there they were leaning towards the pimp-y as opposed to classic banker charcoal.)
This is the government, not a whiteshoe lawfirm. They’re probably all wearing polyester and glasses held together with band-aids.
Nordstrom Rack usually has nicer designer suits at pretty good prices too. You may want to give them a try.
I doubt most people can tell the difference. I have $1000 Brooks Brother’s suits and I have $300 Men’s Wearhouse suits (mostly for when I need to sit around an office all day around people who don’t care what sort of suit I’m wearing but need me to wear one anyway). All they see is “charcoal suit”. I can see the difference side by side, but it’s not like someone is going to come up to you and feel the fabric.
Shoes and ties it’s easier to tell if they are high quality, but not always.
I think you probably lucked out. The suit for most guys is dying as functional clothing and turning into a kind of costume - fewer colors and styles, worse quality and fit - and nobody’s paying much attention.