What does one risk in wearing a 300$ suit in an environment where 1000$ suits are worn?
Mr Excellent,
Navy suits are best when you want to give a good impression. Blue the the most widely liked color and disliked by very few people. It’s also a calming and trust inducing color. It’s the best color for interview situations.
Failing that, charcoal is good too and very flexible.
Nothing really. I wear the $1000 suit when I have a client meeting or something important. If I’m just spending all day at my desk grinding out spreadsheets or making conference calls, I’d wear the cheaper suit so as not to wear out the nice ones.
It’s mostly a personal preference anyway.
On eBay you can buy a $1000 slightly used suit for $100. Get two. Find a decent tailor, have them fitted.
This is just fine for “government work”.
I’ll second Jos. A Bank as a place where you can get clothes that look marginally more expensive than they cost, especially if you’re an off-the-rack size. I’ll tell you, though, no matter what my financial situation (and it’s been all over the chart in the past decade), everything I’ve ever bought at Brooks Brothers or J. Press has turned out to be worth it. And there’s a Brooks Brothers outlet at Potomac Mills that’s worth the trip.
I moved from DC to Korea, where good, inexpensive tailors are very easy to find. Maybe you should poke around Koreatown in Annandale…?
Exactly. One wants to send the message, “I can’t be bribed.” August West is exactly right that this is likely to be a job where you will have to wear a suit very rarely, but it still seems to be required interview wear.
Sampiro, I have a couple of suits from JCP. I thought of suggesting it, but all I could find online were separates.
Try to make sure that the bullet hole is in an out-of-the-way spot. 
I do. 
Actually, years and decades ago I bought two bespoke suits that way. No bullet holes, just that the original owner had gained weight. Sadly so did I, but not without getting my money’s worth.
I think the message is more like “I don’t need to wear a $3,000 suit to impress you with the resources at my disposal; I just need to point out that my e-mail address ends in ‘.gov’” In some agencies, legal jobs are very competitive, so they get pretty bright people; in which case the subtle message being sent is also “I’m not impressed by your $3,000 suits. I care about actual facts and law.” (similar to the message a good programmer’s jeans and T-shirt sends).
Anyway, I concur that a $300 suit is fine for a government interview.
Wearing a really good tie takes a lot of attention off a cheap suit.
I’ll second the suggestions of Macy’s or Jos. Banks. They regularly put good quality suits on sale, so you can at least have a $5-600 suit for that. Just make sure it fits well and splurge on a nice tie and new shoes. Unless it’s an extremely image conscious employer, you’ll be just fine. Being well groomed, well-prepared and well-spoken will get you farther than your suit.
I am 38 and a partner in a large law firm in Atlanta. I frequently (though not always) wear a suit to work. I have had custom tailored suits, suits from Brooks Brothers, suits from Jos. A. Bank, and suits from department stores (from brands like Lauren and Hart, Schanffner and Marx). I do not wear hip work clothes because I do not want to buy all new work clothes every year. Who wants a closet full of barely worn monochrome shirt-tie combos and square-toe shoes? Anyway, these are my bona fides. In my opinion, if you would like to look professional (not Sid-Mashburn-pencil-thin-highwaters-no-socks hip and not crumpled up government rag), here’s some advice:
Fabric is very important. You’re suit should be 100% wool – no exceptions. It should be navy blue or dark gray (charcoal) – again, no exceptions. Solid is best. Two buttons. Let me repeat: two buttons. Do not wear a black suit. Black suits look cheap – even the nice ones.
Cut is also important. Not too baggy, not too tight. The pants should have a slight break. Have them size your trousers with the shoes you will be wearing and let the pants sit where you will be wearing them. If you wear your pants on your hips, have them mark the pants while you’re wearing them on your hips, not at your waist, otherwise, you’ll end up stepping all over the back. That being said, unless you have a considerable belly, try to wear your pants on your waist.
The suit is just the beginning.
You’ll need a white or blue pinpoint shirt with a straight collar and regular cuffs (save the french cuffs for the corner office). The little white plastic arrow-looking things are called collar-stays. They go in the tiny pockets on the inside of the collar. Use them. The top button of the collar should button and stay buttoned easily, but you should not be able to see the neck of your undershirt.
As for the tie, stick to primary colors: red (for the blue suit), blue or yellow (for the gray suit). The tie should have either a small repeating pattern, small dots, or bold stripes (also primary colors)
Wear an undershirt. I don’t care how hot it is, wear an undershirt. Yes, with sleeves, Sonny Corleone. And prefereably a crew neck.
Don’t wear cotton socks. Wear blue (blue suit) or black (gray suit) wool socks. They can have a little nylon in them.
Get a nice pair of black lace-up shoes. Nice lace-up shoes have leather soles. Your belt (you’ll need a belt) should be the same color as your shoes.
You can buy all of this at Jos A Bank, but, unless you buy on a sale, you’ll pay way too much. The good news is that they have a sale every fifteen minutes or so. Don’t get your shoes (or belt) there. Go to a discount shoe place (the ones that carry last year’s styles, but don’t worry the styles you’re looking for haven’t changed in 70 years). Buy a pair of black captoe lace ups. Cole Haan or Johnston & Murphy.
Plan to spend between $200 and $300 on the suit, on sale at Jos. A. Bank; $50 on the shirt; $50 on the tie; $30 on the belt; and $120 to $150 on the shoes.
this is true
I disagree. You’ve excluded a pretty big middle between $1000 suit and blazer and chinos.
And better, although you might negate some of the “cheaper” aspect, depending on the amount of alteration to be done. My experience with Banks’ tailors is that they can hem pants and take up jacket sleeves well; beyond that it’s a crap-shoot. Do some googling and find a reputable tailor, and he’ll be able to do things that take your relatively inexpensive suit and make it look fantastic (particularly if you have to have the yoke/collar area re-done).
I’ve bought a few of their Signature series suits (always during a 50% off sale), and my tailor was favorably impressed with the construction and the fabric. Not blow-your-mind great, but when I told him what I paid for the suit he nodded his head and told me I’d gotten a very good deal. Their other lines may not be quite so impressive, but they’ll do just fine.
Rather than trying to find a tailor who can fix the bump under the collar thing, it is easier to just keep trying on jackets until you find one that doesn’t do that. Unless you are shopping at Armani or the like, do not believe the salesman when he tells you their tailor can fix it. Just try another jacket.
Nordstrom. Early and often. Worth the cost.
Hasn’t the suit been non-functional for a while now, what with decorative flaps where pockets once were and buttons you’re not allowed to button? I look at Shorpy pics, and there’s big bulges where guys were actually stuffing things into their pockets, and lapels turned up against the cold.
Yep, that’s what happens when your only clothing is a suit. They were also built to move with the body and last longer than today. If they were still built that way, we’d probably still be wearing them that way.
Not to metion the the necktie has been pretty much useless from inception.
whole bean, Sid Mashburn’s new $1000 suit is fantastic. Pretty classic design, but with a flat front. As with most of his clothes, it’s more conservative than what you see Sid wearing most days.
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