Help me pick out quality business attire

In My Humble Opinion
1

Hey folks. I finally have a few dollars to go about restocking my wardrobe, and I’d like to actually spend a bit of money and get quality clothes. My problem lies in the fact that often I will buy clothes from Kohls, Target, etc which look really nice off the rack, but start to look faded and not so great after a few wear cycles.

So, if I were to try to purchase good quality (but not, hopefully, probitively expensive) cotton and/or wool pants, what brands should I look for? Which stores should I shop at? I know I can buy more expensive clothes from a place like Bachrach or Structure, but are they any better? I bought a shirt from Bachrach once for about 50 bucks, and I certainly don’t think it held up much better than one I would buy from Target…but it did look cool with my suit.

What about shirts? Polos, button-downs, and other styles, which brands to buy and what stores to buy them from to get a decent price? I’m definitley curious about the claims of no-iron cotton button-down shirts. I’ve had a lot of 100% cotton shirts, and none of them look all that great unless you iron them.

For example, after buying a suit from Men’s Wearhouse, I now get e-mails telling me all about their Pronto Uomo “high-twist wool pants” that are supposedly the cat’s meow. At 75 bucks a pair (normally 99 per pair) they damn well better last long and look good, especially seeing as how I have to dry clean them every time. So are they good, or are they crap? What should I expect to pay for a decent pair of wool pants? Cotton pants? Button-down (is this called Oxford?) shirts? Polo Shirts? Other types?

One final, somewhat unrelated question. I tend to get wallet marks on my pants because, like a typical male, I tend to keep most of my personall stuff in there. I am not george-castanza style “put everything you find” in there, but all my credit cards, membership cards, DL, etc are in there. After a while, the fabric on the pants will wear a bit and this ends up looking bad. Tips for avoiding this? I can’t stop carrying my wallet around, that’s just impractical.

Oh, and I hope this is in the right forum :slight_smile:

2

I’d say you can get your best deal on a store’s own brand of clothes. Look for them to go on sale and try to buy as much as you can afford. The good thing about most business clothes is they don’t tend to go in and out of style quickly.

3

Which store?

4

I’d say any major department store, the more upscale the better. I’ve had good luck with Macy’s Club Room brand.

5

Until recently, I literally had an Uncle in the business. Small clothing stores, like my uncle owned, will generally give you the best deals AND you’ll get personalized service. I’m spoiled, due to my location, though. I can find dozens, if not hundreds, of independently-owned or small chain men’s haberdashers. I find most of them to be attentive and helpful; I’ve never felt any of them were trying to take advantage of me. Lastly, if you know something you want specifically, such as a polka-dotted purple and orange jacket, they’ll do their best to special order it for you. Try getting Target or Macy*s to do that!

6

Back in my Wall St days, I had great success with the Men’s Wearhouse. Good selection, great prices and phenomenal service. And I liked the way I looked, they even guarenteed it.

7

Land’s End sells well-tailored men’s business clothing made of quality fabric at reasonable prices.

Be sure to check out the Overstocks section. You can get some amazing deals there.

8

I think you can’t go wrong with some nice no-wrinkle Brookes Brothers or similar shirts. Especially if you get them on sale or at an outlet. They might be expensive, but they last for years and don’t go out of style. Would you rather by one $70 shirt that lasts five or six years or a 4 $20 shirts that last a year or so?

9

Drycleaning! Clothes look better when properly pressed and last longer. We have discount places around here that charge $1.99 an item.

10

The no-iron shirts are awesome. Men’s Warehouse had them for $50 when I was in the USA in July. We don’t own a dryer here, so we do have to iron them anyway, but it takes one quick sweep of the iron and they are sharp looking. So, even if you don’t trust the no-iron claim and insist on using an iron, they are easy.

If you travel, get a suit with Lycra/Spandex in it. They don’t wrinkle that much.

All suits should have 2 pairs of pants to extend their life.

Go shopping once a week for the next month, then go once a month. Try to only buy things on sale. If you do just one big shopping spree, though, then be up front with the salesperson and say “I’m going to drop $500/$1000 on clothes today. What deal will you give me to do all of that here?” they will take an additional ?% off or throw in a couple of ties or something.

Having a conservative navy blue sport jacket in your office with a spare tie in the pocket allows you to dress in slacks and a comfortable shirt on days you don’t expect meetings…but can do if needed.

Always buy expensive shoes. They last much longer. Avoid the new fashion molded sole shoes - you can’t re-sole them when they wear out. I have a pair of $150 shoes that I have re-soled about 6 times and they still look and feel great. I bought 4 pairs of shoes when in the USA because they are so cheap there…I saw great quality in the $100-$125 range. Shoe trees extend the lives of your shoes greatly - the trick is to put the tree in right after taking your shoes off, when they are warm and moist.

Your pants wallet issue: Get a smaller wallet. Keep only the necessities in it.

Thats all for now-
-Tcat

11

Drycleaning actually wears out clothes faster

12

I switched to a slimmer wallet/money clip that goes in my front pocket. Pants last longer and some back pain went away too.

13

Does it really? I always thought they lasted longer. I actually have my favorite pair of jeans drycleaned and the almost look new.

You could always wash your clothes and take them to the cleaner to be pressed.
I iron a lot but my clothing never looks the same as when they’re pressed at the cleaner.

14

You sound like you’re looking for reasonably priced consumer stuff. That pretty much comes down to picking a decent brand and getting it on sale if you can.

If you’re looking for a really nice suit, however, bespoke is the way to go. For around the same price or less than an off-the-rack Armani or similar designer suit, you can get something made specifically for you, with your choice of details and fabric. Tailored shirts are usually less than the upper class department store stuff. Compare $80 for something like a Donna Karan shirt at Nordstroms to $60 for an entry-level tailored shirt.

If I ever had to get “professional” clothes for a decent office job, I’d probably drop the couple of thousand on a couple of bespoke suits and 6-7 shirts rather than have to pay close to the same for off the rack that wouldn’t fit me right anyway. I’ve got ape arms, wide shoulders, and a decently trim waist, and nothing I’ve found in a typical suit store really fits the way it should. Suits are usually sold as a set, not separates, and either the coat or the pants are way off and need alterations to fit. For some reason, they figure guys with my basic measurements are built like barrels.

15

Any cleaning wears out clothes, but drycleaning especially because of the harsh chemicals.

16

I like Joseph A. Banks for men’s suits. They are a chain, but I don’t know how widespread. Good quality, classic look and low prices.

17

I buy shirts (poly/cotton blends) from the Men’s Wearhouse for my dad. He loves them. Mr. K has also purchased a couple suits from them. I think they’re a safe bet for both quality and style. The shirts run around $40 each, as I recall.

Weed some of the stuff out of your wallet. I just KNOW there is stuff in there you haven’t looked at in a year. Put it in a little envelope on your dresser or something. The fat wallet look is a fashion no-no. Also, you don’t need to carry more than two credit cards. You probably don’t even need to OWN more than two. It’s just more complication (and fatness) in your wallet.

18

Agreed, except for the low prices. When I’ve shopped there, I’ve noticed that they have grades of suits, and the best ones can be expensive.

Just checked www.josabanks.com Fall sale time! I should go visit them.

19

Had one in Birmingham when I was going to school nearby. I recommend 'em. Classic styles, good workmanship, reasonable prices, tailoring in-store, and a lot of sales (I hope they’re not heading for Chapter 11 :dubious:). Many locations sell Johnston & Murphy shoes, too, and they’re pretty damn good shoes.

Also online. josbank.com.

20

eBay.

Get a good Harris tweed sportcoat, and a nice blue blazer by a brand-name.

If you can find Nordstroms, grab it. Orvis. Burberrys.