If you want a bit of a challenge, try being unable to afford a tailored suit, along with having an odd fit of trousers, and then being colourblind.
Its fun trying to match trousers to jackets when you really have no idea what way the colours are matching.
Yesterday I basically went into a shop and said to the tailer “sort it out bitch” (paraphrased) . Its a joy to finally have the disposable income and freedom to do something like that.
(I got a black suit for a wedding. Sharp white shirt, and I am trying to find a charcoal/grey coloured tie to top it off. Snazzy as fuck ;))
(ETA: Actually, it would be snazzy if I knew what colour charcoal actually was…)
Black should be the third or fourth suit that you own, not the first and only. Hell, brown would get more milage than black. When in doubt go with a charcoal suit, white shirt, and maroon tie. That’s the most classic look that there is and it works for most anything - job interviews, weddings, funerals, etc. You can then swap out a blue shirt and still pull it off. Charcoal / grey is probably the most versatile suit that you can own since you can change the entire look with shirts and ties. Also if you do it just right you can wear brown or black shoes with grey. Grey is the khaki of the suit world, it just works.
Navy is a close second and if it does have come bright brass Captain and Tennille buttons you can have your taylor or dry cleaner replace them with flat black buttons that will make it look sharp as shit, and you can then wear the jacket as a blazer with jeans and look pretty fly too.
Double breasted and pin stripes are for big time suit guys and old guys. Same with a nice glen plaid or houndstooth. Those are really busy looking and it’s fussy to bring an entire outfit together.
When I say “tailored” I actually mean “altered”. They take it in or let it out at the shoulders, adjust the sleeve length, take it in or let out the waist, hem the pants, etc. Hardly any person, fits the jackets off the rack. They almost always need alterations. Many men’s clothing stores, will include alterations in the price of the suit.
What do you think of grey flannel for a men’s suit? I like the color and was thinking of it for my next suit. (Which probably won’t be for a while, as I wear one less than once a year.)
Also, Staggerlee, not to put word’s in Omar Little’s mouth, but notice that he keeps saying “to fit” and that they “need alterations”. So it’s not that you can’t even wear your off the rack suit because it’s so ill fitting, it’s just that to actually look good almost everyone should have their suit altered. Plenty of people go in, buy a suit, and wear it, but there are also a lot of people wearing suits that genuinely look really really bad on them, and these two sets of people are usually one in the same.
I see that there are diverging opinions on this within the thread, but I agree with this. In my opinion, if you only own one suit, black is fine.
I have faced this situation until recently - I wear a suit so rarely (wedding, funerals, job interviews, and my company’s Christmas party) that it’s very difficult for me to justify owning more than one. For many years my one suit was black, and it worked fine. Over the last year I’ve lost 40 pounds, so it no longer fits properly, but I have discovered in my closet a charcoal gray suit that now fits again - so it’s my one suit at the moment.
Thanks for the replies, all. Still dithering between a black and a charcoal gray. Seems like there’s no clear consensus on which way to go.
Is there generally much of a difference between a suit bought off the rack at a reputable department store (e.g. Macys) and a dedicated men’s store with their own house brand?
Of course I’m going to get the suit altered, but apparently there’s nothing they can really do about the “bunching in the back problem”. (Put on a suit and hold up your arms as if you were taking a picture. Odds are, the suit will be really tight in the back. “Don’t do that, then”, you say. Well…if your hobby is photography, that’s not really an option.)
Define “too expensive”: when I last went suit shopping, I got three suits (Charcoal, brown, black) with shirts and ties for each for just under $900, including tailoring. I suggest sniping sales at Jos. A. Bank.
Immeasurable. I will never go back to off-the-rack-from-a-department-store.
Yes, but what sort of dedicated mens’ store are we comparing to Macys? Because I’ll bet that the name brand suits at Macys are better than the stuff at Mens Wearhouse or Jos A Bank. Macys has suits by Hugo Boss, Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, while Jos A Bank has those buy one get one free specials.
Suppose my brother gives me a good suit that he’s hardly worn. And suppose that I might be able to wear it as is, but it’s a little too big or small to look just right. How much am I going to pay to get it altered, more or less?
I would go to a few places and try some things on (yes, I am a girl, why do you ask?). The key for me when I drag my husband to buy his ‘one suit’ is that tailoring is included in the price (or at least the tailoring I feel he needs since he could care less). Finding a decent tailor can be tricky. Usually the ones at men’s stores specialize in suits and the like.
Also, drag someone with you (ideally someone with some fashion sense) for a second opinion. You will probably have this suit for a long while.
As for the colour thing, I like black a lot but charcoal is also a good choice. I would stay away from blues and browns unless your colour sense is better than that of the average male. (Some of the suit/shirt/tie combinations I have seen are hilarious, which is fine if that is the reaction you are going for.)
Having worn both Hugo Boss and Jos. A. Bank, I completely and utterly prefer the latter.
Now, granted, I wouldn’t be surprised if at least part of that is that Bank had a much, much wider selection of suits that were cut for my body type (broad-shouldered, thick waist, football lineman type build) than Macys. Men’s Wearhouse is right out. It has seemed to me in the past that department store suits are basically all cut to flatter the Abercrombie physique (medium shoulders, wasp-waisted).
Now the Macys website lists only three or four Hugo Boss suits; it’s possible that the actual Hugo Boss store will have a bigger selection.
Here’s my experience. About twenty years ago, I needed a suit, so I dragged my father to Manhattan to shop for one. I wanted to try to get one at Barneys. The salesguy was kind of snooty and showed me a very small rack of suits for my size and shape. So we went to Moe Ginsburg. There an older, clearly experienced salesguy looked at me, estimated my size right away and showed me a forty-foot rack of suits, from which I found something decent for $200. Had I bought something at Barneys, I’m sure I would have paid four times that.
Jos. A Bank (who’s announcer needs throat punched) and The Men’s Warehouse will often times have suits of equal to even superior quality to the more affordable versions of designer suits sold through upscale department stores like Macy’s or Nordstroms because those “designer” suits are the same low thread count, cardboard backed things that they sell three for one. They’re usually just cut a little slimmer or have fancier buttons. They’re definately not worth the mark up that the designer name carries unless you’re hitting the big time labels because you’re just paying for the name, not for increased quality.
Sure, you can pick up a Ralph Lauren suit at Macy’s for $500 and be pleased, but you’re not really getting a Ralph Lauren suit until you start getting into the Purple Label stuff. Yeah, they sell Hugo Boss suits, but it’s not really a Hugo Boss suit unless it’s Black Label. Those suits are also slightly stupid because for he kind of money that those will start to run you close to the lower end of bespoke suits, which is the holy grail of suit-ness and if you’re willing to buy a $1500 off the rack suit why not take the time and get a one of a kind of your own?
My father used to know a guy based in Hong Kong who would travel to cities in the US where he would measure his customers and show them fabric samples so that a custom suit could then be tailored in Hong Kong for them at a big discount. I never had this done, but I wonder whether such a suit would be worth it.
One of my Marine Corps brothers did that while overseas. It’s a damned fine suit down to the smallest detail and the fabric is exactly what he’d picked out, not a rougher, cheaper version of the same thing.
This looks like a job for the old guy, who used to wear suits everyday, and had a closet full of them.
Either black or charcoal will be fine. If it were me, I’d go with charcoal or dark blue because they’re a little less “severe” than black. But I understand that black is very popular with you young hipsters. Just be sure to wear a bright tie.
Try on a couple of different brands of suits, at a couple of different price points, and pretty soon you’ll be able to tell the difference between something that looks good and something that feels good.
I’ll offer an alternative to a custom-made suit. Find an independent tailor who’s been around for a few years – preferably an older one with a European accent (either male or female.) Explain the “bunching in the back” problem. Have the tailor take the appropriate measurements and recommend what to look for in the suit you buy. Tip the tailor generously for the advice, THEN go select a suit based on the advice. Take the suit back to the same tailor for the final alterations and again tip generously.
Good tailors are like good barbers. Take care of them and they will make you look good forever.
I was brought up to be as fiscally prudent as the next man, and there is no way in hell I could do that.
I could not look that tailer in the eye if I pumped him for good advice, and then went the bought the bloody suit somewhere else, only to use him for a few minor alterations afterwards.
Take care of him? If he is that good then buy the damn suit from him.