My sister is getting married this September (I am not in the wedding). And I realise I am 36 years old and do not own a suit. I was always able to get by with dress pants and a nice shirt, but now I want a suit! I looked at the local Men’s Warehouse and the salesman had me try on one jacket that fit fine through the chest, but I couldn’t raise the arms at all. The he was telling me about their custom options, which I am considering (there bottom tier custom).
What I am looking for is a grey (charcoal grey, or similar) suit with vest. I have read that at least 98% wool is best. I believe the price he mentioned for the Joe Custom suit with vest is $495.
I looked in Macys, but was not happy with the selection. There is also a Joseph A. Bank in my area that I will check out. There is a Bonobos at the king of Prussia mall, but that’s two hours away from me (but if that is the best bet, I will drive there). I don’t know of any other local places.
Has anyone bought from either Men’s Warehouse or Joseph A. Bank? What was it like? Try there custom option? How about online options? I have read of several online places, but I’m worried about the quality.
Ideally I’d like to spend around $300. But I will go to the $500 price range if it’s worth it.
By any chance do you have an athletic build? If the jacket fits around the chest but you can’t lift your arms either a) it’s a really, really poorly cut jacket and you should be glad you found out so quickly or b) you might have to look in a big and tall store for something with an “athletic cut” that can fit your shoulders.
You can also rent. I think there are still tuxedo shops around the country, and they usually can provide suits (rather than just tuxedos). And now there are online sites that will rent suits or tuxedos, shipping them in advance of the event, with instructions and packaging for returning them.
But if you actually want to buy a suit, I’d recommend Macy’s, Nordstrom or an independent men’s store, if there’s one in your area. I’m not a fan of Men’s Wearhouse or Joseph A. Bank.
Men’s Wearhouse has generally poor quality suits. I think Jos A Banks is a step up, and for your purposes, would probably do well. Also check out outlet malls: Saks Off Fifth and Nordatrom’s Rack sometime have good suits at good prices… and sometimes they just have junk at food prices!
Im a bit curious as to the issue of raising your arms… that’s not really something that suits are typically designed for, so I’m not clear if you have an unusual build or if you have an unrealistic expectation of one’s range of movement in a suit jacket. (Keep in mind jackets were ditched from golf and tennis for a reason!) This is the max you can reasonably expect from a suit and raising your arms; if you want to dance and get funky, you may also take off your jacket.
Except there’s no salesperson to help you out at those outlet stores. If you know your size and style, they may work for you. But if you’re unsure, a good salesperson can be helpful.
Men’s warehouse is just fine. It’s not a top tier suit in terms of construction and material but it’s a perfectly fine suit.
And I agree, you should not be able to raise your arms in a suit.
I’ve never been to Saks Off Fifth, but I have been to Nordstrom Rack, and the level of service is the same as TJ Maxx and Marshall’s. There will be people stocking merchandise and people staffing the registers, but aside from that, you’re on your own.
I second Nordstrom for fantastic service. My husband once embarrassed me half to death meeting me there in literally rags and tatters (I think he was mad that I insisted he get a new suit - he got over it), and they treated him like a king. They are not the cheapest to be sure, but worth checking out to see if you can catch a good sale.
A few years go, I bought a suit online from SuitSupply. (They do also have brick & mortar stores, but none existed near me at that time.)
I got a Napoli suit, navy, and had it tailored by a local tailor immediately after getting it. I still get a lot of compliments when I wear it. The Napoli is currently listed at $399 with free shipping. Tailoring is probably another $100 on top of that? Which is right at the top of your budget.
Edit: People online seem to say that SS suits fit well “off the rack” so it’s possible to get away without the tailoring if you aren’t weirdly proportioned like I am.
I buy most of my business wear (and a Tux) from Jos A Banks. I did buy a nice suit at Nordstrom last year.
For what it’s worth, Men’s Wearhouse bought Jos A Banks a few years ago, although they occupy slightly different market spaces. Men’s Wearhouse sells suits by other manufacturers (although they do own the Joseph Abboud brand), whereas Jos A Banks (JAB) only sells their own brand (as far as I know that hasn’t changed). Years ago JAB was the butt of jokes because of their “Buy one suit, get 5 free!” sales. SNL did a bit where they were using suits as rags because they were so inexpensive. They still have sales, but not as goofy. Their quality is good (enough), certainly if you are looking for something for only occasional wear. You really have to try a bunch of stuff on, and be willing to have alterations done.
If you want to spend the money you can get a suit custom made, JAB, Nordstroms, and many others do that. In big cities there are cheaper places that measure you and they get made in China (probably JAB, Nordstroms, etc. get them made in China also) . This is handy if you wear a suit every day, you can get a bunch at a time.
I used to own a Jos A Banks suit and had no problems with it except that they called me constantly about sales and crap. How many suits do you think I need? They called me once at work (I probably gave the number as a contact to let me know when to pick it up) and I gave them hell. Suit was fine though.
Last time I attended a wedding as a guest, I just bought a suit jacket, matching pants and a shirt off the rack at JC Penny’s. Looked fine and I didn’t have to invest hundreds of dollars into attending someone else’s wedding.
There are guys who travel from city to city, set up in hotels and measure men for suits to be tailored overseas. They have fabric swatches with them so you can pick out fabric and then they work with you to determine the details of the suit. (I was once on a business trip to Boston with a boss who took me on a side trip to a men’s store in Cambridge, Massachusetts where he needed to order new custom dress shirts. I was amazed at the number of details to decide on. French cuffs or the other kind? How many buttons on the sleeve? Which kind of collar do you want? And so on. Most of us aren’t that picky.)
In the past, I bought a ton of work wear at Banks. Went in recently and was underwhelmed by the selection. Also, the price points were confusing. The entry-level suits were very inexpensive, but looked it. The price rapidly increased for nicer stuff. I had thought that in the past there was a wider range of reasonably priced wear.
May have just been my salesman, but I was unimpressed. Also, they are ALWAYS having one sale or another. Start planning 3-4 months ahead, ad eventually what you want will go on sale. Will such, tho, and find the shirt/suit you want would have been 20-30% less last week, and will be cheap again the week after you need it.
I just bought my 1st suit in 8 years at Von Maur. Nordstrom’s would also be a good bet - both are close to me.
A good part depends on how much you want to spend, and how often you intend to wear it. I paid about $600 for a charcoal grey suit that fits me perfectly w/ minimal tailoring on the pants, and will look good for whatever weddings/funerals/etc I have for the next few years. Also bought a 6 white Broooks Bros dress shirts there as well.
Might have been able to find a better deal somewhere, but I don’t enjoy shopping, and the quality/price/convenience/service suited my needs.
If you are fine w/ something cheap to wear infrequently, Men’s Wearhouse or even Penny’s could be fine.
Ding! That is the correct answer. Since apparently you’ve made it 36 years without needing a suit, this is a single or at best few time use item. You don’t need quality, you need a ‘looks fine’ suit. Penney’s suits ‘look fine.’ They serve the purpose and you already have your measurements from Men’s Wearhouse, so you can get something that ‘fitswell enough’ to wear the three times you’ll wear it.
Just curious, where are you? All Macy’s are not the same. KoP is a bigger store, which means more selection. I’ve been is some other Macy’s that aren’t nearly as big & therefore, have much, much less inventory. KoP has Macy’s, Nordstrom, Bonobos, & a few other good places (both department stores & smaller shops) all under one roof so you won’t even get wet if it’s a rainy day.
I haven’t been to MW in years; found both lousy selection & quality & very pushy salesmen (obviously working on straight commission); walked out & have never gone back. I’ve bought suits at both Macy’s & Jos A Bank.
I’d vote for JAB. If you’re like me, you (will) have a suit you wear to see people married and buried. (Although, I see much more casual wear, including blue jeans worn by family members, at funerals nowadays.) A JAB suit will work fine for that. Just don’t get anything extreme that will be likely to go out of fashion. My last suit purchased from JAB was less than $200 and it’s fine for the eight or ten times a year I wear it. Their suits are on sale all the time, as previously mentioned, but they are perfectly functional for their purpose.
Also, regarding Bonobos - their original business model is that the store is a showplace only (I don’t know if that has changed). You can try on and order while you are there and they will ship to your home. You don’t purchase and walk out with the item. I would be curious how they handle suits and alterations, maybe they just don’t do them? Also, their product line is very youth oriented. For men that means cut skinny skinny.
Burlington might be another option. I’ve gotten a couple sport coats there and they seemed to have a pretty good suit selection. That said, the two suits I bought from Men’s Wearhouse when I first entered the job market have held up well enough for 15+ years of occasional married/buried events.