Best Suits under $500?

If you need it in a hurry (paying full retail), the the J. Crew Ludlow stuff is pretty nice. If you have time to sit & wait, you can get a much better suit on the B&S for $500.

Club Monaco has the absolute worst suits I've ever seen. I've actually seen some blogs tout them b/c of its fit and working button holes, which are retarded on OTR suits, but the fabric feels like absolute crap. It's borderline wool at best and feels like sand paper. I second the JCrew out of those choices.

How about a Caruso suit from ehaberdasher for 600-650 USD

J. Crew. Even better if you can get it on sale. If not, B&S or one of the several clothing affiliates on SF.

Assuming you want to buy from a bricks-and-mortar store where you can try it on, but can wait for a sale, the Brooks Brothers 1818 line can be had on sale for about $500 (or 2 for $1000) and are some of the better suits you'll be able to get for that price.

Will probably be full of that 346 nonsense. I'd take a Ludlow over a Brooks 346 any day.

Depends which outlet probably, as they tend to vary in the quality of items they stock. Note that most of the outlets carry primarily the "346" line which is made specifically for the outlets and not as high quality as the "1818" line. According to this thread there's a 30% off sale upcoming -- if true and they keep the same promotion going, it would bring the price of the 1818 suits down to 2 for $1049.30 (from 2 for $1499). Of course this doesn't help that much if you're not wanting to buy 2.

Can someone elaborate more on this Caruso. Will it be a similar cut to the one they make for RLBL?

Depends. They may suits for almost everyone, including their own line. They all have different cuts.

you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. you are an absolute moron.

now see how that feels? it doesnt make sense for me to use absolute statements to use to describe you when i just feel merely you are a bit in the wrong?

club monaco is not the best but it is in the same ballpark with jcrew. their fabrics feel decent and doesnt feel like crap or at best sandpaper or they won't be selling it at their store.

at your statement on CM just to prove your little point about my language. Go to a CM and feel their suit. I was astonished to find that it was even 100% wool and not some wool/cotton blend.

J Crew Ludlow suits are nice, but you are locking in a not very conservative aesthetic with the slim lapels. So also depends on what you need the suit for. For instance, I would not wear a Ludlow to a job interview. But if you are comparing to Zara et al, then maybe you aren't trying to be conservative.

If you have an off-brand closeout place near you (like a Filene's or a Syms) and you need a more conservative suit, you can often get a quite nice Hickey Freeman that usually retails for around $1500 for around $500.

Hickey Freeman at Barneys Outlet, M. Valentino from Wizard of Aahs, Benjamin suits from eHaberdasher