$1500 for a new suit what do I do?

I am a recent college graduate looking to get a navy blue suit. I am willing to spend up to $1500. Does anyone have any recommendations-- MTM, RTW...?

$1500 should buy you a pretty good suit.

There might be reason to go MTM if you are hard to fit.

There is no easy answer for this question - you must get yourself to some better menswear stores and try on some suits - there is no getting around it.

The first thing I would do is get your measurements taken because that will tell you whether RTW is a possibility.

If RTW is possible, I would cruise discount brick and mortar stores (e.g. Nordstrom Rack) and online (B&S, eBay, Shopthefinest, Ehaberdasher, Yoox, seasonal sales etc.). For up to $1,500 you can find an extremely nice suit at a good discount, and you will likely save some money instead of going straight to your local MTM retailer.

If it is your first suit, at that budget I would definitely go with a brick-and-mortar outfit. Unless you are terribly difficult to fit, Ralph Lauren, Paul Stuart, or something at that quality/price point ought to be able to put you in a damn nice suit.

Look for deep discounts later. Pay a bit more on this first one and get EXACTLY what you want off the rack. Please disregard the folks who suggest that you go low-level bespoke simply because it is in your price range.

My two cents.

You will easily be able to get a good entry level suit with that money. Get a Saks card and hit an Off fifth to take advantage of deals. There are way too many brands to recommend in that price range, but needless to say I saw some fine Isaia suits in Saks the other day that would leave you change for a few decent shirts or a sport coat. Also at Saks I noticed a few Ralph Lauren Black Label suits retailing at $1100 with a further 30% off. I find Neiman Marcus Last Call or Nordstrom Rack to be extremely hit and miss affairs, but Saks Off Fifth carry some good stuff and deals at the moment with a new season about to dawn.

Also sniff around at some of the external links provided here. I have seen some good suits at some of these online retailers, you could certainly check them out. Brands like Belvest, Isaia, Canali mainline, Barbera, Brioni, Partenopia etc all within the price range you can afford.

But since you appear to be a newbie to suits, you could go more entry level with some less well constructed suits such as Brooks Brothers 1818 or Burberry London and you could feasibly get 2/3 suits for $1500. Just a suggestion which goes against common sartorial logic, but practicality says if you need a suit as a graduate, get two or three in staple colors, wear them for a year or two and then upgrade to the top of the line stuff.

Brooks Brothers Golden Fleece is another option, especially if you need a hard-to-find size.

http://www.brooksbrothers.com/IWCat...or=BLACK&sort_by=&sectioncolor=&sectionsize=#

The normal price is $1600 each, but they have 25% off sales all the time.

Get a 2 MTM suits for $500 or $600 a piece. I've tried on sooooo many suits and while Person A will say XXX is the best and Person B will say XXXXX is the best.....it all depends on how exactly the suit fits on you. Some people (mostly with athletic/broad shoulders) will be able to buy a suit off the rack and have it tailored at a dpt store and have an absolutely perfect fit. I happen to be one of those people. I have a fully bespoke suit from the best in Atlanta. An MTM suit from another highly regarded tailor in ATL. I also have a suit that costs about $100 bucks on overstock made by Kenneth Cole. They all fit exactly the same for the most part. Yes, you can tell the K Cole one is cheaper. Point is....either go MTM or keep trying on suits until you find the company that makes your fit.


Besides, think about it. At my office at least, we walk around throughout the day (including lunch) without our jackets unless we're dealing with clients or have meetings. Spend that cash you save on a nice watch.

OP - disregard every word written by Dutchtiger.

If you're looking for a suit because you WANT to, your choices are going to be wildly different than if you HAVE to. This forum is for the former, not the latter, and you're going to get advice commensurate with that. If you are doing this because you have to do so, this forum is not right for you.

For $1500, if you are the right fit, I'd go for the Benjamin suit provided by our very own eHaberdasher.com. They're $495 a pop, which gets you the navy, charcoal, and midgrey. Your entire suiting wardrobe was just made in one purchase.

If you're using his logic, you're getting $1200 worth of 2 suits and $300 to bu a watch. For $300, the watches that you buy are mostly going to be crap, so don't waste your money.

If the Benjamin doesn't work for you, take the advice of ther other posters. If you've never been properly measured, get yourself measured, and head to a Nordstrom/Neimans/Etc with a legit sales staff, see the models, cuts, brands, etc. that you like and then immediately try to find a better deal online.



Liquidus said:

Brooks Brothers Golden Fleece is another option, especially if you need a hard-to-find size.

http://www.brooksbrothers.com/IWCat...or=BLACK&sort_by=&sectioncolor=&sectionsize=#

The normal price is $1600 each, but they have 25% off sales all the time.

Click to expand...

+1

If it were me, given my build, I'd either go for one Ralph Lauren Black Label suit or two Brooks Brothers Milano suits (if they still had a few on sale I could get a full price for $1k and a sale one for $500).

Expand it a bit, and you got a trip to HK and a tailored suit =)



LoveSuits said:

Expand it a bit, and you got a trip to HK and a tailored suit =)

Click to expand...

This, but seeing as that is probably not realistic for you. Brooks Brothers has always made some nice suits. Check them out.

Just one suit for $1500? What for? Kind of odd.

Get a MTM suit.

I say you check out a Department store and se if you can hit an Isaia or a RLBL suit, then get it tailored for your needs. Who knows, you may end up saving some cash for some nice shoes, which you should also focus on