Advice on first suit for wedding/interview

[Protagoras123]

I have a friend’s wedding coming up soon and was thinking of buying my first suit rather than paying for a rental, since I figure I will occasionally need a suit in the future. (I have a few friends I expect will get married in the next two years, and will also be interviewing for jobs in that time.)

The wedding is “black tie optional”, and my friend the groom said a suit is fine. I’d like to spend under $600, so I was looking at this suit on sale from S&M, but it’s sold out in my size:

VBC suit

I’m pretty tall and slim with a muscular upper body (6’2”, 180 lbs, ~41-42” chest and 32-33” waist), and ideally I’d like something that is neither too conservative (I don’t work in law or anything like that) nor too slim (since this seems to be going out of style).

Can anyone recommend suits that I could try in person or order online? I am based in Baltimore MD so I have a few local options like Christopher Schafer clothier, the QG, and Baltimore Custom Clothier, but I think these are all probably too expensive since they’re custom.

Thanks!

 

[SteveMc]

There are plenty of options in your budget if you're willing to buy online:
Suit Supply, Natalino, Pini Parma, Grand Le Mar, Cavour (when on sale).

 

[SirThopas]

It’s a shame that the Spier & Mackay suit is unavailable in your size, because it seems to fit your requirements perfectly. I would definitely favour navy. Is Eddie Jacobs in Baltimore still operational?

 

[breakaway01]

At a 8-10" drop you may find that many off the rack suits will come with trousers too large for you. A 42" jacket that fits your chest will typically come with 36" trousers, and in many cases those trousers are vanity sized (i.e. the true wast will often be 37" or even 38").

You're in Baltimore -- I'd suggest checking out SuitSupply in Washington DC at your price point. They offer separates in some of their models, such as this one: https://suitsupply.com/en-us/men/suits/navy-lazio-suit/C4778-S.html

The key, though, is that their associates seem to be trained to put people into jackets at least one size too small and/or short. Be firm about the look that you want. You are probably a 42L jacket but they might try to put you into a 40R.

 

[Protagoras123]

It’s a shame that the Spier & Mackay suit is unavailable in your size, because it seems to fit your requirements perfectly. I would definitely favour navy. Is Eddie Jacobs in Baltimore still operational?

Thank you for the recommendation! Eddie Jacobs looks like it's still open, so I will probably stop by this week. It is a real shame about the Spier Mackay suit, since it seems like a great deal to me (though I'm admittedly uninformed). I did schedule a phone consult with them though to ask about sizing/stock.

At a 8-10" drop you may find that many off the rack suits will come with trousers too large for you. A 42" jacket that fits your chest will typically come with 36" trousers, and in many cases those trousers are vanity sized (i.e. the true wast will often be 37" or even 38").

You're in Baltimore -- I'd suggest checking out SuitSupply in Washington DC at your price point. They offer separates in some of their models, such as this one: https://suitsupply.com/en-us/men/suits/navy-lazio-suit/C4778-S.html

The key, though, is that their associates seem to be trained to put people into jackets at least one size too small and/or short. Be firm about the look that you want. You are probably a 42L jacket but they might try to put you into a 40R.

I didn't realize that it was so hard to "mix and match" suit and trouser sizes. I had my dad (roughly) measure me today and I had a 42.5" chest and a 33" waist.

That's very good to know about SuitSupply! I will call them to see what they have in stock and then head down to DC—keeping in mind that I may want a bigger suit that what they size me for.

 

[Protagoras123]

I ended up calling Spier & Mackay and they said that they offer separate trouser sizes on all but their Red Line (cheapest) suits. You just have to enter a comment with your order.

With that in mind, I thinking of getting this suit:
Super 160’s Drago Full Canvas Neo Cut in Navy

Does this look like a good first suit? Again, ideally I could wear it for weddings (including black tie optional) and for interviews (I don’t work in a super formal field like law).

 

[SirThopas]

I ended up calling Spier & Mackay and they said that they offer separate trouser sizes on all but their Red Line (cheapest) suits. You just have to enter a comment with your order.

With that in mind, I thinking of getting this suit:
Super 160’s Drago Full Canvas Neo Cut in Navy

Does this look like a good first suit? Again, ideally I could wear it for weddings (including black tie optional) and for interviews (I don’t work in a super formal field like law).

Personally I’d say it looks great and is a wise choice since it should prove pretty versatile.

 

[rjc149]

I ended up calling Spier & Mackay and they said that they offer separate trouser sizes on all but their Red Line (cheapest) suits. You just have to enter a comment with your order.

With that in mind, I thinking of getting this suit:
Super 160’s Drago Full Canvas Neo Cut in Navy

Does this look like a good first suit? Again, ideally I could wear it for weddings (including black tie optional) and for interviews (I don’t work in a super formal field like law).

I'm going to be a little contrarian here, but for a 1st suit/workhorse suit for job interviews, I would go with a more standard lapel width and a 2-button, not a 3-roll-2.

A lot of S&M's tailored menswear is targeted to the more sartorially adventurous (wide lapels, side tabs on the trousers etc.) Of course, you can happily take the plunge into this world, but if you don't currently own a suit, I recommend something a little more vanilla.

Brooks Brothers, Suit Supply, even Joseph A Banks will be good places to get a decent "when needed" suit in the $350-$600 range. Alterations can also be done on-site at these places -- I've read discouraging accounts of people sending S&M suits back and forth from Canada to get adjusted.