Clothing advice to a new investment banker

[principal]

Hey guys,

I will be starting as an analyst in a few months in Toronto. When it comes to fashion I am pretty clueless. Initially I was thinking of picking up 3 suits, 3 shoes, 5 ties and 7-8 shirts.

Any suggestions on brands or where I should buy them? My price range is 500-700 per suit, 150-250 per shoe, 50-80 per tie, 70-90 per shirt. Just some rough estimates.

 

[Xiaogou]

Reminds me of my days at Baird. First, look for some bargains in your size on the buying & selling forum. Don't forget Sierra Trading Post.

Suit--HSM, Brooks (think it is Brooks-ease line)
Shoe--AE or Alden
Shirts--I would do mtm since most of the time you will have your jacket off in the office

Originally Posted by principal

Hey guys,

I will be starting as an analyst in a few months in Toronto. When it comes to fashion I am pretty clueless. Initially I was thinking of picking up 3 suits, 3 shoes, 5 ties and 7-8 shirts.

Any suggestions on brands or where I should buy them? My price range is 500-700 per suit, 150-250 per shoe, 50-80 per tie, 70-90 per shirt. Just some rough estimates.

 

[maufic]

For shoes amazon has some really good prices on Allen Edmonds that are hard to beat. If you want to get some decent suits try some on at local stores (Harry Rosen, Holt) to see what you like and what your size is and then try STP and ebay.

 

[principal]

okay after looking around i'm pretty convinced AE would be a good fit for me and my budget for the shoes department.

How expensive is to to get mtm shirts with good fabric?
Should I get a mtm suit also or just a nice off the rack one and get it tailored?


also what colors? Shoes i was thinking 1 brown 1 black, suits 1 gray, 1 navy, 1 charcoal, and white/blue/light pink shirts?

 

[Reckoner]

I'm suprised you got a job.

With that sort of money, I think you should just go retail and look off the shelf what you like.

Just temporary.

As you get more into your job, and your budget increases, try the tailor. You'll get to a point where you throw out (or just leave hanging) your first ever purchases. So don't put too much emotional investment and time into it, especially with that budget.

But, if you want to increase that budget I'd suggest start off with a tailor straight away. If I could go back, I'd do that. You'll learn a lot more about style and fit, color and proportion etc.

One of my suits costs your entire wardrobe (i.e. all that stuff you're looking to buy altogether right now).

(note: sorry I didn't read)

 

[principal]

Originally Posted by Reckoner

I'm suprised you got a job.

Depends what your budget is. That's the key.

stated my budget in the first post

 

[maufic]

For shoes amazon has some Allen Edmonds with are prices that are hard to beat. AE are good shoes and very comfortable. I've never tried Alden but people on this board speak very highly about them, although as far as price you may have better luck on amazon with the AE's.

If you want to get some decent suits try some on at local stores (Harry Rosen, Holt) to see what you like and what your size is and then try STP and ebay. I also hear that Samuelsohns are regularly on sale at the Bay. You can also take a look at eHaberdasher.com. They currently have Valentino suits for $299.99 (USD), if you like the cut, that is a pretty good price for a decent suit.

For shirts check eHaberdasher.com. They have Barbera dress shirts for $90 (USD). Otherwise ebay usually has a lot in the way of dress shirts. I picked up a couple of Canali and Robert Talbott dress shirts for about $65 (USD) each.

 

[FreedBird]

Save your money while you still have a job...

 

[principal]

Originally Posted by maufic

For shoes amazon has some Allen Edmonds with are prices that are hard to beat. AE are good shoes and very comfortable. I've never tried Alden but people on this board speak very highly about them, although as far as price you may have better luck on amazon with the AE's.

If you want to get some decent suits try some on at local stores (Harry Rosen, Holt) to see what you like and what your size is and then try STP and ebay. I also hear that Samuelsohns are regularly on sale at the Bay. You can also take a look at eHaberdasher.com. They currently have Valentino suits for $299.99 (USD), if you like the cut, that is a pretty good price for a decent suit.

For shirts check eHaberdasher.com. They have Barbera dress shirts for $90 (USD). Otherwise ebay usually has a lot in the way of dress shirts. I picked up a couple of Canali and Robert Talbott dress shirts for about $65 (USD) each.


Which AE ones specifically?

 

[maufic]

Originally Posted by Reckoner

One of my suits costs your entire wardrobe (i.e. all that stuff you're looking to buy altogether right now).

(note: sorry I didn't read)

 

[orthofrancis]

How about this?

 

[principal]

Originally Posted by Reckoner

One of my suits costs your entire wardrobe (i.e. all that stuff you're looking to buy altogether right now).

(note: sorry I didn't read)

Sorry I can't afford more expensive suits, I come from a low income family. I'm glad you are doing well yourself though.

 

[maufic]

Originally Posted by principal

Which AE ones specifically?

you'll have to check to see which styles you like but I got a pair of Manhattan's for about $160. A brown pair of Park Avenue's are roughly the same price. The Hale's and Soho's are about $220. These are all perfectly acceptable shoes to wear with a suit. If you'd like to pick up a pair of rubber soled shoes the Perry's are about $130. Mind you these are all priced in US dollars and you will have to pay the shipping and duties to have them shipped to Canada, but if your budget is as high as $750 for three pairs these may fall in your budget. Also keep in mind AEs are known to be good quality shoes that will probably last a long time.

 

[koolhistorian]

Originally Posted by principal

Hey guys,

I will be starting as an analyst in a few months in Toronto. When it comes to fashion I am pretty clueless. Initially I was thinking of picking up 3 suits, 3 shoes, 5 ties and 7-8 shirts.

Any suggestions on brands or where I should buy them? My price range is 500-700 per suit, 150-250 per shoe, 50-80 per tie, 70-90 per shirt. Just some rough estimates.

If you have the time, search for shoes on the e-bay, you can find some decent subs (small aesthetics flaws, nothing really visible) from Crockett and Jones, Trickers or Martegani (look for Ron Rider's store). You will get them in the price bracket.
For suits, TM Lewin has some good half-canvas, at a good price, if there are still on sale. For shirts, Harvey and Hudson or Lewin. Ties - well for those there is no better solution than going in person, on the net you have to go too much on trial and error!
Good luck and have a great time !

 

[clee1982]

Don't go crazy on your first purchase, you will most likely regret anyway. As far as suit goes, buy the 1st one off rack, not online, know your size. I am going to guess you have never wear suit for extensive amount of time (i.e. 5 days a week and all day long), so you will not know what really fits you and what style you really like.

I would say safe bet, start with 2 dress shoes (AE is good, if you like the style), one in black, one in brown, buy one Navy suit (solid or subtle pintstripe), walk around with it for a week, then you will really be able to tell if you like or hate it before you drop the $$$ on 2 more.

For shirt, I would say try out all the off rack stuff in your price range, if you can find a brand where you don't need to alter anything, great, go with that one, pick up white, blue, blue with stripe, pink, i.e. basic color. I would go for MTM on shirts only after I checked the off rack stuff within my budget, just quicker a easier, MTM might have superior clothe quality, but don't think there will be drastic difference at that price range.

Once you know your suit size for real, you can start buying online (I would still go to the store to try the fit first though, you might be a consistent 38 on 5 brands but 36 on another brand that kind of stuff).

Also, for shopping suit, get someone who regularlly wear suit to go with you. He will be able to tell you what's too baggy, what shoulder fit is good and what's not. Also, he would be able to tell you what can be tailored (1 inch off the waist on the patn, trim the jacket waist) what can't be done (shoulder, too much off jacket length), etc, and which is an expensive job which is an easy job.


I would say the second suit you should pick up is charcoal, then grey, only after them i would pick up black. Black is nice and sleak, but for business, navy/chaorcoal/grey are all easier to go, plus with black suit the only shoe you can wear is black where as any other color listed above can be paired with brown dress shoes. Personally I prefer pinstripe over solid on most color because I am short (5"7', 5"8'), you will find out these preference only after you tried out a lot. Have fun shopping.