How much did you spend on your first suit?

[Styleforum Ari]

This week we are taking a trip down Memory Lane to discuss the very first suit that we have ever bought.
What was it like, and how much did you spend on it? Do you still have it and wear it?
Let us know by voting in the poll and commenting on this thread.

We also dug up through old articles on the forum and found this gem by SF user Shawea, which should be useful to those of you who are on a hunt for a good quality suit but don't know where to start.

Photo: @UrbanComposition

 

[dieworkwear]

wait, how did @UrbanComposition get a newspaper to match his suit?

 

[Article 26]

Well, too much is the answer.
I was 16 and shopping with my mother, as you do, we stopped by the menswear department of David Jones and dropped into the tailor - Coate and Tails. Pepino started a conversation and one thing led to another and I found myself looking at fabric.
I don’t recall the details of the fabric other than it was H&S 95% wool and 5% cashmere. We discussed what I was looking for: 3 piece with second pair of trews. What I ended up with was a 3 button dual vent, black suit, with lapelled waistcoat. I thought it was rather dapper, it wasn’t! However, it served me for 4 years (or until I hit the gym).
It was around $6000 AUD and utterly ridiculous (first proper suit, first suit I probably had when I was about 7 or 8, but that doesn’t count).

 

[UrbanComposition]

wait, how did @UrbanComposition get a newspaper to match his suit?

Next-level customization. Need special glasses to view properly (or just take my word for it as an influencer.)

 

[MrUnderwood]

About $500. I still have it and it is actually a very good suit for the money. Quite proud of not buying complete crap the first time.. I have since made horrendous suit mistakes, but thankfully we are only talking about the first suit here.

 

[comrade]

My first suit was bought for me by my parents for my Bar Mitzvah.
It was charcoal grey and very Ivy from now defunct
Rogers Peet in NY I wore it with a tattersall vest. My guess
the cost was $45.00.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogers_Peet

The first suit I actually bought myself, with my parent's money,
was from the sainted Roland Meledandri at Casual Aire in NYC.
It was a herringbone worsted with a subtle stripe, also very Ivy.
Probably cost $ 50-60.

https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1980/07/21/113021253.pdf

I was a clothes horse from about the age of four, being very fussy
about "cowboy suits" and "soldier suits"

 

[jts287]

$160 for a 3 button Perry Ellis Portfolio from a MW clone. I think I was 22, and got ten years out of it before sending it off to Goodwill with a lot of life left.

 

[A.K.A.]

HSM in 1983 was approximately $200 with my employee discount. In today's dollars that is $506.00, which was a lot of money for a college senior with a part-time job and paying for my own living expenses.

 

[Andyg]

1800 for 3 piece VBC perennial bespoke from Michael Andrews Bespoke earlier this year. My mom bought me a suit when I was 16 from boscovs. Oscar de la Renta. Not tailored at all. Good times!! Anyway, I never had use for a suit but then there would be events here and there that I'd skate by with a shirt and tie when really I should have been wearing a suit. So I said screw it and went with a navy bespoke suit. Only suit I own.

 

[LA Guy]

My parents got me a suit from a Canadian brand called "Cambridge" for my high school graduation. I don't remember the exact price, but I remember it looked expensive compared to what is usually seen. It was some sort of wool crepe, and I thought that I looked awesome. It was the 80s, and everything fit much larger, and much longer, so the same size would probably fit my 40 something year old frame now.

 

[Smlaz]

Well, back in 1984 I was urged to get a MTM suit as store-bought wasn’t cut for my non-standard dimensions. This was right after college and my Mom, may she rest in peace, was a fashion buyer who suggested this new rabbit hole that I jumped into with both feet. She suggested I visit Chipp, on East 45th Street in Manhattan (how she ever knew about Chipp is still a mystery to me) to see what was what. Not long after, I visited the old townhouse and picked a wool/terylene blend that would meet my limited budget. Remember, this was 1984 and $600 bucks was a helluva lot for a new college grad. After a few more visits I had me a suit! I got a pair of Alden NSTs for about $180 and was on my way. It sure made a difference in my confidence and presentation, and didn’t hurt in the job interview process. Now that I’m older and wiser, I’ve given my sartorial life to CEGO and Mr. Ned and am due back soon enough for a refresher (but where can I get Alden NSTs for a not-crazy price???). Cheers,

 

[Nat Jag]

As I clicked my answer, I became aware that the cost of suits of the rack are now cheaper than when I first purchased my suit. I'm quite sure I paid over £100 GBP for my first suit. Now easy to get them cheaper. I can't remember much else, other than I needed it and didn't know much about fit etc, so it probably looked horrendous on me. That was 30 years ago.

 

[Nobleprofessor]

I was in high school and needed a suit for Debate. My Mom didn’t have a lot of money so we were shopping at Famous Barr (Midwest version of Dillard’s). I found out I wore a 46L, but my waist (at the time) was a 34. So, first we looked at suit separates. They were too expensive. The salesman said he had a suit that he had never heard of. It was a return from the St. Louis store (where Famous Barr was located). It was a Hickey Freeman and was a grey wool with a light grey windowpane. I was unschooled in men’s suits and had no idea how nice a Hickey Freeman was in 1987. It was marked down to $200. I thought it was beautiful. But, we couldn’t afford it. My mother had saved up $60 and I had $50 to add to it. We found a similar looking suit for $110. But, it would need alterations. It was an Evan Picone (remember department store suit). I couldn’t afford the alterations too. But, the store offered free alterations on regular priced suits. The salesman took pity on me and wrote up the ticket with free alterations.

The alterations ended up being pretty significant with such a large drop from chest to waist. The back pockets almost touched each other. But, I didn’t care! It was a handsome suit also grey with a lighter windowpane. I managed to save up for a pink shirt and a paisley tie that I thought looked great (it was 1987!). It said it was 3 season wool. I loved that suit. I wore nearly every Saturday for debate and finally had to retire it when I went college.

 

[misterhyde]

My first was bought for me for my Bar Mitzva. A three piece aubergine - it was the fashion back in 1972. The first suit that I paid for was ridiculously extravagant for a 19 year old, but oh was it special. Over a thousand pounds it cost me, which in 1978 was a fortune. The tailors were a three man partnership by the name of, Manning, Morris, and Stone. The details I can’t remember apart from that it was two buttoned, boxed back, with the most perfect shoulders. It came with two pairs of strides which were two pleated bags.The cloth, apart from being very heavy and soft I cannot remember - a percentage of cashmere I believe was present.
The follow up was a lighter but still respectable Prince of Wales, however the cut just wasn’t the same.

 

[ERok32]

My first suit was heaven wool charcoal with a three button non-vented jacket and pleated trousers with cuffs. I believe it cost me around $325, and I wore it often for around 5-6 years.