New to the Suit World [ my experiences ]

[Jaya87]

Hi Everyone,

I am new to the forums here, I've been lurking on here for quite sometime, but figure it's about time I join!

I figure I start by sharing some of my experiences and see if maybe they can help others, as well would love some feedback on where I can improve my suit wardrobe.

I'm 28 and have been working in the banking world for about 5-6 years now. I make roughly about 65k a year and carry a mortgage. I'm not an executive by any means, more so entry/middle management. I know some of you might be wondering why I'm mentioning all of this, I am just hoping to give you a bit of background of where I come from and what my means are when I look for suits.

With that said I tend to look for suits around the $400-$700 range and I am a hard bargain hunter these days and love the feeling of finding a good bang for my buck!

Lets start with the beginning

18 years old // $500 Calvin Klein / Black Pin Stripe
Yes! the above is correct and when I look back on this purchase I cringe of course! My father bought me this suit for Prom and I remember having the intention of wearing this for a long long time [ Shakes head]. My advice for any 18-20 year old is that, Please do not think this suit will last you forever, if your anything like me, I was 5'9, weighed about $135 lbs, so of course when I went to college and filled out my frame, this suit went straight to the back of the closet along with the style.

24 years old // $650 Strada // Charcoal Faint Pin Stripes
This was also another Awful Buy! For those of you who are wondering what in the "F" is Strada, I don't blame you. This shop is one of those common mall Italian MensWear stores that may carry a few brand names but for the most part is crap. The suit looked great of course on the rack, but the cut is poor and the material is nothing much to speak of either. Lets just say this is another learning experience.

27 years old // $400 Brooks Brother Fitzgerald 1818 // Navy Blue
I will call this my first real suit purchase. I picked this suit up at an outlet mall, which was a great buy as I did some research prior to going. I know the Brooks Brother outlet stores carry mostly 346 line, however they had a few 1818's and was lucky enough to find my 38R size and fit great.

27 years old // $300 Hugo Boss Red Label // Blue
I know Hugo gets slammed quite a bit on the forums, at least from what I've read, but I must say, it fits great! the cut hugs my body well and for $300 I think it was a great price [picked it up at Saks on Fifth during memorial day sale]

Next Purchase --
I am hoping to pick up a grey suit, some names I've been looking at are Ralph Lauren Black Label, Hickey Freeman Mainline, Paul Smith Mainline and Canali. I of course am not oblivious to a good deal if I pass one, but those are some of the names I've been looking at, would be nice to add a fully canvas suit to my wardrobe.

So for all of those who are still with me, thanks for reading! I'd love to hear some of your feedback on what suits I could add and maybe some of you can share some of your experiences.

Thanks again guys!

 

[blacktaro]

For your budget, I would also recommend Corneliani, Polo Ralph Lauren, E. Zegna on sale. If you could specific what kind of silhouette are you looking for or how's your body shape, many member here could give you better suggestions.

Also read this if you haven't:

http://parisiangentleman.co.uk/2014/04/17/pgs-recommendations-the-2014-ready-to-wear-suits-edition/

 

[Jaya87]

thanks for the link backtaro!
I am
- 5'9.5
- 175-178lbs
- broad shoulders
- strong chest
- average to slim waist [ 31']

I would say I am looking for a slimmer fit suit. From what I gather an italian style cut.

 

[mensimageconsultant]

Look on Yoox. However, it is not worth it to buy anything without being confident it will fit close to correctly before tailoring. Therefore, limit brands to those that are available to try on locally.