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Slim fitted suits on a budget

cturner

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I'm going to be starting a new job in a month, and will need to wear a suit most days. I currently only have one suit that I think fits okay, a Jcrew Ludlow 40L. It is a little short, but it fits in the torso which is more important to me. I would just get more Jcrew Ludlow's, but having a set of suits all in the same style seems a bit off.

I'm 6'2" / 32" waist, and am swimming in most OTR 40Ls. 38L's are usually too small in the shoulders.

I've been browsing through similar threads in the past, and the typical replies have been RLBL, Paul Stuart, and Jil Sanders, which are all well and good, but I can't justify spending $1000x5 just yet.

What's the most cost effective way for me to solve this problem? I'm thinking I could buy some cheap too-big OTR Boss/Z-Zenga/Calvin and get them recut. How much does that usually run?

Thanks for your knowledgeable advice -- hopefully in a year I can get out to HK and get this done right. This is just a stop-gap.
 

Captain Winky

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Originally Posted by cturner
I'm going to be starting a new job in a month, and will need to wear a suit most days. I currently only have one suit that I think fits okay, a Jcrew Ludlow 40R. It is a little short, but it fits in the torso which is more important to me. I would just get more Jcrew Ludlow's, but having a set of suits all in the same style seems a bit off.

I'm 6'2" / 32" waist, and am swimming in most OTR 40Rs. 38L's are usually too small in the shoulders.

I've been browsing through similar threads in the past, and the typical replies have been RLBL, Paul Stuart, and Jil Sanders, which are all well and good, but I can't justify spending $1000x5 just yet.

What's the most cost effective way for me to solve this problem? I'm thinking I could buy some cheap too-big OTR Boss/Z-Zenga/Calvin and get them recut. How much does that usually run?

Thanks for your knowledgeable advice -- hopefully in a year I can get out to HK and get this done right. This is just a stop-gap.


HB/ZZ/CK suits OTR will run you $600-1000 if you are paying MSRP and the tailoring you describe will run you about $200 each, with the exception of ZZ, which should fit you pretty well as-is. Boss Red Label (Hugo) will probably also be a good fit OTR and is priced similarly to ZZ. None are particularly well made.

When Saks has their sale, the ZZ can sometimes get as low as $3-400 and becomes a good option, same with Bloomingdales.

If they're well-priced and fit well, I'm not sure why you'd object to more Ludlows. Most of my recent suits are RLBL and are all the same model, just different fabrics.

You should also get a Gilt invite if you don't have one already, as they'll sometimes have decent deals on makes like John Varvatos (hated on here, but pretty good fits, especially for under $300). You could also get one or two at H&M for like $250 each. Not great quality but should fit you well and their more conservative fabrics will be sharp but business appropriate.
 

BillyA

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I just got a slim fitted Kenneth Cole reaction suit for under 200 dollars from Boscovs, and wore it to a wedding and people kept complimenting me on it. No need to spend too much if you don't want to, I just went to the department stores in the mall and found something.
 

MyOtherLife

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OP, state where you are located.
Someone may live in your city and can give you a list of local shops in your area.
 

bringusingoodale

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Just saw a bunch of 40R suits for sale in the Buying and Selling forum, and from what looks like a reputable seller. Search NOW before they are gone....
 

deveandepot1

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Originally Posted by cturner
I've been browsing through similar threads in the past, and the typical replies have been RLBL, Paul Stuart, and Jil Sanders,

Who suggested buying Jil Sander suits?
 

acecow

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You can try H&M, but I'm not their biggest fan when it comes to suits.
 

Johnny24

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Also hated on here but pretty well fitting is stuff from Boss Black. I have 3 suits from them that together cost me less than one retail model (thanks ebay) and all of them fit me nearly perfectly with minimal tailoring.

Most of the hate for Boss and similar brands is because they retail for what you could get MTM from English American or similar tailor for. I would most likely not pay retail OTR for a Boss suit unless I was in a major pinch and needed to walk out of the store that day with a suit that I know would be passable but you might find that something like this works better for you than other brands in terms of fit. I say try on some sizes and get a model name and scour ebay. Nordstrom Rack also has a lot of the brands you mentioned marked down a lot from retail.

Another hated brand around here is Tommy Hilfiger, mostly it seems because the brand got so far from their original base, but their current suits on sale at Macy's are really not bad for inexpensive OTR. The wool is decent and the cut of them is nice and trim. I snagged a navy birdseye pattern that is part of their new line for about $150 over Memorial Day weekend. Macy's is always having a sale and when I was in-store and did some comparing I found the Tommy stuff to be much nicer than the other brands. They also are usually sold as individual pieces so someone that has a large drop such as yourself will be able to find pants easier that way.

Good luck
 

alliswell

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Originally Posted by cturner
I'm going to be starting a new job in a month, and will need to wear a suit most days. I currently only have one suit that I think fits okay, a Jcrew Ludlow 40R. It is a little short, but it fits in the torso which is more important to me. I would just get more Jcrew Ludlow's, but having a set of suits all in the same style seems a bit off.

I'm 6'2" / 32" waist, and am swimming in most OTR 40Rs. 38L's are usually too small in the shoulders.

I've been browsing through similar threads in the past, and the typical replies have been RLBL, Paul Stuart, and Jil Sanders, which are all well and good, but I can't justify spending $1000x5 just yet.

What's the most cost effective way for me to solve this problem? I'm thinking I could buy some cheap too-big OTR Boss/Z-Zenga/Calvin and get them recut. How much does that usually run?

Thanks for your knowledgeable advice -- hopefully in a year I can get out to HK and get this done right. This is just a stop-gap.


You can have HK come to you, if one of the traveling tailors comes to your city, though I guess your schedule is pretty tight.
 

jambo

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If you're on a budget and want a slim fitting suit, you're going to have get some that are not of the best quality. Look at places like Boss and Theory on sale. These suits will look OK, but aren't fully canvassed and you probably won't want to keep them around for any longer than a few years.


To me, spending $600 on a suit that I won't like 3 years from now doesn't make much sense when a much nicer suit can be had for $1,500. Once you're able to spend over $1000, you really should look into the Paul Stuart Phinneas Cole line. I really like the fit and the overall quality of my Phinneas Cole more so than my Ralph Lauren Black Label suits. The Phinneas Cole is much more sharp and sleek looking, with top quality fabrics. Hope that helps.
 

Mark Anthony

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Originally Posted by bellyhungry
See if you can get your hands on suits from suitsupply.com.

In the understatement of the day. Be warned that the homepage of the above site is not safe for work...WTF!!!! Suprised that got past my companies software.
 

eHaberdasher

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You can try Caruso suits - fully canvassed and slim fitting with higher armholes. I'd say you can try the Benjamin suits we have, but we're mostly sold out of size 40R in the slim Lucente model, and only have the navy pinstripe left in stock. The rest are on backorder - likely won't have them available for several months...
frown.gif
 

Neb

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Originally Posted by Mark Anthony
In the understatement of the day. Be warned that the homepage of the above site is not safe for work...WTF!!!! Suprised that got past my companies software.

lol for real. Nothing like **** and suits
fight[1].gif
 

cturner

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Wow thanks for all the replies. Some good advice here, and much of it I hadn't heard before.

First of all, I live in NJ and work in NYC. Just about any brand should be easily available to me. As many have suggested, I wouldn't pay retail for any OTR. I would probably go to Woodbury Commons and dig around for something reasonable at $300-600. That much is fine, but after paying $200 to get it tailored it doesn't seem as slick anymore.

I do agree with jambo's advice that it's better to spend $1000-1500 on something good now as opposed to $600 on something disposable. I was at Saks Off Fifth last weekend, and the HG/CK/etc just felt so cheap.

Do Paul Stuart or RLBL ever have any kind of sales at all? I'm thinking now what I'd like to do is get 2 more JCrew/HB/ZZ/CK, and 2 Phinneas Cole or RLBL. At least then some of the investment is forward looking.
 

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