Suit Decision Please Help!

[CraftBeerGuy]

Hello everyone, I am a new member looking for some advice on buying a new suit. I am a 26 year old and looking for a first suit. My job never will need a suit so I will mainly have it just have for formal occasions a few times a year. For this reason I am probably going to go with a charcoal grey color. I am 5'8" 170lbs with a pretty athletic build and broader shoulders for my height. I did not get officially measured, but the suits that seemed to fit were 38S. I have around $800 to spend on the high side, but can be a little flexible.

However this is were it gets complicated, yesterday I went to a few stores (Nordstrom's, Nordstrom's rack, Brooks brothers, lord and taylor) the suit that I liked the most after looking at the styles available was a Ted Baker "Eundurance" suit at $695. I did not buy the suit yet so I could do some research and found this forum. After looking through it though it appears that the general opinion are that fused suits especially those sold at Nordstrom's (Ted Baker/Hugo Boss) are the devil and if you do not get them at under $300 you are an idiot. I do not want to look like an idiot and with my only resource being my father (who has a closet full of extremely expensive suits, but had never heard the terms fused or fully canvased) I do not know much.

That being said, I liked the more "stylized" aspect of the Ted Baker suit over the more traditional styles that they had at Brooks Brothers which was the other option for me. I have lost a lot of weight since college and I would like to show that off a little, but I also do not plan on buying another suit for at least 5 years. I am located in Boston and so my other option could be to have one made for me from a tailor, but I feel like there is risks involved there since if something does not fit right the suit is already custom and cannot be changed (especially if it is made in Hong Kong is my understanding). I do not want to buy online since this will be a large purchase for me and without having a good understanding of my measurements I do not want to risk getting the wrong thing. This also seems to eliminate the highly suggested option of SuitSupply which is regularly recommend in threads like this I have read because there is no brick and mortor location in Boston.

So the question is "Is the Ted Baker (or other fused suits) really that bad that if I only wear it a few times a year? or Will I get significantly more value from a BB half canvased suit or custom tailored suit (half or fully canvased) that it is worth taking the hit on the styling?"

I apologize for the walls of text, but wanted to be specific. I also realize that many recommendations for this kind of situations is it is best to simply wait to get a great find on a higher grade suit on sale at Nordstroms rack or Saks off fifth, but I do not have tons of time to invest into this endeavor and although I am in no rush I want to get this out of the way so I do not have scramble the next time one of these events come up. On top of that when I went to Nordstoms Rack they only had 2 suits available in 38S in the entire store and they both were awful. Is that the size or did I just get unlucky?

Thank you for any help or advice I really appreciate it!

 

[JubeiSpiegel]

It's a bit tough to advise, considering you have closed down any online options. Honestly, if the online retailer has a good return policy, it would be work reconsidering. Your current options are slim, and it would seem that BB would be the most advisable recommendation. Were their slimmer fits not to your liking (Regent, Milano, Own Make)?

I'm not sure what your Nordstrom Rack carries, but sometimes they get in stuff like Polo RL, RL Black Label, Canali, mainline Zegna, Samuelson. I would take any of these over the Ted Baker/Hugo Boss stuff. Like you said, if the price was lower on those, it would not be such a terrible proposition to pick up (assuming the fit is spot on as you say).

I noted that there is a premium outlet about an hour away from Boston, they might have some other options for you to look at. They have an Armani outlet, the Collezioni and Emporio lines I understand are fuzed as well, but they Giorgio Amani line is suppose to be full canvas. Their fit might work for your athletic build as well, and you should find some options in your budget.

In any case, you should consider navy as your first suit purchase. It's a better option that grey in a formal setting, and it works well in day and evening settings. I would save the grey suit for your second purchase. Hope that helps, and good luck OP.

 

[johng70]

Let me say this:
If you're wearing suits on a daily basis, you might wear a suit an average of 1 per week. That's 50 times a year. Over a 5 year period that's 250 times the suit is worn.

Now, let's say you wear a suit 4-5 times a year for 5 years - 20 to 25 times you'll wear it.

The "terrible" suits aren't going to fall to pieces after 20 times you wear it - even with 4 or 5 dry cleanings.

Lots of people in these forums that talk about suits are wearing suits daily. You need to spend more money for something to last through 250 wearings vs 25.

Spend the money to get the suit altered by a good tailor (and not just what the store you buy from has working for them where they just want to do sleeve and pant lengths and waist).

Chances are you'll more likely either change sizes significantly OR you'll get bored of the style of your suit before you'll run into an issue with the suit starting to look bad/fall apart given the few times you're going to wear it.

 

[lawsuit]

I agree with John, no suit, not even a fused is going to wear out after 5 uses a year.

Some people will be bothered and unhappy with the knowledge they're wearing an inexpensive suit others might relish how much they saved or not give it much thought after a while. I guess it depends on what type of person you are.

I own both types of suits and I still get a special feeling when I slip into my Brooks Brothers.

Btw I'm also 5'8" and the standard jacket length for your height is a R (Regular) not S.

 

[CraftBeerGuy]

Thank you for the responses guys. That was my general thought in terms of how long the suit is going to hold up if I do not wear it that often. I just did not want to overpay for bad quality as I enjoy quality clothes and hate getting ripped off. It won't bother me to know I am not wearing the most expensive suit as long as I didn't drastically overpay for it. Though it seems at this level of suit with how little I plan to wear it the more important thing seems to be fit (through a good tailor) and my preference over fused or not.

In response to the sizing point @lawsuit I was told that same thing by my father, but him and every sales associate I have dealt with have all told me that weirdly the short fits much better on my body. Idk maybe I am weird, but I'd be surprised if ten or more people told me 38S is right after the originally thinking is was 38R or 40R.

@JubeiSpiegel Thank you for the advice I had totally not have thought to go to those outlets down there, but it is definitely worth a look. I did like the Milano BB fit, but before I had the quality knowledge in my head to skew my decision I definitively liked the TB better though now that would be the better option if I am able to find a way to spend a little more. In terms of the online stuff I have had way too many bad experiences with much simpler purchases online so for now still not an option. I am curious about the navy recommendation, personally I thought that the navy looked a little muted and very traditional while the charcoal grays seemed to be dark enough that they could be worn to all occasions and give me a bit more style/individuality while still being properly formal. I could definitely could be totally wrong about that though

 

[lawsuit]

Could be that your proportions are different. Shorter jacket are in fashion now and might make your legs look longer. Always trust your eyes.

The markup on suits and subsequent sales makes it difficult to figure out whats a fair price. BB 1818 suits listing for $1200. How is it possible for them to put some of them on sale for 65% off. It must mean even at more than half off they're still making a profit.

 

[CraftBeerGuy]

Well I just wanted to say thank you and give a quick PSA after advice and information on this site I waited a bit and on a second trip to sax off 5th and found a zegna suit in a color I like for $499 orginal price $1295. Just need to get tailored. If anyone lives in Boston Sax off 5th Assembly Square is having an extra 40% off already discounted suits. My dad picked up one for himself too. Thanks again feel free to close this.