Time for my first suit- where to go?

[DeathBySexy]

I upcoming incredibly important interview has me finally in the market for a suit. Being young with very little money to spare, I'm trying to keep it under $200 if at all possible. What are my best choices for a modern, not too cheaply made suit?

Men's wearhouse? I've heard they carry mostly older style fit suits.

H+M? I hear they have some nice slim fitting ones, but I don't know about their price or quality.


In either case, yes I will be getting it tailored.

 

[Klobber]

Try look around some thrift stores or go second hand at eBay. Tailoring costs will leave you just $150 for the actual suit. I do not know if you could get a suit for that even at Kohls or JCPenny. Nothing wrong with second hand when you are in a bind.

 

[Archibald Longfellow]

Originally Posted by Klobber

Try look around some thrift stores or go second hand at eBay. Tailoring costs will leave you just $150 for the actual suit. I do not know if you could get a suit for that even at Kohls or JCPenny. Nothing wrong with second hand when you are in a bind.

If you're going to go ebay and post sale tailoring costs are an issue why not made to measure. As the OP is looking at spending around $200 he's not looking for a full bespoke fit.

A quick search for made to measure - wool (you really want wool - not polyester) briongs up a few choices not too far from the $200 mark

http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=mad....c0.m270.l1313

Certainly worth considering at least

 

[Klobber]

+1 forgot about that

 

[Knucklehead]

^^^Never seen that on ebay. I'm gonna have to try that.

 

[pvrhye]

Originally Posted by Knucklehead

^^^Never seen that on ebay. I'm gonna have to try that.

If I recall correctly, Penny's suits are pretty basic and not horribly dated. Get it tailored though and keep it simple. A loud suit that is also cheap will proclaim its cheapness.

More important than the quality is the fit, so I really recommend you study the fits on this site before you buy that suit. The get Foofed thread would be a pretty good place to start because his nitpicking will give you an idea of what to look for.

 

[DeathBySexy]

So is it wool or nothing with a suit? I was just at the local Zara to check out their wares. I found a nice fitting two piece for 170. They weren't wool however.

The ebay thing is enticing, but anyone actually tried that? I'm a little skeptical to buy anything without seeing it in person.

 

[pvrhye]

Originally Posted by DeathBySexy

So is it wool or nothing with a suit? I was just at the local Zara to check out their wares. I found a nice fitting two piece for 170. They weren't wool however.

The ebay thing is enticing, but anyone actually tried that? I'm a little skeptical to buy anything without seeing it in person.

Zara tends to make an otherwise good jacket, then irreparably ******* up with some extra detail like fake leather, or poorly made elbow pads.

 

[DeathBySexy]

Originally Posted by pvrhye

Zara tends to make an otherwise good jacket, then irreparably ******* up with some extra detail like fake leather, or poorly made elbow pads.

I agree, it took some looking to find the one I mentioned, no highlighted sticthing or elbow pads in sight.

 

[Beatlegeuse]

Originally Posted by Archibald Longfellow

If you're going to go ebay and post sale tailoring costs are an issue why not made to measure. As the OP is looking at spending around $200 he's not looking for a full bespoke fit.

A quick search for made to measure - wool (you really want wool - not polyester) briongs up a few choices not too far from the $200 mark

http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=mad....c0.m270.l1313

Certainly worth considering at least

Just because you type "made to measure suit" into an eBay search doesn't mean you're actually getting an MTM suit. You can't get a full MTM suit for $200...if you read the descriptions of some of the suits in this link, they're not MTM, they're just slim-fit, and most are poly blends. You're going to be very hard pressed to find a 100% wool suit + alterations for under $200. If you want a cheap slim fit suit, do as you originally said and go to H&M. If you want something slim, you won't need to do too much alterations since their stuff is already pretty slim.

 

[CousinDonuts]

How about the Merona suits at Target. Definitely not a long-term option, but you can get the basics. For $200 you can probably get jacket, pants, a shirt or two and 2 ties.

 

[DeathBySexy]

Something to check out.

My other question is would I be better off thrifting a higher quality wool suit and then getting it tailored vs. buying a new slim fit poly suit?

 

[pvrhye]

Originally Posted by DeathBySexy

Something to check out.

My other question is would I be better off thrifting a higher quality wool suit and then getting it tailored vs. buying a new slim fit poly suit?

You want wool for certain, but thrifting is not a certain thing. My hometown, for example, has a very lousy pool to pull from.

 

[Archibald Longfellow]

Originally Posted by Beatlegeuse

Just because you type "made to measure suit" into an eBay search doesn't mean you're actually getting an MTM suit. You can't get a full MTM suit for $200...if you read the descriptions of some of the suits in this link, they're not MTM, they're just slim-fit, and most are poly blends. You're going to be very hard pressed to find a 100% wool suit + alterations for under $200. If you want a cheap slim fit suit, do as you originally said and go to H&M. If you want something slim, you won't need to do too much alterations since their stuff is already pretty slim.

What? You mean something like this

http://cgi.ebay.com/100-Pure-Wool-Ma...item4aa63c242f

100% Pure Wool - Made to Measure Men's Suit

Well the title looks pretty straight foprward I wonder what's inside

• 100% natural pure wool.
  
• This isn't an "off the rack" suit that you have to try to fit into and just hope that you're one of the lucky people that look OK in off the rack clothing This suit is made to fit you. It's the way all clothing should be made

So it's a 100% wool and made to measure. The seller goes on to tell more about his fabric

I'm more than happy to tell you all about the fabric in this suit.

• It's 100% wool
  
• It's made in Italy
  
• It's a 8.5oz superfine wool rated at s180's or better which is extremely high quality for a suit priced so low

Furthermore he specifically states that he delivers to the US. (see the questions at the bottom)

But you're right a suit delivered to the US is $210. So you can't buy a 100% wool suit for under $200 but you can get damn close.

The reason I knew about MTM on Ebay is that one of my bosses get's all his suits of this seller (who also has a website which has a lot more on it) and raves on and on about how good they are. I must admit his suits seem to my untraned eye to be well fitted and there is one that's among the best looking suits I've ever seen.

Anyway he's talked a couple of other guys in the office into buying and one of them bought this very suit which arrived this week. To me it's a fantastic suit for $200. I've been looking at one of the dearer ones and the quality of this suit has almost convinced me into buying my first ever tailored suit.

However before I do I'm going to call on the experience of the SF members by posting some pictures of this guy's suit for you to tell me if you think I'm doing the right thing. He's worn it today and we're going to take some pictures of it this afternoon.

 

[Archibald Longfellow]

Actually reading the original post, the OP wants this for an interview so he probably doesn't have time for a MTM anyway.