Transitioning Vet - Suit Buyer's Remorse

[SaltySailor]

I'm retiring out of the Navy after 24 years of service and have honestly never worried about suits. Whenever I've needed one I've just ran into Men's Wearhouse and picked one up. Now that I'm transitioning and about to interview I've been coming up to speed on the vast amount of info there is out there regarding suits. I've spent the past couple of days reading the posts on here and else where and decided to skip MW and JAB and head to Brooks Brothers for a respectable suit. I found out that there's a BB outlet near my house and they have a 2 for $600 sale. Looking at their prices online I assumed that this was a screamin deal. When I got there they only had one line, the Explorer which I noticed that was only a wool blend. The kid was only one of two associates in the entire store so didn't have much time for me so needless to say I was out of there in 45 min without much help. Now as I read more on these forums I'm thinking that I wasted my money on cheap suits that could be spotted a mile away. I've read that cheap suits can look great if they fit well but if they're cheap fabric is there any amount of tailoring that can make them look great? Should I return them and start over? Any help would be appreciated, thank you!

 

[SaltySailor]

I might add that I won't be interviewing for jobs where a suit is required on a regular basis, maybe a few times a quarter.

 

[breakaway01]

Most of the suits at BB outlets are low-quality suits made for outlet stores only. In terms of construction they are no better than suits you'd find at Macy's.

If you have some time on your hands, I'd first spend some time trying suits on in person, ideally at a mainline Brooks Brothers store, Nordstrom, or other mid-to-high level store where you have a chance of finding a sales associate who knows what they're doing. If there is a specialty men's clothing store where you live, even better. Figure out what models work for you and what your size is. Feel free to post pictures here. There are some very good online retailers at your price point (SuitSupply, Spier & Mackay, eHaberdasher are some examples) but I'd be hesitant to recommend online suit shopping to you until you have a clear(er) idea of what you're looking for and your size.

 

[SaltySailor]

Most of the suits at BB outlets are low-quality suits made for outlet stores only. In terms of construction they are no better than suits you'd find at Macy's.

If you have some time on your hands, I'd first spend some time trying suits on in person, ideally at a mainline Brooks Brothers store, Nordstrom, or other mid-to-high level store where you have a chance of finding a sales associate who knows what they're doing. If there is a specialty men's clothing store where you live, even better. Figure out what models work for you and what your size is. Feel free to post pictures here. There are some very good online retailers at your price point (SuitSupply, Spier & Mackay, eHaberdasher are some examples) but I'd be hesitant to recommend online suit shopping to you until you have a clear(er) idea of what you're looking for and your size.

We actually have a SuitSupply store here in San Diego. I haven't been able to determine where they fall out in the pack as far as quality but at least I can check them out in person. My guess is that they're in between JAB and BB? I've been reading a few posts about the BB Explorer suits and everyone says that they're crap so I'm going to return them. Unfortunately I've missed all of the killer holiday sales but still some going on. I really don't want to spend more than $1k on two suits, I still need shoes and looks like I'll need to shell out $250-400 for a decent pair. Looks like I'll have to up my budget. Thanks for the advice!

 

[breakaway01]

SuitSupply is probably close to mainline BB in construction, IMO. I would give them a visit, but just be aware that the sales associates there tend to push people into a skinny/tight look by recommending that they size down.

 

[notdos]

Definitely SuitSupply.

Phillip