OCI/callbacks/etc Men's Clothing Mega-thread

[Thomas Jefferson]

a refrigerator, the new Eminem CD, and a bag of frozen tater tots

Quite the random shopping run.

[lisjjen]

As a general rule, you shouldn't purchase your suits at the same place you can purchase a refrigerator, the new Eminem CD, and a bag of frozen tater tots, regardless of which side of the Atlantic the store happens to be on.

-Pufer

This is a very friendly thread, so I hope I come across no differently. I am working two jobs (six to seven days a week) this summer just to get through undergrad. Any other suit that I could buy for $200 wouldn't be designed by Saville row and then sold in Target, it would just be designed by Target and sold by Target. Do you know of anything else that's better in that price range.

If you're going to say an $800 suit is worth the investment, keep in mind, I'm chasing the six figure dream like everybody else on here. The day will come when my wardrobe is full of Brooks Bros and Black Label, but let me reiterate the part about the pay check from two jobs that I immediately hand over to my undergrad institution in September.

[zettsscores40]

You can get a decent suit at Nordstrom Rack for ~200.

[GodSpeed]

Honestly, a $500 suit is probably not a bad thing to take a student loan out for, especially given the rarity of jobs in this economy.

[lisjjen]

Honestly, a $500 suit is probably not a bad thing to take a student loan out for, especially given the rarity of jobs in this economy.

Given the state of the economy, I'm going to be realistic. If I had a cosigner do you really think I would be working two jobs? I'm maxed out on my loans homie.

How much does this suit cost? Just out of sheer curiosity.

--ImageRemoved--

[lisjjen]

You can get a decent suit at Nordstrom Rack for ~200.

+1. I love Nordstrom's Rack. They actually don't have one in my state. Would Burlington Coat Factory or Marshall's have anything of that quality?

[zettsscores40]

You can get a decent suit at Nordstrom Rack for ~200.

+1. I love Nordstrom's Rack. They actually don't have one in my state. Would Burlington Coat Factory or Marshall's have anything of that quality?

Marshall's no. My mom used to buy me suits at Burlington when I was kid. Haven't been there in a while. Might be worth a shot.

[GodSpeed]

Honestly, a $500 suit is probably not a bad thing to take a student loan out for, especially given the rarity of jobs in this economy.

Given the state of the economy, I'm going to be realistic. If I had a cosigner do you really think I would be working two jobs? I'm maxed out on my loans homie.

How much does this suit cost? Just out of sheer curiosity.

--ImageRemoved--

I don't know anything about it and all I have to go on is a stamp sized picture on my laptop screen.

[nontradintexas]

I think I can sum up the last few pages as such:

If you can afford $800 or more for a suit, $100 for a tie, and however much else for a shirt and shoes and socks and briefs - then by all means feel free to find the best name brand(s) you can afford. For your price, you gain the peace of mind that your suit is the highest quality, will last a long time, and will make the shabbily dressed people around you look like they are homeless. At least to the 5% of the population that can tell the difference in an $800 and a $200 suit at a glance.

If you can't, there are some decent alternatives. Know that the suit you get won't last you 15 years (probably), but then again, know that you have the money needed to buy food and pay rent. Yes, you are supposed to dress for the job you want, but if some biglaw interviewing partner won't hire you because your suit isn't fancy enough, that's probably not a firm you want to work for, anyway.

Perhaps there should be two threads on this subject - a "price is (little or) no object" thread and a "look, I'm a law student trying to survive" thread.

[Thomas Jefferson]

Sorry to rehash this if it's already been covered ITT, but what are the thoughts on two-button vs. three-button? (For interviewing vs. other contexts, if the distinction matters.)

[GodSpeed]

Sorry to rehash this if it's already been covered ITT, but what are the thoughts on two-button vs. three-button? (For interviewing vs. other contexts, if the distinction matters.)

Two for just about everything. It's more conservative and conservative is in style right now.

[GodSpeed]

I think I can sum up the last few pages as such:

If you can afford $800 or more for a suit, $100 for a tie, and however much else for a shirt and shoes and socks and briefs - then by all means feel free to find the best name brand(s) you can afford. For your price, you gain the peace of mind that your suit is the highest quality, will last a long time, and will make the shabbily dressed people around you look like they are homeless. At least to the 5% of the population that can tell the difference in an $800 and a $200 suit at a glance.

If you can't, there are some decent alternatives. Know that the suit you get won't last you 15 years (probably), but then again, know that you have the money needed to buy food and pay rent. Yes, you are supposed to dress for the job you want, but if some biglaw interviewing partner won't hire you because your suit isn't fancy enough, that's probably not a firm you want to work for, anyway.

Perhaps there should be two threads on this subject - a "price is (little or) no object" thread and a "look, I'm a law student trying to survive" thread.

Simmer down there, duder.

[Bosque]

a refrigerator, the new Eminem CD, and a bag of frozen tater tots

Quite the random shopping run.

Not really. You need the fridge so you have somewhere to put those tater tots, and you need the Eminem CD so that you can listen to it, make yourself feel horrible, and then punish yourself by eating the tater tots. And you need the new suit for your expanded body shape as a result of eating all those tater tots.

[Pufer]

This is a very friendly thread, so I hope I come across no differently. I am working two jobs (six to seven days a week) this summer just to get through undergrad. Any other suit that I could buy for $200 wouldn't be designed by Saville row and then sold in Target, it would just be designed by Target and sold by Target. Do you know of anything else that's better in that price range.

Yup. Nordstrom Rack, as zettscores said, is all but guaranteed to have a $600+ suit for under $300. You can get a HSM suit (list price $600+) for under $200 during a sale at a Dillard's Clearance Center. If you don't have a Nordstrom Rack or a Dillard's Clearance Center nearby, you could always hit the sales at wherever is closest to you, or, as I suggest in my mega suit posts, a Lauren suit (list price $500) can be had during a Sierra Trading Post mailing list code sale for $146 (during their once-per-season sales) , or at least $165 (during their once-a-month code sale). A more modern cut with flat fronts at STP can be had in their Arnold Brant suits (list price $900 - Loro Piana fabric) for under $250. Then you have the various Jos. A. Bank clearances, custom houses in third world countries, etc.

I mean, I have a navy JAB Executive suit (list price $550, worth at least $200) that I picked up for $60 as a suit I won't feel bad about getting beat up. My best suit (one of the $1,500 price level Jos A Bank Sig Golds, which really are excellent suits, unlike much of the rest of the JAB line - now sold under the Platinum line with a list price of $1,900), I got on sale for under $300. So long as you put some effort into trying to find a deal, you can make out really well on a limited budget. I don't own a suit that I paid over $350 for, but I have some damn decent suits.

If you're buying crap off the rack (like I am), the design matters a lot less than how you have it tailored to you and the quality of the fabric and construction. As a general proposition, who designed your cheap suit shouldn't enter into your purchasing equation at all, except as an indication of what you should avoid. If it's being sold as being designed by some fancy designer, the list price is inflated, and you should adjust accordingly. Right now, you're thinking of paying full list and international shipping costs on a cheap suit sold by the British equivalent of Super Target because it was "designed" by a big name. That's crazy talk.

-Pufer

[HJO]

Sorry to rehash this if it's already been covered ITT, but what are the thoughts on two-button vs. three-button? (For interviewing vs. other contexts, if the distinction matters.)

Two for just about everything. It's more conservative and conservative is in style right now.

I'm going 3/2. This is the exact suit acutally. I agree that I would never go a full 3 buttons though, it looks horrible imo.

--ImageRemoved--


It's navy btw.

[leobowski]

Expensive shirts coupled with good color combination of ties works great for people. The only downside to wearing a suit is the shoes, belt, and color mismatch that create a horrid design. I will always dislike a set of brown shoes with cheap designs tattered on them. A simply elegant black shoe will do you much good but you have to get color combinations that match the suit with the shoe or else you will look bad. Good thing I go to a tailor rather than venturing around cheap stores like Men's warehouse.

http://www.ralphlauren.com/product/inde ... age=family

You should always go to a tailor though.

Err congatufuckinlations Scrooge P. Richenbaum? I'm sure that attitude will go a long way at interviews. Fuckin cock-dick.




On a side note, Jos Banks has some signature gold suits on sale for $300 bucks right now. I have a couple of em', pretty good quality wool and half-canvas construction. They are traditional fit though, so some tailoring is required if you have a thinner build

[kalvano]

On a side note, Jos Banks has some signature gold suits on sale for $300 bucks right now. I have a couple of em', pretty good quality wool and half-canvas construction. They are traditional fit though, so some tailoring is required if you have a thinner build

I used to like their suits, but lately their quality has really fallen way down.

If you have one near you, look for the Half-Yearly Men's Sale at Nordstrom. They typically have some very nice suits (Joeseph Aboud, Hart, Shaffner, & Marx, Hickey-Freeman) on sale at very reasonable prices. I picked up a nice Aboud suit for $500, tailoring included.

[GodSpeed]

On a side note, Jos Banks has some signature gold suits on sale for $300 bucks right now. I have a couple of em', pretty good quality wool and half-canvas construction. They are traditional fit though, so some tailoring is required if you have a thinner build

What is half-canvas? I know what canvas is, but what is half (which half)?

[GodSpeed]

Expensive shirts coupled with good color combination of ties works great for people. The only downside to wearing a suit is the shoes, belt, and color mismatch that create a horrid design. I will always dislike a set of brown shoes with cheap designs tattered on them. A simply elegant black shoe will do you much good but you have to get color combinations that match the suit with the shoe or else you will look bad. Good thing I go to a tailor rather than venturing around cheap stores like Men's warehouse.

http://www.ralphlauren.com/product/inde ... age=family

You should always go to a tailor though.

Why would you pay $1400 for an off the rack suit is beyond me. All the local men's clothing stores have MTM suits with great fabrics for that price or less.

[Pufer]

On a side note, Jos Banks has some signature gold suits on sale for $300 bucks right now. I have a couple of em', pretty good quality wool and half-canvas construction. They are traditional fit though, so some tailoring is required if you have a thinner build

What is half-canvas? I know what canvas is, but what is half (which half)?

Top half (more like top 2/3). Canvas ends right below the pocket, bottom is fused. Looks fully canvassed, but the bottom feels less substantial.

-Pufer

[BunkMoreland]

Does regular Dillard's have HSM as well? I live in Podunkia so we don't have Nordstrom's, Jos A. Bank has always looked awful on me, Brooks Brothers is out of my price range, etc.

[HenryKillinger]

Opinions please

I've also been looking around at suits in the <$300 range. Does anyone have any opinions on Calvin klein suits?

[BunkMoreland]

Those shoes are hideous. Are you just looking for interview shoes? Here: http://www.zappos.com/allen-edmonds-par ... ustom-calf

[lisjjen]

Those shoes are hideous. Are you just looking for interview shoes? Here: http://www.zappos.com/allen-edmonds-par ... ustom-calf

Those shoes require the right person to wear them.

[lisjjen]

I think I can sum up the last few pages as such:

If you can afford $800 or more for a suit, $100 for a tie, and however much else for a shirt and shoes and socks and briefs - then by all means feel free to find the best name brand(s) you can afford. For your price, you gain the peace of mind that your suit is the highest quality, will last a long time, and will make the shabbily dressed people around you look like they are homeless. At least to the 5% of the population that can tell the difference in an $800 and a $200 suit at a glance.

If you can't, there are some decent alternatives. Know that the suit you get won't last you 15 years (probably), but then again, know that you have the money needed to buy food and pay rent. Yes, you are supposed to dress for the job you want, but if some biglaw interviewing partner won't hire you because your suit isn't fancy enough, that's probably not a firm you want to work for, anyway.

Perhaps there should be two threads on this subject - a "price is (little or) no object" thread and a "look, I'm a law student trying to survive" thread.

Simmer down there, duder.

Ever heard the figure of speech, "you have a beer wallet and a wine case?"