Will I be judged for not having expensive clothing/bags? Forum

[nixy]

I think there are a lot of different things being talked about here. WRT men’s suits, I would definitely notice if you took a suit jacket from one suit and wore it with suit pants from another suit, or some kind of business casual pant; the fabrics are just different and not intended to mix and match. I don’t know that I’d really care, but I’d notice.

WRT women’s suits, there’s more flexibility, in that I think there a lot more separates out there as options for women. So I have suit jackets that I *can* mix and match with different bottoms/dresses, but I have to be careful, because if the fabrics are too different in texture/weight/formality, it’s also going to show. Like if I have a black suit and a gray suit that are both typical suit fabric (wool or crepe), I can likely get away with wearing the black jacket with gray skirt. If I have a generic red blazer, I can wear that with black pants, gray skirt, etc. But if I wear a black wool or crepe suit jacket with, say, some kind of cotton twill pants, or a different fabric black, it’s going to look weird. You have to play it by ear.

But I really do think mixing pieces from different men’s suits looks weird.

[Anonymous User]

I think there are a lot of different things being talked about here. WRT men’s suits, I would definitely notice if you took a suit jacket from one suit and wore it with suit pants from another suit, or some kind of business casual pant; the fabrics are just different and not intended to mix and match. I don’t know that I’d really care, but I’d notice.

But I really do think mixing pieces from different men’s suits looks weird.

No one is proposing mixing different suits.
Rather, someone was confused by the idea that suits are often sold as suit separates -- that is, you can buy matching jacket and pants separately and, therefore, you can also buy an extra pair of matching pants.

[Anonymous User]

Luxury brands =/= quality. Especially those "blingy" luxury designers with their brand names splashed everywhere. Women don't have good professional equivalents to Allen Edmonds or Canali or Brioni etc. for men.

IMO, It's fine to wear J. Crew, Ann Taylor, BR, Express, etc. but make sure you're replacing them as they get worn. The fast fashion stuff will shrink or stretch or fade or the threads will run or pill or the material won't quite drape the same way after awhile. You only start looking like crap if you start not to notice.

I have had some success (from expensive to cheapest) with Paul Stuart, St. John, Tory Burch, Theory, Equipment (for blouses), and Everlane. I look for everything on sale and hope for the best - stuff comes out to about $150-200 per piece, which isn't too bad because I wear those basics every single week.

Brooks Brothers is surprisingly very hit or miss for me.

No Nordstrom rack?

[nixy]

I think there are a lot of different things being talked about here. WRT men’s suits, I would definitely notice if you took a suit jacket from one suit and wore it with suit pants from another suit, or some kind of business casual pant; the fabrics are just different and not intended to mix and match. I don’t know that I’d really care, but I’d notice.

But I really do think mixing pieces from different men’s suits looks weird.

No one is proposing mixing different suits.
Rather, someone was confused by the idea that suits are often sold as suit separates -- that is, you can buy matching jacket and pants separately and, therefore, you can also buy an extra pair of matching pants.

Yes, I get that. I was responding to this:

So, it's no big deal at all to wear different trousers than the one that came with your suit jacket. Again, the chances of anyone at your law firm noticing is slim to none.

[Anonymous User]

Saks off fifth recently had a sale buy one get one free on Men’s Zegna suits (high quality Italian material). Came out to ~$700 for two high quality suits.

Lord and Taylor also has good sales and different points throughout the year.

I also hear good things about suitsupply.com

[mimmsi]

No Nordstrom rack?

There's a difference between buy items that are on sale at the retail store, and buying items from outlets.

These days only about 20% of items at places like Nordstrom Rack or Saks Off Fifth are overstock from Nordies and Saks, everything else is made-for-outlet at a lower quality. Not worth the money.