How much should I spend on a (men's) suit Forum

[Anonymous User]

I'm a 3L nearing graduation and looking to invest in a good suit. (Have only one suit at the moment, which I bought in high school lol).

Not looking for entry level. What price range would you recommend, and where would you recommend looking?

For context, I'll be clerking (and then litigating) after graduation, so I'll need a suit for trials.

Also interested in your thoughts on color (currently thinking dark blue / navy) or any other general sartorial advice from the TLS hivemind.

[siri949]

The objectively correct answer re color is dark navy blue, followed by charcoal. Do not buy black--seen as TOO formal at law firms (assuming you are a man--if you are a woman, I would actually say black is the first one you should buy, go figure).

I think $800 is the lowest price you can get a decent suit at. I recommend the Brooks Brothers 1818 line for the safest possible suit (offends nobody AND doesn't look ugly) for around $1000. I know Suit Supply is commonly recommended too, but I've never used them. I like the basic Canali suits at $1800 but I'd hold off until you are making more than I assume you'll make clerking. I'd say budget allowing, get a navy and charcoal suit on some kind of deal at Brooks Brothers (there's frequent sales). On a more limited budget, I recommend J. Crew.

TLDR; for $500~ J. Crew, for $1000~ Brooks Brothers, and for $2000~ Canali. In your position (basically suit-less), I'd buy both a navy and charcoal; so whichever price point permits that.

[Wild Card]

Proper tailoring is more important than price.

That said, if you visit a fancy department store and take advantage of their deals (e.g., 3 sets for $999.99/$1,499.99), they'll probably offer you complimentary or affordable tailoring.

[Anonymous User]

btw it's a really bad and sad feeling when you're working 100+ hours a week, drenched in sweat, grease, and BO in your Armani suit lol ...

there's absolutely nothing wrong with an "entry level" suit that's perfectly tailored to your proportions

also, you may gain 100lbs from eating free takeout every night, so maybe start with three reasonably priced designer suits for now

[Anonymous User]

Assuming OP is a man, I think some good options at different price points are J. Crew ($500~), Brooks Brothers (1818 line for about $1000~), and Canali (the ones they sell at Nordstrom for like $2000). I think $1000 is a good price point to shop for a suit that's going to get the job done and not feel cheap. If you can wait, I particularly recommend the sales at Brooks Brothers where they'll frequently do buy one, get one x% off or something. These seem common over the summer.

Best first suit is dark navy blue, and after that, charcoal. I would discourage getting a black suit, which is usually seen as too formal for most workplaces. The suits should be single breasted with notch lapels that are between roughly 2 and 3.5 inches wide. Do not get a three-piece suit, and at least to start, don't get any kind of obviously patterned suit (pinstripes, large checks, etc.).

As another commenter highlighted, fit and tailoring are more important than price or brand.

[nealric]

There were quite a few threads from a few years ago on this topic.

My advice is to not go crazy with fancy suits. As long as it's reasonably well fitting, conservative, and not too obviously cheap, few are going to notice. You do, however, want some level of quality if you will be in court (and wearing) them regularly. Keep in mind that even most hard core "trial lawyers" are still spending the vast majority of their time in the office where business casual is fine. And, if you are doing jury trials, you may want to actively avoid looking like you just dropped $20k on a bespoke Saville Row suit.

If you are relatively trim, Suitsupply has pretty nice suits in the $500 range. I think spending $1,000+ is a bit silly for a junior lawyer. Very few are going to notice or think twice about a junior wearing one of the cheap Joseph A Bank specials as long as it's not outrageously ill fitting.

[AUSA3B]

If you plan to live in NYC, I'm pretty obsessed with Proper Cloth. Great quality suits for about 800-1000. And custom.

[Anonymous User]

Agreed if you're in NYC. I also did the online order and had solid results, but it did take two tries, so def easier if you can just go to the showroom.

[Lacepiece23]

Ten years out. Can afford any suit I want. I buy H&M suits for 200 and get them tailored like a glove. I’ve had so many compliments on them. Way more than my expensive suits. So I just quit buying those.

My favorite suit that I wear for opening statement every time I try a case is H&M.

Only works though if you’re decently in shape.

[Anonymous User]

I agree with all the advice here except brooks brothers is highly overpriced and imo of a worse quality than j-crew which is typically a couple hundred less. Get J-crew and if you're willing to operate in the 1000 to 2000 range do canali. Very important you get them tailored though.

[Anonymous User]

I'd throw Spier & Mackay into the mix as well if it fits OP. They have some more modern cuts that should be avoided, but the overall quality of build/fabric is significantly above the price ($400-$600 range). Some think the lapels are too large, but I don't mind them. It's all online, so you take a risk with the first purchase.

[siri949]

I agree with all the advice here except brooks brothers is highly overpriced and imo of a worse quality than j-crew which is typically a couple hundred less. Get J-crew and if you're willing to operate in the 1000 to 2000 range do canali. Very important you get them tailored though.

Yeah I suggested Brooks Brothers but I haven't bought a suit from them in maybe 5 years. I have heard the quality has gone even further downhill since that time. I find myself reaching for my J. Crew or Canali suits (Canali obviously nicer) way more than Brooks Brothers. Still, there is probably no safer option if you're looking to not look silly or draw attention to your outfits than BB, which is why I still recommend it for peoples' first suit. (As opposed to SuitSupply, which can go very sideways very quickly depending on buyer choices.). But BB really has to be on sale to be worth it. I think I got mine for $700 or so when I bought it, which I felt fine with. Not sure how pricing has changed.