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ns_guy · 07-22-2007, 03:08 PM

Hi, new member here and found this awesome thread from a long time ago. Sorry about the necroposting...just wanted to maybe share my views after a visit to Chinook Centre today. To give a little background, I'm in my early 20s and need a suit for regular wear. Here's my brief opinion of the stores:

Zara - Limited selection of suits, around 4 styles, and priced reasonably around the $300-$400 range. Standard black suits/pinstriped. I thought the dress shirts were a bit long, but after shrinking in the dryer they would probably be alright. Seems like all dress shirts these days are long in the arms though. I did like some of the dress shirts though, pretty good colours for a younger person. Sales staff weren't even slightly interested it seemed in selling anything, they just stood around taking inventory and didn't even approach me.

Grafton & Co - Great store in my opinion. Suits were priced well, at $400+, and the manager, Kim, was pleasant to deal with. I liked their selection of suits (was looking for a blue suit), and they fit well.

The Bay - Go downtown, the selection is much better and the store is nicer too downtwon. Spent 10 minutes in there, all they had were Jones New York and Nautica. The Bay always seems to have sales though, especially on the weekends so you can usually get a deal. But go downtown, don't even waste your time in Chinook or Southcentre.

Banana Republic - Didn't try on the suits, but the prices are reasonable although the dress shirts are waaay overpriced. I think they wanted $130 for a dress shirt. Might as well go to Harry Rosen if you are willing to spend that much money. Ties were $80 I think, out of my price range.

Mexx - I would give it a pass personally, and while I don't know what quality is like, I didn't get too excited by them.

On another note though, I think going to every possible store is worth your while at Chinook. Simply due to the fact that if you only need dress pants and not the jacket, Banana Republic, Mexx, Club Monaco, Zara etc. all sell pants seperately from the jackets. I would say also that if you have relatives/friends in the US, you could even try on the suit in BR, and then get them to ship it up here for you (as I find Canadian prices don't even come close to US prices, probably due to distribution/retail market size here).

On another note, it's SALES season, every store in Chinook had sales on right now, great stuff to be had there.

Cheers.

07-22-2007, 03:08 PM	#61
ns_guy Draft Pick Join Date: Jul 2007	Chinook Centre options Hi, new member here and found this awesome thread from a long time ago. Sorry about the necroposting...just wanted to maybe share my views after a visit to Chinook Centre today. To give a little background, I'm in my early 20s and need a suit for regular wear. Here's my brief opinion of the stores: Zara - Limited selection of suits, around 4 styles, and priced reasonably around the $300-$400 range. Standard black suits/pinstriped. I thought the dress shirts were a bit long, but after shrinking in the dryer they would probably be alright. Seems like all dress shirts these days are long in the arms though. I did like some of the dress shirts though, pretty good colours for a younger person. Sales staff weren't even slightly interested it seemed in selling anything, they just stood around taking inventory and didn't even approach me. Grafton & Co - Great store in my opinion. Suits were priced well, at $400+, and the manager, Kim, was pleasant to deal with. I liked their selection of suits (was looking for a blue suit), and they fit well. The Bay - Go downtown, the selection is much better and the store is nicer too downtwon. Spent 10 minutes in there, all they had were Jones New York and Nautica. The Bay always seems to have sales though, especially on the weekends so you can usually get a deal. But go downtown, don't even waste your time in Chinook or Southcentre. Banana Republic - Didn't try on the suits, but the prices are reasonable although the dress shirts are waaay overpriced. I think they wanted $130 for a dress shirt. Might as well go to Harry Rosen if you are willing to spend that much money. Ties were $80 I think, out of my price range. Mexx - I would give it a pass personally, and while I don't know what quality is like, I didn't get too excited by them. On another note though, I think going to every possible store is worth your while at Chinook. Simply due to the fact that if you only need dress pants and not the jacket, Banana Republic, Mexx, Club Monaco, Zara etc. all sell pants seperately from the jackets. I would say also that if you have relatives/friends in the US, you could even try on the suit in BR, and then get them to ship it up here for you (as I find Canadian prices don't even come close to US prices, probably due to distribution/retail market size here). On another note, it's SALES season, every store in Chinook had sales on right now, great stuff to be had there. Cheers.