Buying a Suit

[ns_guy]

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.

[blankall]

I'm going to bump an old thread. Looking for a great deal on a suit. I work at a law firm.

The Bay is having a 50% off sale. Most of their suits appear to be in the $500.00 range for regular price. Does anyone have experience with these kind of suits?

I am hesitant to spend much more than $500 or so on a suit since my size keeps changing from working out.

Any suggestions?

[DementedReality]

i bought 3 suits, 2 shirts, 2 ties, a belt and 2 pairs of socks at Moores for about $750.00 including tailoring and tax.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Sign up for Harry Rosens mailing list. They just had their private sale here in Van, and the Calgary location may be having one soon too. It will save you about 30-40%. This will bring the starting prices to around $600 for Boss and up from there for everything else.

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by blankall

I'm going to bump an old thread. Looking for a great deal on a suit. I work at a law firm.

The Bay is having a 50% off sale. Most of their suits appear to be in the $500.00 range for regular price. Does anyone have experience with these kind of suits?

I am hesitant to spend much more than $500 or so on a suit since my size keeps changing from working out.

Any suggestions?

Figure out exactly what you're looking for first before starting to look at pricetags. Figure out what sort of cut you want, button configuration, vents, lapels, etc. This will be a matter of combining elements of your own personal style with what actually works for your body. Next, try on suits in a variety of different price ranges, so that you understand the differences between a $1000 suit and a $400 suit. Then you can figure out what your priorities are (might be that you decide that you definitely want a worsted wool over many of the blends that lower-end suits have, or you might decide that a certain classic but not common style is the fit for you). My experience with the Bay (and I've tried on suits there but never bought any) is that the staff aren't super-knowledgeable, and they might get you a suit that works and have it tailored correctly, but they won't necessarily explain all the options to you. But someone who's educated themselves should still be able to find a good suit within a reasonable budget there.

My own priorities when I'm suit shopping:
1. Style: I'm slightly above average hight, which means that I can pull off a three button, and I like the fact that a three button means that the whole lapel area is very compact and tidy. I prefer double vents to single or unvented. I don't like any trendish elements such as angled or extra pockets. Should be simple as possible, for maximum versatility.
2. Fabric: both of my suits are 100% wool, though the next one I get might be a nice light summery linen. I used to have a polyester blend one, but found it didn't breath as well. You can tell the differences between different fabrics just by touching them, but you can't necessarily understand the differences until you've worn each in a variety of heat and humidity conditions.
3. Draping: Draping is a combination of style and construction. One of the big differences between cheap and expensive is how the panels on the suit are constructed. Cheap suits have front panels that are glued on; expensive suits are sewn together. It doesn't look like much of a difference on the maniquinn, but once you put on the suits and start moving around, there's a distinct difference in how the suits move. That said, if you're looking to save money, this is probably somewhere you'd compromise.

I've ended up with two zegna suits, simply because they have all the elements that I want and their three button configurations seem to fit me very well, but it's certainly possible to look great in less expensive suits.

[jolinar of malkshor]

The best place to buy a suit is DufF Laytons Mens wear in Camrose, it is a ma and pop shop with high quality cothing. Unfortunately they are not on the internet so you would have to go to the store to see there inventory.

[Berger_4_]

Originally Posted by jolinar of malkshor

The best place to buy a suit is DufF Laytons Mens wear in Camrose, it is a ma and pop shop with high quality cothing. Unfortunately they are not on the internet so you would have to go to the store to see there inventory.

Yup, they're great! I've bought both of my suits there and they are awesome!

[calf]

There's another great place called "A Place For Men" on 14th Street and about 27th Ave SW. It looks like a goodwill store on the outside, but they have great designer suits for reasonable price(I believe they bring in/sell demo models). Great service too.

[onetwo_threefour]

O'Connor's

http://www.oconnors.ca/

Wicked shopping experience, pricey, but great threads...

[blankall]

Ended up taking advantage of a sale at the Bay. I bought from the Bay's line Black and Brown. Regularly just under $800, I got it for $400.

Definitely noticed the difference between this suits and the one's down (Nautica, Jones New York).

This suit was fairly close to the higher level suits. Given the $800 difference, it was great value.

[FLAMESRULE]

Supreme's downtown, great looking clothes, for office casual to suits. Ended up getting my wedding suit there. It certainly isnt cheap, but the quality and service is top shelf.

[socktape]

I've had good luck with this guy doing custom suits... he's back this coming weekend in calgary

www.tailoredman.com

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

Does anyone have any good recomendations for quality dress shoes. I have a hell of a time finding a well made pair of basic Oxford dress shoes that are able to fit a wide foot. I have a wedding that I have to go to in a couple weeks and I don't want to be looking like an idiot in my old shoes that never really did break in well.

Thanks in advance.

[worth]

ASU Calgary?

[Traditional_Ale]

Originally Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard

Does anyone have any good recomendations for quality dress shoes. I have a hell of a time finding a well made pair of basic Oxford dress shoes that are able to fit a wide foot. I have a wedding that I have to go to in a couple weeks and I don't want to be looking like an idiot in my old shoes that never really did break in well.

Thanks in advance.

Break in the old shoes?

[firebug]

Originally Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard

Does anyone have any good recomendations for quality dress shoes. I have a hell of a time finding a well made pair of basic Oxford dress shoes that are able to fit a wide foot. I have a wedding that I have to go to in a couple weeks and I don't want to be looking like an idiot in my old shoes that never really did break in well.

Thanks in advance.

If you are in Calgary, stop by O'Connors on 7th Ave and 2nd St. SW. They are having their semi-annual clearance open to previous customers (starts publicly advertising tomorrow).

What you are looking for is a pair of Allen-Edmonds or Aldens. They normally run around $350/pair but O'Connors usually clears some pairs out for $150 or less (especially unusual pairs such as wides). AE makes wonderful shoes in a range of widths from A to EEE, and if you take proper care of them will last you a lifetime.

General quality shoe suggestions....

I prefer a closed-lace, aka balmoral, style shoe. They are tough to find at most 'mall-type' shoe stores (who generally only carry open laced 'bluchers'), and are the only style that are truly appropriate to wear with a suit, but I have pairs that look great with jeans as well (like these that I am wearing today). If you can find a nice pair of monk straps, you can pick them up as well.

Look for shoes made of calfskin, or even better, shell cordovan. These shoes do not crease across the toes like those made from cheaper 'corrected grain' leather. They also hold a shine much better.

Avoid square, duck-billed or bicycle toed shoes. Fashion is for the ladies. Men should focus on 'style'. This will allow you to wear the same shoes you wore to you own wedding to your kids, and look great each time.

Generally speaking, the more ornamentation a shoe has (eg. caps, perforations, brougeing) the more casual it is.

While I prefer leather soles (oak-bark tanned) in my shoes, ensure you get goodyear welted soles. These can easily be re-soled when you finally wear through them.

While black is a fine colour, a more versatile choice for a first pair of shoes would be dark brown (make sure you find a belt to match).

Want to spend more?
~$500 Crockett and Jones
~$700 Vass
>$1,000 Gaziano & Girling