Buying a suit...

[curves2000]

Originally Posted by TheIronMaiden

Looking to finally replace my 9 year old suit.
Hoping to buy one that lasts just as long.
My budget is $1000 but I would love to spend less.

What is a timeless look IE i don't want to look too dated when I pull this out for a wedding or important work meeting 5 years from now.

What is a good place to go that won't take months to make a suit? or are retail options like moores just as good?

If your current suit is still in good/decent condition/repairable, keep it. If your pants are shot, you can shorten the jacket and make it a casual blazer. You would be amazed at how quickly certain styles come back into style. Just look at how double breasted suits are the rage and notch lapels vs peak lapels have flipped back and forth. Even pleated and cuffed pants!

I have never used this place personally but heard good things.

Crolux Tailoring

My old Tailor, The Tailor shop by Giovanni on 37th Street SW has retired. Another poster mentioned Umberto's who is fantastic but I guess his costs have gone up a lot.

If you can afford to, get a 2nd set of pants and a vest. Makes more combinations and helps maximize life since the pants usually wear out before the jacket.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by ThePrince

I should add, to answer your second question, IMO, the most timeless look is probably a navy or charcoal suit (in that order). You can dress those up and down, and look in place at a wedding or at a work event. They also look good with a wide variety of shirt/tie/shoe options.

Black is more formal, and again, just my opinion, but much less versatile. I wouldn’t recommend going black.

I get where you're coming from, but I also think it depends on the design of the suit and the color of the black. I think certain finishing features can make the suit seem over the top formal, or allow it to sit nicely in between formal and informal. Over time, the black also might not seem as black, so that too helps with helping it feel like it's not overly formal. I have a suit like that.

Navy and Charcoal would be the more timeless colors, I agree. I'd toss in black as well. I don't disagree with your opinion on black being overly formal, but lately, I've just noticed any one of those 3 colors may seem out of place at certain events. I personally also like light grey, but that too is a color that doesn't always work for all events.

I think the issue is less about the color and a bigger shift towards blazers. I feel like I've noticed situations where the matching jacket and pants or number of buttons (ie: 2-3 vs 1-3 and sleeve buttons) is what sticks out as "weird". Like... a bunch of high professionals, suit is fine. A sea of engineers/tech party a little more formal, suit with extra buttons might stick out in a sea of blazers.

I haven't fully figured it out myself, but knowing how to dress down a suit for certain events via accessories etc. is a good skill to figure out.

Originally Posted by metallicat

My recommendation is Simons.

IMO, Simons, H&M, Calvin Klein, Belissimo, Uniqlo etc. will be cheaper, but will noticeably look older/dated in comparison to other options when reviewing it over a decade. I had these suits for over a decade, kept them for clubbing and whatnot once I got better suits, but ended up donating them to those in need when my frame outgrew them. The weirdest part was that I took really good care of them and they looked older, maybe frayed. But there were no physical frays. Upon close inspection, it is as if certain threads shifted, rather than came apart or somehow dust noticeably gets trapped in the cloth or something. This hasn't seemed to happen with my higher tier suits that I paid $800-900 for (double the Calvin Klein and other brands).

Currently, I have custom suits from Asia, Zegna cloth and Hugo Boss. Custom suits are looking a little dated/older at around 5/6 years old compared to the Zegna cloth and Hugo Boss ones that are 8/10 years old respectively that still look nearly brand new.