Learn Me: Suits

twolittlebroncos wrote: And in answer to the question you haven't asked yet. I would recommend a pair of Allen Edmonds. :)

+1 - I love my Allen Edmonds cap toe dress shoes. Took forever to break them in well but with a decent polish they look spectacular and I'll have them for the rest of my life. Bought on sale at a department store, I forget which one.

Coincidentally, there was a news story about Allen-Edmonds in the paper yesterday; they announced they are going to start exporting their shoes to China but they will still be made in Wisconsin.

I have a couple pairs of them myself, they will last a lifetime with proper care.

Allen-Edmonds also has some stuff made in Portugal. Don't know if it is any better or worse than the Wisconsin stuff, just know that I have a pair that was made in Portugal.

Also, their factory stores have awesome deals.

Being oddly built, I have struggled with this for years. My solution is to have several decent blazers for daily court appearances and several custom-fit suits for trials and other important days ie wedding, funerals etc. I buy the daily stuff except for shirts from Land's End or Stein Mart and the custom stuff from a company called Tom James. It is an old fashioned traveling salesman group that bring their samples to you and do their own measurements. Expensive but the stuff last for years. I buy ALL my shirts custom made from Tom James since 19" neck and 31" sleeves cannot be found off the rack. Again they last forever and the comfort cannot be beat. You only get one chance to make a good impression plus in my business, you have to be at your best every day. YMMV

Avoiding a suit should rank somewhere close to avoiding syphilis. I have a few occasions to wear one annually, and they have to threaten me to get me to do it. Billionaires wear jeans and crisp white shirts with Italian loafers. Waiters wear tuxedos. A suit don't mean what it used to.

That said, I have had good luck with the Men's Warehouse and the elite designer Jacques Penne'. (JC Pennys) My advice is to walk right past the salespeople and go into the dressing room and talk to the seamstress or tailor. Let them measure you first and tell you what to look for or avoid. (Unless you are Daniel Craig and look good in any suit.)

Threads from the dead thanks to the Canoe

I usually cheat and get a couple pairs of decent pants like Slates so they are machine washable, then a couple good sport coats. That way you don't spend all your money at the dry cleaner and you don't look the same every day.

I do have one ANSI standard navy blue FBI suit for interviews at staunch conservative customers and/or funerals but I've had it 10yrs and worn it four times so it really is a bad investment.

I'm in the suit/tie 5-days a week job camp. Dry cleaning sucks, it feels like such a waste. Suits are silly, but it's a requirement of the job. It's funny how they do draw a reaction though... ladies do like them ...skilled trades type guys look at you and assume you're a D-bag. It seems I have to talk to someone a good 5-10 minutes about something mechanical/automotive before they give me any credence that I actually do have any idea what I'm talking about and I'm not just another schmuck in a suit pushing a 2nd mortgage for a lease on a BMW.

That said, agree with most of the comments in this thread. Jos. A Banks has really dropped in quality, though their ridiculous sales put stuff in line with the price, and they have some decent stuff still. Men's Warehouse can be the same way, stay away from the pushy salesmen trying to shove all the extra big markup stuff at you. I need to pick up a few more suits here soon... I'd rather spend my money on car stuff. Oh well.

I just look at it as a job uniform. It just goes with the territory.

I like the stuff at Dillard's (Midwestern store?). Any suit made in China fits me terribly.

I need a few good suits - the Nordstroms off the rack stores has nice suits but they are in the $500 category - too rich for me.