Educate me about men's suits, please

[Anonymous]

I am staging a fashion intervention for DH, who has some big meetings coming up. The last time he bought a new suit was probably 8 years ago or so, before we were married. (In his defense, up until now, he hasn't needed to wear them much.)

Soooo.... how much does a good suit cost? I don't want to go to Kohls but we're not going to Saks either. Is Jos. A. Bank a good-quality, middle ground kind of place? We're not looking for anything trendy or flashy (he works with a bunch of male lawyers, so it's not like he's surrounded by fashion plates) but I do want him looking grown up. His tastes run kinda conservative.

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Joseph A Bank is a good middle ground -- great prices too if he's buying more than one suit, and I find the sales reps to be attentive. If you ask them for a certain color tie to go with a suit, they will go out of their way to make sure the get the exact matching shade of gray/blue/etc. -- you don't have that at the department stores usually.

I don't think Saks/Brooks Brothers is worth it unless he'll be wearing these suits daily for a long time; the tailoring etc. is nice but I'm not sure that it matters if he's just got 2 weeks of meetings and then goes back to business casual.

[Anonymous]

If you want something nice and high quality, I suggest getting a suit from Brooks Brothers on sale.

[Anonymous]

Brooks Brothers, but monitor the prices. DH went in to buy a suit and the sale price was higher than the standard price.

[Anonymous]

Where and what brand depends somewhat on your DH's build.

Lord & Taylor at Tyson's Corner has a pretty good men's suit department with a variety of brands, and good staff who will help him find something that fits pretty well before tailoring. A good fit through the shoulders is probably the most important.

You will want some tailoring, too. IIRC, many stores include this in the price of men's suits.

If you have time before these meetings, a custom suit is sometimes pretty competitively priced with off-the-rack. My father used to get his suits custom made and found the price to be similar to a good department store.

Don't forget to make sure he has dress shirts that fit well and aren't showing signs of wear.

[Anonymous]

Jos a bank suits and many dept store suits have a glued (fused) chest piece inside. Good suits have a full floating canvas chest piece. Fused suits will get ruined by the heat of dry cleaning. Not that you should dry clean a suit jacket more than twice a year but canvassed jackets will maintain their shape after cleaning w a good cleaner. Fused jackets will pucker.

Most American men wear jackets 2 sizes too large. They look like kids in their fathers suits. Make sure the shoulder of the jacket ends where his shoulder ends and that it doesn't extend beyond. Make sure it buttons in front but doesn't pull and that there isn't enough fabric to wrap halfway around him a second time. Have the sleeves shortened to end at his wrist bone. Covering half his hand is a joke. As is halfway up his forearm.

[Anonymous]

Don't buy Jos A Bank. Didn't you see the SNL sketch?

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/jos-a-bank-cleaning-product/2768588

[Anonymous]

Charles Thyrwit. Probably same price or a tad more expensive than jos bank, but way better quality and stylish but not over the top.

[Anonymous]

Jos A Bank is fine for some pieces, but is definitely lower-middle end for suits.

I'd get a personal shopper at Nordstrom. Sounds extravagant, I know, but it actually really isn't: free service, awesome advice, and they can put together a great outfit (or set of outfits) on whatever budget you specify. My DH did this when he needed to overhaul his work wardrobe a few years ago and was thrilled.

Start by looking online at Brooks Brothers, Nordstrom, Jos A Bank (for comparison) just to get some idea of prices, so that you can plan a budget.