new new york suit thread

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cookthebooks

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searched history and didnt see a suit thread in the past year.
im transitioning to a more client facing role and need to dress the part. i realistically need three suits and probably wouldnt be happy spending more than $2000. suits only, shirts and shoes are taken care of. where in nyc would people recommend checking out? also, should i get two nicer suits and a cheapo suit? interested in feedback!
 
I don’t live in NYC, so I’m not sure if you have a Neiman’s Last Call, Off 5th, or Nordstrom Rack near you, but I’ve gotten some very nice suits from those places for well under $1,000. Brooks Brothers is another good bet in your price range and, if I’m not mistaken, they typically have one of their big semi-annual sales right after Christmas.
 
Take a vacation to Thailand and get tailored suits straight from the sweatshop. They will run you ~$100 USD for something that will cost ~$1,000 here. I have two suits from Phuket and they look just a nice as a $600 Brooks Brothers Suit.
FYI, I’m dead serious.
 
that’d definitely be an option going forward, but unfortunately my schedule will not allow for a quick asian jaunt.
 
I always think that norstrom rack gives good bang for the buck, you can get good labels there for prolly $500 a suit.
Whatever you do get them tailored. Get on yelp and find the a little itailian guy w/ 40 year exp that kills it. He’ll make a $300 suit look better than a $1,000 suit that wasn’t tailored.
 
CFAvsMBA wrote:Take a vacation to Thailand and get tailored suits straight from the sweatshop. They will run you ~$100 USD for something that will cost ~$1,000 here. I have two suits from Phuket and they look just a nice as a $600 Brooks Brothers Suit.
FYI, I’m dead serious.
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$100 per suit plus $2k in travel expenses and the opportunity cost of spending your vacation time in Thailand. makes sense. LOL
Systematic wrote:Whatever you do get them tailored. Get on yelp and find the a little itailian guy w/ 40 year exp that kills it. He’ll make a $300 suit look better than a $1,000 suit that wasn’t tailored.
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I use to feel the same way about Italian tailors until I went to an Asian shop. They blow the Italians out of the water and are everywhere out here. I’ve had this Chinese lady do a bunch of formal clothes but then she did some of my casual clothes. She shortened three pairs of jeans by an inch but kept the original bottoms so they look like they are supposed to. Others usually cut them and then restitch so they look blocky. Only charges $11 as well. She also did a bunch of Polo shirts where I had them shortened but also got rid of the tennis tail and used the same factory stitch. Italians don’t have the attention to detail.
 
why so many people recommend brooks brothers is beyond me. cause your dad and grandpa have one in their wardrobes? brooks brothers suits look awful if you’re 60 and under. their designs are old fashioned, their fit is old fashioned and boring, their colors are appalling. terrible choice in general
 
cookthebooks wrote:
searched history and didnt see a suit thread in the past year.
im transitioning to a more client facing role and need to dress the part. i realistically need three suits and probably wouldnt be happy spending more than $2000. suits only, shirts and shoes are taken care of. where in nyc would people recommend checking out? also, should i get two nicer suits and a cheapo suit? interested in feedback!
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Is this the thread you were looking for?
http://www.analystforum.com/forums/cfa-forums/cfa-general-discussion/910…
 
Blake McCallister wrote:
$100 per suit plus $2k in travel expenses and the opportunity cost of spending your vacation time in Thailand. makes sense. LOL
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Opportunity cost of spending vacation time in Thailand?? If your sarcasm implies spending time in Thailand is awful you obviously haven’t been there…
 
Mobius Striptease wrote:why so many people recommend brooks brothers is beyond me. cause your dad and grandpa have one in their wardrobes? brooks brothers suits look awful if you’re 60 and under. their designs are old fashioned, their fit is old fashioned and boring, their colors are appalling. terrible choice in general
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Thank you. I thought I was the only one on the forum that thought this about BB.
 
king_kong wrote:
Mobius Striptease wrote:why so many people recommend brooks brothers is beyond me. cause your dad and grandpa have one in their wardrobes? brooks brothers suits look awful if you’re 60 and under. their designs are old fashioned, their fit is old fashioned and boring, their colors are appalling. terrible choice in general
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Thank you. I thought I was the only one on the forum that thought this about BB.
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I respectfully disagree. Several of their lines have a modern fit (trim cut, narrow lapels, no pleats, etc.) if that is the main concern. Their colors are often staples (charcoal, navy, etc.) so I don’t know how one can find fault with that.
But more importantly, even when there isn’t a sale you can get two half-canvassed suits for $1,600. At that price point, at least in my experience, you’re dealing with low quality, fused suits. Most of their blazers and sport coats as well as their Golden Fleece lines are fully canvassed, which is a breath of fresh air in the market these days. Their 346 Factory Store line is junk and I would not recommend it, at least in terms of quality.
I won’t say that Brooks Brothers main (1818) line is higher quality than Zegna or Canali’s main lines, though it is higher quality than some of their lines, and it certainly isn’t as nice as Kiton or Brioni, but it’s at a lower price point than the aforementioned. As far as value, I think BB is in a class by itself.
Of course there are more things to consider than just quality when purchasing a suit.
 
for under $1000 go to macy’s or bloomingdale’s and choose from theory, boss, alfani, CK, zegna, or even burberry if you’re looking for a more “classic” fit and style. in-store tailors would make alterations for you for free. go to brooks brothers if you’re looking for some equally horrendous garment to match the checkered obscene-green and bright-red wool tie from your preppy new england high school. i feel very strongly against any BB recommendations. there are better ways to add 10-15 years to your look in order to appear more mature, classic or old-school
 
came away from a visit to BB yesterday with similar feelings. going to hit the department stores over the weekend. not the most fun way to spend a weekend, braving holiday crowds at big dept stores but what can you do?
 
go brooks brothers outlet and you can get 2 suits for $600 or just get a Zegna or Canali and be a flat out baller.
 
Mobius Striptease wrote:for under $1000 go to macy’s or bloomingdale’s and choose from theory, boss, alfani, CK, zegna, or even burberry if you’re looking for a more “classic” fit and style. in-store tailors would make alterations for you for free. go to brooks brothers if you’re looking for some equally horrendous garment to match the checkered obscene-green and bright-red wool tie from your preppy new england high school. i feel very strongly against any BB recommendations. there are better ways to add 10-15 years to your look in order to appear more mature, classic or old-school
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If you don’t care for the style, that’s fine. If one of the brands you mentioned fits you great, that’s awesome. However, in terms of quality it is a landslide victory for Brooks Brothers with regard to most of the brands you mentioned.
theory = fused
boss = fused
alfani = fused
CK = fused
zegna = most of their lines are canvassed, z zegna is fused
Not sure about Burberry.
 
if by default you associate fused with $200 Mens Warehouse clown suit, that could be a valid argument. nowadays there is no visible difference between the quality fused suits from higher end brands like the ones i mentioned above, and a canvassed suit. if you’re gonna be a real canvassed suit baller, prepare to drop at least $5k or just dont go there. for around $1k, you’re much better off focusing on style, fit and “good looking” - categories in which BB doesnt compete
 
Blake McCallister wrote:I have a few suits from Hickey Freeman. They are having a 40% off sale now. They blow Brooks Brothers out of the water.
http://www.hickeyfreeman.com/
Their most basic suits which usually go for 1200 are on sale for 699. Check it out.
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I saw an awesome fully canvased Hickey Freeman charcoal suit at Neiman’s Last Call for like $800 a couple of weeks ago. A+
@ Thread Starter - Here’s a list I found on styleforum of suit quality ratings with a thread containing 30+ pages of discussion on the list’s composition.
http://new.styleforum.net/t/140387/the-styleforum-working-hierarchical-s...
Excellent [*****] (i.e. Suits made this well are far and few between, if money is no object your closet would be full of these. This category should be kept to only a few items)
- Brioni
- Cesare Attolini Napoli
- D’Avenza
- Isaia
- Kiton
- Luciano Barbera Collezioni Sartoriale
- Luigi Borrelli
- Oxxford
- RLPL (not suit maker, a designer brand)
- St Andrew
- Sartoria Castangia
- Sartoria Partenopea
Very Good[****] (i.e. Few suits match the quality of the ones in this category).
- Belvest
- Borrelli Luxury Vintage
- Brooks Brothers Golden Fleece
- Canali Milano
- Corneliani Linea Sartoria
- Jil Sander tailor made
- Lanvin
- Pal Zileri Sartoriale (I think there is another line higher than Sartoriale, the custom made one, IIRC “Abito Privato”, excellent quality)
- (most of Raffaelle Caruso) eg. Sartoria Parma / RL Black Label / RL Signature
- Ravazzolo
- Sartoria Attolini Napoli
- Thom Browne
- Zegna Couture (includes Tom Ford)
Good[***] (i.e. Quality is superior to most suits).
- Brooks Brothers Black Fleece
- Canali
- K by Canali
- Cantarelli Tailor
- Corneliani
- Ermenegildo Zegna
- Etro / Boglioli
- Faconnable Tailleur
- Giorgio Armani (black label)
- Hickey Freeman Mainline
- Paul Smith Mainline
- Samuelsohn
Satisfactory [**] (i.e. The “Average” Brands. Quality is acceptable).
- Benjamin Sartorial
- Brooks Brothers 1818 (half canvassed)
- Cantarelli
- Hackett
- H. Freemann
- Hickey Freeman LTD (half canvas)
- hickey
- J Crew
- Paul Smith London (not a suit maker, designer brand - half canvassed)
- Z-Zegna
Mediocre[*] (Suits that are mediocre)
- H&M
- Hugo Boss
- J. Press
- Joseph Abboud
- Marco Valentino (half canvas)
 
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