Getting a two-button charcoal and a navy.
Have 2 really nice ones from Men's Wearhouse - buy 1 ($450) and get 1 ($450) free.
Jos. A Bank has clearance suits (still good quality, possibly nicer than the Men's Wearhouse ones b/c their original price is greater than $450) that would add 2 up for less than $450, but obviously would have to pay for alterations because it's being delivered to me.
Which way should I go?
Joe Banks without a doubt. The trick is that the retail prices at JB are absurd and what sounds like a great sale (50%-60%, buy one get one, etc) is really what you should pay. The MW stuff is pretty junky. Any name brands they carry are crappier versions made specially for MW. And you should always get a suit tailored.
don't ignore the big department stores - they often have heavily discounted higher quality suits than bank or mw. i regularly buy Calvin Klein suits for $300 at macys or Bloomingdales.
Neither.
Find a local tailor, look for an immigrant one (turkish, s. american). Pick out a pattern and have your suit custom made.
You may pay a bit more, maybe $550-650, but the suit will actually fit you, and you'll look much better than everyone else in the room. (Then again, if you find a good tailor, you may only pay $450.) A suit isn't hard to make, so it's not like you need some specialized tailor to do it. Heck, kids in 3rd world countries do it.
Most men don't know how to buy a suit, which is why Men's Warehouse and Jos. A. Bank in business. Buying a suit off the rack is pointless - it won't fit you right, and you won't look good in it, even with alterations. You look silly, and once someone shows up with a custom made suit, you suddenly look inferior.
I don't know about mens warehouse but I've got a joseph banks suit. I'm only mid20s just out of grad school though. My father would be an extreme example - he's an executive so (like his colleagues) he gets his custom made from scratch from a place in NYC. Once you get to the exec level, that may be necessary, but if you have off the rack proportions you can prob get away with off the rack anyway once you get to exec level. I can't really tell the difference but I know there exists such a difference, so just be careful.
If you've got a typical runner's build, you're going to have a difficult time finding a suit that's slim enough at either Jos A Bank or Men's Warehouse. My husband has found a couple at Men's Warehouse, but the quality's not the greatest.
Someone else mentioned department stores-- those are generally good. Also J. Crew actually has some nice suits (affordable as well, and available as separates) and they have some slim-fit options, which means less major alterations.
It depends on what your looking for--Because Men's Wearhouse carries different brands, you'll have more options when it comes to finding a fit you like. For me, the Jos A. Bank slim-cut suits weren't as slim as I like. The other problem I had at Jos A. Bank was that they didn't have any suits in my size with flat-front trousers (I'm 6'5", though, so this probably isn't a problem for most people). I went with this suit (in charcoal and navy) from Men's Wearhouse and I couldn't be happier.
Assuming you've got a lean runner's build, you may want to check it out.
If you must choose between the 2, pick the J.A.B. Mens' Wearhouse is total shit. You're not gonna like the way you look - I guarantee it.
I'm 6 foot, 165. 40 regular. I saw the discounted suits at Macy's but wasn't thrilled with the selection. I'm hesitant to do Jos. A Bank b/c I'll either order online and won't try the suit on first, or I'll get an email from them in a week for buy 1 get 2 free or something.
Because I'm getting too exhausted by the process -- walked out of a discount suit place, couldn't find the quality differences at Syms between a $99 and a $500 suit even after knowing what to look for -- I'm either getting 2 guaranteed nice suits that I've already tried on or making a trip to Jos. A Bank and will feel pressured to buy b/c of price and for taking the time to fit the trip in to my day.
If you live in an area with a Filene's Basement - go there first.
If not, look at Lands End online. Very nice suits for around $200 - shipped out next day, cuffed to your size. Makes it very easy.
Look here:
these are especially nice:
http://www.italsuit.com/home.php?cat=325&gclid=CJjokKrYyqICFRE95QodoVsxyw
This place works best for me.
K&G
I don't know where you live but it has a location site on the top.
Good choices. Those two colors and styles are classic and will never go out of trend. The most important thing in a suit is to have it fit your shoulders and have the rest tailored specifically for you. As long as you don't buy it off the rack and wear it either of those stores will suffice. Both have decent selections and I know that Mens Wearhouse has on-site tailors to fit you. Another option would be to go to a Brooks Brothers outlet. They have decent selections and tailor on-site. Once you get well established you can get a custom suit but until then I wouldn't worry about it. Personally, I would walk in to try the suits on as different designers have different fits and you can really get an eye for the color. Stay away from the trendy skinny fit stuff bc that will be out of style in 1-2 years. Always go classic in my opinion.
Try this:
http://stores.ebay.com/The-Wizard-of-Aahs
It might look a little cheezey...but the suits are really nice.
Stay away from a black suit and don't get a double breasted.
Pick JAB for quality or Men's Wearhouse for price.
Regardless of which you pick, getting the suit altered correctly to fit your build is critical, especially if you're a skinny young runner because most suits off the rack are for middle-aged guys with big guts. If you're getting something on sale, make sure to find out if you have to pay extra to get it altered (common with items on sale) and factor that into the price.
head over to styleforum.net. i bet your question has already been answered over there.
for example:
Always consider how much you need to pay for alterations, sometimes alterations could be pretty expensive.
I would say Joseph A Banks. They have "tailored fit" which is a little slimmer (for a runner type) and try to buy at the store if you can on one of their ubiquitous sale days.
Someone mentioned J. Crew. I think their suits look a little undersized.
AltoCinco wrote:
If you've got a typical runner's build, you're going to have a difficult time finding a suit that's slim enough at either Jos A Bank or Men's Warehouse. My husband has found a couple at Men's Warehouse, but the quality's not the greatest.
Someone else mentioned department stores-- those are generally good. Also J. Crew actually has some nice suits (affordable as well, and available as separates) and they have some slim-fit options, which means less major alterations.
+1 for JCrew. I put on a suit about 4 times and year and JCrew seems to be the best looking, and fitting off the rack option. Perhaps a tad more $$ than JAB or MW, but they're garbage and ugly.