I'd love to hear advice from any HNers in the know about the best way to buy quality tailored menswear and get the most bang for your buck, particularly suits. I know you're not going to get that at a chain, and there's a lot of information about bespoke online, but I'd like to know what HN thinks about it.
I had to wear a suit every day at one of the Wall Street firms that I worked for. The reality is that a "good" suit is going to be expensive - there is no way around that. If you don't want to shell out for a bespoke suit, you can also find very nice made-to-measure selections at upscale stores like Neiman Marcus. Prices vary wildly, but you are going to be looking at a minimum of around $2-3K for a decent suit. Also, if you're going to wear a suit for work and not just once a year to a wedding or whatever, you need to remember that you'll want two pairs of the slacks - you don't want to buy a $3K suit then tear the slacks six months later and find out you can't get that particular fabric anymore.
Not necessarily 2-3k. I just had a Hickey-Freeman MTM made via Nordstrom during one of their sales and walked out the door just under $1300 (for a $2k list suit).
But yes, listen to this guy when he says to buy two pairs of trousers.
Oh definitely - if you're not in a rush you can find some great deals like that. I have a couple of Hickey-Freeman suits that I got a great deal on (not as good as you though) and they have held up really nicely. I was actually surprised that they were just as nice as the some of the Italian ones that I bought and were considerably less expensive.
"not in a rush" -- that's something else worth mentioning. Most reasonable MTM tailors will still take 1mo+ to deliver your suit, and it's frequently more like 2mo. Bespoke isn't really much, if any, slower.
To your point about quality -- I'm actually at a point in my life where I can afford and am willing to spend a bit on American made products (e.g. shoes, suiting) and do where practical. Even though the mills aren't here (Loro Piana, Elgin, Isaia, etc), at least the rest is.
If you want the most bang for your buck, you need to understand off-the-rack suits. They're generally cheapest, but the point of them is not that they're ready to wear. They are unfinished products, made to be altered. The point in an off-the-rack suit is that you buy it, take it to a skilled tailor, and (for a few hundred dollars) have it altered exactly to fit you. A well-altered off-the-rack suit will look quite good: not as good as a fully bespoke suit, but it'll be close.
(Provided that the initial off-the-rack suit is reasonably good to begin with.)
Buying several suits? Get yourself on an airplane to Hong Kong. Go to Nathan Road. Be accosted by a hundred Bangladeshi salesmen trying to drag you into their tailor storefront. Pick one you like. Day 1 get fitted, day 2, second fitting. Maybe allow another day for corrections. Before you go, do some research on fabric and stuff, and take photos of styles you like. If you don't know what to pay before you set foot in the shop, you might pay too much.
It's small and family-owned -- two brothers based out of Hong Kong, but travelling around constantly. You meet them in a hotel room, get your measurements taken, and a few weeks later you get beautiful suits in the mail. (At least I've always had good luck!) They're tailor-made, nice quality, and inexpensive. They do shirts too but I prefer their suits myself.
I usually buy when they have a promotion on of some kind -- I spend about $2k at a time and usually get a couple suits and perhaps a couple shirts. So that's maybe $800 (CDN) per suit? They also offered snazzier fabrics etc. for higher prices (although I still got 100% wool, not synthetic).
I live in the Bay (apparently so does Zimmer). Some girls came to our office and took our measurements. I got a tailored dress shirt for $100 https://www.trumaker.com . Really quality too. I brag about how it's tailored if someone compliments me on it.
MTailor is a YC company that makes a mobile app that will take your measurements via video and deliver you a custom made shirt or suit. (Disclosure: I funded them at YC). I've personally had good results with the shirts, waiting on a suit now. It is very competitively priced (I've actually told them repeatedly to raise prices!). I've gotten custom shirts from other tailors but prefer buying from mtailor now because of the ease of it.
I bought a suit from indochino.com this year and was really happy with it. They are made to measure and start around $500. I don't know if I'd call it a great suit, but it fits pretty well, and is more than adequate for someone like me who wears a suit about once a year. The fit and quality are definitely better than anything I've owned in the past, or anything I've seen off the rack in that price range.
The customer service was also good. The first pair of pants didn't fit, which was probably due to a measuring mistake on my part. They took them back and remade them, no charge and no questions asked.
I'd be interested in that as well. I've heard people say that a well-tailored suit or tux can be exceptionally comfortable, to the point that some prefer them over "business casual" attire; that would be the polar opposite of my usual experience.
Well, that entirely depends on your goals, budget and location.
Do you want a made to measure suit, tailored to your body? Or do you want a bespoke suit (mostly the same, but tailored entirely by hand).
If you're in America and you'd like an entry level "luxury" made to measure suit, Brooks Brothers is nice at $1500/suit or so. You can also try for other luxury brands, up to and including Tom Ford, at $40,000/suit (or more).
For a bespoke suit you can spend anywhere from $2000 (cheap) to mid five figures. Saville Row in London is "the place" to go for these, but if you're in America there are many small shops in New York City across all sorts of price ranges.
In general a bespoke suit is better than a merely made to measure suit (at least financially it has a better cost justification and there is an "experience" factor), and a brand name is commonly thought of as less desirable than an independent tailor.
Beyond that it's harder to give a good answer without more detail on what you want, how much you can spend and where you are. Personally I'd never get a suit at Men's Wearhouse, I have found the attention to detail and patronage there is lacking. At the absolute bottom in terms of price, mysuit.com is nice for bang for your buck factor.
My personal recommendation is to spend the money on a bespoke suit, all things being equal. An experienced tailor making a bespoke suit will cost more, but will more easily achieve an attractive and comfortable fit than a machine will. You also have much greater choice.
In my opinion, paying for a made to measure suit is only slightly better than buying off the rack. Bespoke suits are usually offered by independent tailors, not larger brand names. This means that bespoke suits are usually expensive due to the skilled labor costs associated with making a fitted suit by hand. But a made to measure suit is usually just a higher offering than an off the rack suit at a brand name luxury store (Brooks Brothers, Emporio Armani, Canali, Brioni, Zegna, etc.). In other words, you pay for some tailoring skill and a lot of brand name. I'd rather spend $5000 on a bespoke suit from an obscure but skilled tailor on Saville Row than $5000 on a made to measure Canali.
I encourage everyone who can to purchase bespoke or made to measure suits, however. I find tailored suits so comfortable that I enjoy wearing them. The signaling effect is also nice. You can clearly tell the difference between a suit off the rack and a suit that has been tailored to a custom fit. If you spring for higher quality materials you can vastly improve the durability and comfort as well.
If you'd like a few exact brands to check out, indiscriminate of price:
• Bespoke suits - Huntsman, Gieves & Hawkes
• Made to measure suits - Brooks Brothers, Canali
• Tailored shirts - Thomas Pink, Turnbull & Asser
• Ties - Hermes, Drake's of London
• Shoes - John Lobb, Stefanelli, Bemer
Hope this helps you out.
EDIT: petewailes also has good advice in this subthread
Also, one of the real advantages of a bespoke suit, shirt, whatever, is that the tailor now has your pattern and can knock out a new suit or shirt for you with nothing more than a phone call (provided you haven't been hitting the all-you-can-eat buffets too hard).
Editting since I can't reply. Technologically limiting... There's an irony here.
So the first thing is to understand the kind of tailoring you're after. There's a difference between fully bespoke and having adjustments made. The latter is 98% of the fit that you'll get, with a shorter time to wait, and you'll be wearing similar things before which can give you a better idea of what you'll end up with if you haven't bought a fully tailored suit before.
The second thing is to consider what you're buying for. There's a difference, obviously, between buying for a daily suit to wear, and purchasing for a more formal or occasion specific outfit (for example, a white tie event suit with tails).
That being said, here's some general pointers.
Wool is worth the money. It wears well, it's classic, and it'll be able to adjust nicely if you put on or lose weight/muscle. A good navy or charcoal wool suit as a daily is a solid choice. Look for a good weight in a daily wear. 8-10oz would be my choice.
Jacket: partially or ideally fully canvased would by my choice. It's more expensive but harder wearing, and it'll mould to.the shape of your body better. It'll also generally have better definition and shape.
Ask what will be hand sewn. More fiddly areas like the cuffs and collar will get a better fit if hand finished. On a similar note, think about what you want in terms of a style considering your body shape. If you're leaner, a suit with narrow darts and some padding in the shoulder will accentuate the torso. Pinstripes have a similar effect, in lengthening the body. Talk to your tailor and get recommendations based on your particular body shape. For example, I'm tall bit broad shouldered, so I tend to go for a smaller card shoulder pad, to allow for definition but still create mobility in the arms.
Now, for more formal wear, you're going to be getting more expensive. Similar considerations apply, but think about the whole outfit. What shoes you'll be wearing will influence fabric colour choice. Is it white or black tie? Bow tie or less formal?
For a full white tie outfit, for example, you'll want to think about how often you'll wear it. There's places you can save money, in terms of garment longevity if you aren't planning on wearing regularly. For example, lighter wools will cost less (essentially you're buying less material, and the thinner wools are easier to work).
Also, plan to spend some time. A full fitting will be between 30-50ish measurements, depending on your size and body shape. That takes time. Ask about how many times you'll need to be fitted. Assume twice, but a larger person may need three or four.
Finally, I'd generally say classic for formal and daily, but modern for events. For example, if I'm attending a more relaxed business event, I'll wear a Saville Row with a particularly bright lining, or perhaps something with a more interesting outer fabric.
