A good suit

[KCMax]

Didn't know where else to put this, but where is the best place to get a good suit? Downtown or otherwise?

[chaglang]

It's not downtown, but Macy's is my go-to. Great prices.

[loftguy]

Nordstoms is the best retail option I have found in KC, but the freight is steep.

I have been told that the best deal in US is the Costco custom suit road show. Costco has haberdashers traveling their stores throughout the country, with a computerized fitting booth. You stand in your skivies and the system records your exact measurements (ahem) and a supercustom fitted suit is delivered in a few weeks, from the material you select. $400 to $700, I believe.

[heatherkay]

It's a good thing you didn't ask about shoes, or we would all assume you were a spambot.

[chrizow]

i like j.crew suits. cut slim, good style and fabric. they just had a 25% off sale, so you missed that, but is worth looking into. they have more options online than in the store, but you could get measured at the store and get a feel for what you like.

[loftguy]

cut slim.

Show off.

[phuqueue]

Hit up the Brooks Brothers outlet store at VW (not the retail store on the Plaza), especially during a sale you can get some pretty good deals.

[KCPowercat]

Anybody have any luck at Slabotsky & Sons or Michaels? Jos A. Bank scares me.

[smh]

Anybody have any luck at Slabotsky & Sons or Michaels? Jos A. Bank scares me.

The trick at Jos. A Bank is to never pay what the sticker says. They are constantly having buy 1 get 2 type sales. Basically, whatever they say the non-sale price is, divide that by 3 and you'll arrive at the real, everyday price you should pay there. It is a little exhausting, but you can get some good deals.

[droopy]

Jos. A Bank scares me too. I went in during one of the buy 1 get 2 free sales and saw their golf shirts are $85. Even after dividing by 3, no thanks. Suits may be different, I didn't get that deep into the store.

My #1 suit came from Brooks Brothers outlet on sale. Great suit I think I paid $200. Coincidently, my father-in-law bought the same suit around the same time at a non-outlet and paid something like $800. We wore them to an event shortly after purchase and were twins. It was cute. I digress.

[loftguy]

Jos. A Bank scares me too. I went in during one of the buy 1 get 2 free sales and saw their golf shirts are $85. Even after dividing by 3, no thanks. Suits may be different, I didn't get that deep into the store.

My #1 suit came from Brooks Brothers outlet on sale. Great suit I think I paid $200. Coincidently, my father-in-law bought the same suit around the same time at a non-outlet and paid something like $800. We wore them to an event shortly after purchase and were twins. It was cute. I digress.

And to think I hated it when my wife bought matching shirts for us.

[phuqueue]

My #1 suit came from Brooks Brothers outlet on sale. Great suit I think I paid $200. Coincidently, my father-in-law bought the same suit around the same time at a non-outlet and paid something like $800. We wore them to an event shortly after purchase and were twins. It was cute. I digress.

Yeah the outlet store always has a two for $500 deal going on and during sales you can do even better than that (I got two for $380 during a sale once by stacking the sale with a discount card that I unfortunately no longer have).

Whoever said Macy's earlier, they can be great during sales too, but at regular price I don't think they're going to beat regular price at the BB outlet. I got a Hugo Boss on sale at Macy's in St. Louis for like $250, marked down from $850, but have never seen such a good deal there again since.

[droopy]

We wore them to an event shortly after purchase and were twins. It was cute. I digress.

And to think I hated it when my wife bought matching shirts for us.

I hope you understood that we wore them not knowing we owned the same suit. Coincedence, not planned. I'm not sure why it felt important to me to clarify that but there you go...

[chrizow]

i'm always wary of so-called "outlets" because frequently labels will manufacture cheaply-made products destined specifically for their outlets, vs. just selling their regular merchandise at a discount. does BB sell actuall BB-store merchandise there, or have a dedicated pipeline of goods that go directly to the outlet?

for example, j. crew and banana republic outlets are a ripoff b/c they are inferior quality at barely any discount over the regular store.

[KCMax]

Thanks for the advice. I've heard bad things about Jos A. Bank. Will try BB Outlet and J. Crew, maybe hit up Nordstrom's or Macy's.

[smh]

Thanks for the advice. I've heard bad things about Jos A. Bank. Will try BB Outlet and J. Crew, maybe hit up Nordstrom's or Macy's.

What bad things about Jos. A Banks? I've bought suits there in the past, but I've considered moving on. Anything in particular cause concern?

[bobbyhawks]

Thanks for the advice. I've heard bad things about Jos A. Bank. Will try BB Outlet and J. Crew, maybe hit up Nordstrom's or Macy's.

What bad things about Jos. A Banks? I've bought suits there in the past, but I've considered moving on. Anything in particular cause concern?

I've bought from them in the past. The biggest problem I have with them is that their styles are very "older gentleman." And by that, I mean things that appeal to a 50 or 60 year-old. It's tough to find shirts without pockets, and I'm not a fan of having to wait for just the right promotion when I want a suit, then for another promotion when I want a belt, and another for a tie... but only the ties on one rack. For an everyday, conservative business suit, it is fine when the sale is there, but if you want something more contemporary, it is not the place to be looking. I'm still looking for an option that I think is worth promoting. Rick's can sometimes have great deals, but it is a total grab bag, and you should have an idea of what you want before going in.

[kcmetro]

i'm always wary of so-called "outlets" because frequently labels will manufacture cheaply-made products destined specifically for their outlets, vs. just selling their regular merchandise at a discount. does BB sell actuall BB-store merchandise there, or have a dedicated pipeline of goods that go directly to the outlet?

for example, j. crew and banana republic outlets are a ripoff b/c they are inferior quality at barely any discount over the regular store.

Don't J. Crew jeans typically run about $80 or so? I bought a pair at the Legends outlet for $35 and they fit great. But yeah, I do agree that the outlets typically don't carry the same merchandise as the regular stores. I used to buy from the B.R. outlet, but haven't in a while because their offerings suck.

[phuqueue]

i'm always wary of so-called "outlets" because frequently labels will manufacture cheaply-made products destined specifically for their outlets, vs. just selling their regular merchandise at a discount. does BB sell actuall BB-store merchandise there, or have a dedicated pipeline of goods that go directly to the outlet?

for example, j. crew and banana republic outlets are a ripoff b/c they are inferior quality at barely any discount over the regular store.

I haven't been in the BB outlet in a couple years, so I'm speaking from memory here, but I think the only suits they carry in the outlet store are their 346 line, which I think are direct to the outlet (although I do have a friend who's really into suits who, the first time I saw the 2/$500 deal at BB outlet, told me he bought a suit of the same line for $800 at a regular store; maybe he was mistaken about what line he had or maybe they do pop up in the real stores, I'm not really sure, although that also jibes with droopy's story too). It's their bottom-shelf brand in any case and as such it's not up to the level of their main brands, but it's still a nice suit that, particularly if you buy during a sale, could cost as little as 10% of what you would pay for one of their main brands in one of their regular stores. Whether that trade off is acceptable for you obviously depends on exactly what you need the suit for.

Edit: Google search reveals that the outlets do also get merchandise from the retail stores, but it's sporadic and depends entirely on what the retailers have been able to sell. Retail merchandise evidently gets a 60% discount when it turns up in the outlet. I don't think I ever saw any of the main brands at the VW outlet (but I've only been there three times, none recently), but I guess it's still worth a shot.

[chrizow]

nice, i'll have to give it a shot.