Urgent suit + tailoring in Berkeley or SF (on the cheap)?
June 15, 2016 2:07 PM Subscribe
Asking for a friend:
Vacationing in Berkeley and will fly straight from here to a job interview in another city. I don't have a suit with me, interview is a surprise (yay). Need to procure a freshly tailored new (man's) suit between right now and Friday afternoon.
Also, budget is a thing. I know it can't be good, cheap and quick, so I'll sacrifice good. Where do I go? (Must be BART/AC Transit accessible.)
Not sure if this deal is still on or if it's easy to get to (I don't know the SF bay area at all), but my fiance just bought a suit and it was surprisingly affordable and easily handled.
1. Macy's sells Kenneth Cole Reaction suits for like $150. No idea what your job interview is and how fancy your suit is expected to be. Or what your body type/how easy to fit you are. But my fiance (medium height, biggish build but not outside the range of normal men's sizes) was able to get one of these suits and then get it tailored affordably for a perfectly appropriate "I'm not terribly picky about suits" fit. I went shopping with him to make sure he didn't get something too ill-fitting, because he doesn't really wear suits.
2. We then took the $150 Macy's suit to our neighborhood tailor shop, where they will be shortening the sleeves of the jacket and the pants legs. I believe it cost in the neighborhood of $50. The sleeve shortening was the expensive part.
I can't speak to shirt, tie, etc. as he already has dress shirts and ties that fit him/knows how to shop for that stuff. But surely an extra few bucks at Macy's will get you sorted with this as well. As for dress shoes, sorry, I can't be any help at all. Buffalo Exchange or the like, maybe?
posted by Sara C. at 2:24 PM on June 15, 2016
1. Macy's sells Kenneth Cole Reaction suits for like $150. No idea what your job interview is and how fancy your suit is expected to be. Or what your body type/how easy to fit you are. But my fiance (medium height, biggish build but not outside the range of normal men's sizes) was able to get one of these suits and then get it tailored affordably for a perfectly appropriate "I'm not terribly picky about suits" fit. I went shopping with him to make sure he didn't get something too ill-fitting, because he doesn't really wear suits.
2. We then took the $150 Macy's suit to our neighborhood tailor shop, where they will be shortening the sleeves of the jacket and the pants legs. I believe it cost in the neighborhood of $50. The sleeve shortening was the expensive part.
I can't speak to shirt, tie, etc. as he already has dress shirts and ties that fit him/knows how to shop for that stuff. But surely an extra few bucks at Macy's will get you sorted with this as well. As for dress shoes, sorry, I can't be any help at all. Buffalo Exchange or the like, maybe?
posted by Sara C. at 2:24 PM on June 15, 2016
At the Powell street station of BART (downtown SF) you have Macy's and Nordstroms Rack. Both should be able to whatever tailoring you need in a hurry. Both should have a wide variety of suit sizes available, with many not even needing tailoring if you're lucky.
The Nordstroms Rack offers discounts on very nice suits.
posted by blob at 2:37 PM on June 15, 2016
The Nordstroms Rack offers discounts on very nice suits.
posted by blob at 2:37 PM on June 15, 2016
Best answer: If you have a suitable suit (ha) at home maybe it would be cheaper to overnight it to your hotel in the interview city?
posted by rainbowbrite at 2:41 PM on June 15, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by rainbowbrite at 2:41 PM on June 15, 2016 [5 favorites]
Came to mention the Nordstrom Rack. If you know your measurements, you might be able to snag an affordable already-tailored one. I get almost all of my work clothes there.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 3:23 PM on June 15, 2016
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 3:23 PM on June 15, 2016
Suit seperates at a department store? If they're close enough, dont need tailoring and cheap.
posted by TheAdamist at 3:27 PM on June 15, 2016
posted by TheAdamist at 3:27 PM on June 15, 2016
Response by poster: Thanks, all! He's going to have someone get into his house and overnight a suit from home.
posted by OrangeVelour at 3:30 PM on June 15, 2016
posted by OrangeVelour at 3:30 PM on June 15, 2016
If Nordstrom Rack does what you need, there's also one in Emeryville, which is closer to Berkeley than downtown SF.
posted by vunder at 3:30 PM on June 15, 2016
posted by vunder at 3:30 PM on June 15, 2016
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by gregr at 2:20 PM on June 15, 2016