Where to find the right suit for a wedding

August 31, 2014 10:52 PM

Where in NYC can I get a good, high-quality suit for an upcoming wedding? Special-suit-snowflake details inside

I’m the best man at a wedding. I’ve been told I need a suit in a medium grey (not dark, or charcoal grey) in a solid, not-striped, fabric, to go well with a yellow tie. Here are some pictures from Google Images of this combination.

Since I wear a suit a couple other times each year and need a new one anyway, I want to get something high quality, and want it to fit me well, avoiding an overly boxy look. I don’t trust myself to judge a suit's quality on my own by examining it, so despite reading various suit buyer’s guides where they talk about the details of how suits are constructed, I’d prefer to just go to a store known to have good quality and style and avoid picking through tons of suits on the racks of a place like Men’s Wearhouse. I'd like to spend less than $900 or so.

I’ve tried Suit Supply, and their suits seem overly slim-cut for me. I had to size up the jacket and the shoulders were too big. At Brooks Brothers they had one medium grey solid suit, and it fit great, but it was $2100. Their other BB suits that fit me well were all dark grey. I read about the brands they sell at Macy’s (Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss) and they get bad reviews as being poorly made and overpriced.

I have about a month, so there's not enough time for custom. Where should I go to find the best suit for me and what brand(s) should I look for?

posted by lsemel to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (9 answers total)

Theory has a couple options that may work for you; with pants and jacket they run just under $900.
posted by mountmccabe at 11:27 PM on August 31, 2014

I would think My Suit would work perfectly for you.
posted by minervous at 6:01 AM on September 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

Suit Supply.

They have a store in Soho and one on Madison Ave.
posted by functionequalsform at 6:20 AM on September 1, 2014

I'm going to refute what you've heard about Macy's. Husbunny has both a Ralph Lauren and a Calvin Klein suit from Macys and for the twice a year he wears them, they're decently made and he looks dashing in them.

You don't need to pay what you'd spend on a sofa for a suit you won't wear every week. Would I wear either of Husbunny's suits weekly for a couple of years? No. But they are perfectly cromulent for what he needs them for. Also we got out of there for about $250 on the Ralph Lauren suit, which I think is about what you should spend on a twice-a-year suit. I fully expect it to last until it goes out of style.

There's a sale today, and there are coupons on the website and online and behind the counter. So go find one you like, and have it tailored to fit you perfectly. Pick up a couple of cool shirt and tie combos while you're there. Take that $600 you saved and buy yourself a gorgeous watch.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 6:28 AM on September 1, 2014

You can get a bespoke suit from Bindle & Keep for $900. They are exquisite. You will get so many amazing details and your own personal preferences can be included in the look, type of fabric, type of pockets, and many other small details. You will feel like a million bucks and look for opportunities to wear your suit. Pay the extra $100 and get a custom shirt while you're there. So so so so good.

Daniel will come to your apartment or you can go to his place. He has a few other people working for him too, and they are really kind and very helpful. Show up with a bunch of photos of specific suits you like and it'll give you some frame of reference.

Edited to add: crap, sorry, didn't see the part about the time-frame. It takes about 8 weeks so it won't work for you this time, but see if you can fit it into your budget for next year and plan to get one made BEFORE summer wedding season.
posted by barnone at 6:57 AM on September 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

My husband had his suit for our wedding custom made to his measurements through indochino.com for about $800. They made him a custom shirt too, which was great because all of his shirts fit him in the shoulders and neck, but were way too big around the middle. The pants they made weren't as slim cut as the look we preferred (they just didn't have that style as an option), so we had my wedding-gown tailor take them in for like $25-50. The ordering process took something like six weeks, but, if you have that kind of time, I definitely recommend it. In my opinion, fit is everything when it comes to looking good in a suit.
posted by bookishandbelle at 7:07 AM on September 1, 2014

I don't have experience with either of these places, but since the question is unanswered, here are a couple of other options: Freemans and Bonobos, which has locations where you can try on suits.

I also think the suits from J. Crew are really nice, and there happens to be a 30% off sale today. Take a look at the Crosby. Plenty of stores in the City where you can check the suits out in person.
posted by amicus at 11:44 AM on September 1, 2014

+1 to J. Crew suiting - they don't break the bank and look great. Go try on a few of the options in person, and order a different size in the specific color if needed.
posted by barnone at 12:37 PM on September 1, 2014

Best answer: In a reasonable chunk of one day you can hit the suit departments of Macy's, Lord & Taylor, Bloomingdale's, and Bergdorf's. They all have big, professionally-staffed suit departments who would be happy to show you what's what. I'd start with Bergdorf's in part because they are likely to be out of your price range but can set your level in terms of what's out there in design and cut, and then move to Bloomingdale's, where you'll be on the lower end of their price range, and finally to Macy's and Lord & Taylor where you are in the sweet spot for price and will be ready to make a decision.
posted by MattD at 1:49 PM on September 1, 2014 [1 favorite]