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Bespoke suits out of college

nelly

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Hi everyone, I'll be graduating college soon in the future. I was just wondering whether it's worth it to get MTM or bespoke suits from places like brioni or kiton right out of college. I'm guessing i'd be a lowly cubicle worker for the first couple of years.
 

EL72

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Sure, if you have at least $5k per suit to spend then go for it!
 

nelly

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I'm not underestimating, I know how much they cost.

Cost aside, I'm just wondering that relative to when I would be wearing them (in a cubicle going at it with Microsoft Excel) whether it's worth it. Say as a lowly investment banking analyst, you probably wouldn't see the light of day. And at that point, would it be better to just buy crap that will just throw away after two years instead of going high end right away.
 

edmorel

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My advice would be to set a budget, and them find the best quality you can get at your budget level. If you wear suits everyday, you'll need at least 5 so as to not run them down right away. There definitely won't be many, if any, first year analysts in any business donning Kiton, more like Brooks Brothers, but if $20,000-25,000 isn't an issue for you, then get 5-6 classic (navy and charcoal, 2 or 3 button, side vents and no wacky patterns) Kiton ot Brioni suits and they'll serve you well for many years as you climb the corporate ladder and they'll always be in style. Ideally, you'll need to add suits to your wardrobe so that you wear a suit once every two weeks at worst (10 suits). You can go cheaper and still get quality suits and have money left over for other stuff like food, but it sounds like you're a big hitter.
 

JLibourel

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I would also mention, depending on how old you actually are, that it might be prudent to wait a few years until your body size and type stabilize before blowing a large amount on bespoke attire. I am assuming that you are somewhere in your early-to-mid 20s. Usually a young fellow that age has some further filling out to do. Whether this is for good or ill will depend a lot on your lifestyle choices--diet, exercise, etc.
 

nelly

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I think going with your suggestion of a descent suit like BrooksBrothers the first few years is probably best. Eventually I'll try to upgrade. Thanks
 

kronik

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Originally Posted by JLibourel
I would also mention, depending on how old you actually are, that it might be prudent to wait a few years until your body size and type stabilize before blowing a large amount on bespoke attire. I am assuming that you are somewhere in your early-to-mid 20s. Usually a young fellow that age has some further filling out to do. Whether this is for good or ill will depend a lot on your lifestyle choices--diet, exercise, etc.
Seconded. Purchasing a bespoke suit can be a lifetime (of wearing a suit to work) investment. Buying one or five, for that matter, straight of college probably wouldn't be ideal unless you were absolutely confident that your body shape wasn't going to change for the next 20 years. Highly unlikely. Stick to the lower-priced quality suits before you start going for the bespoke high-end, jm2c.
 

Kent Wang

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You can also get a suit from Chan for $1k or so. I got one straight out of college when I was 21. Time will tell whether that was a smart move or not.
 

mrchapel

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Personally, if I had the money to go bespoke, I would go to Henry Poole and Co. located on Savile Row in London. But that's me. If you have the money, I'd go for it. Anything you get bespoke or MTM is going to look significantly better than anything you could find OTR.
 

edmorel

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Originally Posted by mrchapel
Personally, if I had the money to go bespoke, I would go to Henry Poole and Co. located on Savile Row in London. But that's me. If you have the money, I'd go for it. Anything you get bespoke or MTM is going to look significantly better than anything you could find OTR.

Interestinly enough, the current Men's Vogue has a family of men (a father and two sons) who are in business together and who all wear Poole, the dad for many years. You can't see a full view of the Dad, but the sons look medicore at best given that the suits are Poole. One son looks like he is wearing a Brooks sack suit and the other has pants that are about 2 inches too long. Neither one would stand out as very well dressed.
 

LabelKing

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I'm not particulary keen on Poole or Anderson & Sheppard, and others who tend to a less structured British cut.

In fact, the drape cut tends to look mediocre in most cases, while a military type coat almost always looks elegant.
 

acidboy

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if you can afford it, or somebody's financing your purchase, then i do not see why not.
 

JLibourel

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Originally Posted by Kent Wang
You can also get a suit from Chan for $1k or so. I got one straight out of college when I was 21. Time will tell whether that was a smart move or not.

I am another very satisfied customer of W.W. Chan. If you fancy bespoke, Chan is a very good waystation between Brooks or quality department store suits and full top-dollar bespoke. In fact, you may find that Chan is such an excellent value, you don't need to go any further.
 

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