Bespoke suits out of college

[josepidal]

I'm in a little of this situation, and if I had the money, I'd certainly buy a couple sets of basics, shoes included, and then work from there. A young man out of college, starting from the bottom, may have a justified desire to impress when there's an occasion to do so.

A lot of the above suggestions are excellent.

 

[kirbya]

My opinion is that it's always nice to have one nice suit, even as a college grad. I recently graduated college and purchased a similar suit (however, for more like $2k, not $5k), and get a fair amount of use from it. More than that, I look forward to and love every opportunity to wear it. That said, I do not think you'd need more than one, and getting a Kiton or Brioni might be a little much. I would recommend finding a nice tailor in NYC that could do something a little more reasonable for you (reasonable in the context of bespoke, which relative to off the rack many would consider flagrantly unreasonable). As an IB analyst, speaking from experience, you'll hate life. Wearing a nice suit that you endulged in might be a bright spot.

Kirby P.S. Your money would go much further and get better use on some custom shirts. This has been my current MO, switching my spending away from coats and shoes towards custom shirts.

Originally Posted by nelly

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.

 

[epa]

I guess that I am one of these guys having "cases of sour-grape". In any case, I remember when I had to start wearing suits to work: I got a bit desperate about it and bought too many suits (luckily, of bad quality) that I thought looked just great. As my taste started to develop, I realized that they didn't look that great. Now, you might consider that with high-end suits, I wouldn't have had this problem, but I am not sure; taste develops and all Brionis do not look great forewer. Nelly, you may have a very developed taste, but if you are not sure, I would suggest you to start slowly and not to spend the big money until you are reasonably sure of what you want and that you are likely to want the same for some years at least. (If you feel that you have too much money, invite some woman you like to a nice restaurant now and then, and/or give some money to charity).

 

[gdl203]

Originally Posted by edmorel

(of course I also don't make the high 7 figure income that gdl makes

)

LOL

I wish! I'm no first year analyst but I'm no MD either...

 

[JBZ]

Originally Posted by gdl203

LOL

I wish! I'm no first year analyst but I'm no MD either...

And over the weekend, Vincent Chase fired you.

 

[auto90403]

Originally Posted by pejsek

I don't mean to be strident, but this is ridiculous. Bespoke is not a magic incantation (okay, well maybe it is but only in a far more roundabout way). For those without unusual fit issues, high quality rtw nearly always delivers greater style than entry level bespoke. I've seen some truly wonderful things from Henry Poole, yet I've also seen some authentic mediocrities from that very same legend of tailoring. More than anything else, bespoke is the product of a relation between tailor and client. It would be surprising if things were to work out perfectly from the beginning (not that it doesn't happen from time to time). And that's just the conversation part. From the business angle, if you are going to get serious attention and the services of the best cutters, sewers, etc. the tailor must be convinced that you are in this for the long haul, that they can count on you to order several things from them every year for many years to come. It's not as simple as just going in, getting measured up, and then coming back for a couple of fittings. Over time you will come to know what you want and you will have a relationship with the tailor that can translate that into clothing. JLibourel appears to have done this with Chan. That's the magic part. But short of that, high quality rtw will give you harmonious styling and construction that you will be free to judge and take or leave as you wish. It's a far less costly and risky proposition (especially when you may not be sure about what features you want and how those may fit together).


Hear, hear!

I've bought numerous MTM suits on Savile Row without ever establishing a long-term relationship with any of their makers. Are the suits well-made? Yes. Are they worth the money? Not really.

I'm much happier with high-end RTW.

 

[auto90403]

Originally Posted by epa

About 10 years ago, I remember my boss at that time and I interviewing young engineers for a trainee position. There was this very nice girl who qualified well for the position, but she had never worked. However, according to her CV, she liked sailing and skiing and had her own car. My ex-boss and I agreed that it sounded like her parents having spoilt her a bit, and we were looking for responsible people, prepared to work hard. She did not get the job (we actually hired another person, who had spent her summer vacations working for MacDonald's; it turned out to be a good choice). For the same reason, someone showing up in a Brioni suit might have faced similar problems. I seriously think that a young person may give a better impression if choosing less expensive clothes. I think style is not primarily about money: it is more about knowing to choose the right stuff within the limits of your budget. If your budget has no limits, this may be good for you, of course. However, it may still be a good idea not to make this fact evident to your boss and your colleagues, at least not from the very beginning. Actually, your boss may still be dreaming about getting his first bespoke Brioni, and seeing this young guy having five different ones at the age of just above 20 may be a frustrating experience.


If Nelly's an entry-level spreadsheet jockey at a private equity shop or hedge fund where people wear expensive clothes, then his wearing MTM Brioni and Kiton may send exactly the right signal.

And the right signal in this case may be "I live an expensive life and I will work ****** off for you in order to afford my lifestyle."

Don't compare engineers with small Wall Street shops.

 

[epa]

Originally Posted by auto90403

If Nelly's an entry-level spreadsheet jockey at a private equity shop or hedge fund where people wear expensive clothes, then his wearing MTM Brioni and Kiton may send exactly the right signal.

And the right signal in this case may be "I live an expensive life and I will work ****** off for you in order to afford my lifestyle."

Don't compare engineers with small Wall Street shops.
I guess that you are right. I do not know what kind of signals you are expected to send on Wall Street. Actually, I am not even familiar with U.S. dress norms. I guess that my point of view is, basically, German. Nelly, forget all of what I have said! I do not want to feel guilty if your career fails due to sloppy clothing!

 

[gdl203]

Originally Posted by JBZ

And over the weekend, Vincent Chase fired you.

True. But I cannot imagine that will last long. There's simply no show without Ari

 

[edmorel]

Originally Posted by auto90403

If Nelly's an entry-level spreadsheet jockey at a private equity shop or hedge fund where people wear expensive clothes, then his wearing MTM Brioni and Kiton may send exactly the right signal.

And the right signal in this case may be "I live an expensive life and I will work ****** off for you in order to afford my lifestyle."

Don't compare engineers with small Wall Street shops.

I've yet to visit a hedge fund where they weren't running around in fleece vests and pleated khaki's. Private equity is a different story if you are going to work at a place like KKR or Blackstone, where the dress is more formal. But then, if you are making 75k and you walk in with a 5k suit and 1k shoes, the powers that be might think to themselves that you would do anything, including stealing from them, to maintain your lifestyle

On a side note, there seems to be a lot of people in the equity business on this forum. Maybe we should start our own PE shop. We'll have a strict dress code (your daily outfit must retail for greater than 5k) and we'll raise money for a buyout fund that will specialize in high-end manufacturers and retailers. Once we have the funds, we'll buyout Bergdorfs men's business, buyout Kiton and Brioni, throw in a couple of the bespoke British and Neopolitan clothing and shoe makers and then a couple of cashmere and wool mills for good measure. We'll have pick of the litter for all of our clothing needs! How will we make money for our investors?? When you look as good as we will, who cares

 

[gdl203]

Originally Posted by edmorel

On a side note, there seems to be a lot of people in the equity business on this forum. Maybe we should start our own PE shop. We'll have a strict dress code (your daily outfit must retail for greater than 5k) and we'll raise money for a buyout fund that will specialize in high-end manufacturers and retailers. Once we have the funds, we'll buyout Bergdorfs men's business, buyout Kiton and Brioni, throw in a couple of the bespoke British and Neopolitan clothing and shoe makers and then a couple of cashmere and wool mills for good measure. We'll have pick of the litter for all of our clothing needs! How will we make money for our investors?? When you look as good as we will, who cares

I'm in!

 

[mrchapel]

Originally Posted by edmorel

I've yet to visit a hedge fund where they weren't running around in fleece vests and pleated khaki's. Private equity is a different story if you are going to work at a place like KKR or Blackstone, where the dress is more formal. But then, if you are making 75k and you walk in with a 5k suit and 1k shoes, the powers that be might think to themselves that you would do anything, including stealing from them, to maintain your lifestyle

On a side note, there seems to be a lot of people in the equity business on this forum. Maybe we should start our own PE shop. We'll have a strict dress code (your daily outfit must retail for greater than 5k) and we'll raise money for a buyout fund that will specialize in high-end manufacturers and retailers. Once we have the funds, we'll buyout Bergdorfs men's business, buyout Kiton and Brioni, throw in a couple of the bespoke British and Neopolitan clothing and shoe makers and then a couple of cashmere and wool mills for good measure. We'll have pick of the litter for all of our clothing needs! How will we make money for our investors?? When you look as good as we will, who cares

Count me in

!

 

[Thomas]

Is the 'rule' - the one where you dress one or two positions higher - still in effect? That might be applicable. Or how about the one about not making your boss look like a slob? That one kept me away from french cuffs for a while.

Just out of college - you have a long career ahead of you and plenty of time to climb the ladder or change jobs. I bought some suits out of college and not long afterwards wound up at a casual workplace. Hello khakis and polos. Blue jeans are not out of place at the current workplace.

Today my suits get dusted off for presentations and meetings. And though they're good enough quality to be suitable in any company, I didn't drop a fortune on them and I'm glad for that.

But that too can change...

 

[DShareef]

Originally Posted by edmorel

On a side note, there seems to be a lot of people in the equity business on this forum. Maybe we should start our own PE shop. We'll have a strict dress code (your daily outfit must retail for greater than 5k) and we'll raise money for a buyout fund that will specialize in high-end manufacturers and retailers. Once we have the funds, we'll buyout Bergdorfs men's business, buyout Kiton and Brioni, throw in a couple of the bespoke British and Neopolitan clothing and shoe makers and then a couple of cashmere and wool mills for good measure. We'll have pick of the litter for all of our clothing needs! How will we make money for our investors?? When you look as good as we will, who cares

I'm in!

 

[GQgeek]

For you people that work in casual environments, do you really think anyone would care if you wore dress pants and a sportsjacket instead of khakis? I just don't see the big deal. I think that in a lot of cases it's all in your heads. As long as you do your job well, I can't see how anyone would complain that you dress a bit better than everyone else. At first you might get a couple of comments asking why you're dressed up but my experience has been that people soon get used it and stop concerning themselves with it.