Conservative Suit for Law Firm Interviews -- BB or an Alternative?

[Lawlz]

First of all, I apologize for the standard question. I have searched this forum and other forums pretty thoroughly, which has given me some ideas, but I'd like to narrow it down.

I just finished my first year of law school. My only suit was one that most people seem to describe as charcoal (or "slate&quot, although when I look very closely at it I can see navy and brown threads atop the grayish base. I decided I needed more suits, especially as I was wearing mine every day at my summer job, and interviews were coming up. Thinking about colors, I decided to get a brown and a gray, both without any kind of stripe. I naively went by Men's Wearhouse, saw the 2-for-1, and was sold two brown suits. (To be honest, I thought one of them was dark gray: even now, I can only see that it's brown if bright light hits it just the right way. The other is similarly dark, with olive pinstripes. I now realize that Men's Wearhouse is considered super-tacky and used-car-salesman-ish, but I actually kind of like them; I really like earthtones.)

Anyway, I then learned that it's navy or charcoal, period, for interviews, and that apparently they expect something a bit classier. (I have never really until now been a part of sufficiently "classy", or more bluntly "well-to-do", circles to have learned which suits are considered tacky and which aren't.) I've resolved to pick up a single unimpeachably-conservative and formal suit for interviews and other such special occasions where I really want to be uncontroversial. Brooks Brothers sounds like a great choice: it's supposed to be pretty high quality, as well as very conservative and generally understated.

It turns out I just missed their big summer sale, which kind of hurts. Is it still worth the money if bought at sticker price? Are there any good alternatives? I don't mind spending a lot here, as this is going to be my One Good Suit, although I am nonetheless a student and of limited means, so "a lot" still probably means, at most, creeping into the lower reaches of four figures.

I went by a Brooks Brothers store today, and tried on a few suits. My usual problem with suits is that they tend to be a bit tight in the shoulders and a bit baggy on the rest of the torso. I was told that although they can make suits a bit more snug around the upper chest, it's a big hassle and kind of expensive, as they have to take the arms off and such. The salesperson recommended an 1818 Fitzgerald in 40R, which seemed to be only a little tight on the shoulders and not too loose around the chest. There was both a solid charcoal and a herringbone charcoal; I thought the herringbone looked nice, but given that this is a one-purpose suit for special occasions on which I need to be totally non-controversial, I wonder if it might be best to err on the side of totally solid. It's going for $900, less 15% if I get that card and plus whatever tailoring costs. I'll also want to pick up an interview-okay super-formal shirt and tie, as well as a belt and shoes to replace my current ones.

If anyone has any suggestions, either for what I should get at BB (should I get the Golden Fleece thing? Something made to measure? A different 1818?) or what other stores I might want to consider in the SF Bay Area, I'd immensely appreciate it: this is a big investment and I'd like to be sure about what I'm doing.

In addition, as for style, what do you guys think? I have pale skin and dark brown hair; I'm about 5'11" and about 175 pounds. Given that it's summer, should I go a bit lighter? How light can I go? How light should I go? I'm really ignorant as to color names, unfortunately. Herringbone or solid?

I recognize that a lot of this is personal taste, or alternately minor things which one shouldn't worry about finding a "right answer" for too much, but I'd like to appeal to your collective knowledge as to what makes for an impeccably conservative suit that I can bring out when I need to avoid stepping on any toes.

As an aside: I'm pretty ignorant as to fashion, but I'm starting to develop a liking for formalwear. For some reason, I just really enjoy the whole suit, tie, and shirt thing. I even have a copy of "Dressing the Man" coming in the mail. So in short, don't worry, I'm not a super-boring person...just someone who at the moment needs a super-boring suit.

 

[MrDaniels]

Let us know what city you are in so we can narrow down shopping choices and get a grip on the local fashion standards.


You should focus on a suit that will serve you year-round for client meetings and court appearances. You really cannot go wrong with a solid, Navy blue.


And may that Men's Wearhouse SalesPimp burn in hell for selling two brown suits to a young man with limited funds and a beginner's suit wardrobe.

 

[Joenobody0]

I wouldn't pay $900 or anywhere near it for a BB 1818 suit. They often have sales. Unless you absolutely need the suit right now, I'd wait for one.

If you're around SF and willing to pay nearly $1000, check out The Hound. It's a block or two away from BB. They sell Samuelson (sp) which are far nicer than the 1818 suits. See what they charge for them at The Hound.

 

[Captain Winky]

They still have sale suits online:

http://www.brooksbrothers.com/IWCatS...color=&sortby=

What the sales rep told you is crap, if the shoulders fit then a competent tailor can take in the back w/o taking off the arms. A perfectionist (or someone wanting to upsell you) will claim this is required, but that's really only the case if the shoulder is too big.

 

[jc138]

Originally Posted by Lawlz

First of all, I apologize for the standard question. I have searched this forum and other forums pretty thoroughly, which has given me some ideas, but I'd like to narrow it down. I just finished my first year of law school. My only suit was one that most people seem to describe as charcoal (or "slate"), although when I look very closely at it I can see navy and brown threads atop the grayish base. I decided I needed more suits, especially as I was wearing mine every day at my summer job, and interviews were coming up. Thinking about colors, I decided to get a brown and a gray, both without any kind of stripe. I naively went by Men's Wearhouse, saw the 2-for-1, and was sold two brown suits. (To be honest, I thought one of them was dark gray: even now, I can only see that it's brown if bright light hits it just the right way. The other is similarly dark, with olive pinstripes. I now realize that Men's Wearhouse is considered super-tacky and used-car-salesman-ish, but I actually kind of like them; I really like earthtones.) Anyway, I then learned that it's navy or charcoal, period, for interviews, and that apparently they expect something a bit classier. (I have never really until now been a part of sufficiently "classy", or more bluntly "well-to-do", circles to have learned which suits are considered tacky and which aren't.) I've resolved to pick up a single unimpeachably-conservative and formal suit for interviews and other such special occasions where I really want to be uncontroversial. Brooks Brothers sounds like a great choice: it's supposed to be pretty high quality, as well as very conservative and generally understated. It turns out I just missed their big summer sale, which kind of hurts. Is it still worth the money if bought at sticker price? Are there any good alternatives? I don't mind spending a lot here, as this is going to be my One Good Suit, although I am nonetheless a student and of limited means, so "a lot" still probably means, at most, creeping into the lower reaches of four figures. I went by a Brooks Brothers store today, and tried on a few suits. My usual problem with suits is that they tend to be a bit tight in the shoulders and a bit baggy on the rest of the torso. I was told that although they can make suits a bit more snug around the upper chest, it's a big hassle and kind of expensive, as they have to take the arms off and such. The salesperson recommended an 1818 Fitzgerald in 40R, which seemed to be only a little tight on the shoulders and not too loose around the chest. There was both a solid charcoal and a herringbone charcoal; I thought the herringbone looked nice, but given that this is a one-purpose suit for special occasions on which I need to be totally non-controversial, I wonder if it might be best to err on the side of totally solid. It's going for $900, less 15% if I get that card and plus whatever tailoring costs. I'll also want to pick up an interview-okay super-formal shirt and tie, as well as a belt and shoes to replace my current ones. If anyone has any suggestions, either for what I should get at BB (should I get the Golden Fleece thing? Something made to measure? A different 1818?) or what other stores I might want to consider in the SF Bay Area, I'd immensely appreciate it: this is a big investment and I'd like to be sure about what I'm doing. In addition, as for style, what do you guys think? I have pale skin and dark brown hair; I'm about 5'11" and about 175 pounds. Given that it's summer, should I go a bit lighter? How light can I go? How light should I go? I'm really ignorant as to color names, unfortunately. Herringbone or solid? I recognize that a lot of this is personal taste, or alternately minor things which one shouldn't worry about finding a "right answer" for too much, but I'd like to appeal to your collective knowledge as to what makes for an impeccably conservative suit that I can bring out when I need to avoid stepping on any toes. As an aside: I'm pretty ignorant as to fashion, but I'm starting to develop a liking for formalwear. For some reason, I just really enjoy the whole suit, tie, and shirt thing. I even have a copy of "Dressing the Man" coming in the mail. So in short, don't worry, I'm not a super-boring person...just someone who at the moment needs a super-boring suit.
Brooks suits have very narrow shoulders, which makes them great for people with narrow shoulders (like me), but not so good for the rest of the world (probably you). Shop around a bit to see what brand of suit fits you best.

For interviews, I'd stay away from fashion brands (prada and whatnot), but any conservative suit maker would be fine.

For colors/pattern: Solid charcoal or solid navy, classic not lighter color. No herringbone.

 

[lawyerdad]

I agree that solid navy or charcoal is ideal. That said, it will matter a whole lot less than people suggest. You'll be interviewing with people that know you're in school, and who thus will not expect you to necessarily have a closet full of business suits. I suspect that your brown Mens Wearhouse suits are fine as 2nd and third suits -- especially if you like them, because feeling comfortable and confident is a huge part of how you present in an interview.

That said, if you're considering BB, I certainly don't think it's worth it at this point in your career to spend extra money to go with GF rather than 1818 (as others have suggested, you're overpaying substantially for 1818 at $900).

I disagree with SGhost that you should care a whit about pick stitching in looking for an acceptable interview suit. You want something that looks professional and that fits you. Period.

 

[TheFoo]

You will all accuse me of snobbery, no doubt, but I'll go ahead and say it anyways: every example of pick-stitching I've seen in an inexpensive suit looks terrible.

 

[Lawlz]

Thank you all so much for your helpful replies. It's great to have a knowledgeable clothing resource with no vested financial interest in my purchases. It sounds like BB might not be the best place to look. I'll try out The Hound and ehaberdasher to see if I can find something nice. Do you have any recommendations as to particular manufacturers/brands that would be ideal for a very restrained interview suit?

Originally Posted by MrDaniels

Let us know what city you are in so we can narrow down shopping choices and get a grip on the local fashion standards.
I'm in the San Francisco area, specifically the East Bay. As for fashion standards, the firms I'll be interviewing with will be a mix of SF and DC firms; to the extent possible, I'd like to err on the side of universality rather than local-fit for this suit. (I'll also be working a few weeks in Japan this summer, but I don't think I'll even need a suit...my old charcoal one should be fine for that after it's been dry cleaned and the abrasions/frayed threads have been repaired. Although I might well be in Japan in the future with a firm...I have no idea what they wear, other than that it's very, very conservative. I'll try emailing the firm I'll be with this summer and asking what people wear.)

Originally Posted by MrDaniels

And may that Men's Wearhouse SalesPimp burn in hell for selling two brown suits to a young man with limited funds and a beginner's suit wardrobe.
I figure I deserve some blame for not doing some basic research, but it was kind of a "Oh, hey! Sales weekend!" moment. And it wasn't until later that I learned that they always try to push brown suits on people during these sales. (To be honest, my "intuition" was that brown would be more formal than navy.) I'll see if they'll take them back.

Originally Posted by Joenobody0

If you're around SF and willing to pay nearly $1000, check out The Hound. It's a block or two away from BB. They sell Samuelson (sp) which are far nicer than the 1818 suits. See what they charge for them at The Hound.
Thanks for the suggestion! I'll stop by after work today and see what they have. They probably have a nice range of suits, or at least more than the BB store I was at. (To tell the truth, I was kind of surprised at how limited the selection of 40R (not an uncommon size, right?) suits was at BB. There were maybe three or four that weren't striped or otherwise unusual. I feel kind of weird putting down huge money for a pricey, special occasion suit when I'm only choosing between a few options.)

Originally Posted by Captain Winky

They still have sale suits online: http://www.brooksbrothers.com/IWCatS...color=&sortby=
The online sale suits seem to be limited to striped ones. (Or else two-for-one.) Since I'm going for a super-unobjectionable suit that I can rely on for interviews and the like, my impression is that stripes might not be the wisest move.

Originally Posted by Captain Winky

What the sales rep told you is crap, if the shoulders fit then a competent tailor can take in the back w/o taking off the arms. A perfectionist (or someone wanting to upsell you) will claim this is required, but that's really only the case if the shoulder is too big.
This is really helpful; I'm not very knowledgeable about suit construction, so I didn't really have a basis from which to question the sales rep's comment.

Originally Posted by SartorialGhostOfVTR

Now that we've cleared that up, let's talk about a very important issue: fit.
I've run into this advice in a few other places, and it makes sense to me. I'll see about finding a tailor; maybe I can even give my old charcoal suit some new life. (Although it's kind of worn out...I'll have to see how much the dry cleaners can do to repair the wear and tear in order to gauge how much usable life it has left, and decide if it's prudent to put money into tailoring it.)

Originally Posted by SartorialGhostOfVTR

Now, where would I suggest getting a suit? It depends on your price-range (which I may have glossed over in the original post). People here don't like Jos. A Bank, but if there's one near you, you can get pretty nice prices on their signature and signature gold suits. Since you're looking for something that's going to be beat up pretty harshly during your law school days, it wouldn't hurt to start with something like this to get you prepped for "the big guns."
That seems pretty reasonable. I'll keep them in mind as a place I might go later when I need a decent suit that I can afford to wear regularly.

Originally Posted by SartorialGhostOfVTR

Recently, I've been considering buying a suit from ehaberdasher. Their Benjamin suit seems like a very nice prospect. For the $499 price tag and the quality, it could be a steal. As you said, Brooks Brothers is another solid choice, but their prices don't come close to the other two aforementioned companies (though some would argue about quality).
Thanks for the recommendation. They seem pretty affordable. The Benjamin looks quite nice. Do any of the other models seem particularly appropriate for an interview/special occasion First Nice Suit?

 

[Lawlz]

What do people think about this? http://www.ehaberdasher.com/servlet/...et-cln-/Detail It almost seems brownish in the second close-up picture, although that might just be an overcorrection on my part in response to my Men's Wearhouse experience. (When I was at BB, I went straight for the black suits, thinking "Surely THOSE are charcoal and not taupe!") (I should add that I do like dark brown and, if it's not too big a faux pas, I'd love to wear some dark brown suits in non-interview contexts – I really like the earthtone combinations. But I don't mean to get onto that apparently-controversial topic right here.) I guess I would need to get the pants separately somehow, though. How about this Stile Latino one? What's the deal with "mohair"? http://www.ehaberdasher.com/servlet/...dsh-40R/Detail Or this one, also a Stile Latino? ("charcoal melange"...?) http://www.ehaberdasher.com/servlet/...dsh-40R/Detail There are a lot of brands listed on ehaberdasher; when you think of always-safe, super-conservative suits, do any of them spring to mind? (Or perhaps I should ask: do any of them seem noticeably unnoticeable or strikingly subtle?) Assuming I can do so without getting killed in a riot after the Mehserle verdict, I might go by The Hound and ask them a similar question.

 

[minervau]

Good ideas all around -- eHaberdasher has some good deals, particularly the Benjamin suits and the Caruso suits for around $650 or so. Caruso's are very well-made garments, levels above a BB 1818 in quality, and are a steal for $200-300 less than you'd pay for that Fitzgerald.

One of the important things to do is figure out your measurements: shoulders across the back, chest, waist, etc. Those measurements should help you decide what suit fits you best on online sites like eHaberdasher that give those measures. Keep in mind that you don't want your suit to be skin-tight, of course, so (for instance) the suit chest should be around +2" greater than the diameter of your chest when measured with measuring tape.

 

[leito]

How acceptable would a birdseye navy be for interviews?

 

[Marcus Brody]

If you live near a Saks Off Fifth/Nordstrom's Rack/Century 21 you might stop in and see if they have anything like Hickey Freeman or Hart Schaffner Marx suits in the style you're looking for. It might be hard as you wear a fairly common size and are looking for a solid color, but you might get lucky and score a deal. I think of both of those brands being solid, conservative "interview" suits.

 

[ramuman]

I think we may have a sock amongst us.

 

[MrDaniels]

I am going to also stand up for Jos A Bank. It is a much better entry-level place for a young guy starting out, and at least they don't have the ugly, tacky clothing of TMW.

But, if I were you I would go to whatever Nordstrom is closest to San Francisco's business district. They have very good sales staff that won't send you in the wrong direction.

 

[Archivist]

In addition to the Hound, you might check out Hickey Freeman. I don't know if they have a sale on right now.
767 Market Street
(415) 896-9370

Tailors in SF: I've had good luck with Franz Custom Tailors. They are not cheap, but they do good work.
166 Geary Street
Suite 403
(415) 986-2044

I've never used her, but I have had good recommendations for Sofia Merwin at Castro Street Tailors
(4150 431-7222