Originally Posted by niidawg3
The key things to look for in a long lasting suit are:
01. Fabric: 100% wool. Most of Zara's suits are not 100% wool. Neither are H&M and Express. You will end up destroying these suits and then needing to buy another one.
02. Lapels: 3 inch lapels, at least. All the 2 inch-@!@ lapels you see will be out of style within 2 years. Avoid them with a plaque!! Peak vs Notch doesnt matter - but notch is more conservative and traditional than peak. Peak has its peaks and valleys ... no pun intended.
03. Gorge: Fairly high gorge, but not too high. The gorge is the gap between the top of your lapel and shoulder. The new trend is to have the gorge waay up close to the shoulder, please avoid that.
04. Chest: Your suit should fit your chest. When buttoned, it should form a straight V down your chest. Too many people walk around trying to wear slim suits and have bowed/bent lapels on their chest.
05. Length: In terms of length of the jacket, it should hit your knuck when you clench your fists. Or when you bend your fingers inside the jacket, it should touch the inside of your hands where your fingers bend.
06. Colors: Most versatile colors are charcoal or navy. Save yourself all the unique colors till you have a deeper wardrobe.
07. Shoulders: One of the most important fits of a suit is the shoulder. The shoulder of the suit should hug the shoulder of your body. Whether it is a structure shoulder, or soft shoulder it should fit your shoulder and drop gracefully down your arm. Here again Zara, H&M, Express and especially Mens Wearehouse fall atrociously short
08. Buttoning point: The buttoning point of the suit should be proportional to your body. In a 2 button suit, the first button should be above your navel, the second should be at the waist of your pants. In a 3 button, the second button should be above your navel, and the third button should be a touch below your waist.
09. Alterations: Alteration, alteration, alteration ... if you are not getting a Made-To-Measure or bespoke suit, please get your suit and promptly head to a reputably tailor for alterations. A reputable tailor will tell you the things that need fixing. If the chest/shoulders are part of his fix, your best bet is to send the suit back and look for a new one!! If your tailor is not reputable/not good enough after a couple tries, find a new tailor.
10. Cliff Notes: If you do not remember anything i said above - just remember ... 100% wool, chest fit, shoulder fit and alteration for a OneSuit!!!
There are other things like high armholes, lapel shape, cloth patterns and weights, other types of clothes like cotton, linen, cashmere etc ... but that is when you get to the next level and are not worrying about a OneSuit. For a OneSuit, keep it simple so you can use it for more things.
Your best bet for suits is Saks, Nordstrom or Bloomingdales. Try to catch them on a sale - and get your OneSuit through that. You WILL get a suit for less than 400 at these stores if you look hard, and they will be more quality, look better and last you longer than H&M, Zara, Express, Mens' Wearhouse etc. You can have some luck every so often on eBay, Marshalls etc, but that is more difficult if you dont have patience to keep looking. Go to Saks, Nordy and Bloomy's on a big sale weekend and you WILL have luck.
