Shopping for a young man

Kyle

Am hoping all you shopping mavens can point me in the right direction. My son turns 17 today (bittersweet moment for mom) and has a senior picture appt. soon. He has a suit, which is too big and neither of us like it at all. I'd really like to get him a stylish, age appropriate suit (probably in black), but I am torn. First of all, everything we've seen (Macy's and Dillards) looks like it's for old corporate men. My son is tall and very slim, and I think he would look great in a very slim cut suit with narrow legs. Haven't found anything even close yet. I might have better luck at J Crew or Banana, but is it sensible to spend $600 for a suit he may soon outgrow? I'm sure he'll wear it for more than the photo (dances, weddings, etc.) but I'm not quite sure where to go from here. Any ideas or recommendations?

16 years ago

Shopping

8 replies

Latest reply was from shiny

Maya

Veteran

Euro stores, hands down. They will be small enough and probably less old and fuddy duddy than what dept. stores have to ofer. They will probably be less expensive too. Does he need a full suit? I mean, is the picture only going to be from the chest up? I really do not think it's a sensible idea to get an expensive suit for a 17 year old just for a picture. I can't imagine he will get lots of use out of it at this age.

When I was in HS, most of the boys just wore a nice shirt, brought the jacket with them, and wore whatever they wanted on the bottom. That's why I'm wondering if a full suit is really necessary, or a nice jacket and shirt would do. Unless it will be used for other occasions.

16 years ago

Kyle

Veteran

Thanks, Maya...what do you mean by Euro store?

16 years ago

Sarah

(website)

Veteran

Kyle, we have had luck at Express for men's suits, and you can usually nab one for between $150 and $250. Their jackets are a slim cut, which is perfect for my husband. We couldn't afford a Hugo Boss suit, so we went with Express and were quite happy with it. Plus, if you go online you can print an in-store coupon that's good between now and the 19th.
Express is fairly stylish, and if you avoid the club looking wear, you can find nice age-appropriate things. And you won't have to drop a huge amount on a suit that he'll probably grow out of.
And even cheaper, we found Bryan a suit at Target for $120ish. He was in an out of state wedding and we left his suit at home. He still has the Target suit, and it really isn't half bad. Not designer or the best suit out there, but it worked in a pinch and he isn't standing out in the wedding photos in any strange way.

16 years ago

Maya

Veteran

European, like Zara or even H&M. He's young. He doesn't need a designer suit or anything like that. I think an inexpensive suit is fine.

16 years ago

Sarah

(website)

Veteran

We just got a Zara and I like the look of the men's apparel, but I hadn't checked to see if they have suits. That's a good place to check for sure.

16 years ago

Debora

Veteran

Ooooh, shopping for your son....I'm must be really, really bad because when I saw your title the first thought that crossed my mind was that you were looking for a younger man for yourself!

*slapping myself on the wrist. now*

Happy Birthday to your son!

16 years ago