Slightly OT but still relevant - Men's suit help required - YouLookFab Forum

Category

General

Welcome! Read about what to wear and how to wear it on the YLF Blog. Join the YLF Forum to ask specific questions or just chat about fashion and personal style. Or check out the curated list of things we love in YLF Finds.

Outfits Ensembles Trends Advice

Slightly OT but still relevant - Men's suit help required

Katiepea

(website)

Veteran

Hi There!

For once, I'll cut to the chase: My gorgeous husband needs a new suit. This suit needs to be good quality and timeless in design. It must be versatile and be able to be used for business meetings and other formal occasions (such as weddings in October). If it can travel well (lucky bloke gets to go on international business trips on occasion), all the better. Yes ladies, I am seeking the holy grail of suits (within a budget).

He is 6' 31/2", weighs about 82kg (approx 182lbs) and has an athletic build - ie wide shoulders, about 34" waist and long legs. Yes, I think he is rather a hunk. (But then again, I'm meant to, aren't I?!)

I was considering a charcoal (dark grey) suit, probably without pin-stripe to keep it very neutral; single breasted with 2, maybe 3 buttons (because of his height). Does this sound right? Or are you screaming at the screen that we are about to make a huge mistake? I was thinking wool, at worst wool blend. Agreed?

Are there any brands you would recommend for a timeless, quality suit? I've looked at Saba, but although gorgeous, I'm worried the style will date and I have heard Hugo Boss suits are around $2000 and are generally cut for the "bigger man" (which he is not - waist wise, anyway!).

Finally, I'm dreadfully confused about how much money we should be spending on this suit. Theoretically, I'd like to spend anywhere between $600 - $1000 (and would like 2 trousers for this). Is this a reasonable amount to spend on a decent suit? Of course, I'd love you to tell me we could get a decent quality one for less, but I'm not counting on it.

Of course, if you know of any brilliant suits which are on sale (in Australia preferably, as I realise the suit will need to be tailored and fit to his body for best results) please let me know! If not, pictures of nice suits, so I can get an idea of what to look for are also most welcome.

Please help me out here if you can - afterall he is my main and most important accessory - it only makes sense that he complements my outfit when required!

General

15 replies

Latest reply was from stringy

Megan

My other half has broad shoulders with a narrow waist and finds that Hugo Boss suits fit him beautifully when every other one that fits in the shoulders is far too big in the body.

April

Veteran

Katie -- the only problem with choosing a designer like Hugo Boss is that the clothes tend to be, understandably, of the moment rather than timeless.

If you want something truly classic, you probably need to stick with a more conservative look. Not sure what's available to you in Australia, but a better department store should be able to point you in the right direction.

And yes -- your man does sound dreamy.

Sihaya

Veteran

Katie - my "hunk" is 6' 5" and has a 34" waist too. So clothes shopping is indeed a challenge. We went suit shopping last week. The really classic wonderful suits were Italian made and cost around $1500 - $2000. Too pricey for us. We ended up with a suit for $350. It has pin stripes and of course not as high quality as the others but will work great for our purposes. He isn't looking to wear these to formal business occasions. Unfortunately I am out of town and don't have the brand name in front of me. Angie will know the brand names of both the Italian one and the one we ended up with. We were at Nordstrom's. Good luck.

bj1111

Veteran

try jos a banks. american company. my husband picked up 3 suits and 3 sport coats at their buy 1 get 2 free sale.

the suits come in different fits, weights and fabrications. i see they are also having a sale for 70% off suits.

http://preview.tinyurl.com/232yq2e

Banana

Hello Katiepea!

My husband wears suits pretty regularly. We usually buy Ralph Lauren because they fit him well, they last forever and they aren't crazy expensive! The last one we bought cost about $350 or so - can't remember exactly. If I remember correctly, they also come in "athletic" cuts (larger shoulders and narrower waists).

I think you are on the right track with a grey suit, but don't discount a pinstripe! They are classic and you can pair just about any shirt/tie with them.

Good Luck!

Louise

Veteran

M&S do great suits and have a tall range, I just checked, they do ship to Aus for £15 x http://www.marksandspencer.com.....d=MW_LP_R2

Jill

My husband wears suits exclusively for work -- he has broad shoulders too and finds that Joseph Abboud's athletic cut suits fit him best. They run about $700 full price and last years with frequent wear and travel. I do think a medium to dark gray single breasted is pretty timeless.

Sarah

(website)

Veteran

Another vote for Hugo Boss! We found a delicious mid gray with chalk pinstripes suit at Nordstrom Rack and had it professionally tailored. All said and done it was $567.change (including tailoring fees). It fits him beautifully and the color/texture is appropriate for anything from weddings to interviews.

Michelle

(website)

Veteran

Katie, Corey loves his Hugo Boss suits, which he acquired at a second-hand store that's pretty rigorous about the type of merchandise it accepts. He's not normally into thrifting, but it makes sense for him here because he can get far superior quality for the price of a lesser suit. If you have a decent shop like this in the area, it may be worth a look.

Vix

Veteran

Katie, I hear ya!

The type of suit you all are looking for sounds versatile, though depending on his coloring navy might be better than charcoal. [Navy is the go-to color for US finance, black/dark grey more the standard for lawyers...not sure if there are cultural issues you have to consider around color.]

Just my .02, but since he's young(ish!) I'd do a plain-front vs pleated style of pants.

European cuts are almost always better for the slimmer man, but yeah -- price + fashion-forwardness can be an issue. If US brands are available or Australia has the same sizing option, definitely look for "athletic cut" because you get the 8" drop vs the 6" one.

From my own experience with dress clothing/travel/wrinkles I'd hold out for a good 100% wool. Hang up the pants etc, and the wrinkles pretty much fall out overnight.

How are his dress shirts? When he finds a suit that fits vs being too baggy, any extra fabric from a shirt really shows. If he's in need, I'd try to find "fitted", "athletic fit" or " trim fit" or think about tailoring.

Good luck!

Katiepea

(website)

Veteran

Thanks very much for your help everyone!

Hmmmmmm, how interesting regarding the issue of the colour of suits! I've never considered this matter before. I'll have to do a little research by the sounds of it! He currently works with quite a few international agencies (such as OECD, WTO etc), so I'm not sure what their standard suit attire (and colour preference) would be there.

Given what you have said, I shouldn't discount the Hugo Boss. Vix, thanks so much for the extra super-dooper helpful advice. I hadn't considered the business trousers before and will make sure it has a plain front. I think his current trousers have a pleated front and as you noted, it isn't as flattering as other trousers he owns which have a plain front.

I think he definately needs to try and get a suit that has a slimmer cut, because I know that definately his business shirts which are in this style suits him. I guess if you have a great physique, why not show it off!

I think that I might go to David Jones (I guess you could say it is probably our closest equivalent to Nordstromsfrom the descriptions I've read in the past), where I shall hope that there is an expert tailor on hand to help him/us select the best quality suit for our money.

Thanks everyone for confirming my thoughts and for providing me with some extra, much needed advice!

Katiepea

(website)

Veteran

Hello!

I just thought in case anyone was interested I thought I'd update this post with the suit that my gorgeous hubby ended up buying. We ended up buying from Oxford afterall - the sale that they are having was soooooo good, we just couldn't go past it!

Here is the jacket:

http://www.oxfordshop.com.au/s.....st616.html

Trousers:

http://www.oxfordshop.com.au/s.....su665.html

Oh, and a shirt which fits him so well and is so flattering he looks like a model(!):

http://www.oxfordshop.com.au/m.....-l683.html

It goes without saying that we paid extra to have the jacket sleeves adjusted to be the perfect length and took his trousers in 1" to ensure a perfect fit around the waist (oh the perils of being long and lean, something I know NOTHING about!).

He looks gorgeous, he feels great and he actually said to me that he is enjoying benefitting from YLF too!

I just wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you very much for helping get my mind around what was important, so that when we saw a great deal like this, we were able to jump at it!

x

Vix

Veteran

Ooh la la, sounds perfect! May he wear it in good health. [And take you out for a dressed-up date in it!]

bj1111

Veteran

need pix of him in his new duds!

stringy

Veteran

Sounds great! A classic suit is such a great investment for a guy.

If he needs another one but not at the same level, my husband has had good luck with Roger David - about the $400 mark for a jacket with trousers (sometimes they do a deal with a spare pair of trousers), slim cut and in-style without being too trendy to be long-lasting.