This summer I've been invited to four weddings so far. Up to this point in my life, I've only been to three. At least one of these four weddings is likely going to be a fancy affair, which was problematic for me since I don't have a proper suit. I have suits, but they are all black, which is better for a funeral than a summertime wedding. So this weekend I went out on the hunt for a new suit.
Prior to now, all my suits were chosen by my parents. And I rarely have use for them. In fact I think my dress shoes are the same ones I had for my Confirmation back in the 8th grade. They're traditional so I see no reason to replace them. But the pants and coats have probably been updated a bit. As scrawny as I may be, I have filled out since the 8th grade.
The suit shopping process started here in town. I went to Macy's, J.C. Penny's, Banana Republic, Express, and Men's Warehouse. In Banana Republic I got some service. In Men's Warehouse I got scorn and indifference. The other places just left me alone entirely.
At the end of this Friday night I was upset. Take Macy's. They had a Ralph Lauren coat marked at $325 on sale for around $100 off. The point is the price was significantly reduced. My initial thought was that this was a great sale, getting a $325 coat for so little. Then I went to the Men's Warehouse, where they had the same coat marked at $269 on sale for again about a $100 off. To me that meant these stores were artificially jacking up the regular price in order to put the items on sale and lead you, the consumer, to think you're getting an amazing deal. I can't imagine Macy's and Men's Warehouse are buying the coat from the manufacturer for a different price, and I'm fairly positive they were the same coat and just very similar looking.
So very upset, I decided to go to Indiana, where everything is entirely too expensive and never on sale and I expect condescension and fowl looks from the staff at my wayward appearance.
In Indiana I went to a mall and went to Burberry, Brooks Brothers, J.C. Crew, Raleigh Limited, and Nordstrom. I saw a suit in Raleight that was particularly impressive, but no one in the store would come up and talk to me. I saw the workers just standing around talking to each other and going up to other customers, and they completely ignored the guy who was pulling coats off the racks and walking up and down the aisles trying to figure out what coat on the rack matched the one the mannequin was wearing. So no sale for them. After that place and my experience back home I started feeling like Julia Roberts in 'Pretty Woman'. The other stores didn't have much I was interested in.
But Nordstrom gave me help. Again I was walking around trying to figure out what I wanted, when a guy came up and asked if I need help. I said I needed a lot of help. Basically what I was looking for was a suit that wasn't black or navy blue, wouldn't go out of style in a month, and could be worn at a wedding. He showed me a light gray suit which right away I could tell blew everything I had tried on Friday out of the water. He told me the reason was because this suit had a European cut, which is more form fitting. For thinner guys like him and me, these form fitting suits fit much better on us. The American cut ones tend to look like drapes on us. And sure enough when I tried on the one I was looking at before he came to help me, which was cut in the American style, it just hung on me. But this new suit still wasn't quite right according to my helper. He had me go put on a dress shirt and fancy shoes, put on the suit, and then go meet the tailor. The tailor had a field day with me. The pants were actually pretty good, but the coat needed some work. The back had to be taken in some, to make it drape even less, and I learned my left arm is longer than my right arm, which surprised her when I told her I'm left handed. In her experience the arm we don't write with tends to be longer.
Below is a picture that I think is the suit. I went to the designer's website and found one that looked the closest to what I bought but I could be wrong. The only difference is that my pants are going to have a break at the shoe, whereas his are kept straight.
Prior to now, all my suits were chosen by my parents. And I rarely have use for them. In fact I think my dress shoes are the same ones I had for my Confirmation back in the 8th grade. They're traditional so I see no reason to replace them. But the pants and coats have probably been updated a bit. As scrawny as I may be, I have filled out since the 8th grade.
The suit shopping process started here in town. I went to Macy's, J.C. Penny's, Banana Republic, Express, and Men's Warehouse. In Banana Republic I got some service. In Men's Warehouse I got scorn and indifference. The other places just left me alone entirely.
At the end of this Friday night I was upset. Take Macy's. They had a Ralph Lauren coat marked at $325 on sale for around $100 off. The point is the price was significantly reduced. My initial thought was that this was a great sale, getting a $325 coat for so little. Then I went to the Men's Warehouse, where they had the same coat marked at $269 on sale for again about a $100 off. To me that meant these stores were artificially jacking up the regular price in order to put the items on sale and lead you, the consumer, to think you're getting an amazing deal. I can't imagine Macy's and Men's Warehouse are buying the coat from the manufacturer for a different price, and I'm fairly positive they were the same coat and just very similar looking.
So very upset, I decided to go to Indiana, where everything is entirely too expensive and never on sale and I expect condescension and fowl looks from the staff at my wayward appearance.
In Indiana I went to a mall and went to Burberry, Brooks Brothers, J.C. Crew, Raleigh Limited, and Nordstrom. I saw a suit in Raleight that was particularly impressive, but no one in the store would come up and talk to me. I saw the workers just standing around talking to each other and going up to other customers, and they completely ignored the guy who was pulling coats off the racks and walking up and down the aisles trying to figure out what coat on the rack matched the one the mannequin was wearing. So no sale for them. After that place and my experience back home I started feeling like Julia Roberts in 'Pretty Woman'. The other stores didn't have much I was interested in.
But Nordstrom gave me help. Again I was walking around trying to figure out what I wanted, when a guy came up and asked if I need help. I said I needed a lot of help. Basically what I was looking for was a suit that wasn't black or navy blue, wouldn't go out of style in a month, and could be worn at a wedding. He showed me a light gray suit which right away I could tell blew everything I had tried on Friday out of the water. He told me the reason was because this suit had a European cut, which is more form fitting. For thinner guys like him and me, these form fitting suits fit much better on us. The American cut ones tend to look like drapes on us. And sure enough when I tried on the one I was looking at before he came to help me, which was cut in the American style, it just hung on me. But this new suit still wasn't quite right according to my helper. He had me go put on a dress shirt and fancy shoes, put on the suit, and then go meet the tailor. The tailor had a field day with me. The pants were actually pretty good, but the coat needed some work. The back had to be taken in some, to make it drape even less, and I learned my left arm is longer than my right arm, which surprised her when I told her I'm left handed. In her experience the arm we don't write with tends to be longer.
Below is a picture that I think is the suit. I went to the designer's website and found one that looked the closest to what I bought but I could be wrong. The only difference is that my pants are going to have a break at the shoe, whereas his are kept straight.
2 comments:
Sharp suit! I'm glad that you got some help. I have spent many an hour with several different guys looks for suits. It is not easy. I'm surprised that you didn't get more help, though. Usually those salespeople are really intensely trying to make a sale.
WAM
Thanks!
Getting help was my problem. In most of the stores I went into the salespeople treated me with indifference.
Since I decided a traditional pattern, I didn't think too much help was needed, because there's so little options to choose from. Additionally, I look amazing in everything.
But if I were to get more bold, like with a sports coat, which have a ton of cuts and patterns, then I definitely would have sought more help.
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