Grassroots Menswear

I decided I "needed" a new suit, but was unhappy with my options and how much it would cost to get a suit I liked for how much use it was likely to see. I decided to try a different approach getting a lightly used suit.

TL;DR: I purchased a high quality used suit on EBay, paid to have it tailored. Although not "cheap", it was still less than I would have spent at Men's Warehouse for what is hands down the nicest and more flattering suit I've ever worn - by a massive margin. Basically $2,000+ suit for ~$300.

From now on, I will be buying suits or sport coats used and getting them tailored.

Full version:

Background: my partner* of many years and I decided we should actually get married for reals, and that even though we're just going to go to the courthouse for a license, it's a good excuse to buy a nice new suit for me and dress for her, and look good for the occasion. (*I refer to her as my "wife", because that's the most accurate description of our relationship. We just aren't legally official.)

Over lockdown, we started lifting weights. I'm not massive, but I am now significantly thicker through the shoulders, chest, and glutes than average, particularly for my belly. I was not able to find a suit that would fit properly (even if tailored) at Men's Warehouse, and I was not going to spend $600+ for something I'd need to look for excuses to wear.

EBay is surprisingly good at search options for suits. There are quite a few stores that specialize in lightly used menswear. A lot of them look like they buy whole wardrobes on consignment from rich men who may have worn each outfit a handful of times. I purchased an incredibly nice suit for $130 (and probably could have found one for less). A Paul Stuart suit made in Japan. It fit my chest and shoulders well, but needed a lot of tailoring.

I went to a high end tailor (pricey, but good work). His immediate reaction was, "Wow. This is a *beautiful* suit. They do not make them like this anymore." He adjusted almost everything that could be: pants cuffs and waist, jacket sleeves, waist, and lower chest (not the shoulders, upper chest, or the length of the jacket), and it worked out to $200. The jacket is a touch longer than ideal (not modern fashion; but classy), but that would have been another $200 still, and if I'm unhappy I can do it later.

If you are proportioned with a more average or common build, you would probably have an easier time finding something closer to your dimensions and needing less tailoring. You could probably be done for about $200.

In reply to Beer Baron :

That's a really good idea, I don't know why I didn't think of that.

I didn't really care for the experience I had getting suckered into buying two suits ahead of my wedding, so I'll remember this if I ever have to buy any more suits.

I keep getting ads on Facebook for $49 3-piece suits, full of "testimonials" declaring their love and satisfaction.

Most of them look like $39 suits.

Remember the episode of M*A*S*H where Trapper got a suit from the cheap Korean tailor and the pinstripes went sideways?  Like that.

Hart Shaftner & Marx had a Chicago warehouse sale 1x a year.  Problem was 1000 guys were fighting you for the suit. I bought $1000 suits for $199 - awesome suits I still have two left.   They left the area - gone. 

In reply to Duke :

This is the opposite of that. This looks really good. Like Hans Gruber would compliment me.

My previous suits have looked like I was a regular guy who put on a decent suit because it was an occasion to wear a suit. This makes me look like a classy man who wears suits.

...and it got my wife to order a nice cocktail dress that she is looking forward to wearing out to nice restaurants with me.

Beer Baron said:

From now on, I will be buying suits or sport coats used and getting them tailored.

Haven't done it yet, but that's my plan as well. 

Thrift stores, Goodwill, etc. also sell cheap, used suits. Better than buying online since you can inspect it better before purchasing.

I'm sure their wearers were older people who passed away because there have been some really disco specimens I had been tempted to buy.

j_tso said:

Thrift stores, Goodwill, etc. also sell cheap, used suits. Better than buying online since you can inspect it better before purchasing.

I considered this, but think EBay was ultimately better. A lot more, higher quality options.

EBay is set up to really really easily search and there were lots of stores that clearly specialized in high quality used menswear. Being at home, I also had the ability to google different manufacturers to get a sense of quality from brands I didn't recognize. And the best suit brands are *not* common household names.

I was not worried about condition. The sellers I looked at had TONS of pictures taken with good lighting. They went out of their way to give full descriptions of the suits - not just every measurement but also any notable blemishes or wear. They would post pictures pointing out blemishes so you could judge if it was a concern or not.

My concerns were not about the condition of the suit, but if it would fit properly. Having done this once, I am not concerned about fit from a good store anymore.

Thrift Stores would be cheaper, but you would have to spend time hunting and get lucky. You would not find a suit of the quality I got at a Thrift store. More likely you'd need to look at estate sales.

Rad! I'll have to look into this.

Hilariously, I'd been trying to figure out how to start some sort of sartorial thread because I've generally been wanting to dress a bit nicer but... don't know how. That sounds silly, but the peak of my professional sartorial demands were still only "software developer in Portlandia" (save the times I got shipped to HQ in Minnesota and got a heads-up that the company was so formal that Casual Friday meant some people wouldn't wear ties).

Not that I want to wear suits all the time, just trying to get my head around the basics when searching for menswear gets one's Instagram ads flooded with the aforementioned sweatshop suits in fits, patterns, and quality levels that mean that bought today, they will not last beyond 2024 (nor help the folks sewing them last much longer than that).

I like the ebay idea, but I think it really only works if you're "average" size. I typically wear 44L, and fit often differs wildly between brands. I'm absolutely swimming in a Ralph Lauren 44L, while a Hilfiger 44L fits in the chest/shoulders but leaves a few inches of my forearms sticking out the sleeves.

Pants can be more forgiving, but there's absolutely no replacement for trying coats on in person. I also assume that absolutely everything is going to need to be tailored. Oddly I've found that Nordstrom Rack used to have killer deals once or twice a year. They'd have $1000+ suits for $200, plus many of them have a tailor on premises. Since COVID it seems like the men's section there has shrunk considerably though... 

I've heard good things from friends about Indochino, though I have no direct experience with them. Again,  if you're getting started, got hit up several thrift stores just to get an idea of what your actual size is, and which brands fit you best. I'm long/lanky and I've found that Ted Baker stuff tends to fit me really well.

My last suit I bought for my sister's wedding. I drove my Cayman to the nice town's Goodwill and go a Jos A Banks wool suit that fit perfect for $10. Shirt and tie combo bought new for 6Xs the price of the suit.

We used to go to clubs and it was in my best interest to look good. And being the cheapass that I am, I used to buy blazers and sport  jackets from an ebay seller that had store returns and overstock, and great prices. I'd take them to an old Polish woman in town that knew exactly what I wanted and would tailor them for $20. The jackets were so nice and her work was so good I got compliments every time I wore one of them.

In reply to Beer Baron :

You know where those "lightly used" suits come from, don't you?

Grave-robbing.

Totally true. I have proof. Send $9.95 plus post-paid envelope to....

calteg said:

I like the ebay idea, but I think it really only works if you're "average" size. I typically wear 44L, and fit often differs wildly between brands. I'm absolutely swimming in a Ralph Lauren 44L, while a Hilfiger 44L fits in the chest/shoulders but leaves a few inches of my forearms sticking out the sleeves.

This was a big learning point for me. The two measurements that ended up telling me the most are two that are not commonly listed in off-the-rack suits: Shoulder width and coat length (in that order of importance).

The shoulder width measurement - taken from where the sleeve gets sewn to the torso of a shirt or jacket - was probably the most important for fit. Then the length of the jacket. Chest width  matters a lot too, but that is commonly given.

The whole s/r/L is supposedly giving length, but it's a relative thing, not a strait number. I'm pretty sure that I'm actually in between a 42r and 42s. I'm 5'9", and most guys wearing 42 chest jackets are either chubbier or taller than me.

Beer Baron said:

calteg said:

I like the ebay idea, but I think it really only works if you're "average" size. I typically wear 44L, and fit often differs wildly between brands. I'm absolutely swimming in a Ralph Lauren 44L, while a Hilfiger 44L fits in the chest/shoulders but leaves a few inches of my forearms sticking out the sleeves.

This was a big learning point for me. The two measurements that ended up telling me the most are two that are not commonly listed in off-the-rack suits: Shoulder width and coat length (in that order of importance).

The shoulder width measurement - taken from where the sleeve gets sewn to the torso of a shirt or jacket - was probably the most important for fit. Then the length of the jacket. Chest width  matters a lot too, but that is commonly given.

The whole s/r/L is supposedly giving length, but it's a relative thing, not a strait number. I'm pretty sure that I'm actually in between a 42r and 42s. I'm 5'9", and most guys wearing 42 chest jackets are either chubbier or taller than me.

I'm glad this experience worked out well for you.

I've bought a bunch of used dress clothes off of eBay. I've had hits and misses. Biggest problem is buying something in the right size that had been tailored for the previous owner such that it could not be re-tailored for me. 

Beer Baron said:

The whole s/r/L is supposedly giving length, but it's a relative thing, not a strait number. I'm pretty sure that I'm actually in between a 42r and 42s. I'm 5'9", and most guys wearing 42 chest jackets are either chubbier or taller than me.

I'm the same and wear a 40s, but found that I can get away with a 38r most of the time

Shopping Goodwill and other thrift stores, charity shops in Britain, can be like a treasure hunt. 
I put this fantastic outfit together with the shirt from a thrift store, the tie from another, the pants from Goodwill, and the jacket, belt and saddle shoes from eBay. 
 

I always feel unique when I wear it. 

Congratulations!! 
 

A good tailor makes a difference. I am built like a pile of old tires, but generally clean up nice because I had my suits altered to match.  

In reply to 02Pilot :

I thought that the suits that corpses wear were split up the back to make the undertaker's job easier.

In reply to M2Pilot :

That's why you need a tailor.

A trick I stumbled on by accident........I'm 5'10", 200 lb, with a pot belly. A rack suit that's big enough to around my gut will be way too wide at the shoulders ( looks like a 40s zoot suit). My usual size is 44R. On the sale rack at Kohls I came upon a nice jacket, but it was one of the current styles that are slim fitting. I tried in on anyway (it was $26) and it fits nice. It's a 46, so big enough to go around me, but the slim styling made it narrower at the shoulders. It's the best looking jacket I have and the next time I'm shopping I'll see if the bigger sized slim fit jackets look as good.

There's a goodwill in Manhattan (actually there's probably more than one but you get the idea). 

I used to buy suits there because they are $20-$30 and I was wearing them every day for work. Nice to not worry to much about a stain from lunch or getting caught in the rain. Most were like jos a bank or Calvin Klein or whatever, but I'm not picky. 

I came across a custom suit (looked it up after I bought it, about $2k list) that happened to mostly fit me. Bought it for $30 and had it tailored so now it fits great. I'm about $100 into it. Aaaaaand it still has some other guy's monogram on the inside of one of the pants pockets. Oh well!

So, if you go goodwill shopping, go directly to the highest end area of your local big city and hit that goodwill. You'll probably find some nice stuff.

I'm very broad shouldered and every time I've needed a suit ( besides getting married) I went to the local Value Village and got one for less than $50. 

Uncle David (Forum Supporter) said:

I'm glad this experience worked out well for you.

I've bought a bunch of used dress clothes off of eBay. I've had hits and misses. Biggest problem is buying something in the right size that had been tailored for the previous owner such that it could not be re-tailored for me. 

I may be built to have better luck getting clothes tailored than other people. I really just need a jacket to fit my shoulders, and then have a tailor take things in around the middle. It's a lot easier to cut things shorter than to cut them longer.

Another important discovery: higher quality suits are easier to get tailored and more likely to lay nicely.

The last jacket I tried on at Men's Wearhouse (which was Calvin Klein or a similar name brand) was closer to my size off-the-rack than the jacket I ended up getting. But the materials were cheaper and the lapels V'd across my chest instead of laying flat. Cheaper lining and construction materials.

In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) :

I got a bunch of nice ties and shirts like that as well. 
 

I read these posts too many times before realizing it was someone talking to themselves.