How To Buy A Suit Online

@JuliaBogdan: I could have used one of a monkey wearing a suit, holding a custom smithed 1911 and smoking a bulldog pipe like he meant business... BUT it didn't have the catchy yellow SALE sign in it. I like yellow.

@Prakhar Bahuguna: I used to think the same thing until I moved into a new building and the guy down the hall had the best damn suits I'd ever seen. I know nothing about clothes but could tell just looking the suits were high end.

I thought he was some kind of bigshot. Turns out he was a manager at a designer clothier, Ermenegildo Zegna...I've wanted one of those suits ever since but can't part with that much dough no matter how good it looks.

xclamp

I live near Hong Kong, where my suits cost no more than $400 at my tailor. If you're traveling anywhere in Asia (particularly Thailand), try a tailored suit.

Worsted wool suits fair a bit better in the heat. do some research online to get an idea of what you want and how much it will cost

jrvsae

@Prakhar Bahuguna:

To a large extent, I agree with you. On the very low is end there is a noticeable difference, but all in all the quality of a suit, I find, comes from how well it fits you. For most folks that just means off the rack isn't going to get the job down without some alterations. It always seems to me what really makes a suit shine is the shoes.

jupiterthunder

Nearly 10 years ago, fresh out of college, I bought a lovely $2,500 Italian suit for $700 from Bluefly. Spent another $75 on tailoring, and it's still one of the best investments I've ever made.

A little tailoring goes a long way.

dotyoureyes

The Wizard of Aahs on eBay has a fantastic reputation and the suits are considered great buys. He's got over 18,000 positives and is a platinum seller.

Check him out on Ask Andy About Clothes ([www.askandyaboutclothes.com]). They pretty much are the authority for men's clothes.

charnov

@Prakhar Bahuguna: If you love to wear clothes you like, there is a difference. Suits are also good examples of a superior price is a superior fabric and fit and finish. Just like electronics.

@Prakhar Bahuguna: If they look the same to you and you don't care what other people think, then more power to you. Spend as little as possible on the cheap suits.

I'd say fabric quality is at least as important as workmanship. Quality fabrics hold up much better over time and through cleanings and are generally better looking and better fitting. If you wear suits often, cheap fabrics will show their wear much sooner than more expensive, quality fabrics.

The tailoring is an excellent suggestion. Very few people can fit well in an untailored suit.

Generally, I find the nicest fabrics I can on cheaper suits (typically on sale) and then have them tailored.

@Prakhar Bahuguna: EXACTLY what I was about to comment. I can understand $200...but $1200 is outrageous for an article of clothing.

Money much better spent on something like...a...MACBOOK!

You could have put a better suit picture on the article page.

JuliaBogdan

@lindsayk: I would say it has become difficult for men to buy jeans online now too, though. It seems like, not only does everyone have a different idea of what 31 inches is..., but many brands name the fits instead of describing them.

I bought one from Overstock.com last year. Worked out really well, better than I expected. I just took it to a local tailor for finishing and total cost was almost exactly $200. The same suit at a brick and mortar store would probably have cost $350.

beren

To be frank, all suits look pretty much the same to me. So the extra $1000 is just slightly thicker material and a fancy brand name?

Prakhar Bahuguna

I am in the process of buying a suit from an Etsy seller using the Alchemy request tool. The seller is sending me swatches for fabric choices and I will then send my choices and measurements made by a family member with an online guide yet to be found (couldn't be hard). This is all costing me under 150 dollars, which is shockingly cheap for a tailored suit. This is an experiment for me, and surely it could never reach the amazing fit of a hand cut suit, but it should do quite nicely. I'm still growing, and will be for a few more years, so I didn't want to toss down a huge chunk of money for something that may not fit in the near future. I'm also a strange body type, very tall, and like my suits to fit snuggly (European cut?).

It scares me how Lifehacker reads my mind sometimes.

I bought a suit online once. I knew it would need some tailoring, so I visited the local tailor and he gave me all my measurements. I bought the suit per my measurements and went back to the tailor for some fine tuning. I ended up saving $300. I would totally buy a suit online again. I also recommend Nordstrom Rack as they seem to have some good closeout suits for cheap.

jonny6pak

I haven't bought a suit, but I have bought jeans..easy for men, but we all know how complicated woman's jeans are.

Anyway, I would say get measurements on EVERYTHING. And look for merchants that give you those measurements on their clothes. With the jeans I bought, I had a pair that weren't quite skinny jeans but I loved the way they fit. I saw that delias.com listed the actual diameter of the leg opening for their "skinny" jeans, and it turned out they were exactly the same as my favorite pair. Did some ther measurements, bought them, they fit perfect.

Avoid; fit is everything in a suit. I started to wear tailor made and there's no way I can go back. Then again, I am lucky to be in India; the stitching sets me back USD 50, tops. I go to Raymonds; excellent workmanship.

Fabric is the second most important part. If we were talking about a shirt, sure, I don't mind if the actual prints don't match the image online. A suit you say? Wouldn't want to take chances.

Micho

Can't say I've ever bought a suit online (or ever would). But I did have the luck of spending a couple months in Seoul last year where I purchased a couple suits "made-to-measure". It was an an extremely affordable and awesome experience where I got to pick the material (Super 150), cut-style (European vs American), as well as details such as buttons, lapels (notched vs peak), lapel hand stitching and rolled, vents (side vs center), pockets (jetted vs flapped, angled vs straight, ticket), inside pockets, lining, name embroidering, sleeve buttons (spaced vs kissing), etc. The best part is that the tailors kept my measurements and if I ever need another suit, I can order it via email (assuming my measurements are still the same). However, before I made my purchases, I did spend number of hours researching many of the intricacies of suits to ensure I got the highest quality suits. If anyone is ever in Seoul, I recommend both New York Tailor and Hahn's Tailoring at the entrance of Itaewon (just make sure you do your homework before you go).

acercenia

I got two Hong Kong custom made suits and they are by far the two best i've got.

i think to buy on line you gotta know you're body and the suit cut very well. I have an athletic frame and off the rack suits all make me look short and dumpy and the coat is cut poorly.

Even after they are tailored they just can't take it in anymore. And even the work i have to have done can cost upwards of 170 dollars. I'd be scared to buy online at the moment.

diamonddnice

What other sites are good to order suits overseas from? Anybody recommend a particular vendor?

mherlihy

@Prakhar Bahuguna: not to diss but all suits don't looke the same on you. You just may not have an appreciation for the differences in material, workmansip, or cut. And that's alright. Hey my dad is an audiophile. I'm ok with 160 mp3s.

diamonddnice

There is a book (Gomorra) that goes in grat detail to explain how it all works: basically 90% of the designers labels on the market are fake. Not really fake because they are made in the same factories by the same people with the same materials and the same specifications as the designer's. What is fake the label, the tag itself. This is what Michael Lubarksy meant and is the result of a complicated bidding process. Those fake labels are managed by organized crime. So when you are going into a shop and you see Armani label, most likely is not real but identical to the real thing.

Tommasino

@32ndnote: damn didn't read you note before writing mine but this is basically my point. A bunch of my guy friends say the same thing. It's a way they changed the cut of jeans about a couple years back.

diamonddnice

@lindsayk: disagree on the easy for men thing. Now adays they started making all the jeans for super skinny men. That sort of real tight ass hugging gay male model look. So now i now have a horrible time finding jeans that aren't super tight or super baggy. I gotta try on everything before i buy.

diamonddnice

@xclamp:
yeah Zegna makes excellent clothing. One never knows how good a suit looks until he sees a really good one. You can have expensive suits ruined by a poor fit. Unfortunately, most tailors in the US are not good and make horrible trims/adjustments (like trousers that are always cut way too high). Canali is another good one.

Tommasino

@Jason Fitzpatrick: All monkeys mean business, no tobacco or gunpowder required.

Go for tailored, fersure. But if you're not anywhere near Hong Kong, there's a tailor that travels around. Worth checking out: [www.maxwellsclothiers.com]

macdis

Brings new meaning to the term eTailor.

AronneSahagin

I'm a fan of [www.thickasthievesla.com]
Got my made-to-measure suit for around ~$450. You can read the reviews on AskAndy.

rootwind

I'd like to slap the first jackass that decided that suits made you look "professional." Personally I think suits just make people look silly. A good polo shirt on the other hand...

For years, I have bought all of my suits online, as suit separates from Lands' End. Reasonable, fairly well-made, and wearable out of the box. Recommended. {ProfJonathan}

Tailoring, tailoring-tailoring. Take the best suit money can buy, and leave off good tailoring and it'll hang on your body like a cheap suit. Buy a suit at Target and have it finely tailored, and it'll look fantastic. It won't wear or dryclean great, but it'll fit you like a champ. I'm from the oldschool of suit wearing, allow me to impart my sage advice. ;) 1. Find a good local tailor, have 'em measure you. 2. Try on a few suit coats with said measurement, make sure they hang about right. Same with slacks. 3. Cuffs are good - contrary to belief they're never "out", and they have a functional advantage, they make slacks hang just right. They keep the pant legs from hanging getting caught in your shoes as well. 4. Dryclean the suit coat *and* the slacks at the same time. If you wear the suit on Saturday, get some gunk on the slacks, do NOT have just the slacks only cleaned. Even the best suit can fade a teeny tad with a cleaning, so keep the wear/fading even - clean both at the same time. 5. A suit that's not stained does NOT need to be drycleaned after each wearing, or each 5 wearings. Your under garmets take on the body oil and stink, its not a worry, a suit will last years longer if not over cleaned. 6. Wear a t shirt - it looks better. Period. 7. Make sure your tie meets the middle of your belt, please, please, oh please. 8. Show some cuff. Have your tailor cut the suit coat so your Properly long dress shirt shows just a bit. It looks sharp, and adds contrast to between your suit and hand. 9. Don't forget the dress shirt, 100% cotton ONLY, get them professionally laundered, and get a dry cleaner who knows what heavy starch means. Ya, I know, it sounds like it'll be "itchy", but after wearing the shirt for about 15 minutes its no more "itchy" than light starch. Ahh, the look of a crisp starched shirt. You'll have people ask you how your shirts look so crisp and sharp. 10. Pit stains? Schmit stains! When you take off your nice dress shirt, hit the pits with some stain stick action, let it sit, it'll be ok. Then when you get the shirt laundered the pits will come out nice and clean. Take about 30 seconds. 11. Traveling? Your dry cleaner has you covered. Instead of having your shirts on hangers as per usual, request they fold the shirts. They'll fold them, use some cardboard like a brand new shirt to save the collar from pressing down, and package it all up in a plastic bag - again just like a new shirt. That shirt is ready to travel! 12. Wrinkles? Well just hang your suit up. 100% wool will hang out nicely. Tough wrinkles? Travelling? Hang the suit in the bathroom when you shower, the steam will let the wrinkles release. And, if you have an otherwise clean suit have your drycleaner give it a press before that special event, it just costs a few bucks and your suit will look like it was just cleaned. Never have a suit that doesn't need a cleaning put therugh the rigors of dry-cleaning. There. 20 years of wearing a suit 5 days a week imparted in 4 minutes.

StanwayCrispin

@Alex Land: To reply to myself, he has a guide on his website (google it) on how to measure yourself for a properly fitting suit. Check it out.

Alex Land

@wewillchange: Hey dude, another place to look at custom suits that is VERY highly recommended is thick as thieves. It's a guy out of LA that will do one for I think $500, but there's pictures of his work all over the internet and it's good looking stuff.

Alex Land

@macdis: FYI - doesn't look like their online order form using SSL.

@outerfringe: So you will pay double for a computer due to things like appearance, style, and workmanship yet you feel like the absolute bottom of the barrel suit is the same as a $1200 one? Those $200 suits are the equivalent of comparing a 3 year old Gateway laptop to a modern Vaio or Macbook.

JerryA

@rootwind: Thanks for sharing! I've never heard of them, but I trust many of the reviews on AskAndy. Although I am leaning towards my made-to-measure suits from Seoul/Itaewon, I would definitely consider giving TAT a try, especially if I make it back to LA to get measured by them directly.

acercenia

@diamonddnice:

Levi's 501's or 505's. I've never had an issue in over a decade.

/OTOH, I bought some dress pants from kohls. Now I've worn a 36 in jeans for a while now. But the dress pants I got were 34s. Threw me for a loop.

I'm really surprised that you've written this and not mentionned IndoChino (www.indochino.com). You can get a great quality custom fit suit there at a fairly reasonable price point. I've had nothing but good experiences with them - great service, good product.

mickeric

It's a sickness I have, really, one that I don't quite understand given my counter-cultural background and politics. But I *love* a good suit. I figure everyone needs a hobby and the pursuit of the perfect suit is mine. So here's what I've found:

The most cost-effective way to a good suit is to travel in Asia. I got the best suits in my closet, cost/benefit wise, in Beijing. 100% wool, pick it from the bolts, your choice of styling options (e.g. vents, number of buttons, width of lapels, etc.), $75.

Next, after some trial and error, are the made-to-measure internet places like ravistailor.com. I think the vast majority of my suits are from Ravi. You can even buy your own fabric and send it to Ravi for what the call CMT (cut, measure, trim). I had a linen suit made that way a couple years back. The lowest prices suits from these places tend to be $200 ($100 for CMT) and you pick from picture swatches and details. The best price range is around $400. Best thing to do is buy a really inexpensive one first, see how it fits, make adjustments to the sizes and from that point on, it's like having a real custom-made suit for a fraction of the price (see below).

Of course, if you want a really great suit, having a real tailor make you one is the best bet. Expensive, though. I have two, one made in Seattle, where I lived at the time, and one made in London while I was there on an extended holiday. They are phenomenal suits, perfect because you get 3 fittings, as opposed to one or two in Asia. Perfection comes at a price, however; in Seattle, I paid $2400, in London, $3300.

So my preference is, now that I have the Asian (Thai) internet made-to-measure deal wired, to buy from there if I have a couple of weeks lead time. If not (e.g you need a black suit for a funeral or evening wear), places like 3-day Suit Broker and a good tailor will get you an acceptable outcome for around $300-400.

And god I hope that Rusty0918 was kidding...the polo shirt should be anathema to any man who aspires to anything more than retro-techie nondescript-ness.

James Meacham

Also, different suits fit your body differently. The cheap suits never look good on me. Even CK suits don't look right with my body shape. But when I put on the Hugo Boss suit, it looked a lot better, for a higher price that is. But it was worth it.

cyriene

@[lifehacker.com]

aaziz

which Etsy seller is this? I'd like to take a look

PeytonAmbustus

I bought a Suit online, Being 6'6" and slender it was a little tricky. But I saved a boat load of cash.

mbrewthx

could not find wizard of aahs on ebay. any links?
:)

Ben Stansfield

I bought 2 suits from TM Lewin (London) with unfinished inside legs. My local tailor tailored them to the perfect fit. :) I love the suits! The shirts of them are also amazing. http://www.tmlewin.co.uk/MensSuitProductList.aspx/MenswearSuits

LeviHapjo

@StanwayCrispin: amazing and useful comment, tnx. May I add a tip? Shoes, shining and darken than socks. Socks, hiding your legs and darken than your pants. Pants just longer to lay down over the shoes. Belt colored as the shoes. Ties not decorated with decorated shirts, plain. :-) ref.: 14 years of wearing a suit almost 5 days a week. Cheers

@StanwayCrispin: Stop it! Cuffs were never in and they make you look like a rolled-up-pant-leg DORK!

ahow628

@Ben Stansfield:

Here you go:

[cgi3.ebay.com]

charnov