Where in Boston to go for some NICE suits?

Louis on Newbury St.

 

plus 1.

 

Isn't that above his "price target"? Never been to it, but I've heard it's pretty upscale. Do they actually create its own suits, or do they just sell other brands (and refit)?

Mike, may I ask, what location you visiting?

 

Another for Louis Boston... I understand they have a bit of everything. You could probably get a nice Zegna and have their tailor/seamstress make it fit right for only a few $K.

Of course, I'm more of an outlet shopper, so I'd go to Wrentham and try and find a nice $2000-3000 suit that's been marked down to $1000-1600 at Saks, then take it to a local tailor for fitting (maybe $60-100 if you get the sleeves and back done along with the pants). While you're there you can get some $200 dress shirts for $80, a Bruno Magli belt for a fraction of retail, etc. If you're not going for high fashion but a traditional classy look, well, it's not like men's fashion goes out of style very quickly. One release season or even a year won't hurt IMO. Especially for shirts and leather goods.

 

If I'm not miskaten, Boston has a Zegna boutique as well along Newbury. Would it be on the same price level as Louis? As for the suit fashions, due men's suits and outfits really go out of style? Can you tell a difference between an Armani and say, a midscale suit at Brooks Brothers?

 

Not sure.

Not very quickly. Lapel shape, button numbers, breast cut (single, double), jacket shape (IIRC the three basics are American - box cut, Chinese - flare out at bottom, Italian - curve in at waistline), cut of pants (2/4 pleats, no pleat, cuffs/no cuffs), these things go in and out of style, but everything is cyclical.

Well, yes and no. There are certain things that are more obvious like the drape of the fabric - most people prefer soft wools over polyester-looking burlap bag material. Cheap suits often look fine on the rack but after you wear them a few weeks the shoulders get all crappity and wrinkly-looking and the lapels get wrinkled and nappy on the edges. And cheap suits nowadays don't even have real pockets. I just bought a Nautica 3-piece suit, and realized after getting it home that the breast pocket is fake (no handkerchiefs) and even the pockets on the vest aren't real - just flaps with nothing there. Now that's crappy!

Armanis are not all that great per actual user reputation, more for brand image. I think the trend right now is away from Armani because it has become a little cliche - sorry if I offend GA devotees - although perhaps Zegna is becoming the same way being overbranded now in pop culture.

The secret of a good looking suit is always the fit though. Having a properly cut suit is key - I suppose it IS hard to tell a well-fitting $600 suit from a fitted $2000 suit. But a $600 suit that has been tailored to fit will almost always look better than something off the rack for much more.

 

i'm quite a fan of Louis of Boston. you're unlikely to get out of there with "2-3 shirts, couple of ties, maybe a belt too and of course a suit" for your budget though. but close. it's a great place. they will take care of you properly. it's worth checking out if you've never been in there.

hey, and they have their own parking lot on Newbury St., so what more could you want?

ask for Paul Wade.

doody.

 

Are Armani and Zegna of poor quality?

 

Mike

Wherever you decide to go - make sure you get a wool suit with a high thread count. Tell them that you are traveling and you want a fabric that won't wrinkle as much when stowed. I travel in the US and globally throughout the year and I can take my best suits out of my suitcase after 20 hours of flying, hang it up, and be ready to go in the morning. At worst, maybe a little steam from the shower. Cheap fabric will end up looking like a balled up mess and you will have to get it pressed everywhere you go.

I work with Conrad at Burberry's on Newbury Street and he is able to get me what I need and at a practical cost.

 

Having owned a number of suits from various countries around the world, like any other topic you can operate on a spectrum from "full nerd" to "just listen to the sales guy".

My view is that if you are a traditional shape - ie 5-10 to 6-2 and "slim" (which it sounds like you might be) then the designer suits are excellent.

IMO having owned a few "brand" suits, they tend to me made of light weight but high quality material which tends not to like hard wear. I'd suggest two pairs of trousers with any suit of this kind to keep it going.

If you dry clean every 10 or so wears and wear 1-2 days a week, I reckon one of these suits might last 2 years. Personally I'm hard on suits since I travel with them and pack them in bags often and dry clean them frequently (one of my ATF things about living in the US now is that someone picks up my stuff from my house, dry cleans it and brings it back, all for about 50% of the cost of a drop off/pick up service in the UK).

I would always recommend a tailored or bespoke suit. In british terms there are two types - "made to measure" which is made from pre-cut template parts and tailored to fit. or "Bespoke" which is cut specifically for you. In London you can get a very nice made to measure suit for about 800 GBP or 1500 USD, a bespoke suit starts at about 1000GBP up to 2000.

In Hong Kong one can have something of the same quality with the same material for about a quarter of the price. They will in fact clone a favorite suit if you like. The HK tailors do tour the US from time to time and will measure you and ship you a suit back. This is better if you've had one suit made and fitted with them before.

Locally I also like Giblees on Rt 114. Its quite close to 95N/Rt1. http://www.giblees.com/hoofopanddi.html its a bit "old fashioned", in the "ooh suits you sir" kind of way, but I like it. They do carry high end brands like Brioni .

 

You may try Mr. Sids in Newton. They have great reputation.

 

So do "made-to-meausre" mean the same as bespoke, custome fit, but just have to use the existing patterns?

 

A made to measure suit is made from pre-cut pieces, so there will be a "menu" of styles to choose from but there will be limited number of style/cloth combinations.

So for example single/double breasted with certain cuts and 2/3 buttons, no/1/2 vents, sealed/open pockets 3 or 4 sleeve buttons would all be options that would be available.

Something more out of the norm like a high cut 4 button single breasted suit or a lime green lining, or buttons on the sleeves that really button up would all be features which would be outside the norm and would require you to go "bespoke".

The eventual fit will likely be just as good with either and just as personal, just the style of the suit is limited to more normal styles.

 

Thanks. I'm short (5'4" and a lightweight), so finding a suit alone is hard to do. Basically, if I walked into Brooks Brothers or Armani, or whatever, I could get a "made-to-measure" suit that fits me very well, I'm just limited to the choices of the suit and materials?

 

brooks brothers on newbury street

 

It will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, but for example I just searched on the brooks brothers website and they had:

"Custom-made Shirts and Suits
Custom-made shirts and suits are available in our retail locations. Please visit our retail locations (not available at Factory Stores) where our master tailors will be happy to help you. You can also visit our New York flagship store at 44th and Madison and get scanned by our Digital Tailor.


Digital Tailoring
In our 346 Madison Avenue flagship store in Manhattan, we have introduced the revolutionary Digital Tailor. In 12 seconds your body is scanned and more than 200,000 data points are captured. These measurements are used to create a great fitting custom-made garment, precisely tailored to your body's unique contours and specific proportions.

You may order suits, sport coats, blazers, pants, and dress shirts to be crafted from hundreds of the world's finest fabrics with a selection of styling details, providing the opportunity to personalize your wardrobe.

Brooks Brothers Digital Tailoring carries a very reasonable premium over the off-the-rack merchandise, and can be completed in just 3 business weeks or less.

You can experience Digital Tailoring exclusively at our New York City flagship store at 346 Madison Avenue (at 44th Street), on the third floor. "

I do enjoy the concept of a "master tailor" working at brooks brothers, but you get the point. You are not going to get a saville row artisan, but you should get a suit that fits you.

 

Let us know how it turns out.

 

You're in Peabody right? Check out 'Giblees' in Danvers. Their tailor is EXCELLENT and they carry good brands, Bruno Malgi shoes/ leather and Eton shirts. Mr. Giblee oe his son will probably personally take care of you; they have been there forever...

 

Mike- You've gotten some great advice here. How you dress is a very personal issue. When I used to care about how I looked )) I tried, within my budget, to buy classic stuff which would last forever. It doesn't always work that way in fashion, but the quality will show.
A good haberdashery- do they still even use that term?- will outfit you, give you guidance, and choices from among a range of brands, styles and types of clothing.

I would agree that, given your size- I'm no midget either- you might do better in a less extreme European cut suit. There is a look, sort of the Milanese banker as intepreted by the British tailor, that can be timeless. The advantage of a full range shop, in the traditional sense, is that they can help you with the different styles, and help you put it together.
These days, I manage to avoid the suit as uniform, but it still feels good to put one on, occasionally. I'm stuck on Turnbull & Asser white barrel cuff shirts, which are pretty 'old school,' but look great. I wear 'em with black jeans and a beat-up pair of western boots. And feel fully dressed.

 

Try J. Press - for years I bought Oxxford which is top dollar - then I tried J.Press - really good quality for the money - best suit is 1200.00.

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