Hey all,
I will be working as Investment Banking Summer Analyst at a BB in the NYC office. I was wondering where some good places to buy reasonable priced, slim fitted suits are (think $600-900 range). I bought a suit from brooks brothers last year but thought the fit was too bulky. Any suggestions?
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I have posted this several times before, but go to a high-end department store (Barneys, Saks, Neiman Marcus, etc.) and try on a few suits. Remember your size. Then, go to eBay and look up whichever brand fit you the best. Some brands to keep an eye on are Brioni, Canali, Zegna, Oxxford, and Hickey Freeman. You should be able to get a suit that costs $1,000+ new for a few hundred dollars slightly used. You can use this method for sports coats and blazers too.
Take a Vacation to Asia:
Get your measurements and do tailored. Don't get upsold on bespoke (at this stage, $50K is steep for third world threads). Good trailored suit beats okay bespoke any day of the week. You've got to be a real GQ fashion stud to notice the fine differences between great tailored and great bespoke.
With measurements, you can try ordering from a reputable online tailored suits company as well. My $150 and under Japanese off the shelf suits fit just as well as my more expensive garments from Hong Kong. Folks over at Tom James want to upsell you on bespoke. Run away. That translates into a service where they pick your fashion for you and you pay them their salary for doing it which is the premium they charge onto third world fabrics that gets sewn here.
Japanese consider wearing a suit as you would wear T-shirts and Jeans. You can get very competitive threads in Japan for cheap due to an efficient market in that business and healthy competition that keeps prices low. More's City Mall (by the Yokosuka train station) over in Yokosuka, Japan has a store called Orihica. It's a good starting point if you are in that neck of the woods.
For a SA, Macy's honestly works fine. Go during a big sales event and keep an eye out for coupons (they can usually be added on top of the current sales price). They sell a lot of decent slim cut 100% wool suits for <$250 there, In IB at most BBs your daily attire will be a dress shirt and suit pants/slacks. I only wore a jacket and tie during meetings. The best full time analyst in my group doesn't wear the most expensive stuff either, so don't overthink it or feel like you need to spend a lot on clothes in order to do well. Just get a suit that is slim cut, fits properly and is made of 100% wool (so it'll be durable).
A piece of advice I got was to just buy durable and decently fashionable (but well fitting) clothes for your first two analyst years and then buy a nicer suit once you're on the buyside or an associate. Wearing a suit 15+ hours a day will do a number on it, so imo it's better to wait to spend a lot on clothes. But that's just my opinion.
The front pocket area of the slacks is always the first place to tear.