Spending $600 on a Suit, Sophomore Student in College

Currently, I only have 1 suit, and its a black shitty one. I am looking at buying my 1st real suit for professional purposes and will most likely get one from suit supply.

I m looking at getting a navy one, it should be ~$500 + tax + tailor will be around $600.

Am I spending too much on it?

 

As I'm sure you know at this point in your life, money and prices are all relative...when I got my first suit I spent $200, but I also know kids who had bespoke suits as freshmen in college.

Regardless of price range, I think with suits (or really anything) the concern should be price:quality ratio. If $500 or so is your price range then I think SuitSupply is a good way to go. I haven't personally worn them, but have only heard good things from others.

 
Best Response

Waay too much money. My first suit was bought at JCP for $130 after a 15% off coupon (yes it was 100% wool, and yes it fit). I still buy my suits from Charles Tyrwhitt and Jos. Abboud at Men's Wearhouse for ca. $350 each. These are both high quality US/UK made suits that look very presentable and will last for many wears.

FWIW my boss is a PM in charge of 11 figures of gross capital (ok, ~10 net) and he wears cheap tailored suits from India. I understand you want to go into an interview looking good and feeling confident, but I can assure you that the Associate or VP on the other side of the desk is going to probably be wearing a $300-400 suit. Spending more than that is going to hurt more than it helps. Just make sure it fits and it's wool.

If you still want a differentiator, do a sweatervest (if it's cold out) or sharkskin gray. I did a light colored gray JCP suit for my analyst interviews way back when. I was the only guy wearing light gray-- I was also the only Midwestern state schooler interviewing at Lehman and probably looked like I had just come from a Methodist Church baptism, but it just seemed to fit. Pick (business formal) clothes that let you go into the interview being you, not someone else.

 

Agreed. I don't think people pay enough attention to material. 100% wool is the way to go. Any type of synthetic material may be cheaper, but you'll pay for cutting corners on quality in the long run.

 

Assuming you don't intent to gain a ton of weight or start doing cycles of anabolic steroids, spending 5-600 on a quality suit you can keep is definitely reasonable. I have been satisfied with my suit supply suits and continue to purchase/recommend them. You will not find higher quality suits until you're shopping in the $1k+ range.

The caveat here is that you want to make sure the suit isn't too trendy/fashion forward that you look silly in a few years, since youll be wearing this on interviews over the next 2-3 years. The "Napoli" cut from suit supply will wear out long before it goes out of style, and charcoal is a safe bet. Navy is a good choice as well but be careful which "navy" you get, as some of the colors they sell can make you look like you just bought it at express.

 

You can get a good looking Charles Tyrwhitt or on-sale Brooks Brothers for that price.

Hell, you could go to Macy's, buy two meh suits, and get them perfectly tailored for about the same price though and still look good for your age.

Up to you.

Commercial Real Estate Developer
 

I spent about 600 euro (about 700$ at that time) for my first suit because it was at the end of the season and I got a 25% discount. Better to invest a bit more than to buy something cheap. Your suit will be your second skin. You should approach it from this perspective. For suits there is a clear cutoff where you shouldnt buy it regardless the price. In continental Europe suits summer internship. My very first suit was about 500 euro and my parents paid for it. It wasnt fantastic but did the job.

 

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