Best Affordable Style of 2011 – The Suit

J. Crew FACTORY Thompson Wool Blend Suit Jacket & Pant – $190 – $296

The end of the year means it’s time to hand out some awards.  But calling these “the dappys” would just sound terrible.  Instead, we’ll stick with a highly generalized “best of…” strategy, with the very best from the past year being highlighted all this week.
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Many could get away without tailoring.  Size shown above is a 38R.  Full review here.

The armholes on an Alfani RED are low.  The shoulder pads on Hilfiger’s Trim fits are a little strong.  Even on sale, Banana Republic Modern Suits are usually north of $300, and Indochino doesn’t run coupon codes any more.

J. Crew’s FACTORY line offered one set of suit separates in 2011, and thanks to higher armholes, slim shoulder pads, a great off the rack fit, AND a dirt cheap price of under $200 when on sale, it excelled where all the rest had one or two knocks against them.

The 80/20 wool poly mix lightly marled charcoal fabric felt much better than most cheap 100% wool suits.  It’s lightweight, conservative enough in color, but has slim lapels and a trim fit so it’s not stuffy and boring.  All but gone now online, but you’ve got to think that its success would fuel another suit (or two?) from J. Crew FACTORY this year.