The end of the year means it’s time to hand out some awards. No, there’s no little statues to pass along, but over the next few days we’ll still highlight some of the best in affordable men’s style from this past year. And it was a good one. Feel free to send in additional nominations here.
Suitsupply Outlet Suiting: $259 – $339 ($499+)
A London Fit multi-stripe in crazy soft, super 120s wool.
Sure, there wasn’t a ton of availability for basics like solid navy or charcoal, but if you got in early, you very well could have picked up something striped, or something in linen, or maybe a louder plaid… all for a comparatively dirt cheap price.
Full priced Suitsupply is already the best option for most who are looking to balance quality and cost. Athletic silhouettes, great fabrics, and construction that usually cost much more. Then they throw the doors open for an online outlet? Even with some restocking here and there, they sold out awfully quick. Here’s to hoping they re-open in the Spring.
A few of the other suits that had made it to the Suitsupply online outlet.
Also Receiving Votes: The Clairborne Charcoal Slim Fit Suit Separates, J. Crew Factory’s ever rotating arsenal of Thompson Suit Separates, and the full priced Suitsupply Napoli in Navy.
I’ve been eyeing a suit from SuitSupply but it looks like it won’t happen anytime soon. Yesterday I picked up a J Crew Ludlow Italian Super 120 wool navy suit for under $200! Jacket was $199.99 and slim pants were $99.99 with an extra 40% off sale items. Prob one of the best deals I have ever gotten – especially considering the retail for this suit is in the $800+ range (although who pays retail at J Crew these days). This is obviously YMMV but I got mine at a store in Atlanta.
I picked up a SuitSupply Outlet suit, but had to return it because the pants were too large to get tailored down to my size. I called them up and they won’t ship a larger drop with a coat, -6 is all they do. The suit jacket fit wonderfully though.
Did this get reposted? I swear I read this last week. Not criticizing, just honestly not sure if I’m going crazy.
They will sell a different jacket/pant size in a few of their more “standard” patterns / styles, although I’m not sure if this is online or in-store only. Not surprised they wouldn’t do it for outlet items.
The other day I had talked with a suit supply associate about the outlet. He said that this past run of the outlet store was a test, since the results were so good, they plan on the opening sometime in the spring. If you haven’t signed up for their updates on the site, he suggested doing so.
I picked up 4 SuitSupply suits from the outlet during the November outlet opening. I only learned about the outlet through Joe’s post on this website. I got 3 Siennas and 1 London, the exact same London multi-striped suit pictured in his post. The Siennas I got were the grey check ($359, 130s wool by EThomas), brown check ($349, 130s wool by EThomas), and a medium brown herringbone ($339, 160s wool/cashmere by Reda…that’s not a typo, yes 160s from Reda…for….$339!). I totally agree with Joe – these suits at their regular retail price are already the hands down winner for bang-for-the-buck suits. But the fact that I got them at nearly 50% off is an absolute steal!
Fired off accidentally last week a bit early.
Looks awesome. I’m rather jealous. I ordered the same suit, but they ran out of stock and I had my order cancelled.
I hate so much that they don’t carry 34S in store.
Opening the outlet was the equivalent of me being a shark and them dropping a bucket of blood in the water. I went into an absolute frenzy checking the site 3 times a day or more.
I do have to admit a pain in my stomach when I saw a suit I paid (so hard to admit) close to $600 for…selling at the outlet for half that. Even writing that last sentence makes me question my original purchase. Don’t think about it, don’t think about it….
I love SuitSupply, and think their outlet idea is great, but I have to question it being the top pick for most affordable suit simply because of the lack of styles and sizes made available, not to mention the fact that it’s not even open anymore. In essence, it was a clearance sale. And while clearance sales are great, especially clearance sales at top retailers, they still can’t b counted on as a go-to for affordable items. Basically, the SS outlet was a crapshoot. In terms of true affordability, I still think the Claiborne and the Thompson, because its pieces are always on some kind of sale, are nearly impossible to beat.
I’ll second this, to me, if it’s not readily available it’s not really the same. Maybe a “honorable mention” or special case.
They’re correct, and so are you.
First of all, they were right to say that you’re not going to find suits with a drop 10 without going MTM or bespoke. Nobody even makes drop 10 suits- the biggest I’ve ever seen is a drop 8 and that’s extremely rare and almost always very expensive (the prices will start with a 1 or 2). While a drop 8 like Isaia’s Gustin might work, that’s a $2500 suit and is effectively priced out of the market if you’re shopping at SS.
That said, your shoulder issues are real and it sounds like it’s not ending up as a great fit. If you go to an MTM supplier like ProperSuit or Kent Wang you may be able to get a suit that fits your frame for under $1k. Anything below that, you’re really at the mercy of us fatty betas who make up 99% of the suit market.
When you say the shoulders buckle, what exactly do you mean? If there’s just a little pulling in the back, which I’m assuming would be the problem if the jacket is too small so as to accommodate pants that fit properly, it might be something only noticeable to a very critical eye, in which case you’ll probably forget about it after a few wears. But I hear you. I have wonky proportions too (though I’d probably have to run for days to get anywhere near a waist that’s 10 inches narrower than my shoulders/chest) and being unable to get “perfect” fits drives me crazy. There is a very small percentage of the population for whom OTR, or even OTR with minor alterations, will give them an out-of-GQ look.
Hate it when that happens..
Agreed.
The Thompson wins the “best affordable style” award.
in the fused suit category, I suggest also looking at the DKNY slim fit suits and suit separates, which are available in limited selections at Macys and with more options at a DKNY outlet. You can often find fhem on sale at just under $300, which is on the higher end of the fused suit spectrum, but a really nice slim fit suit. My only nit is that the sleeves run a tad roomier than I’d like, a bit wider than my Hilfiger trim fit suits. But in the all important shoulder fit category, they offer a more tailored fit with minimal shoulder padding and a smooth drape over the chest area.
Lenox? I think that’s the only one that carries J. Crew suiting. When I popped in there after Christmas, they didn’t have anything marked down.
My pickup was at perimeter mall. They also have suits, albeit much less selection.
Look at it this way…you still got a great suit even at that price! Thanks to the outlet, I had a chance to try on most of their cuts. Sent back the napoli, washington, coppenhagen, roma, and havanna. I found that the sienna and london had the perfect fit for me.
I agree. I bought the Claiborne suit for $135 and after $25 worth of tailoring it is still an incredibly great deal.
Try thinking about sports scores/stats next time. It works! … Or so I would imagine. Read that somewhere. Word on the street.
Got a partially lined havana suit in charcoal grey flannel from the outlet. I did not pay for shipping despite it being sent directly from the netherlands. Was going to pull the trigger on the grey striped sienna, but it was too bold a pattern. I already had a navy blue havana jacket that fit me well without tailoring, but the grey flannel suit in the same size seems a bit tighter, getting a bit of the “dreaded x” mentioned on real men real style. I had a similar experience with the washington jackets / suits. Overall, I think they’ll have to balance turning off and on the outlet since people will feel ripped off for paying full retail if it stays up year round. …I wonder what the real cut difference is between the napoli and the sevilla, if there even is any difference other than sizing.
Really like the suit, but Joe might need to scale back his workouts. This is the second pic in the last few days where it looks like he is ready to go all Incredible Hulk on the sleeves.
yeah this is almost like thrifting because luck and timing are so important in this case
I’m almost positive it’s fused. That said, I find it drapes incredibly well, and considering availability and frequency of sales, I’m not sure you can beat it for around $200, especially if you only wear suits occasionally.