Some would claim that there is no such thing as a good, inexpensive suit. But then there are those of us who don’t want to (or can’t) spend a ton of money on a suit we wouldn’t wear with any real frequency. There are great looking, good feeling suits in the $125 – $300 range. They just might be a little tough to find. Here’s what to look for, and remember, dry clean as little as possible…
This article is helpful but doesn’t necessarily help spot some of the issues if they aren’t explicitly stated in a item description or something similar.For example, how can you tell by looking at a suit if it is fused or canvassed and what should you look for in the buttons to indicate quality?
It may too late for a revision, but the positive “non-functioning sleeve buttons” is followed by a negative description (of functioning sleeve buttons). Many of us will “get it,” but some of the folks whom a primer such as this serves may not.
In other words, the description below “non-functioning sleeve buttons” is describing the perils of functioning sleeve buttons. For those that need clarification, the description could read, “Functioning sleeve buttons are an attempt to make a cheap suit look expensive, but only make shortening the sleeves an expensive pain”.
On the subject, if your suit is being made to order, I would highly recommend the working buttons. I enjoy leaving two unbuttoned for more casual events.
I would agree that an up-close clothing construction review series, including suits, shirts, etc would help take a lot of ambiguity out of understanding quality.
if you find a cheap suit, it is fused. You only need to bother looking when it is a few steps up in price. At the higher price points there are still fused suits trying to sneak in, but I don’t think there will be any canvassed options at the “cheap” level.
Also, if the sleeve lengths are good, then there is no need to shy from functioning buttons.
I’d like to emphasize the “dry clean as little as possible” bit for cheap, fused suits and jackets. I have a BR tweed jacket I love, purchased in late 2010. One of the first serious “style” purchases I made. I took care of it with brushing and steaming until a little while ago when I decided to take a big pile of stuff to the drycleaners.
The jacket came back weirdly discolored around the shoulder seams – the grey tweed is now a chemically-altered-looking pale blue where the sleeves connected to the body of the jacket. I can only surmise this was caused by some chemical interaction between the drycleaning solution and the glue used to fuse the sleeves to the jacket.
If you want your fused jackets to hold up over the years, stick to brushing and steaming.
Second this! And I’d even be careful with the steaming portion for fused suits. The combination of the heat and moisture can melt the fusing glue and cause it to pucker…and this is not fixable! The article is right, not all fuse jobs are equal, unfortunately you usually only know whether yours was a good or bad one when something goes wrong.
And even when you approach canvas or half canvas territory price range, it’s very difficult to tell what’s what. The rub the fabric between your fingers test to find the inner floating layer is way more difficult than its sounds, and often doesn’t tell you much of anything, especially in a half canvassed jacket.
I can’t love my JCF Thompson oxford suit for $138 any more than I already do.
Right-o Josh. Once you hit $300ish, it’s usually worth it to save up for a $399 or $469-$499 Suitsupply at that point.
Yes, of course.
Derp. Too many edits (or not enough). Efforting a fix. Goofed that up. Thanks Spruced.
You should post an equivalent on how to buy an “investment” (i.e. expensive) suit. You can easily spend $500+ on a suit only to realize that it’s fused (Hugo Boss I’m looking at you) and won’t stand up to long term care/cleaning very well, or with fabric that pills on friction points, or some other corner was mercilessly cut.
I would second this. I’ve learned a fair bit about suit construction but often find conversations about quality in say, dress shirts, a little mystifying, provided we are talking about something beyond Target/Zara/H&M.
“…a little poly is ok…” Noooooo
The original J. Crew Factory Thompson (with the marled, flecked, 80-90% wool fabric) is proof that it can be.
It’s probably best to do research up front on what brands you intend to target regarding their construction. If it’s under $500 it’s going to be fused or half-canvassed at best. You may even find more expensive suits that are half-canvassed. SuitSupply’s Purple Line is fully canvassed and those are $499. They offer free shipping and free returns if you want to give them a try. Unfortunately the Napoli 36S shoulders were too big for my small frame and so I’m out of the game with that company at that price point.
Good article. For what it’s worth, here is my take. First, the nasty fuse suit thing is totally over-blown by style bloggers. They aren’t half as bad as made out and if it wasn’t pointed out most wearers and observers wouldn’t have the foggiest. It’s not only ‘cheapo’ suits that are fused but also expensive ones. Many of Hugo Boss’s lines are fused. There are elements of fusing in even the very top brands. Fusing has been around for decades and has come a long way since it was first invented. Some fused suits are better than canvassed ones. The way bloggers rabbit on about fusing you’d think this method of construction only came about in recent years. Second, as the article points out, forget this notion (again pushed by many bloggers) that one has to buy quality when it comes to suits. If you only ever wear a suit every so often, then save the shekels on things you enjoy more, like a guitar or a holiday. Forget your high end names, some low end brands put out more than passable suits (Uniqlo for one).
Pinch test, and non-plastic looking buttons if you really want to get nitty-gritty. However, buttons are ridiculously inexpensive to replace, and for a cheap suit, you’re (the wearer themselves, not you personally) the only one who will really care about trying to make it look more expensive. Most people don’t notice minute details or really care. Pick stitching? Functional buttons? Full-canvassed? Etc.