The end of the year means it’s time to hand out some awards. No, there’re 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 to joe@dappered.com.
Spier & Mackay’s Slim or Contemporary Base Line Suits – $275 – $348
Three years running. And well deserved.
There are very, very few things not to like about Spier & Mackay’s entry level suits (they do fancy Italian wools too for an upcharge, but the base line is just fine). Half canvas, Australian merino wool, they come with easy to tailor non functioning sleeve buttons, the lapels are a timeless width, and the two cuts that they offer (slim, and the more generous yet not boxy “contemporary” fit) seem to fit the vast majority of the population.
Their base line of suits runs a very reasonable $328 – $348 USD. And sometimes less with sales. Much less. Like, in the mid to high two hundreds.
Those attributes, and that price, more than make up for the fact that returns are only free on your first suit or sportcoat purchase. But that’s a small knock against them. Also, sometimes the more common sizes seem to sell out awfully fast. But they usually re-stock as the seasons change. You just have to plan a bit and pay attention to when they re-stock. We’ll do our best to notify you when it happens.
Bottom line: Solid quality, nice fabrics, and fine finishing (buttons, stitching, curved chest pocket, etc…) is a tough combo to find at the mid $300s or less. That’s cheap-ish fused suit territory. So a mighty appreciative (& suited) hat tip once again goes to our neighbors north of the border where they’re based. Full review of the Slim fit Fit can be found here, while the Contemporary Fit review can be found here.
Also Receiving Votes: Suitsupply’s $399 Blue line. J. Crew’s Ludlow and Classic fit/Crosby suits if you can snag em’ on sale. Black Lapel’s Custom Suits. Banana Republic’s (fused) Italian Wool Suit Separates.