10 Warning Signs You're Overpaying For A Suit [0:00:00]
[Music] You can spend $500 on a suit and get a great
deal.
You can spend $2,000 on a suit and still get a great deal.
But, you could also spend $100 or $1,000 and still get ripped off.
Confused?
Let me explain.
What you have to understand is that price does not equal quality.
In today's video, gents, I'm looking to eliminate the confusion, to point out the warning signs
you need to watch out for, so that you don't get ripped off when you're buying a suit.
Warning sign number one, the company you're buying your suit from, they don't want to
talk about the fabrics.
Here's the deal.
Any reputable company selling suits should be able to talk about the fabrics.
If you're working with an individual tailor, he should want to geek out about the fabrics.
If they're not using the right fabrics quality fabrics, then you can bet they are cutting
corners in other places.
Now, when it comes to quality suit fabrics, the best in the world, we're going to see
coming out of Italy, England, and France.
Now, you're also going to hear the names of mills.
These are the individual companies that are making the fabric, many of them for hundreds
of years.
So, you're going to hear companies like Dormeuil, Reda, you’re going to hear Zegna, you’re
going to hear VBC.
So, now, let's talk about the super numbers.
You're going to see the super 110, the super 120, super 140, super 220, you're going to
see 80s.
What actually what do all these numbers mean?
So, in general, the higher the number, the finer the weave of the individual fiber and
a tighter the weave of the fabric, also, the lighter it's going to be in general.
Understand though, there isn't a set standard.
So, one company's super 120 is not the same as another company's super 120.
It's like comparing apples to oranges.
But, in general, you're going to find the lower the number usually a bit lower the price.
And, I think that's a great place to start a super 100, a super at 120 is perfectly fine
and it's an all-purpose suit.
Now, that being said you need to understand your choice of fabric can have a huge effect
on the final price of the suit.
I have a tailor friend, he can make one custom suit for you, it's $1,000, another custom
suit, $5,000.
The only difference?
The material that's used.
So, what's going on?
What's up with the price difference?
Really, it depends on the mill that's doing the manufacturing and what goes into the fabrics.
You're going to find some fabrics have very specialty fibers.
They're going to have mohair, they're going to have cashmere.
The average suit has about three to three and a half yards of fabric in it.
And, you're going to find you can find a yard fabric for, you know, $20, $30.
Other times, it will be $200, $300, $500 a yard depending on what mill it comes from
and, again, what's -- what's in the fabric.
Now, throughout this video, guys, you're going to see a number of suits.
I'm going to be wearing two suits, all of this brought to you by Spier & Mackay, the
sponsor of today's video.
Guys, what I love about Spier & Mackay is that they were founded on the belief that
great fit and high quality doesn't have to be at a luxury price.
They're making great quality suits, amazing shirts.
And, when you go over to their website, you're going to find they've got neckties, they've
got pocket squares.
They've got everything you need to look great.
So, Spier & Mackay not only do they have a wide variety of sizes, but they've got contemporary
and slim fit.
You actually get a size that works with your body type.
And, we just talked about fabrics and these guys are proud to talk about their mills over
in England or Italy and talk about fabrics they're using such as VBC.
And, let's talk about what's on the inside of a Spier & Mackay jacket.
So, you're going to see the half canvas construction.
That's on all their suits and all of their sports jackets.
Italian canvas chest pieces, the Japanese Bemberg lining.
We've got German undercollars and shoulder padding, bullhorn and nut buttons and the
sous bras.
This is a little piece of cloth that absorbs sweat.
And, let's not forget the trousers.
We've got the pleated curtain waistband.
And, one of my favorite details, we've got the three-button front.
Why is this important?
Because this better distributes the pressure on the front area and it just makes the front
of their trousers look better.
Gents, if you're in the market for a great fitted suit, high quality shirts, or accessories
like pocket squares, neckties, you want to check out Spier & Mackay.
I've inspected their clothing.
A great company.
I'm linking to them down in the description.
Look at those deals.
This is some of the best deals you're going to find out there.
You're going to love what Spier & Mackay has for you.
So, the next warning sign you may be overpaying for a suit, you don't know the difference
between off-the-rack custom and bespoke.
So, off-the-rack, these are suits made in a factory sent out to stores and this is the
vast majority this is 98-99% of the market.
And, if you can find the right brand, you just get minor adjustments on this thing and
you've got a suit that looks good on you.
But, what if you're hard to fit?
What if you want something special?
What if you actually can't find anything off-the-rack that works with your body type?
Then, that's when you want to look at custom, also known as made-to-measure.
So, this is where they actually make the garment to you, and they can adjust a lot of things.
They can adjust everything, but it can take, you know, depending on what your arm length
is, depending on how big your torso is, they can actually adjust the garment.
Now, what is a bespoke?
Bespoke is the art.
This is where they individually make the garment.
Everything is made for that person, and this is when the price starts to skyrocket.
And, talking about price, bespoke is usually where we're going to see the highest custom
and made-to-measure right, you know, in the middle and then, off-the-rack is going to
be the lowest.
Although, off-the-rack, when it comes to designer suits can be astronomically high.
So, that's just a general guide, it doesn't always hold.
[0:05:07] The next warning sign that you're going to
be overpaying for a suit, you're dealing with a salesman that only cares about the sale
versus a salesman that actually is old-school and understands that it's more than the sale,
it's about the relationship.
And, he wants to put you in a suit that looks great even if he's got to direct you elsewhere.
You want to find these kind of guys.
They're hard to find especially since a lot of companies go through people, but they are
out there.
And, where you're going to find these guys are oftentimes the higher-end menswear stores.
And, these are great places to walk into.
Maybe you can't afford everything, but the great, you know, added bonus to this is it
you touch and you try on some of the best and you get an idea of what is out there.
Until you touch cashmere, you don't really know what cashmere is.
Until you actually see a horn button and compare it to plastic, you know what the difference
is and what to look for.
That's the beauty of finding and going to higher-end menswear stores.
The next warning sign that you could be overpaying for a suit, you don't know how a suit should
actually fit your body.
Now, when it comes to custom and bespoke suits, in theory the fit should be spot-on, but that's
not always the case especially the first time you're getting it because the tailor can have
an interpretation of how close of a fit you want.
But, it really is about the communication between you and the tailor and the number
of fittings.
So, if you're going to get something bespoke, you should have multiple fittings in person.
However, for the vast majority of men, they're going with off-the-rack.
And, how do you make sure an off-the-rack suit is going to work for your body type?
First, you try it on.
Second, you take it to get adjusted.
So, let's get to trying it on.
When you try on that suit, there are certain things that are very difficult to adjust and
honestly not worth it, so you want to make sure it fits properly in these areas.
First up, the shoulders, it has to fit you in the shoulders.
Getting a shoulder adjusted, that's like heart surgery, and it's not worth it.
Then, let's look at the chest, the torso area.
You've got about an inch to an inch and a half that you can bring it in or that you
can possibly let it out.
I say possibly because not all suits will actually let out very well, so it's always
better to have it a little bit large because you can bring that in versus too tight.
And, let's not forget about the length of the jacket.
This is really important to proportions.
To tell if the jacket is the right length, just simply put your arms right down next
to your body and you should be able to curl your fingers up.
And, right between your palm and your fingers you should be able to feel about an inch to
an inch and a half of material.
If you're a taller guy over six foot, it's okay if the jacket is a bit longer.
If you're a shorter guy maybe 5’4”, you want to make sure the jacket is that length
or maybe a bit shorter.
And, let's talk about sleeve length.
This is actually one of the more easier adjustments out there.
Most jackets are going to make their sleeves a bit longer, so you're going to want to bring
up the sleeves about an inch to an inch and a half.
You want to show anywhere from half an inch to three-quarters an inch of shirt cuff when
your arms are down.
Now, let's focus in on the fit of the trousers and let's focus in on the crotch.
It's pretty obvious you don't want it too tight in the crotch area, but a lot of guys
go to the complete opposite, too loose, and this is bad as well.
Why?
It makes your legs look stunted whenever you've got a lower hanging crotch.
Now, adjusting the crotch on a pair of trousers is actually pretty difficult, so what we advise,
you make sure and nail you get this fit right because the other ones are relatively simple.
If the trousers are too tight or a little bit too loose, well, guess what?
You can let out some material, you can bring it in.
Although if you bring it in too much, it can throw off the proportions of the back pockets,
so pay attention to that.
When it comes to the length of the trousers, you want to just go for a simple hem.
This is a very common adjustment.
And, now, let's talk about the actual leg of the trousers.
You can get that slimmed up.
It's an expensive alteration, but if you feel it's too loose and you want to go for a slimmer
cut, this is something that you can go for a more tapered look just by talking with your
tailor and having them bring it in.
So, the next warning sign that you're overpaying for a suit, you don't know the name of your
tailor.
Why does this matter?
Because your tailor is the person that's going to get you what you want with that suit, he’s
going to make it fit.
Now, if you're going to be buying from your local menswear store, it could be that they've
got a tailor right in there and they build that into the price when they sell the suits
especially if they provide all the alterations.
But, for a lot of times if you're going to buy something off the web or if you've got
a jacket you haven't worn for two years, you want to take it into your tailor get it adjusted
and you want to make sure that they understand what you want.
How do they know this?
Because you talk to them, you explain to them, you tell that tailor exactly what you want
what look you're shooting for and you work with them and you develop a relationship.
You should have a seamstress or a tailor that you can go to to make your good clothing look
even better.
So, the next warning sign that you're overpaying for a suit, you don't know how to spot quality
details.
So, one of the first things you want to look at is the inside of the jacket.
By looking at the inside the construction the materials used, you can tell a lot about
how much the manufacturer cared about what they were making.
So, the first thing we noticed is the lining.
Now, historically, lining has been made from a number of different materials.
The higher-end used to be made from silk.
Nowadays, they're using Bemberg which is a much better material.
It's more durable.
[0:10:01] What you don't want to get is polyester.
Yes.
There are some low-end suits out there using polyester and you want to make sure to avoid
that like the plague because basically it makes the suit non-breathable.
Now, next up you're going around and you're looking at the threading you're looking at
the stitching that's holding everything together.
And, it should be nice stitching, you shouldn't have loose threads all over the place.
Right here, we've got a sous bra.
So, this is basically an extra little bit of material that's sewn in there to absorb
sweat, a nice detail.
When somebody spends extra money on things like this you know that, okay, if they care
about these details, then the inside of the jacket is actually going to be pretty good.
Now, some of you guys may be wondering about half-lined versus fully-lined jackets.
This is a fully-lined jacket where the lining covers the entire inside of the jacket, but
you're going to see some out there that actually they only go halfway.
That's going to be made more for hotter weather to allow a bit more breathability.
And, believe it or not, half-lined jackets, even though they use less materials, they're
more expensive to manufacture because you got to make sure everything looks nice and
pretty on the inside of the jacket.
Now, speaking of the inside of a jacket, what does a manufacturer mean when they say it's
a canvas jacket or it's a glued jacket?
Very few are going to admit they're making glued jackets, but that is the vast majority
of the jackets out there.
So, if you can imagine here, we've got layers of material and the glued jacket as it sounds
uses an adhesive that actually holds the materials together.
Here's the problem is that once you send it to the cleaners and over time, that adhesive
starts to come apart you start to get puckering in on the jacket and that's why a lot of glued
jackets just don't last long.
Now, with a canvas jacket, this takes a lot more time.
This jacket right here is a half canvas jacket, so that means right up here in this area they've
actually sewn the pieces together.
A floating canvas like this what it is is it allows the pieces to move around slightly.
You're not going to have an issue with the puckering.
So, other details I look for on higher-end suits, and let me be clear not every higher-end
suit has to have these, but they're a good sign.
First up, I look at the back of the jacket, what type of vent.
If it's got no vent, maybe it's an Italian style, I get it.
That's cool.
But, if it's going with the single vent, that's usually not a great sign.
This is the compromise, it's relatively inexpensive to manufacture.
I don't like this, they don't really do a great job especially if you put your hand
in your pocket, you're going to expose your backside.
But, let's look at the double vent, the most expensive to manufacture.
I think it keeps the lines nice and crisp.
And, historically, this is the cut the classic style that you want to go for.
Another detail I like to look for, right here on the lapel you should have a boutonniere
hole preferably it should be open.
If it's not, you could open it yourself.
But, I like this because it goes back to times when men would wear boutonnieres and you still
can by the way.
Another quick way to spot quality, look at the type of buttons that they're using, horn
not mother of pearl.
These are going to cost a lot more than plastic.
I’ve nothing against plastic and if plastic is your thing, go for it.
But, I really like the use of higher-end buttons because, again, it shows that the manufacturer
cares about those small historic details.
And, speaking of buttons, let's talk about the buttons on the sleeve of a jacket.
So, if they're working if they're functional, that's known as surgeon cuffs.
Historically, this was for surgeons to be able to roll their sleeves if they're going
to be doing surgery on the battlefield not to get their jacket dirty and it looks cool.
But, really there's no functional reason nowadays to have this.
And, in fact, it can be a detriment.
If you're buying a jacket and you need to get that sleeve adjusted by more than an inch,
having the working cuffs can be an issue.
So, be careful whenever you're out there looking at jackets if they've got the working cuffs,
understand, that you're not going to be able to adjust the sleeve length by more sometimes
than just more than like half an inch.
So, what did I miss?
What would you have added?
Let me know down in the comments.
So, what video to watch next?
Well, if you're into suits, you're going to like this one.
I've got Bruce Wayne versus Tony Stark.
Which guy wears the suit better?
Find out in this video right here, guys.
I will link to it down in the description.
[0:13:46] End of audio