Whether you wear them every day or only tolerate wearing them for special occasions (weddings, job interviews, awards ceremonies, graduations, cocktail parties), a good suit is a staple of any wardrobe. The problem is that suits can be very, VERY expensive, especially if you want one that is properly tailored and doesn’t look…well…cheap.
I have always been an advocate of thrifting for suits. I live in a part of NYC known for being a hub of thrift stores in a wealthy neighborhood. That’s not a humble brag – my apartment is rent stabilized. BUT, my wealthy neighbors are always dropping off their Chanel shirts and Hilfiger suits at these local thrift stores, at which you can purchase affordable, beautiful items and then use the rest of your shopping budget to have your thrifted apparel tailored. If you’ve come to terms with tailoring, just remember this: When purchasing an article of clothing that you intend to get tailored, be sure that it fits the largest portions of your body and get any excess material taken in. It is easier for a tailor to remove and take-in fabric than it is to add fabric or “let-out.”
Alternatively, there are brands that offer new suits off the rack at affordable prices (between $100-$300). Here are my picks. It’s not too late to treat yourself for the holigays and/or make 2020 your year for suit fashun!
1. Wildfang
2. Peau de Loup
4. ASOS Suits
5. Zara
And, of course, if you have the coin to spend, check out our ultimate custom/bespoke suit guide here.
If I had a dollar for every time I was asked for a cheaper option to a cool suit. These are GREAT options. My GO-TO is ASOS. You buy that $150-200 suit and then maybe spend $50 tops in tailoring, it ends up looking like a $1000 custom suit.
The LGBTQ for the most part cannot afford custom suits upwards of $750 and higher.
It would be nice if all of the LGBTQ suit brands made a “budget conscious” option to include everyone. Sometimes people can’t afford to support their community because of finances.
Michelle, I understand your concerns, but the fact is most queer brands cannot afford to sell cheaper suits because of the costs involved in creating custom products. Think about it: We expect clothes to be cheap because companies like Walmart have made most goods accessible to the average American, but it comes at a cost that most of us are not aware of: gross labor violations, slave-level wages abroad and shipping jobs overseas, environmental degradation in other countries and saddles workers with health challenges.
Keeping with the Walmart example, companies like that have a HUGE supply chain and can make demands on their production line to bring costs down. Most small clothiers do not have that kind of scale or power. But when you think about creating clothes for women, our bodies are so drastically different with all our curves, etc., it really does require time, effort and skill to create a high quality product.
Finally, queer producers should be paid well for their craft. They have worked long and hard to perfect their skill. Not everyone will be able to afford to purchase suits from queer creators and that’s okay. Buy what you can afford and factor in the cost of tailoring.