Suit saga

Okay, so can anyone explain to me why there are whole shows dedicated to wedding dress shopping, when wedding suit shopping is clearly much more difficult? I mean, a suit has a minimum of two pieces that have to fit perfectly. There are endless variations on color and fabric blends and weights. There are different cuts and then controversy over said cuts.

D has a suit and it's fine. But not amazing. And not what he wants to get married in. D is not a big guy and he's an architect, so design matters and he knows what he wants. Slim, European cut, with a shorter jacket than you usually see, something confusing about the lapels that I don't understand. Nothing that looks grandpa-esque or like you might suddenly decide to go yachting for god's sake.

{d - suit shopping}

We tried a couple of routes. D ordered one online at Indochino, after seeing good reviews on the interwebs. He had a Groupon, so it was a decent deal ($300 all told). I took the measurements carefully and we double checked everything. When the suit arrived, it was beyond bizarre. The pants fit, albeit somewhat wonkily. The vest was perfect. But the jacket. The jacket was an unmitigated disaster. It has enormous armholes and is so nipped at the waist and flared at the hips that it somehow manages to create the illusion of an hourglass figure. D took it to his tailor and she laughed hysterically (and confirmed that our original measurements were correct). There is no way to fix it other than completely remaking it.

And the really annoying part? I'm pretty sure we won't be able to return it. We didn't read the fine print and apparently you have ONE WEEK to ask for a refund. Who even has time to pick up a package and try something on and get a second opinion in one week? D is going to try to call and plead his case, and hopefully he'll be able to re-coup something.

To sum up ... I won't say that Indochino is a waste of your time, because the deals are pretty good and plenty of people have had it work out. If you decide to try it, please do yourself a favor and try on the suit the minute it arrives and then initiate the return right away if it doesn't work out. $300 is a good price for a suit you love, but it is a colossal waste of money for a suit you'll never be able to wear.

After that mess, we tried one more online option. Bonobos has a great reputation and I triple checked the return policy (whenever you want, free shipping both ways!) because we were feeling a little gun shy. D picked out three of their suits and had them in a week. After an at home fashion show, I was completely convinced - the man looks great in a suit. They're a little more expensive than Indochino, but still affordable ($560 for the ones D ordered). D was happy-ish, but worried that the fit around the torso could be a little slimmer and they were out of his size in the pants he really liked.

So on Saturday we hit up Nordstroms (fail) and Bloomingdales, where we found a Theory suit that looked pretty sweet. It's this style, but in a different fabric. $895 was a big step up from $560, but the pants were crazy good and a bit of tailoring could have solved some of the jacket issues.

We continued on towards Opening Ceremony. Which, let me tell you, is terrifyingly hipster. As in, finding your way in is awkwardly difficult and when you get in you realize that you probably don't belong there because you're wearing F21 jeans and a wrinkled J.Crew sweater and absolutely nothing ironic and you've definitely eaten sometime in the last week and you just pray that they can't see the crumbs and frosting from the cupcakes you scarfed in the car. (This is probably overly mean - the salespeople were perfectly nice and helpful, but I have never felt so out of place and I was a little afraid of touching anything)

And there, against all better judgment (once we'd seen the price tag), D tried on a suit that blew everything else out of the water, completely. There was no more comparison. Except for the fact that the jacket alone cost more than the entire Theory suit and once you add in the pants it would be almost a month's rent. It isn't available online and I was too intimidated to take pictures in there, so I can't give you a look, which is a shame because it was a thing of glory.

As penance, we stopped at Loehman's, which I despise (specifically, I hate the one near the Beverly Center, which happens to be the only one near us). Luckily we didn't get trapped in the crazy parking structure and we were able to quickly flip through the few available options and rule it out. 

We retreated to Mozza to recuperate and discuss the feasibility of buying an outrageously expensive suit. For the record, I'm game to try figure out a way to make it work, especially because it's commonly accepted that women will spend that much and more on their wedding dress, which you can't use again, and D will be able to use this suit regularly. D is still horrified over the cost (which I totally get - it's a shocking amount of money for us).

I'm at least relieved that we have three options at all different price levels. If D were taller, we'd probably be hitting up vintage stores as well, but vintage shopping for men under 5'8 takes up more time than it's worth, in my opinion. Did I mention that I'm not a patient shopper? This was probably the most epic trip I've ever been on and I only survived because I got fed twice and no one made me try anything on.

So here we are, in suit dilemma land. We're still considering a custom made suit, but from a local source. We're kind of running out of time, guys.