Hey... Does Anyone Know Where I Can Find Some Classic (or Neo-Classic) Suits...

[Joseph Ciotti]

...That would actually fit me?

Yes, hello there, I think you all remember me. I'm going into my sophomore year next year, and I plan to wear suits for most of the year, preferrably when autumn begins. I been to one of my local Wal-Marts, (there's another Wal-Mart, I may've seen some suits to fit me.) and they have suit jackets that absolutely swallow me either that or they're way too small. Sad thing is, on top of that, they don't even have any pinstripe slacks in my size. So, my question is, where can I find some? (I'm a size 17 or 18 in a suit jacket, 5'8"/105 or so pounds.)

A small list for what I'm really looking for:

2 Black Pinstripe Suits
2 Plain Black Suits
1 Navy Suit
1 Tan Suit

//Thanks,
Joseph C.

 

[carebear]

Do you have a Sears nearby? A JC Penneys? A Gottshalks or Lamonts? Macy's or other larger outlet stores?

Almost all the larger department chains and clothing stores will have reasonably decent suits at reasonable prices (bear in mind we aren't talking $20 reasonable, expect over a hundred to start). They probably won't look "vintage" per se but should have the fabric styles you mention. Look for 3 button and double breasted and natural fabrics as those are a bit more classic than the two button poly stuff. The most important thing is to get a suit that fits your body type.

For true "vintage" your best bet is online or thrift stores. From the ht/wt you give you actually should have a decent shot at fitting into the smaller sizes men were back in the day (or day before the day )

My other question has to do with your sizes? Where do you get "17" from?

Suit jackets (off the rack) are usually sized by chest size and length (for instance I wear a 44 Long jacket). If a jacket fits through the chest and shoulders it can usually be fitted to you waist by a tailor.

I would recommend first getting yourself to a tailor shop or real suit store and have a fitting. If you aren't buying anything you might have to pay. They will get your true measurements; chest, waist, arm, neck, inseam etc. Even hat size.

Write those down and you can order online stuff with some accuracy, know whether thrift store stuff will be even close to fitting and get your off-the-rack purchases fitted to you (most real suit stores will fit your purchases at no charge). Salesmen are more likely to take a customer seriously who has an idea what size they are.

 

[scotrace]

Target

Many have been discussing the good stuff at Target stores. The discussion can be found here.

 

[Mr. Rover]

Well, 105 lbs. at 5'8 is quite thin, but a 17" chest certainly looks out of place.

 

[Joseph Ciotti]

Well, 105 lbs. at 5'8 is quite thin, but a 17" chest certainly looks out of place.

Heheh, I honestly don't know, I used to wear a size 16 suit or sumthin' like that. So, I'll probably have to measure my chest I guess.

 

[carebear]

The world record for women's waist sizes is something like 15 inches (corseted?). I could more or less span that with my hands.

I'd again suggest having a professional measure you, there's a bit more to it than just wrapping yourself in a cloth tape. It will pay dividends if you want to buy proper clothes in the future.

I think the number you are remembering is your neck size, which is used for buying shirts (along with arm length). Given your described slimness "16" doesn't sound too big. A dress shirt measurement will look like "16/30-31" for off-the-rack.

You're probably a low-30 something chest Jacket and I'd bet a regular length. The other way to shop is just to start trying them on til they fit across the shoulders. Be aware most men's jackets nowadays will run big in the waist and can almost always be helped by being taken in by a tailor. Arm length can usually be shortened a bit even on the cheapest jackets but fabric can't be stretched, so go longer if you have to.

And you need a sammich.