Have to wear a suit? Wear a badass suit

[Togoshiman]

Here's my simple solution to the high-end suit fetish amongst my fellow legal professionals - consignment shops.  My office and industry culture requires nice suits for men and women.  I see some younger members of the profession get the '2 for $199' specials and get mocked for it - it is difficult to pull off successfully, especially over time when those cheapies tend to wear out.  There are a few professed Mustachians (who are anything but) who load up when a Hong Kong tailor comes to town and sets up in a hotel for a few days.  A few more buy their work clothes while on vacation, justifying their trip to London as 'savings' when they go to Saville Row.  Mostly, the folks I work with head downstairs to the high-end clothiers and pull out their Amex.  There is a strong self-justification cycle which says that it takes money to make money, and this is simply the price of entry.  This is also the same reason I see so many people leasing the entry-model German luxo car they can't actually afford.

Anyway, barring becoming a brilliant iconoclast (the barrister who refuses to wear socks, even in court, comes to mind), my hack is to go to consignment shops.  My wife dragged me into one a few years ago searching for a name-brand bag she wanted but would not pay retail for.  Lo and behold, they had a small and under-serviced mens section.  Looking through I found Zegnas, Canalis, Armanis for under $200.  About half were likely from male models (38 tall, 28 waist) but many were from normal downtown guys who likely had to replace their wardrobe each year to keep up with fashions.  For under $500 every two years, I still manage to wear $1000 suits to work every day.  While my colleagues dress in expensive clothes, most lawyers are honestly nerds (my wife says we're just engineers in better clothes) who don't keep up with fashion that carefully.  So quality gets noticed but currency of style does not.  Stay conservative and you're fine.

So, I have managed to work in a high-end legal environment, dress the part, and I stay under MMM's $600 annual spend for clothes.  I feel badass about it.  I am willing to bet there are a few high-end clothes consignment shops in every major city.  Be patient and opportunistic and you will luck out.

T.

[Self-employed-swami]

I *just* took a whole lot of suits, blazers and dress pants to consignment.  I also shop there myself (the stuff I took in was too large now).

Consignment is the best thing ever, and not just for high end suits, but for everyday dressy clothes too (business casual stuff).

[Togoshiman]

I find it's men who tend to be totally oblivious / against the concept on unreasonable grounds.  I know it was a bit of a 'thing' for me to get my head around.  Which itself is weird.  Women seem much more likely to be aware of the concept and taking advantage of it.

A couple friends I told about it gave me looks like I was speaking in tongues.  I keep the 'used clothes' thing on the DL now.  Less competition anyway (never tell someone the same size as you your hunting grounds!)

[jp]

I have spent less than $1000 on suits TOTAL ever in my legal career (10 years).  I have been rocking the same navy 2 button Ralph Lauren (which can still be purchased for $150 new at Kohl's) since law school.  Never goes out of style, no one has ever commented about it being cheap (probably because I am pretty sure I give off the "so what" vibe pretty strongly even in "high end" circles).   I am above it, and I feel like if someone tried to comment on my cheap suit that they would end up looking ridiculous.  That said, I am in Indiana, not NY.  But I have made several trips to "upscale" offices, where I fit in fine in my 10 year old off the rack suit.  I do buy new ties probably every 6 months, and usually spend about $12 at TJ Maxx for those. 

My total yearly legal wardrobe is probably about $50 on average. 

[sideways8]

Oh me oh my... I just bought two brand new dresses for a work trip (got just a couple of weeks of notice that I was going)...  brand name, from a fancy store. Even the sale prices made me gag. Eep. My poor wallet. They seem pretty solid as far as construction and are flattering yet conservative so I should be able to get away with wearing them for quite a while. It just sucks that I didn't have much time to find a better deal. At least I got my new shoes from the clearance section.

I do like thrift stores although the ones around here are really hit or miss (mostly miss). I can sometimes find business-casual tops but suits and nice work dresses are harder to come by. One of these days I'll get out to the wealthier cities to check out their consignment shops!

[Togoshiman]

Caveat: I'm in Canada and not the US - I do find the prices there for decent clothes WAY better than here.  This is my close-to-home option for most of the time.  I can't be bothered making a special effort to organize a clothes shopping trip to the US, but have taken note of Kohl's and TJ Maxx the next time I'm sent on business - thanks, JP.

[Self-employed-swami]

Oh me oh my... I just bought two brand new dresses for a work trip (got just a couple of weeks of notice that I was going)...  brand name, from a fancy store. Even the sale prices made me gag. Eep. My poor wallet. They seem pretty solid as far as construction and are flattering yet conservative so I should be able to get away with wearing them for quite a while. It just sucks that I didn't have much time to find a better deal. At least I got my new shoes from the clearance section.

I do like thrift stores although the ones around here are really hit or miss (mostly miss). I can sometimes find business-casual tops but suits and nice work dresses are harder to come by. One of these days I'll get out to the wealthier cities to check out their consignment shops!

Thrift stores are one thing, and they can be very cheap. However, consignment is usually all higher quality goods.   

[Nords]

So, I have managed to work in a high-end legal environment, dress the part, and I stay under MMM's $600 annual spend for clothes.  I feel badass about it.  I am willing to bet there are a few high-end clothes consignment shops in every major city.  Be patient and opportunistic and you will luck out.

I do the same here for aloha shirts. 

Judging from the speed with which the stock turns over, I suspect people are buying them for $5.99 at Goodwill and selling them for at least $10.99 on eBay...

[kkbmustang]

I love my local high-end consignment shop. I've purchased a Diane VonFurstenberg dress (retail about $4-600) for $60, a pair of Ralph Lauren pants with the $400 price tag still hanging from them for $40, and a Prada skirt for about $50. Those were the splurges. The other shirts/cashmere sweaters were purchased in the $10-15 range.