[JoosyJoos]

So here's the scoop... got hired by a consulting firm and begin work in June. I just graduated from college so I don't have a whole lot of corporate casual or professional attire. Where should I be looking? What are the essentials I'm going to need? Looking for stuff that's reasonably affordable.

Any other advice from you traveling business type people would be great as far as other things I might need too.

[BTM]

Men's Warehouse. I was skeptical at first, but I had a very knowledgeable salesman and got 2 mid-range (starter) suits for them very reasonably. Check them out.

Rule of thumb: go conservative...dark blues, dark greys/charcoal. Depending on the type of firm it is of course, but black is a little too flashy/formal in the opinion of many. Same with ties...don't go crazy, keep it understated. You're not a real estate agent.

[Maestro]

What kind of consulting are you doing, That will dictate how nice the close should be, but the Men's Warehouse if a good start They have some nice stuff

Hugo Boss nice stuff, bit expensive

then there is JoS A Banks

Try to stay with Wool Suites they wear well,

stay away from too trendy designs a good basic design will serve you well and you will not have to replace it.

A good suite sales guy will asked what plan to do and how you plan to wear it so they get you into the right suite.

[Freakazoid]

have they told you whether it's strict business attire, or business casual.... this matters greatly.

I did consulting, in general I never needed strict business attire. So I NEVER wore a suit to work.
Outside of that khakis of all colors (white/tan/blue/black), button down collared shirts, and MAYBE some polos. Very simple and easy Brands don't matter if it's business casual... I do Macy's as much as anywhere else

[lucas.kent]

I would actually recommend stopping by Nordstrom and making an appointment with a personal shopper (I think they call themselves personal stylists). You can make an appointment online too, I think. You basically meet with this person, describe your job and some things that you like (colors, patterns, etc), and give them your price range and they'll do a great job putting together the basics. The real advantage is that when the semi-annual sales come, they will have you come in and you can pick out tons of things and they'll set them aside for you when they go on sale.

[Feyd]

It can be spotty, but Nordstrom Rack/Off 5th (Saks Outlet) can have some good things if you are a "regularly" sized person. Especially if all you need is some khakis and polos/button downs, etc.

Mens warehouse is also a good suggestion if you gotta go for suits.

[CollinsE90]

TJ MAXX/Ross dress for less FTW

[koreez88]

What's your build? I found Nordstrom Rack to have great deals on good brand suits.
But my favorite business attire can be found at Banana Republic, their pants and jackets fit great and look modern. Not too expensive either.

[TurboFan]

Depends on what kind of work you'll be doing. Ask your hiring manager. Are they coat and tie in the office, slacks and button down, slacks and golf shirt? Not likely on the last one. Are you going to be doing accounting inventory in a wearhouse, or grinding spreadsheets in an office? Are you going to be at the client site most of the time, or in your own office/cube farm?

Jos A Banks is a great place to start for business suits, ties, etc if you are a normal shape. The traveler line of clothes are very nice, hold their shape and resist wrinkling. I'm 6'-1", 260 with a 12" drop on my suits. All mine are custom or made to measure. If your drop (the difference in the measurement between your chest and waist) is more than 8 inches, you'll need alterations to the jacket, even in an athletic fit. If you're more than 10 inches, you may need to go custom / made to measure. The MtM route is a good bit cheaper than custom, and almost any Hart Schaffner and Marx dealer can do them for about $600 in a decent suit. FWIW, when you're shopping, HSM is a decent entry level suit, they're owned by Hickey Freeman. If you wear a 42-44 regular, everything on the rack will fit like a custom suit! Get a navy and a charcoal w/ subtle gray pinstripe. These are two classic suits you can wear any time of year and they'll never go out of style. To start, get 2-button suits, they are timeless as well. As you add more suits, you can decide what style you like. Black is for funerals and tuxedos. Unless you are a mob consultant, skip black.

I would stay away from most cheap shirts / suits. They fit poorly, won't hold their shape and look bad. The fabrics are low end, so you'll spend a ton of time ironing and you'll be uncomfortable in your clothes. Get lots of white shirts, add a light blue or two to start. These are timeless as well, and once you get a feel for the office and clients you can add other options.

Get dark ties. Your tie should be darker than your shirt unless you're a hit man or boxing promoter.

BTW, my color advice centers around the traditional business formal wardrobe. I'm sure someone will disagree with my color rec's, but when you are getting started, you can't go wrong with the basics. After a couple months you can see what the more senior, respected people in the office wear - follow their lead. If the CEO wears black suits and bright orange shirts, go for it.

Consider some decent shoes as well. Consider a shoe that is likely to be dressier than what you probably wore in college. No need to buy Alden, although they are excellent shoes. Consider a Johnson&Murphy to get started. Buy shoes with laces if you can find a good fit, or carefully choose a nice pair of slip-on shoes.

Buy a good belt to match each pair of shoes. Something about an inch wide. The 2 inch wide belt you wear with jeans is not acceptable, and likely won't fit with your suit belt loops.

That's my advice after 15 years in 3 Fortune 100 companies.

For travel, you'll need a good roll-aboard (22" suitcase). You can get a weeks worth of clothing in one if you're good/savvy. If you're good at E-bay, search out a Tumi Alpha or Gen 4. It'll likely be the last you'll ever buy. I bought my wife one for $275, retail is $650. I've had mine for 4 years, it looks brand new after 100,000 miles. Their add-a-bag system is coppied by everyone. If you can't swing that just yet, look to samsonite, travel pro, Victorinox, etc. You'll kill them in a year of travel, but they're about $150, +/-.

If you travel business casual, go for the traveler polos at Jos A Bank. Best shirts i've ever owened. Hold their body and they don't wrinkle. Look for a sale, they're routinely 50% off. Also check if your new company is a corporate client. You'll get 20% off any full price item. Even for business casual, stick to good wool slacks with a thick, multi-layer waist band. They'll last. If you're going to be doing wearhouse inventory you may want to go the cotton route for slacks. At that point hit the outlets.

[BTM]

+1 on HSM...my favorite suit is HSM

[Verbiage]

Saks Fifth Avenue.

[Cosmop]

TurboFan has some great advice above^

I also think Johnson & Murphy are a good price shoes and look smart with any business outfit.

If you don't need a suit and tie, Banana Republic has some great dress slacks. They have a great fit and look streamlined without the pleats and cuffs that a lot of other brands have. The higher line Modern Fit pants will run you about $100.

[10M3MAN]

Mens Warehouse.....Let them handle all the fittings for ya

[JoosyJoos]

Wow great information guys!

To answer a few of the questions I've gotten so far... the job is technology consulting with Capgemini. From what I've been told my dress will dependent on the clients I am visiting.

I have a nice navy colored Huge Boss suit that fits well and is my go-to suit. From what I've gathered, wearing a full suit and tie combo will be a somewhat rare occasion. I'm expecting to get away with wearing a blazer on most occasions (any recommendations on that one?).

As far as build goes... I'm tall and scrawny. 6'2" 155lbs... wear a 42R suit.

[Verbiage]

How about the Gap? They have some very nice bargains and beautiful casual wear there. Kind of like a less expensive Banana Republic. And before anyone starts bashing Gap they actually have very nicely constructed jackets and shirts. There is also J Crew, which sells the same type of clothing as well.

[TurboFan]

Originally Posted by JoosyJoos

Wow great information guys!

To answer a few of the questions I've gotten so far... the job is technology consulting with Capgemini. From what I've been told my dress will dependent on the clients I am visiting.

I have a nice navy colored Huge Boss suit that fits well and is my go-to suit. From what I've gathered, wearing a full suit and tie combo will be a somewhat rare occasion. I'm expecting to get away with wearing a blazer on most occasions (any recommendations on that one?).

As far as build goes... I'm tall and scrawny. 6'2" 155lbs... wear a 42R suit.

6-2 and you wear a 42R??? Maybe a 42L? That's great, either way, as just about anything off the rack will fit you very well.

Go for a blue blazer / sport coat first. Don't try and use your suit coat, any guy will know. Blazers have brass buttons, suits have matching color buttons. It's an easy tell, and kinda chintzy. Consider buying a second suit, in a grey color, and a navy blazer. That gives you lots of options. If you aren't wearing the jackets much, consider 2-pant suit sets. It's 2 pairs of pants and a jacket, all in the same fabric. They do this becuase pants wear faster, so most people wear out the less expensive pants, and then can't use the more expensive jacket. Just be sure to rotate the pants - don't tuck one in the closet for later, it won't match in a few years.

Technically, if you're wearing a tie, you should be wearing a jacket. However, that rule is frequently ignored these days.

Gap / Banana Republic / J Crew, etc make great casual / busines casual clothes. However, I've found their jackets (sport coats) to be of a more causal construction or style. Great for an evening out at a trendy club, but not good enough for the board room. The fabrics are not the same as you would find in a proper business suit, and it will show when you stand next to other guys in suits from conventional retailers. If you're going to be wearing a suit to work, think board room. There are very few clothing options for guys that look better than a high quality, well made suit. Even an ugly toad looks good in a custom Armani suit!

After you've been on the job a few months, consider a few custom shirts if that's what you primarily wear. Usually if you buy 10 you can get the cost down to around $85 for a good (not great, good) fabric. It's still a better fabric than 95% of the off-the-rack market, and the fit will sell you for life. The shirts will last longer too, because they fit better.

[JayKay335i]

I'd say go for Mens Warehouse. You'll be dropping bills anywhere else.

[JayKay335i]

^^^ Dont listen to him. He drives a Previa.

[ililillilillilil]

members only shirt
dockers or oshkosh pants
buster brown's
ed grimley hairstyle

tight.

[Verbiage]

Louis Vuitton Damier graphite belt, Marni pants, Alexander McQueen floral shirt, Tom Ford blazer. Lookin' like Tony Montana. Ermenegildo Zegna shoes.

[SchnellM3]

Twice a year Jos A. Bank has this buy one get one free sale around this time and in the winter months that's when I usually stock up on suits you can get 4 for the price of 2 and they are pretty nice quality. But as far as dress shirts go no body makes a better dress shirt than Brooks Brothers, Im a slim guy and their slim fit shirts are amazing. Their suits are pretty nice too...

[kyleb350]

We have tons of Capgemini consultants at my work right now. None wear suits, but our dress code is business casual at best. If you can get away with getting outfits at Kohl's, why not? Like you said, though, you will find out the dress code can be different from client to client