For years, I had been hearing great things about Suitsupply, the Dutch purveyor of well-made suits, clothing and accessories founded in 2000. Handsome suits with full-canvas construction, functional sleeve buttons and a very approachable price point are a very appealing idea. I had visited the website often and stopped into each of their New York stores a few times but had yet to pull the trigger on a suit until recently. I’ve been content with the suits I already own so I didn’t see the need for a new one. The ones I have fit me well, admittedly I have needed to get a few alterations in Scottsdale but that just made me more content with the fit of them. I just decided that I might as well add another suit to my collection if it’s reasonably priced.
I must admit that I was inspired by Tim Gunn, a staunch advocate for shopping on a budget who gets his suits from Suitsupply. If it’s good enough for Tim, a style authority with more spending power than most label-obsessed show-offs, then it’s probably good enough for me and my thousandaire savior faire.
The suits come in more than a dozen different fits, ranging from classic to contemporary, including formal wear. My visits to the Suitsupply site and the shops had given me enough familiarity with the brand to know that their Napoli fit would accommodate my understated sensibility nicely.
While perusing the racks at the shop in SoHo on Broome Street, my eye was caught by a solid Blue Napoli. The rich color was somewhere between navy and French blue, and the fabric was a light wool and mohair blend with a wonderful hand. I tried it on and a nice young man named Kevin helped me with fitting.
Most of my suits are custom, but I’m a 38R off the peg. The fit in the shoulders was absolutely perfect, with nice structure and very light padding. The most noticeable difference between Suitsupply’s jackets and others in this price range is the lapel width. J.Crew’s lapel on the Ludlow is about 2.75 inches, and most jackets these days are about 3 inches, which is average. Suitsupply’s lapels are a little over 3.5 inches. As someone who prefers to have symmetry between the width of the lapel, shirt collar and tie, this would be a slight problem, since my existing arsenal is in the 3-inch range.
Another facet of the jacket’s cut that stood out to me was the length of the sleeve, which was short by my standards. With my arms relaxed at my sides, the sleeves of all my jackets just cover my wrist bone, revealing about a half an inch of shirt cuff below that. Suitsupply’s jacket sleeve was a good half-inch shorter, which they were able to lengthen. Unfortunately, this alteration offsets the normal distance between the sleeve buttons and the end of the sleeve, but the end result is hardly a tragedy. The only other tailoring needed with the jacket was a slimming in the middle.
The most obvious alterations needed with the pants were in the waist and the length. I like a slight break over the shoe. Other than that, it was a game of more slimming: in the hips, butt and thigh. The flat-front pants come with belt loops, which I never use. (I don’t even own a dress belt.) Suitsupply’s in-house tailoring service was able to remove the belt loops, but unfortunately not able to create side tabs with the extra fabric taken from the length – a task that would ultimately go to my tailor.
With the suit ($599) and the alterations ($148), my grand total was around $750. Less than a week later, the alterations were finished. Any tweaks needed on existing alterations at Suitsupply are free-of-charge, which I needed in the waist and the hips. The jacket was terrific. After a few more business days, it was finally ready. Since I had told them about my wish to have side tabs made for the waist, they provided me with the extra fabric taken from the length of the pants.
Over the years, I had been a happy customer of an online tailor, loving the perfectly-fitting $500 made-to-measure suit that arrived at my door in four to five weeks via FedEx. Suitsupply is just a different process. For my own needs, there are things other brands do better, while there are some aspects of the Suitsupply experience that surpass all others in their price range. The shoulder padding is very light, which I love, and the jackets are made with a full-canvas construction, which I really love. Also, by ordering online generic drugs, you get a good price and quality. And the fabrics mostly come from the renowned Vitale Barberis Canonico mill in Italy. But the inability to have side tabs made in place of belt loops was a bit of a bummer. And longer blank sleeves would be better, with the option to add the functioning sleeve buttons after the length is finalized. After alterations, the finished product tailored to my form and specifications was ultimately more expensive. Is it a “better” suit? I couldn’t say. But one thing is certain: it is beautiful.
All in, my Suitsupply experience was a very positive one. The store itself is a nicely appointed space with a very friendly and helpful staff and complimentary coffees, champagne or bottled water. Though I only bought a suit, Suitsupply has a complete menswear line that includes a handsome selection of shirts, accessories, outerwear, bags and shoes. They even have pajamas! They also offer made-to-measure service, which is worth exploration. Other men’s stores should take a note from their alterations and sales model – a modern, efficient and well-executed system that happens on iPads. The receipts and notifications I received by email were explicit and transparent. And the SoHo store where I bought my suit has an in-store tailoring shop where all the alterations are done. And… most importantly… the suits are terrific and the work is good. I totally get why Tim Gunn likes this place.
29 Comments
Thanks for another great experience, shared with us who look to you for advice! I LOVE the blue. I am happy to see so many true BLUE suits popping up. Yes, navy is a blue, but really, it’s just dark to me. I am a fan of the wider lapel, and it looks smart on your George.
Thank you, David!
Seems like the blue suit is a summer color this year and it looks very nice indeed. I came across this blog looking for inspiration and found plenty. Thank you George
http://www.czola10.com
The pleasure is mine, Calvin. You can never go wrong with blue.
I am thinking about a similar blue suit from there for a wedding I am officiating. I came across you because I am looking for a good black knitted tie. Would you wear that tie with that blue suit? If so, would you go brown or black shoes?
A black knit tie would be just fine with a blue suit. I’d go with black shoes or very very dark brown.
Hi George – what shirt are you wearing in that photo with your suit? I find it takes a really specific type of shirt for the collars to stay up like that…I have only like 2 in my collection that do that. Can you tell me more about yours?
Thanks, Carson. This shirt is from Kamakura Shirts. https://georgehahn.com/how-kamakura-shirts-saved-my-life/
It looks great on you. Good to read about your experience there, as we can’t exactly share in that part. Love the brand though, and their system. Stores are styled beautifully, too. Very nice post.
I’m curious … You mention that you’re a big fan of an online tailor who delivers beautiful suites for $500. That sounds almost too good to be true! Care to share any identifying information about your online tailor …?
Black Lapel
What’s your verdict on the wider lapel? You said it would be a problem, but also mentioned that the overall product is beautiful, but didn’t really clarify on your opinion on the lapel. This is one of the factors I’m deciding on between a JCrew Ludlow or something from Suit Supply.
Thank you
It’s all about proportion and balance. The width of my lapel relates to the width of my shirt collar, which relates to the width of my tie, which ALL relates to the width of my face. Since I have a slightly narrow face, 3″ is a pretty good width for me (3″ ties, shirt collars and lapels). J.Crew is slightly narrow for me (about 2.5-2.75), and Suitsupply is a hair wide (about 3.75), though I do wear it. I just got a suit from Black Lapel, which has the perfect lapel width for me (3-3.25).
Better late than never — I was looking up SuitSupply reviews and found this. Can you tell me what model number this is? It looks like it might have been replaced since last year. I don’t see any Napoli with a wool/mohair blend, or any Blue VBC fabrics.
Methinks this was in their Spring/Summer 2015 collection.
It’s worth mentioning that not all their suits are full-canvas, only their Jort, Hartford, and La Spalla styles. The Napoli is not.
Excellent. Thanks!
The worse service I’ve ever seen, if not to mention unfriendly staff.
Hi George, This was a great review. I’m entering the world of men’s suits and recently purchased my first suitsupply suit. I love it but also had to have the arms lengthened. I couldn’t help but get curious about who the online tailor you mentioned. I purchased a blue Napoli and want to get a nice gray suit next. I’m considering made to measure this time. I’d love to check out the online tailor you mentioned if you don’t mind sharing. Thanks in advance
For made-to-measure, I had a great experience with Black Lapel. Suitsupply does m2m, also.
Hey George,
Great suit and awesome touch with the side tabs. Did your tailor mention how much material he would need to create side tabs?
Thanks,
Bryan
No. I just asked for the cut fabric from Suitsupply, brought it to the tailor and crossed my fingers. (I could tell it would be enough.)
Thanks for the reply, George.
Do you remember how many inches of pant leg that you brought to the tailor?
Hmm… I think maybe 2 inches.
Where can one find side adjusters? Is that something the tailor would need to buy?
The tailor I used had them.
Thanks for the review. Does Suit supply have suit jackets with No padding?
Thank you! I don’t know about suit jackets with no padding. Some of their more Neapolitan/Italian cuts look like they have very light padding. I do have one of their casual jackets that has no padding or lining.
Hi George, thank you for the wonderful review. This is a beautiful suit. I noticed, as you mention, the space between the suit sleeve’s hem and buttonholes is more than typical. Is this something that you find noticeable—or other people have noticed? I have a new Lazio suit from SuitSupply that I love with the same issue (that measurement is about is 2.5 inches, instead of the standard 1.5 inches). I am a bit conscious about it, but wanted to see whether, with your expertise, this is a not even an issue.