Brogger's Quarterly: Five Essential Suits Under $500

Happy New Year, readers! It's internship application season. I'm assuming all you gents (sorry no suits for ladies here) will be getting past the paper-cut round and into first-round interviews. That means you need a snazzy suit to dress like you already have the job. Or maybe you need something for an occasion? Finding your suit too big? Just-want-to-looking-effing-great?

Since most of us are on a college budget, I'm going to keep these suits (jackets + pants) under $500, offer some advice on safe colors, and educate you on the different types of lapels and vents.

Still too expensive? Let's just say these suits are an investment for your life. The suits here should last you well for a couple years working, getting you the job, or being in your general wardrobe. It will pay for itself in a short amount of time.

Every guy needs a suit, and quality suits can be had for under five bills. Take a look, after the break.

Some Guidelines

1. The most common pitfall is having/buying a suit that's too big for you. Everything should conform to your body, and don't even think about "growing into it." Jacket sleeves a little too long? Pants waist need an inch more or inch less? Hem? Get it tailored.

Anything more than an inch or so in these you might wanna look at a different suit. Designers all have different cuts so don't be trapped by a particular name. They all fit slightly differently.

2. Most suits need some sort of small alteration here and there, but the chest and shoulders should fit true to size because you might as well have bought a different size suit. A tailor can tell you they can re-size the shoulder pads or reduce them. DON'T-DO-IT-LA.

3. Chest - The jacket should button up with no strain on the jacket. There should also not be too much room between the button and your chest. Try buttoning up the jacket and putting your fist in between the jacket and your chest. If there's more than a fist's worth to move around, your jacket is too big. Size down.

4. Shoulder - Shoulder pads should hug your shoulders, not protrude past them. Here's the test: Stand next to a wall. If your shoulder pads hit the wall first before you do, the jacket is too big.

5. Length - Elbows up. Side-to-side. Lean like- just kidding. Put your arms down to your sides. You should be able to cup your fingers under the suit jacket.

6. Buttons - 3? 2? 1? Up to you. A 3-button is the traditional classic look. You can't go wrong with it. To modernize the 3-button suit, some designers go for the 3-roll-2 look where the lapel rolls over the 3rd button, so you just button the middle one.

The 2-button is the most modern popular suit you may see on the racks right now. It used to be the conservative choice for people working in the government, but now all the hip designers are modernizing it with slimmer cuts and streamlining the look so its a hip-cool outfit to wear anywhere.

1 button? If you can pull it off, go for it. It's super sleek and chic. It's not for everyone, but if you got the body and looks to go for it, well, go for it.

One of my best friends, Nehal, actually has a 4-button suit. Quite interesting (that's not him, but his suit does look like that).

7. Lapels - Notch lapels are what you see most of the time. Always safe. Peak lapels are something out of the old-school book. It's kinda sophisticated and polished. It's making a comeback in the high-fashion realm so take your pick.

8. Vents - A center vent is the all-purpose and traditional one you see. Side-vents are popular with European designers. They make you look a little more streamlined and sleek because it can cut away any unwanted curves you may be having in the waist area.

Okay, you're ready to read on.

To preface the suits, these are full retail prices listed. When you go shopping during sale season, these drop like crazy. You can have these suits for 40-50% off retail so they're gonna be even cheaper.

The Gray Suit
$378, by Club Monaco

Let's consider the gray suit as your foundation to a suit wardrobe. It's always appropriate for either for an interview or a day on the job.

The opinion out there is sometimes the gray suit is the most boring, old-man color of suits. It's all about the fit.

It's versatile to pair with white, blue, pink, and just about any other color because it's a neutral tone. It will be easy to throw together something that you don't have to worry about.

While this suit does just fine, I'd actually recommend a more medium-gray shade like the one seen here to fit more in line with a business environment.


The Navy Suit

$443, by Banana Republic

Looks like it's black, but it's just a very dark navy blue. This is another safe classic suit color. It works particularly well if you have to transition from work to dinner because it lends itself to be a snazzy evening outfit too.

Again the outfit is pretty versatile in terms of shirt-tie combo, but if you wanna go for a sleek look, pair it with a white shirt and a dark tie for a sure winner.

The Navy Pin-stripe Suit

$250, by H&M

The navy pin-stripe is the cool man's suit. There's a level of confidence that goes along with wearing one. Big boss guys, bankers, hot-shots, etc will sport a pin-stripe suit. You mean business when you wear this.

The normal shirt-tie combo with a pinstripe is solid shirt solid tie. If you want to be adventurous, you can go for a striped shirt or striped tie, but not both. It'll look too busy with all the lines happening. Just make sure all the colors are similar and the stripes don't match. You'll want something bold to contrast the pin-stripes on the suit, not go with it. See, matching isn't so in with everything.

The Black Suit

$256, by Calvin Klein

This is probably the suit you own right now. The only one.

Look, the black suit is all good and dandy, but I don't think you have that many black-tie events, formals, or funerals to go to.

So why do people usually only have black suits? Probably because you don't know what else to get, and it's a "safe" color. It "goes with everything."

I'd have enough money to buy a suit if I had a dollar for every black suit I saw at a career fair or interview. Look broski, there's nothing to mourn at the career fair except maybe for your poor choice of clothing and failure to get a job.

Just kidding. I'm really not that mean. Really. Comon, that's just being super shallow.

When you wear a black suit, don't make it look like you're wearing it just for the black suit else someone is going to mistake you for going to a formal event or a funeral. So, go for a colored shirt. Blue, pink, purple, whatever. A patterned tie works too. You'll just want to dress down the look a bit if a black suit is all you got and have to work with it.

The black suit is versatile too, no joke. You or your parents bought it for you so you can wear it, not just with a shirt and tie. Refer to the picture. Just don't expect to show up to the corporate environment wearing something like this though.

Of course, there's the flipside to the black suit. You better look damn fine going to your formal event or whatever demands you.

The Khaki Suit
$250, by Express

With all these dark shades of suits, you'd be wondering what to wear on a warmer day. The khaki suit is acceptable to wear to work if you need to complete your suit wardrobe.

Match it with a dark tie to contrast the suit. After work, take off the tie and you're already dressed for going out in a great outfit.

I don't have the mentality to wear a khaki suit yet, just because I don't wear suits enough yet to feel a need for one. For me, this would probably be the last addition to my wardrobe after the rest of them.

I guess if I was a baller going on a business trip to a warm place or vacationing in an elite area I'd pick up one of these ($376 French Connection).

So there we go. Suits ain't so expensive if you wanna look great. I got my suit at Nordstrom Rack's sale for 60% off. Original price $1100, copped for $400. That means you can get these suits for even cheaper. Good luck hunting! Hit me up for more tips or if you want me to go suit shopping with you!