Ok, good news guys!
I know y'all have been waiting around like "when is J+G going to become obsessed with suits so he can finally tell us what's up?"
Well, it finally happened!!!!
My goal was to get: 1) A bespoke suit; 2) A MTM suit; 3) an off the rack suit (OTR); 4) a suit from ebay; 5) a vintage suit and 6) a thrift store suit.
I'm in the process of getting a "bespoke" suit (should be done in about a week). I'm on the fence about MTM (bespoke ends up being a lot more like MTM). I'm *probably* not getting an OTR suit. I've gotten a suit from ebay. I'm still planning on visiting a vintage store and hopefully picking up a suit. I've gotten a thrift store suit.
Getting the bespoke suit was fucking expensive. It was something I always wanted to do. I was able to locate a local designer who works for himself, which was the only thing that made the process worth it.
True bespoke means that you are measured and everything is cut by a tailor in house and hand stitched. There is one operation in New Orleans that does this. I showed up looking like a guy who couldn't afford a suit and the salesman was like "listen, that's honestly just an experience rich ppl want to have. Just go custom dawg." The "custom" option, which is made overseas and combines machine and hand sewing is less than half as much. He showed me a bespoke and custom suit of similar cloth and cut and was like "can you tell the difference?"
So I went with a custom suit, but from this other dude who works out of his house. This ended up being a great choice bc I researched the shit out of suits beforehand and showed up with a ton of questions and the dude was like "this is awesome, everyone just wants me to pick everything, I am so thrilled you are into this." Then he takes me into his closest and I see his DJ and synth setup and I'm like "bro...." Anyway we are now friends and he is my inside dude on suits.
So he was like "hey, you have a really normal body type, you can just be buying OTR." I asked him about quality and he was like "the cheapest high quality suit is J Crew, if you want slim fit, which I'm guessing you do based on your skinny af jeans."
I asked for some quality identifiers for buying OTR and thrifting. He was like "natural fiber, non-plastic seeming buttons, not giant shoulder pads."
I've refined this list a little based on internet research.
J+G's definitive ERE suit buying guide, a work in progress:
The most important thing when buying a suit is fit.
The next most important thing is the fabric the suit is made out of.
The next most important thing is suit construction.
If you are relatively in shape and not a weird shape or unfortunately limbed person, you can basically buy OTR.
Your pants size is your regular pants size.
All you need to do is figure out your jacket size. The easiest way to do this is go try on a bunch of jackets. Also, if you are (all my sizes are AMERICAN, happy 4th of July freedom lovers) under like 5' 10" you are a short, over like 6'3" you are a long otherwise you are probs a regular.
Jacket length is very important bc it is very difficult to alter. You want the jacket to be between the two knuckles on your thumbs when you stand straight with arms at your side. This should also cover most but not all of your ass.
Here is the guide I use to see what is easy and hard to alter.
Once you know your jacket size, you can start looking on ebay and in thrift stores for suits.
*The most important thing is to look at yourself in a bunch of suits* I've found I can go 2 suit sizes up and 2 sizes down. I also like slim fit suits and suits that are slightly underfit so, even though I'm a regular, I still try on short sizes as well.
One advantage I have is that I'm not in a social circle that is into suits. Having a suit that is half an inch or an inch off in any dimension isn't going to cost me any social cache. This gives me a lot more flexibility in the suits I wear.
Determining fit when thrifting is relatively easy since the clothes can be tried on.
For buying suits from ebay or other internet sites, one has to rely on several measurements. This relies on the accuracy of measurements from the seller as well as yourself.
While it's good to get a feel for your measurements, a strategy I've been using is finding a brand that fits you well and buying that brand. Most cities have suit retailers for the major brands, so it's possible to go to the store and try on their suits.
Here's a good article on buying suits from ebay.
Knowing your size and measurements will save money on tailoring. Finding a brand and cut (or ideally several) of quality mass market suit that fits you well will also aid in online and retail searches.
The next thing to look at is suit material. Legally all garments must have a tag which says their material content. Get 100% natural fibers. Wool is the most common (next are cotton and linen), but there are several. Don't buy a polyester suit, there are just too many non-synthetic options. Other parts of the garment can be made from synthetics (bonus if they're not though), but the "shell" should be at least 97% natural.
The next thing to look at is suit construction. The options are full-canvas, half-canvas and fused-canvas. Full is the best, but half is good for warmer climates and more practical. Fused is the worst as the fabric is glued to the canvas (a layer between the inner-lining and the outer part of the jacket to give it shape). "Unstructured" jackets mean they don't have this layer, which is good for warmer climates, but makes the suit less durable, give it a more casual look and also effect the drape (it doesn't hold shape as well).
It's best to avoid fused, but it's not the end of the world if you don't. The biggest problem is quickly determining if the jacket is fused or not, since it doesn't say it anywhere on the jacket. There is a pinch test, but I find it hard to perform. If the suit is still actively made, googling the suits advertising will give you a good idea. half and full canvas construction are usually advertised loudly. No mention probably, but not definitely, means fused. Mens style forums are also a good resource here.
Overall I think ebaying OTR suits is the cheapest option for building a suit warddrobe quickly and cheaply. Thrift stores are very hit and miss. If you've got a decade and a lot of time, thrifting will probably work and for less money, but otherwise ebay + tailoring is the way to go.
I haven't yet gone to a curated vintage store. Suits in these stores are much more expensive than ebay, but I have high hopes that they have a better selection. I'm looking for colorful suits, and I think that finding them in vintage stores will be easier. For black, brown, grey and blue, cream and seer sucker suits (and there are lots of shades of these) I think ebay is the way to go.
Getting a custom suit is an expensive option. I learned a lot from the process, but I also got lucky with the person I found to make mine. Overall, I will probably do it again, but I don't think it's necessary to get a great suit. It's also possible to get these suits in other countries where they are 8-20x cheaper.
Suit separates:
It's a lot easer to find separate jackets as well as cotton and even wool pants then complete suits, particularly in thrift stores. If you know the brand and the exact color (down to the shade), it's possible to re-match the suit, but it's otherwise difficult. I've also rematched a wool navy suit with navy cotton chinos from a different brand.
Additionally "sports jackets" which are meant to be worn with mismatched pants are usually more colorful and interesting than suits.
It's def a fashion faux pas to mismatch suits or buy "orphaned" jackets or match cotton pants with wool suit jackets. But if you're not worried about that, it's possible to massively expand your warddrobe with these options. The major thing to avoid, which anyone will be able to spot are a slightly mismatched pair of pants and jacket (like similar color, but slightly different shade). If you can't find the right color to match, it's much better to go with a complimentary color rather than something too similar.
One final thing to do is use women's pants as chinos. Women's pants are often cheaper (though also cheaper made), but any 100% cotton pants will work as chinos. Women's pants also generally come in more color options than mens.