Why You Should Not Buy A Cheap Suit

Price can tend to be a big reason that many individuals shy away from specialty retail clothing. Generally, this is done under a misguided belief that they are being economical and frugal and that clothes from specialty retailers are simply an indulgence. Truth is, if you are buying your suits and sportcoats from discounters/mass retailers, you are actually being anything but frugal. A simple formula called Cost Per Wearing (“CPW”) proves this.

For simplicity’s sake, we’ll compare a suit from a mass retailer at $200 versus a suit from Andrew Davis Menswear for $800. Admittedly, this is a wide price gap, but it’s also accurate. Further, it is a given that the suit from the mass retailer will keep its appearance and durability for no more than a year (dry cleaning will speed up the deterioration) and then it’s off to Goodwill. A suit from a specialty retailer such as Andrew Davis Menswear will, with care, retain its wearing and appearance for many years - five is not unusual.

Considering that you will wear the suit at least two times a week at 52 weeks in a year, that’s 104 wearings in a year. By the time you throw the mass retailer’s suit out, you will have paid $1.92 for the privilege each time. Conversely, by the time an Andrew Davis Menswear suit is ready for the trash can, you will have paid only $.65 per wearing. If there was a significant gap in pricing, there is an even more significant gap in the value of the suits over time.

Something further to consider is that instead of replacing a blue suit every season (as most purchasers from the mass retailers will do), you can add suits and sportcoats in varied fabrics and patterns to a wardrobe that will be a diverse and personal reflection of style.

We used the CPW theory for suits since that is a major investment, but the principles apply with varying degrees to any purchase that you make at Andrew Davis Menswear.