# Macy's Alfani suits...any experience?



## tocqueville (Nov 15, 2009)

I dislike Macy's, but the suits are cheap and I can't really tell just by looking at a suit if it's worth the approx. $200 investment. Any thoughts?


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## goodall (Aug 31, 2008)

It's probably worth $200 though you can go on Sierra Trading Post and get a better suit but you can't try it on. Macy's merchanidse (used to be Famous Barr here in St. Louis), has really declined over the years. You would probably get more value out of a Hart that is on sale since they are constanty having them. If you have Dillards in D.C. I would go there. Better department store merchandise than Macy's. Good luck.


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## camorristi (May 9, 2010)

They look cheap, rigid, and heavily fused, pure waste of money. Why not save up $500 and wait until the Brooks Brothers 1818 go on sale in Spring, or visit your local BB store and see if they have any on clearance. You can also get Hart Schaffner Marx suits from Nordstrom's rack.


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## Theoden (Dec 16, 2009)

Take camorristi's advice...you would do much better at a Nordstom's Rack. 

You can get a Hart Shaeffner Marx or US Made Joseph Abboud suit for about $325-350, and it's generally a much better suit.


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## juffman (May 19, 2010)

Do a search on here for the differences between fused and half-canvassed and fully canvassed and then you can do the pinch test and inspect suits. I've found fused jackets to be much stiffer and I can spot them a bit quicker now.... well because I own 3 of them  and only one half-canvassed suit, and once you know the difference, it's pretty easy to spot by feel. Fused is the cheapest. Half-canvassed is next best. Fully canvassed is the most expensive ($2,000 and up). I'm not necessarily advocating that you buy a non-fused suit jacket or that one is better than the other, but it is an important way to determine the quality of a suit and see what you are getting for your money. 
You could probably find a suit as good if not better than that Alfani for less, although, pretty much everything around the $100-$200 mark is kinda' similar. 

In the DC area, you can try the potomac mill's outlets in Leesburg. I think there's a nordstom rack there, a Burberry, and an off 5th avenue. In Falls Church across from the Sears, there is also a Syms. I've seen Alfani at Syms and they are probably cheaper than Macys. There's also a Men's Warehouse around here I think... maybe in Pentagon City Mall? Then you've got Joseph A. Banks. 

So there are lots of options for you. I wouldn't settle on that suit without at least looking around first. Check out Nordstrom too just to see what an expensive suit is like. 

Most people aren't going to know or care what brand you bought or how much it cost. As long as it fits you well and you are happy for it and you didn't over-pay, then you should be fine.


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## camorristi (May 9, 2010)

juffman said:


> Fused is the cheapest. Half-canvassed is next best. Fully canvassed is the most expensive ($2,000 and up).


FYI BB Fitzgerald Blazer is not a suit, but it is fully-canvased with functional sleeve buttons and retails at only $528 :teacha:. Also, fully-canvassed is only recommended if you wear it everyday, but if you don't wear suits very often a fused suit will be ok as long as you don't abuse it by too much dry cleaning or frequent wear. Of course, a $1000 made-to-measure fused suit (I've heard high-end designers like Gucci are making high quality fused suits, which is still another sort of wasting money) will look and drape better than $300 one.


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## helo-flyer (Nov 22, 2008)

> FYI BB Fitzgerald Blazer is not a suit, but it is fully-canvased with functional sleeve buttons and retails at only $528


Since when is BB making Fitzgeralds full canvas? I double checked the website and lo and behold they said it was full canvass construction. I was under the assumption that as a rule all 1818 styles (Madison, Regent, Fitzgerald, and Milano) were all half canvassed.


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## coynedj (Jun 1, 2008)

You could always try Ebay. I bought a wonderful Hickey Freeman suit there for $45 - I'll bet it's far better than an Alfani, and if it hadn't worked out I could still have bought three more to try, and not gone over the $200 Alfani price!


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