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Pufer, on Jan 8 2009, 2:10 AM, said:
Up until the state of New York sued JAB a couple years back for misleading sales practices, it was literally impossible to ever pay full list for anything that JAB sold. Nowadays, they throw out these two and three for one promotions so they can at least occasionally sell something for what their ads claim that it's worth. The fact that you get three for that price is merely incidental.
That said, at their real sale prices, JAB suits are generally decent bargains, the problem is that it's hard to tell what the everyday super ultra mondo valued customer sale extravaganza price of something is compared to whatever it happens to be today unless you actually break down and track suit prices.
Signature Gold is probably worth $500, if not a little more (SigGold wouldn't be out of place as a lower-end line in a Brooks Brothers), a solid sale is when the price dips a fair bit under $400, a good sale is anything below $300 (happens maybe a couple times per year), but I've seen selected suit styles go as low as $197 upon occasion.
Signature is plausibly worth $350-400. It falls below $300 frequently enough that you don't want to pay any more than that ($266 and below is a good target, which makes this 3-for-1 sale a fairly decent sale if you actually needed three suits), and is a solid bargain under $200.
The Executive line is kinda' weird in that its quality can vary, but you don't want to be paying more than $200-250 for any of it under any circumstances.
I wouldn't touch anything lower than Executive unless you were merely looking for something "good enough" as Corsair said (and even Executive probably falls under that heading).
JAB's shirts, on the other hand, particularly the Travelers line when it's at least "half off," have a big following, even amongst the legit $1000 suit crowd. Also, their tie lines from the past couple years have really been quite good. So, if you need a shirt or a tie, or you can get a Signature or Signature Gold suit at a good sale price, JAB is a good place to shop. Just be sure to not fall for their latest gimmick sale.
Jones NY is one of the relabeled bulk suits out there. Some are decent, some are rubbish; none are great. $250 is a bit steep, especially as Alfani (same stuff, different label) can typically be found in the $150-200 range (Macy's right now for $200). Generic suits from the same shops can be found under $100 on eBay and elsewhere on the web.
I don't think that MW carries any actual Ralph Lauren, only Lauren. Lauren (by Ralph Lauren) has nothing at all to do with Ralph Lauren or his actual companies. Likely a decent suit, though (although I've been hearing rumors that the durability of their fabrics has slipped recently), and $250 is a decent deal on it (so long as you realize that price is a reflection of the Ralph Lauren association rather than the garment).
I generally shy away from MW for exactly this reason. Their "designer suits" usually consist of marked-up stuff with designer names applied to them. Jones New York is a noted design house for women's garments. They don't design men's suits, they license out their name to a Mexican company that stitches their name onto and resells (typically) Mexican and Korean generic garments at a great profit. Lauren at least used to be a Canadian reseller who would resell Chinese and other generic garments in the American market under a name licensed from Ralph Lauren. You won't typically find any suit that Ralph Lauren actually designed for less than around $900, and that's assuming a 50% cut in price there.
At the end of the day, JAB, to quote Coach Green, is who we thought they were - a self-promoting store that jacks up the perceived prestige and list prices of its own garments, while still basically selling a consistent, pretty decent bunch of clothing. Men's Warehouse sells stores full of identical generic suits from God only knows where that are differentiated in price only by whatever bullcrap name they've sewed into them.
-Pufer
That said, at their real sale prices, JAB suits are generally decent bargains, the problem is that it's hard to tell what the everyday super ultra mondo valued customer sale extravaganza price of something is compared to whatever it happens to be today unless you actually break down and track suit prices.
Signature Gold is probably worth $500, if not a little more (SigGold wouldn't be out of place as a lower-end line in a Brooks Brothers), a solid sale is when the price dips a fair bit under $400, a good sale is anything below $300 (happens maybe a couple times per year), but I've seen selected suit styles go as low as $197 upon occasion.
Signature is plausibly worth $350-400. It falls below $300 frequently enough that you don't want to pay any more than that ($266 and below is a good target, which makes this 3-for-1 sale a fairly decent sale if you actually needed three suits), and is a solid bargain under $200.
The Executive line is kinda' weird in that its quality can vary, but you don't want to be paying more than $200-250 for any of it under any circumstances.
I wouldn't touch anything lower than Executive unless you were merely looking for something "good enough" as Corsair said (and even Executive probably falls under that heading).
JAB's shirts, on the other hand, particularly the Travelers line when it's at least "half off," have a big following, even amongst the legit $1000 suit crowd. Also, their tie lines from the past couple years have really been quite good. So, if you need a shirt or a tie, or you can get a Signature or Signature Gold suit at a good sale price, JAB is a good place to shop. Just be sure to not fall for their latest gimmick sale.
Jones NY is one of the relabeled bulk suits out there. Some are decent, some are rubbish; none are great. $250 is a bit steep, especially as Alfani (same stuff, different label) can typically be found in the $150-200 range (Macy's right now for $200). Generic suits from the same shops can be found under $100 on eBay and elsewhere on the web.
I don't think that MW carries any actual Ralph Lauren, only Lauren. Lauren (by Ralph Lauren) has nothing at all to do with Ralph Lauren or his actual companies. Likely a decent suit, though (although I've been hearing rumors that the durability of their fabrics has slipped recently), and $250 is a decent deal on it (so long as you realize that price is a reflection of the Ralph Lauren association rather than the garment).
I generally shy away from MW for exactly this reason. Their "designer suits" usually consist of marked-up stuff with designer names applied to them. Jones New York is a noted design house for women's garments. They don't design men's suits, they license out their name to a Mexican company that stitches their name onto and resells (typically) Mexican and Korean generic garments at a great profit. Lauren at least used to be a Canadian reseller who would resell Chinese and other generic garments in the American market under a name licensed from Ralph Lauren. You won't typically find any suit that Ralph Lauren actually designed for less than around $900, and that's assuming a 50% cut in price there.
At the end of the day, JAB, to quote Coach Green, is who we thought they were - a self-promoting store that jacks up the perceived prestige and list prices of its own garments, while still basically selling a consistent, pretty decent bunch of clothing. Men's Warehouse sells stores full of identical generic suits from God only knows where that are differentiated in price only by whatever bullcrap name they've sewed into them.
-Pufer
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