How to buy your first vintage suit (without looking old-fashioned)

If you put a classic in your wardrobe, you'll have it forever. Yeah. Sometimes, always, never. Bow tie, straight tie, never the bottom. Yeah. So talk me through this suit. This is what caught my eye really. So this is a Brooks Brothers suit made in Canada. When guys come in and because they're like, what tie is gonna match the era of the suit? I always just tell them, take your tie, put it into your lapel. Does it fit? I'm not kidding, like menswear is gonna be a stunning place to be in 2025. So with a little bit of tailoring, this would be a starter suit. For a young man who wants to dress sharp, but still stick to a budget, you have two options. You can either buy a cheap plastic suit from a store like H&M, or you can come to a place like this. Richard's Fabulous Finds in my home city of Chicago. So Richard, I want you to imagine that I'm a young man interested in presenting himself a little bit sharper, better than the average guy on the streets. Doesn't wanna spend a ton of money, has decided to go vintage, but he doesn't wanna look like it's from a different decade entirely either. Right, right. Where should we start? Round rack number two. All right, let's go. And just as a notion, in my shop, I put all my oldest vintage in the front, 1930s to 1960s. And the reason I separate it out is because this is actually very hard to kind of make it with the alterations, more modern. Yeah, some of it can be now that the double breasted peak lapel is back, but honestly, that extension, the way the lapel is cut, it's gonna read vintage, plus the pant is usually two inches above the belly button. Okay. It's vintage whether you like it or not. So when you go into this rounder, this is going to be what I call my corporate vintage. So it's more pinstripes, checks, plaids, solids. You're gonna have a slightly lower stance. Okay. Which was big in the 80s and 90s. By stance, you mean where the jacket buttons are? Where the button, yeah, where the button is. Which throws a lot of guys off because they don't necessarily like it technically that low. Yeah. But we're returning back to the sack suit, the classic Brooks Brothers. And of course, then there's also three buttons that will float in and out throughout the menswear. It's really about going to your tailor and really having it kind of cut to you. So I'm looking at these. What would speak to you for me? Well, you know. I'm looking for, you know, I don't own a ton of suits. I need something I can wear fairly often without people going, oh, it's that guy in the same suit again. Well, I mean, anytime you go into your classic Prince of Wales plaids and any of these, I mean, those are gonna be stuff that you're always gonna find. Your classic Brooks Brothers, JQ, Ralph Lauren, Banana Republic, those are all gonna be something that you'll always get. And that's why when guys come in and they wanna wear vintage in a modern way, that's why we go to this rounder. Okay, right. If you wanna wear vintage and wanna look like you walked out of a 1940s movie, let's go to the first rounder. Yeah. So talk me through this suit. This is what caught my eye, really. So this is a Brooks Brothers suit made in Canada. What year would you estimate that this will be from? Again, we're looking at the yoke on this. I'd probably put this in the 90s because by the 90s in menswear, we went back to the three-button notch lapel. Okay. Which reflects the 50s. I see. So the 40s, double-breasted peak lapel, 80s, double-breasted peak lapel, 2020s, double-breasted peak lapel. 2030 is gonna come around. 50s, 90s, 2030. But I tell a lot of men in my shop, especially, I mean, if there's one suit that you can buy that you'll always have in your closet, a classic three-button will always be there because with it, especially one that has a three-two roll to it, you can just do your middle button. Right, and nobody really notices. Sometimes, always, never. Seam that front. Yeah. So that'll be the one that will always be the top, especially if you're a starter suit. Right, okay. So the first suit I always tell a lot of guys, the first suit you should always have in your wardrobe is always gonna be a three-button because that's always gonna stand the test of time. Yeah, so you can get a great Brooks Brothers suit that would retail for, what, 1,200 these days, probably? 12 to 15. Yeah, for 185. Yeah. Great, I'll throw that on in a few minutes and we can show people how it looks as well. Cool, cool, cool. Because we also have to talk about the fact that it's not gonna be perfect when you try it on in the store. True, true. Well, plus, when you look at the 90s silhouette, it was actually very generous. It was very boxy. And the way I'm noticing that we're gonna modernize like 40s and 50s, 80s, 90s, 2020, 2030, we're giving things a shape more, which actually reflects more of the 40s and 50s. Okay. A little silhouette. But what also I think Brooks Brothers did was great was the four-season fabric, the tropical weight wool. You feel this. This isn't a flannel, it's not a brush, it's not a double-weight gabardine. It's gonna be your, like, all four seasons. The first suit in your wardrobe, you'll wear it all year long. Okay. There's my initial impression, which is what a lot of people might get when they wear something vintage, is this looks dated to me. So what could we do? Well, so I guess you need to tell me what you feel is dated. I think it's the shoulders and there's something about just the overall silhouette. It's like this has no shape to it. I agree. Well, because you're looking at this suit, I would probably put it Brooks Brothers from 1980, 81, 82. Yeah. Which would have been a much more expanded look. Of course, Brooks Brothers was known for the sack suit, obviously the name sack. Yeah. So it wouldn't have had a lot of tailoring to it. If you do the top button, which we talked about earlier about the high cut three, sometimes always never. And what you'll notice in the 80s, see that straight line all the way down? You're right. Where's the changing room in here? Dated, yeah. Yeah, yeah. So if you were buying this suit from my shop, I'd be like, okay, let's, we need to fix this. Right. See, because we need to follow your curve. Yeah. So you go here, here's the end, here's your ribs, right? End, that means this is your small. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Now let's turn forward. Now see how much of a difference that makes? Yeah, definitely. Right away. Yeah. Gives you a shape, not this, but it gives you a shape. Yeah. Right? The other giveaway that this is 80, 81, 82, turn sideways again. See the flare on your legs? Yeah. Okay. By 83, that disappeared. I see. Taper. So I can put this suit within a three-year period. See how just that little bit right there? Yeah, and even the shoulders now start to look a little bit more. Exactly. Yeah. But the thing is, like, see if we went any smaller, you're going to get a pucker. Yeah. Now, and if it was 1990, you'd be out here. Yeah. Exactly. So this, for a Brooks, this is your classic sack. Right, and obviously the sleeves are just long. I always tell people, just one little finger width. I like British tailoring. I'm not a big fan of, like, Italian stuff's good. And of course, Americans wear their ---- down to the knuckles. It's embarrassing. But what's great about Brooks, again, see, that's your three-two roll, single piece. So I've re-steamed this so you could do that, see? Which would bring you into your three-two roll. Oh, so by steaming it, you can change where that crease is. Exactly, well, and that's my dry cleaner. Oh, okay. I just keep telling her, don't press the lapels. So with a little bit of tailoring, this would be your, a starter suit. Three button, three-two roll, taper the leg. You'd have it forever. Yeah. And it's four seams of fabric. So it's tropical weight wool, spring, summer, fall, winter. I'm not kidding, like, menswear is going to be a stunning place to be in 2025. Sometimes, always, never. Bow tie, straight tie, never the bottom. Ah, okay. See, but we don't want to do this. We just want to give it a little shape at the ribs, not at the waist. Well, how'd you feel about the shoulders on this one? Good. Yeah? Yeah. See, because if you've got it any shorter, feel that? See what I'm doing here? Yeah. If you got it any shorter, you'd have a pucker. It's not a stomach, it's not a belly, it's not a gut. It's real estate. You've earned it, own it, it's my frontage. That's so funny. What did I say? Frontage. My dad tells me, he always says, all bought and paid for. This is maybe a good example of things that most people would want to avoid in the earlier stages. So we're looking at the 1970s. What really was going on in the minds of people in the 70s when they made stuff like this? Well, you know, I'll be honest with you. Switch sides with you. It was actually technically a backlash to the structured dressing of the 60s. Okay. So the alternative world, you know, I mean, because there was so much going on in the 60s and we got the turmoil with the government and the wars that were going on. Plus they had discovered what they called the beauty of polyester. Little did they know that the people are literally wearing garbage bags. What else would you be looking for as a young person looking to elevate their style? Where else can we go in the store? Well, my hats are out. Coats are, it's kind of all the same. I mean, you know, neckwear is also really, really important. Right. So if you wanted to elevate, and the great thing about vintage is when you can buy a $200, $300 tie and you can get it for such a marked better price. When guys come in and because they're like, what tie is going to match the era of the suit? I always just tell them, take your tie, put it into your lapel. Does it fit? There's your tie. Great. Yeah. Because the 40s ties will be, that's how you know a real 40s tie versus a 50s tie because it's going to be that tiny knot, but it's also going to be actually wider because the lapels were so much wider. 60s, of course, is kind of like explained because the skinny suit, skinny lapel. So, and then the 80s came in kind of redoing the 40s, 50s. So when in doubt, make sure your tie fits in your lapel and you're good. If you went to Tom Ford today, you would spend a fortune on this. So if you wanted edgy at $75, we do that too. So it's, yeah. In fact, actually last year, I think I sent somebody to the Grammys in this jacket. Yeah, it was part of a jazz band. How would you describe your clientele? You know, it's such a mixed bag. I mean, I have, thanks to my TikTok, thank God it didn't go away, my 15 to 20 market, the young, young guys. I think the young people today don't necessarily have the stigma that people maybe from my generation would have, but like as secondhand use, vintage. No, it's cool to do that. It's actually, well, because it's more environmentally friendly, you can definitely get one of a kind. I mean, maybe you wear something like your mom or your dad might've worn to like that prom or whatever. And, but certain social medias, like my Instagram is my 30 to 60 market. So people like that want to wear vintage again. In the modern world, you have the vintage lifestyle people, which we have a lot of in Chicago that want to look like they walked out of like a great movie, you know, Gatsby style. So it's such a huge, and then we do a lot of TV movie in my industry. So I've done HBO, Fox News, that the bear that shoots in Chicago, they've bought lots of stuff from my store. So yeah. And neckwear by decades. So you have your 1920s, 30s, super shorts. Then you go into your 1940s slash 50s swing ties, which are also still a little short because the pant was so high. Swing tie, where does that name come from? Swing era, swing band. Got you. Yep. Wow, look at this one. Mitch. And the collector market is big for that. That's why it's so thin. I haven't had a really good large batch of 40s, 50s come in quite a while. Right, okay. The 50s, 60s skinnies. Probably the most popular in my store because of the young guys definitely like the narrower. Yeah. I mean, this is, in terms of the cut, this is like something that would be sold in Topman or. Right. Yeah. But we get a much higher quality tie. But then again, does it fit into your lapel? Yeah. I mean, these would be too skinny for all of my suits, but I have a friend who always wears 60s style suits that these would look great with. Absolutely, absolutely. And then, of course, you've got some of your older pieces that like very Hermes inspired, Hardy Ames, love this brand, right? Brit brand, you know, does those classics. So if I told you that it was Hermes, would you believe it? Or would you? I thought it was Hermes, yeah. Exactly. Yeah. I like this one. I'm designing a tie right now. Okay. Yeah, because I have a membership community and I want there to be a club tie. And it's fairly similar to this. The main color is this dark bottle green. Yeah. And then there's going to be a... Well, and for 2025, bottle green, brown, brown. Oh my God. The daily request for brown suits. Right. Harvest gold, burgundy. So it's really kind of like a 70s color palette. Yeah. Recycled. For me, this is one of the most fun things about these types of stores, cufflinks, tie bars, these kinds of accessories, because this can add up if you're trying to buy this new, especially if you're trying to buy quality. Sure. But we've got a lot of fun going on here. When it comes to the gold and the metals, how can you spot something that's quality and something that's on the cheaper side as a customer? Well, anything in an alloy is, of course, it's going to be less, but it's priced less here in my shop. I mean, anything I would have, like, that's going to be of a higher quality or anything in the sterling or actual gold is going to be locked up in the case. Oh, I see, right. It's very rare that I run into an actual gold gold. And I also tell people, Humboldt Park, where my shop is located, is getting better, but we're not ready for gold and diamonds yet. But anything you buy that's going to be of caliber, I mean, you have your Aero brand, your Anson brand, I mean, any of those stuff. It was such a large business in its day. The quality and the construction is always going to be better than what you can buy today. Right. So if you could buy, so if you could go to, say, Neiman Marcus and you pay $150 for an aluminum alloy based Burberry pair of cufflinks, you're paying for the name. You're not paying for the construction. So, I mean, I mean, if you go into the case here, even here, I mean, you've got, that's petrified wood. You've got tiger eye. You've got Swarovski stones. You know, I mean, any of this, it's much better, it's not new, but still, I mean, real turquoise, is you're still going to get a better price. And then you have the uniqueness of saying, oh, I love your cufflinks. They're 70 years old. Pretty cool, right? Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. So good stuff stands the test of time. Just like me at 55. I'm still standing. Richard, thank you very much for showing me around. I really appreciate it. It's been great to see you again. Realistically, every suit you buy off the rack should be altered, right? If you think it fits perfectly off the rack, chances are you stand in search of love. Wow, Raphael. If you flip it over, you see irregular stitches here, right? So that means this collar was added by hand. This is a Ralph Lauren purple label suit. Yes. Retail price, 4,000. This is 695. You can tell, if you see this label, it just says Ralph Lauren on it. This is the Made in Italy line. Okay.