Any #seattle folks got recommendations for where a 5'2" #trans guy should go to buy a suit?
Under510 dot com no longer sells jackets, as of about five minutes after I found an amazing clearance listing there. So Men's Wearhouse is my fallback, and I'm terrified someone there is going to ask me why I want a suit now after making it to my 30s without one.
Though I also understand the anxiety.
Also, unless you get really lucky with fit, allow enough in your budget to have your new suit altered. A cheap suit that fits well looks and feels a lot better than an expensive one that doesn’t.
Few are more aware than menswear sellers that society is much more casual, sartorially speaking, than it once was, and one's thirties are a perfectly ordinary time to get a first suit.
They will ask your sizes, and oops, you forgot. That’s fine; they’ll measure you and then you’re off. If you already know your pants size you can skip that part if you want. They do like to measure though, especially if altering anything, which is often needed.
But they’re in the business of selling suits, not being nosy.
As to the actual question you asked: One thing you might consider, especially if you're just wanting a jacket, is to find something at a thrift store and then finding a tailor you're comfortable with and having them alter the shit out of it. If you find something with shoulders that fit and arms that are in the fit-to-too-long range, that should probably be reasonable.
So I would love some advice on how to talk to department store suit salespeople.
So the first thing I'd say is: I don't expect age to twig anything for such employees. If you're worried about it, you could spin a story about needing a new suit. But a lot of folks don't get a suit or don't get one that fits worth a shit during their 20's and only decide to change that in their 30's.
Second is, the alterations that big retail places will make are often… iffy. If you feel like you have the experience and/or vision to know what you want, you can get good results by advocating for yourself and being specific. But if you just let them do the fitting and marking with no input from you, you could end up with something that fits great or that is wildly out of proportion. If you do go that route (sometimes the alterations are free), I'd say when you go back to pick it up, try it on in store and don't walk out with something you're unhappy with. It pays to be assertive and ask them to fix it.
It's often more expensive, but the way to ensure you get something that fits great is to buy the clothes and then take them to a tailor that you can establish a relationship and talk about what you're trying to do with your clothes. Like… "I want to emphasize my shoulders," by adding pads or whatever, or "I want it cut really close" to minimize bulk or whatever your goals are.
If you're lucky, this can actually be quite cheap, but that probably requires investing more time in finding the right tailor than you have.
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