Buy the Right Clothes for your Situation
Follow these tips to ensure your new wardrobe additions will match the level required of your desired profession.
by Rita Gworek

When beginning your post-military transition job search, it is important to budget what you have to spend on your wardrobe for your new career field. You were required to purchase certain uniforms for the military. Keep in mind that you want to be wearing the same rank in the private sector that you earned in the military. How does that equate? Well there are certain ranks in the private sector too, and it has to do more with the salary you can command. When men are earning a good high six-figure income then their clothing has to show that status. All the other men in this category will be wearing higher end suits or the same “rank.”

If your salary range is below six figures then your clothing does not have to cost as much. Let’s look at some examples.

Executive Positions
Men who have been in their career fields for 15 and 20 years have built up their wardrobes to about 10 to 12 suits. It will include year round weights and some tropical weights and winter weight suits. This way they are only wearing a suit once or maybe twice a week. That cuts down on dry cleaning. Their suits will be made of wool because wool resists staining, resists wrinkling and it breathes. After wearing a good quality wool suit all they do is brush it off and put it on a good wooden hanger. The next time they wear it, the wrinkles will have fallen out and any body odor will have dissipated. Always select at least a 120s quality wool suit. You will know it is a 120s quality wool suit because it will say so somewhere on a label. Suits at this quality will range in price from $900 to $1,200. The standard was 120s wool but has since increased to 150s wool. The cost of a 150s wool suit would start at about $2,000. If you are just starting to build a wardrobe, 120s wool will work for you. The stores that come to mind in this category would be Nordstrom, Brooks Brothers, Neiman Marcus and Saks. When you shop in these higher end stores the sales people are more knowledgeable and can assist you in the best style and model of suit for you.

Junior Executive
You will be wearing suits at this level but your salary won’t be as great as an executive’s salary. So the quality of the suit can be lower. Try a 100s or 110s quality wool suit. Ask for this in the store. If you are in a higher end store they will know what you are asking. However, if you are shopping in a discount store to get the best value for your dollar the sales people may not know what you are asking. Then it is time to call out a manger to be shown the right suits. The pricing in this range will be from $350 to $600. Depending on your budget you may be able to purchase only two or three suits. This will mean that you will be dry cleaning these suits as needed to keep up with the wearing. Some stores that carry this quality of suit would be Jos. A. Bank, Macy’s and Lord and Taylor.

Entry Level
No one will be expecting you to be wearing a 100’s or 120’s quality wool suit. What is most important here is that the fit it is the best you can get. Make sure to have the right alterations done to your suit. If you are shopping in discount stores do not have the alterations done there even if they do have an alteration department. Look in the Yellow Pages and find a custom clothing shop and go there for your alterations. The suit will have a better fit than if you used the discount store’s alteration shop. You will find suits priced between $100 and $300. Most suits at this price will not even be made of wool. You will find more synthetics. It is all right. The technology today is so good that a synthetic suit can look as good as a wool suit. The biggest difference will be the way you feel. If it is very hot and humid outside you will feel hot in your suit. If it is very cold outside you will feel cold in your suit. There are so many discount stores and outlet malls. There are outlet malls with Off Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom Rack, Brooks Brothers and Jos. A. Bank clothing.

No matter what your budget, purchase the most you can for the least amount of money. Watch for the major clearances on clothing in July and August and again in January and February. Always ask for a military discount. Most stores will give you 10 percent, 15 percent or 20 percent off and some stores will even go as much as 50 percent off. But you must ask! Look good and feel good.