Always hesitant about awarding 5 stars based on a 1-time visit, especially when that visit lasts…read morefor less than 5 minutes. But...
I'm a Luddite in so much, and ignorant about that much more, but especially when it comes to all things sartorial. Once, I worked with a guy referred to as "the unmade bed" because of how he dressed, and that pejorative could apply equally to me, I'm afraid.
When it comes to suits and ties, I wore a Robert Hall ensemble when I was a kid for church or the rare wedding or the even rarer funeral.
Graduating from college, my "gift" was a suit and tie for job interviews, and work (church going ended for me when I was 15 and refused to attend anymore; it was my 1st act of "adult independence;" by the way, I see preachers these days on TV worth multi-millions...so much for the Jesus adage about it being harder for a rich man to enter heaven that it would be for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle.... and looking like they just came in out of a garage after working on the crank shaft of a car-- no Robert Hall suits for these guys!). When I was in my 20s, I secured the job that I had for the next 23 years, and suits/ties/etc. weren't required. So the suit and tie went into storage (the back of the closet).
Some years ago, a friend died, and I attended her funeral in Newark. At the time, I dug out my old "job interview" jacket, and as I tried to button it, I thought, "Getting a little paunchy there, pal!" I wore it at the funeral but left it unbuttoned. I don't think Gina would have minded.
When another friend died a few months ago, I dug out the "job interview" jacket again, but this time it didn't fit around my shoulders. I was well dressed at the funeral, but no suit or tie (I think Joe would have understood).
Recently, I learned that my oldest friend's son is getting married soon, and I'm invited. I knew the "tight around the shoulders/paunchy in the gut, pal!" jacket wasn't going to work. I don't have a ton of discretionary income to spend, and someone mentioned Men's Warehouse as a viable, reasonable place to buy such clothes. I looked them up on-line and realized the closest store to me was in the mall by the Somerville Circle.
Yesterday, I traveled to that mall, drove slowly past the stores, and came to the Men's Warehouse at the end of the mall, next to the Barnes & Noble (which I've reviewed in the past). Parking at this mall can be strange in the way the parking spaces are arranged, and the direction you can travel going in or out, but at that time of day it wasn't particularly crowded, and I was able to find a spot close by the store.
I mentioned I'm ignorant about some (a lot of) things, 1 of them being the cost of suit jackets. I figured on spending approximately $100. I walked toward the back, and a young salesclerk approached me, asking if I needed help. I did. I mentioned I wanted a jacket to wear to a wedding, and he suggested a dark Joseph Abboud from the rack. I tried it on, and it fit ok, looked ok, and I said I'd take it. I figured he'd maybe want to measure me or make some alterations (they did so when I acquired that "job interview" suit so long ago) but he didn't, which was actually a relief for me. He was ready to wrap it up, but I figured it was more sensible to just take it out on its coat hanger.
I anticipated a price of about $100. Instead, the price came to $300-plus and I went into a state of shock. My credit card bill right now is higher than I'd like it to be, and I'm trying to save money for my cataract surgery, and I just spent $900-plus for car tires. A cost of $300-plus is not what I need right now, but I know I need to look presentable for the wedding, and so I handed over my credit card with the trepidation of Judas handing his soul over to Satan. The young clerk rang me up, and I walked out in a daze.
Had anticipated a visit to the Barnes & Noble next door, but that was now out. Drove home mumbling to myself, "$300-plus for a jacket? It can't be...Robert Hall never cost that much! Robert Hall cost...well, I don't remember, Mom and Dad paid for it, but it wasn't $300-plus!"
Talked to some people I know when I got home, including my oldest friend whose son is the 1 getting married, and learned that $300-plus for a Robert Abboud jacket is fair.
So, despite my personal feelings about it, I went to the store to buy a jacket, got the jacket, and was out of the store in less than 5 minutes. I can't think of any reason why the rating should be less than 5 stars.
Now I have to start thinking about buying shoes...
(I mentioned to my friend what it had cost, and said, "Look, I was going to buy a fancy pair of pants, but I have some nice dark slacks, and...you wouldn't be offended if I wore those, would you? After all, your son and the bride-to-be are going to be the focus of attention, not me." He said, "Ed, I don't care. Just so long as you show up, I don't care what pants you're wearing." Set my mind at ease a bit.)
