Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Sticker shock

 I asked the guy to make me look like this.  When I left he was still laughing.

As I mentioned a few days ago I have several elderly relatives whose time on Earth appears to be limited, so I figured I'd better get ready.  For years my daily wardrobe has consisted of jeans or shorts and t-shirts or polo shirts.  I have some casual pants and nicer shirts that would pass for "business casual", a couple of sport coats, and one suit, my "marryin' and buryin'" suit.

I tried my dressy clothes on and no surprise, they didn't fit well.  The later stages of middle age plus a low thyroid that is jerking my metabolism around meant a trip to The Men's Wearhouse was in order.

I've always found The Men's Wearhouse had good clothes at reasonable prices.  I could go in and be greeted by a knowledgeable sales person who could direct me to a nice suit that made me look less dorky than I really am, without breaking the bank.

Over the weekend K invited (dragged) me to the MW so they could polish me up a bit.  I had decided a sport coat that I already had was sufficiently conservative, so all I needed was a nice pair of dress pants.

The guy took me to the pants dept and went right to a pair that matched well and felt like good quality.  Being a decisive person I said fine, mark 'em for the right length and let me outta here.

But wait, there's more!

Today only, buy one pair of pants, get another pair FREE!  I only needed one pair, but heck, if they're free....  :)  So I took two pair, one charcoal colored, one navy blue, back to the dressing room and tried them on.  

He marked the first pair, and as I was taking them off I noticed the price tag:  $190.  For ONE pair of pants?  (Well over $200 with alterations and tax.)  *choke*

Is that the going price these days for a pair of pants, or has The Men's Wearhouse gone all Neiman Marcus on me?  The other pair was less expensive, so I just bought those which were "value priced" and didn't qualify for the BOGO promotion.  Free?  Yeah, right. 

S


7 comments:

  1. Pretty much the price of everything is going up, up, and away!

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  2. I shop at Jos. A Bank. They have nice stuff and fine service. I shouldn't have to go often, but every time I finally have the need for a pair of pants or a suit, I realize what you find, my old stuff keeps shrinking. Anyway, I wonder if anyone has ever bought something at JAB and paid full price. I think not. Kind of like buying furniture from a store that is not "Going out of business."

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    1. Funny you should mention....Jos. A Bank and The Men's Wearhouse have (or soon will be, it might still be pending) merged. Wonder if this is their new business model?

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  3. Sounds like retail shenanigans to me. I know things are getting ever more expensive but $200 for a pair of slacks seems outrageous.

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  4. Some say you get what you pay for.

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  5. But the second pair was free so really you got a pair of slacks for $100. Still seems pricey to me but then my last suit was bought in the 1960's.

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  6. Yikes...that seems a bit steep.

    Of course, this is the woman who bought her wedding dress by walking into a clothing store, and responding to the question, "May I help you?" with a cool, "I'm looking for a dress. I'm going to a wedding." It was $80.

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