Journal: News & Comment

Twentieth century Sunday suit

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So I went and bought a suit yesterday. Charcoal, 100% wool, subtle pinstripe, three-button jacket, single-pleat-front pants with cuffs. Plus an off-white Italian textured cotton dress shirt and swanky tie. $400 Cdn in the end, with taxes, which is a good deal.

The sales process was finely tuned for men's shopping styles. I wandered around for a couple of minutes before a salesperson (Rosie, whose card read Assistant Manager, and who was the only woman in the store) asked what I might need. Within three more minutes, I was trying on suits close to what I wanted, and she was telling me not "you look good" but "that fits you well." (We men aren't always sure.)

After I had decided—maybe seven minutes later—the pants were being hemmed by the in-store tailor while I waited. Then Rosie was setting out matching sets of shirts and ties, with a couple of casual sweaters thrown in to show how they looked. I had not planned to buy another shirt, and I have plenty of ties, but they were excellent combinations, unlike what I owned, so I did buy one set.

I could easily have purchased some shoes and a belt too (she asked), but I knew my budget. Yet it was like a conveyor belt, smoothly taking me from interest to purchase, without having to think too much about what fit, or what went with what. Even though I like shopping, I enjoyed that—while I suspect that many women I know, including my wife, would have hated it, and maybe even been insulted by some of it. All told, I was away from my house for about 45 minutes, including driving time.

Can you believe that such an organized store—Moore's, one of Canada's biggest menswear retail chains—does not even have a website has a website you can't easily find on Google? I had to phone to find out what time they closed on Sunday.

How very twentieth century.

UPDATE: Jennifer Ross-Tolton reveals that mooresthesuitpeople.com is the place to go. (They do indeed have hours for my store.)

Searching for Moore's the suit people finds them at the top of the list, but Moore's menswear Canada doesn't. So you have to know their slogan, or specifically not include the word "Canada." I should have tried that, I guess. Still, it's a bit odd.

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