The story below is from our March/April 2025 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
Men can find the perfect suit in Roanoke, tailored or off the rack, with expert advice ensuring a polished and versatile look for any occasion.
There’s a long-tenured British aphorism that goes something like this: When there was one clothing shop, there were 100 well-dressed men about town. Now that there are 100 clothing shops, a well-dressed man can’t be found.
A stroll through virtually any public space confirms the truth of these now ancient sentiments. Fortunately, Roanoke remains an oasis in the war on drab, ill-fitting and comfortable-but-unflattering clothing. In particular, Star City offers men in search of a classic suit with an array of price points and fashion preferences. Whether a man wants their suit custom made, wishes to purchase it “off the rack” from a retailer, or to have a suit they’ve purchased professionally tailored, he will find the right business in the Roanoke Valley. There are both locally owned shops and national and regional chains operating in the area that will serve men of different budgets and tastes.
Where does a man begin looking, particularly if he is purchasing his first suit? Whether for work, church, weddings, job interviews, funerals or other formal occasions, the need for such a garment will inevitably come up as one navigates the events of adulthood.
“If this is your first suit, go with something neutral,” says Jay Hamm, who owned the Modern Gentleman’s Brotique in downtown Roanoke, a shop which focused on contemporary formal attire. The store sold suits off the rack and offered in-house tailoring. Modern Gentleman custom-made their neck ties and pocket squares. “You can take that one suit and mix it with different shirts, different neckties and get a whole range of appearances. You can get about 15 different looks with one suit,” he says. A suit with a distinctive pattern takes center stage, detracting from its versatility. Save that for your second or third suit.
Courtesy of Davidsons
Hamm is a Pastor at the Garden of Prayer #7 Church and a longtime men’s clothing consultant. He opened the Modern Gentleman in late 2018 but had to shut down the business during COVID-19. He continues to serve as a men’s clothing consultant within his church community.
“I would suggest something in a deep shade of blue or a charcoal grey. You’re going to have situations where the wearing of a suit is the appropriate thing to have in your closet. You’re going to want to have one in your closet, dark and neutral in color, so that you can change the furnishings with it,” says Larry Davidson, owner of Davidson’s, Roanoke’s premier men’s clothing store. The black suit was long the standard but it can seem out of place at many daytime events. A dark blue or charcoal grey fits well in a wide range of occasions.
Larry Davidson has been working full-time at the store since 1972, which his grandfather founded 110 years ago. Davidson’s has built up a large and loyal customer base that extends more than 100 miles in each direction. The store sells sportswear, business attire, and does custom-made suits and shirts as well as special orders. The clients who purchase custom-made clothing tend to be too large or too small to purchase clothes off the rack or they are customers interested in greater selection or styling.
Courtesy of Jay Hamm
Pastor Jay Hamm looks resplendent in his well-accessorized pinstripe suit. He serves as a clothing consultant for men at the Garden of Prayer #7 Church in Roanoke.
“The majority of our clients don’t have fit issues,” Davidson says, explaining that the average man wears pants that are about six inches smaller than his chest size. Nevertheless, there has never been a better time to get your suit custom-made.
“Almost every vendor that offers ready-made clothing also has a custom component to their business,” Davidson says. He notes that the price of having an item custom-made has dropped considerably relative to the price of ready-made clothing.
“The distance between the two now is very small,” he says. At certain times in the year, the price of custom suits with certain vendors are the same as purchasing a suit straight off the rack.
“The premium has reduced itself significantly. If you have a difficult fit, then custom is the answer,” Davidson says. “When you buy custom, you have not only a choice of fabric but also styling and then you have additional choices,” he continued, including selecting your suit’s lining, buttons and stitching. When custom-fitting a man for a suit, Davidson considers a number of factors when putting it all together. He measures a man’s posture so that the jacket fits properly over the shoulders and the collar of the suit fits properly. He will build the suit differently if the man is “hip forward,” which causes a suit to look baggy in the back and stick to the legs in the front.
“I’ll look at someone and say, ‘Golly, you had an injury with your right shoulder.’ I can look at them and see a ¾-inch or a half-inch difference in one shoulder or another,” Davidson says. Shoulders are one of the hardest parts of a suit to get right and are among the most difficult to adjust after the fact.
“Someone interested in custom clothing is typically focused on their appearance and a lot of these people are weightlifters,” Davidson says. Highly muscular men do not fit well into standard suit sizes and typically require custom-made clothing, especially if they follow the skinny suit trend.
When purchasing a suit off the rack from a retailer, both Davidson and Hamm recommend getting the suit tailored to ensure that it fits properly and naturally. A suit that fits in a natural fashion should, among other things, close without strain when buttoned.
“Take a pair of shoes with you to the tailor. And a belt,” Hamm says. This will ensure that your pants will be adjusted enough to keep them from dragging on the ground (your pants cuffs should rest on top of your shoe) and that the length of your outfit will not be too long. Hamm encourages customers to keep an eye on the length of their jacket arms as well, which should extend to the wrist. Some shirt cuff should be visible beyond the jacket sleeve, roughly half an inch.
Courtesy of Jay Hamm
Whether your suit is custom made or off the rack, a man makes the garment his own with the way he builds around it.
“The accessories: necktie, pocket square, lapel pin, cufflinks, all those accessories make the suit. It’s your accessories that pop it out,” Hamm says. Davidson notes that many men are moving away from the necktie and choosing to adorn their suits in other ways. White shirts with contrasting color buttons have become a popular way to add panache to your outfit. More than anything, the classic pocket square adds personality to a suit, particularly for the man who goes without a tie.
“The pocket square is the difference between being dressed and being well dressed. And an opportunity if you’re not going to wear a necktie to have a touch of color in what you’re wearing,” Davidson says.
“Pocket squares will move if you don’t have them in the correct place,” Hamm says. He recommends securing your pocket square with a safety pin on the inside of your suit.
A man with the budget to own several suits can diversify his look considerably but one good suit can serve as the foundation of a substantial wardrobe.
“In your wardrobe you should always have that one good emergency dressy suit and then add versatility to your wardrobe by adding some interesting sportscoats,” Davidson says. He notes that many businessmen who previously wore a suit everyday now are wearing a sportscoat instead and pairing it with dress trousers or denim, depending on the formality of the occasion.
The price of a men’s suit can vary greatly. Depending on one’s budget, a serviceable suit can be had for under $500 with tailoring. For a high-quality custom suit, the price is much higher. There are obvious external differences in detailing, design and fabric quality which distinguish suits but much of what elevates a suit’s price happens on the inside. The quality and durability of the lining and the suit’s canvas (essentially, its skeleton) play a major role in determining the price of a suit.
“In the very best clothing, you’re going to have a lot of those components put together with hand workmanship, particularly the arm holes, the shoulders and sometimes in the lapels,” Davidson says.
Courtesy of Davidsons
“Since men have been wearing suits, the price of a high-quality suit was equal to an ounce of gold. Right now, the price of gold is about $2,200 an ounce and that’s about the price of a high-quality suit,” Davidson says. That may sound like a great deal of money, but a versatile suit is a long-term investment in a man’s presentation of himself to the world. It is a visible ambassador, an outward signification of the man inside the garments.
“If you can keep it clean, hung properly, that suit will last you a long time, maybe 10 or 12 years,” Hamm says.
“I would also encourage people not to dry clean their clothing any more than is necessary. Assuming you’re wearing an undergarment and a dress shirt, then your coat’s not really going to get dirty unless you get dirt or food on your clothing. Having it pressed periodically is one thing but the dry cleaning process beats up your clothing,” Davidson says. “Hang it up carefully, let it air out, rotate it in your wardrobe.”
Making a thoughtful long-term investment in a suit makes your purchase more than a nod to convention. Make your suit a grand gesture that looks backward and looks forward simultaneously.
The story above is from our March/April 2025 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!