Kirkland brand black dress pants from Costco work just fine, last long time. Or so I heard.

Sucks that Abbots quality has gone downhill. My new hire jacket from Abbots lasted about ten years before I had to replace it.

Abbotts jacket and shirts, kohl's for pants.

My 0.02...

Abbots jacket and pants:

The jacket itself is ok, but the liner started coming out after a year. It took several attempts to get repaired, because their policy was they'd only repair it if had been dry cleaned and not worn since. They did, eventually, fix it for free.

The Abbots jacket is HOT at room temperature. If you move at anything more than a slow shuffle, you will absolutely bake. Paradoxically, it's not warm enough for the Northern bases.

I've found the pants to be WAY overpriced for the quality, but if you do open your wallet, they're ok. Mine are going on 5 years of 7ER.

For shirts....I'm not a body builder, but I'm not an blimp either. Regular cut shirts fit me like a tent, and Van Heusen has tapered shirts that fit pretty well. They don't wear especially well, but their low cost makes up for it.

I have about 15 shirts (1 per day) and 3 pairs of pants (1 pair per trip), so I only need to go the cleaners once a month.

If you're planning on a north base, you'll need to invest in some kind of overcoat. Anything from any uniform supplier is going to look terrible. It's just the way it is. The length and cuts haven't been updated since the 30's, so you'll either look like a flasher or an extra from Casablanca. My suggestion would be to check out the men's section of Banana Republic or other such trendy spot for a overcoat that would pass a rudimentary glance. I got one at BR, and the cut and length is much better, and the fabric looks like it was made in this century. It can even pass muster with street clothes.

Spendy at $200, but worth it.

Nu

I have an Abbots jacket and I agree it's hot. It's held up okay for the 6 years I've had it but I hate wearing it. Freakin' horse blanket that thing! I had their shirts and pants too but don't recommend them. I get pants at Kohls now and shirts from Pilot House, Pilotshirts.com - pilot uniform shirts, pilot supplies, pilot shirts

For a top coat I got a nice wool one from Jos A Bank. On sale now for $127. Merino Wool Topcoat Three-Quarter Length

You got a coupon code for that coat? It says the on sale price is $180.

No coupon code, gloppy. Last night when I posted it was marked down to $127. I can't believe they would have it up to $180 now. That's a big jump. Apparently they vary their prices a lot.

There's new online sales every few days. If you can wait until next fall, that topcoat will be $99 (in store or online) the day after Thanksgiving only. I passed on it every time for 3 years, then finally got it for $99 last November.


http://www.josbank.com/menswear/shop...1_10050_102145

My first Abbott's jacket lasted 14 years. I had to replace the lining in it about halfway through. I finally replaced it with another Abbott's jacket a couple of years ago. The jury's still out on this one, but so far it seems to be holding up fine. I like the quality and the fit.

I'm still on the two pair of pants that came with the new jacket. So far they are holding up pretty well. The anti-slip/grip band that's inside the waistband is tearing up. But other than that, they seem to be doing pretty well and they fit nicely. For my old coat, I was replacing the pants with pants from Men's Wearhouse. Still kinda expensive but very good quality and fit.

For shirts, I wear Landerwood Pilot Shirts. I think they are by far the best quality, best looking shirts on the market. I'm about 4 years into my first set of the shirts, and they are still nowhere near needing to be replaced. They are a little more expensive then most others, but if they last a lot longer they actually end up being a better value. These are a cotton/poly pinpoint oxford material... the type of material that is used in high quality dress shirts worn by business executives. They look great... very professional. The downside is that they are not "easy care." I don't think you could just throw these in the washer and dryer and have them come out looking good without a lot of ironing. I send mine to the cleaners and have them starched. So if that's something you can live with, these are great shirts. If not, I wouldn't recommend them. Oh by the way, if anyone ends up buying some Landerwood shirts, give them my referral number 7868. After so many referrals, I get a free shirt. If my current shirts ever wear out, I might actually get to use that!

It seems like the Elbco Jetstream tapered shirt and Landerwood pilot shirts have earned some loyalty in shirts. Do these venders show up at indoc with demos? Should I just look them up online?