The Buying Power of $760

Ahem.. where were we? Oh yes!

Last posting I posed the question “Is The Great Suit worth spending $760?” I also offered an answer: yes. To put this in a different perspective, I would like to compare the cost of The Great Suit with other items of importance or interest to me and potentially to my readers.

$760 will buy 190 Starbucks Grande Mochas. This is usually my drink of choice when visiting Starbucks (one pump mocha, no whip). That’s one mocha every other day for a year.

Recently my husband and I celebrated our 7^th anniversary. As a young woman, I felt it was necessary to spend thousands of dollars on a day’s events that is long forgotten and completely irrelevant to the last seven years. Yet I still do not have a headboard. For $760 I could purchase a headboard.

According to statistics provided by Angel Food Ministries, $760 can feed a family of four for five months or a senior citizen for almost two years.

For $760 a couple considering divorce can receive eight counseling sessions wherein they can determine what the problem is, if it is solvable, how to solve it, and the appropriate steps to healthy relationships in the future.

For $760 I can buy the top luxury stroller for my newborn nephew, making me my sister-in-law’s favorite sister-in-law.

With $760 I could buy my friends car so he can move to New York City. I could give this car to my baby sister to help her obtain a full-time job with decent benefits. Once she has this job, she can solidify plans for a wedding in June.

$760 is approximately one-and-a-half months worth of child care for my friend who would rather be a stay-at-home-mom.

At the Missouri Minimum wage of $7.25, one would have to work two-and-a-half weeks full-time (or 104 hours) to earn $760 before taxes.

I could also spend $760 on a round-trip flight to see my brother who will be stationed with the Navy in Hawaii.

As I argued in previous postings, the “investment” that comes with The Great Suit could bring dividends of a well-paying job, promotion, or favor of your boss and co-workers.

But investments are risky.

When I set out The Great Suit journey, I knew the chances of finding a decent suit for $100 were slim. I also knew that most of the stores in Joplin at which I shop fairly regularly do not carry suits. My town of 50,000 has little to offer—Macy’s, JCPenny, New York and Company, Sears, and closeout merchandise stores like T.J. Maxx and Name Brand Clothing. What few boutiques we have are mostly “fun” middle-aged women’s clothing.

Then there’s Talbots.

I place Talbots in a separate category because I think Joplin is undeserving of this specialty retailer. When companies consider opening new stores, their main focus is on specific income based demographics. Thus, many stores pass up Joplin because it is on the low side for high incomes. But if people in my income bracket consider buying from there, maybe there is a market.

I know that I can get The Great Suit there. To make sure I was not spending needless money on name brand, though, I shopped everywhere else first.

I am suitless. Meanwhile, I am saving to buy a suit at Talbots.

Buying a suit is not technically an investment. A suit depreciates in monetary value. The benefits of buying The Great Suit far outweigh the cost. Not only does The Great Suit make you look smart, successful, beautiful, and classy, but you also know you look smart, successful, and classy. Samuel Johnson, I am told, said, “Self-confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings.” Without self-confidence, there’s nowhere to go.

Before I get too far, I need to define what I mean by The Great Suit. The Great Suit includes matching jacket, pants, skirt and stellar accessories tailored to your coloring, shape, and personality. I might even include make-up and hair, but I think I will refrain from that topic in this blog series.

This investment is not only the suit pieces themselves but also accessories not bought at Target. I love Target! But cheap accessories make a Great Suit just a suit. If you’re “investing” that much money anyway, why not add a little extra to make it Great?

So, to give myself a goal, I browsed Talbots. Here is an estimate of what The Great Suit would cost (at the very least) based on their full prices.


Seamless wool-blend suit
Jacket $199
Pants $109
Skirt $ 99
Point collar shirt $ 69
Dot pantyhose $ 10
Plaid/rosette sash $ 34
Vachetta leather belt $ 39
Classic pumps $129
Faux-pearl earrings $ 29
Faux-pearl illusion necklace $ 44

The Great Suit total $761


Almost $1,000 for The Great Suit?!?! Is it worth it?

We wear suits to important events that are usually tied to money: interviews, television appearances, presentations, etc. If wearing The Great Suit means a job, a promotion, or receiving community support for future service events at MSSU, then I believe The Great Suit is worth $761 (plus tax). I guarantee that if I have The Great Suit on, it’ll be like marrying my husband—I’ll never doubt it was worth it.

The Great Suit

I am graduated. I am professional. I should buy a suit for interviews, special events, television appearances, and professional-grade funerals. I ventured out this weekend to find The Great Suit since there is some urgency: I will be appearing on the KODE morning show January 7 to represent the MSSU Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service to be held on January 18th (plug, plug).

To look my best at any time, really, but especially on television, my PR mentor has advised me to wear a dark suit. Sounds simple, and for him, it may be. For women, however, so much more goes into buying and wearing a suit. Tailoring to individual curvaceousness, accessorizing within professional and personality boundaries, and enhancing while alternately subduing femininity make for a complicated procedure. Additionally, mens fashion has remained mostly the same for over one hundred years with only gradual and minimal variations. Womens fashion, however, is much more complicated and extreme—a suit that was fashionable last year can now look dated (though I admit I would not know).

Regardless, I know my male PR friend is correct. A dark suit is essential to my wardrobe. To help those soon-to-be graduates, women entering and reentering the workforce, and all women with moderate concerns for professional fashion, I will explore many facets of finding, buying and wearing The Great Suit.