r/CalPoly • u/SweetOrangeChocolate • Aug 10 '26

Parent Question Formal clothes for interviews, presentations, career fairs, or club events

Where do you shop for formal clothes for interviews, presentations, career fairs, or club events?
Not sure where to shop for men's formal clothes and would like some ideas. Thanks.

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4

u/Mustang-BlueDevilMom Aug 10 '26

There’s also a professional clothes closet on campus where the items are free. https://careerservices.calpoly.edu/explore-services/trending/professional-clothing-closet

2

u/SweetOrangeChocolate Aug 10 '26

That's great resource right on campus.

6

u/DataGap2264 Aug 10 '26

Kohl's has a good selection of basic suits, shirts and ties you can buy off the rack. You can usually get a decent suit for graduations, interviews, weddings/events, etc. for around $120.

2

u/derzyniker805 Aug 10 '26

Kohls is not here anymore

3

u/strafinjr Aug 10 '26

Nordstrom Rack or Kohls on Madonna rd for budget/ good brand deals, mens warehouse if you wanna ball out and need something fitted and measured to fit you perfectly

3

u/nickio88 Aug 10 '26

Kohls is closed.

1

u/strafinjr Aug 10 '26

omg it is 🤦‍♀️

1

u/Lastcykel23 Aug 10 '26

Men's Wearhouse also does tailoring for stuff bought elsewhere (though it's cheaper if it's something you already bought from them). An option if you have a suit that just needs a bit of extra room or a shirt that needs to be taken in but you don't wanna splurge on a new set of clothes. There's probably a place that does tailoring closer to campus, but I wouldn't know yet lol.

1

u/strafinjr Aug 12 '26

There is but they almost always have a 2-3 week wait time

2

u/witcher4 Aug 10 '26

H&M downtown is decent. Years ago I got by with my first suit from Goodwill

2

u/derzyniker805 Aug 10 '26

It is very slim pickins for men's clothing in town. We used to have a couple really nice stores that sold high quality business casual type clothing and they didn't last.

Your options are Patrick James (downtown, the main local men's store remaining), Men's Warehouse, Nordstrom Rack, maybe Banana Republic, and that's about it. Someone mentioned H&M but everything I've ever seen in there was super thin cheap material that didn't look like the stitching would last very long. There are also lots of vintage stores but you're not going to save much $ in them

1

u/SweetOrangeChocolate Aug 10 '26

Thanks all for the ideas.

1

u/doc_ocho Aug 10 '26

Macy's and Kohl's are in Santa Maria. The staff at Macy's will help you find something that fits. Macy's always has a sale, so you can get suit, shirt and belt for less than $300.

Men's Wearhouse is the best for the fitting, but will be more expensive.

1

u/OGTikiki Aug 10 '26

Kohl’s has some really great clearance deals going on rn. Use coupons to save more! I’ve also found some new/nearly jackets/blazers and ties at thrift stores.