That said, they can at least recommend you something if nothing else. Those guys are required to wear suits all day too.
Might be I just got lucky, but it's been true at two locations so far.
I would probably avoid the J.A Banks of the world. Invest in quality threads, especially if you're going to wear them daily you'll get your money's worth. The same goes for the shoes, a comfortable pair of Cole Haans is worth the extra dough if you're walking in them all the time.
The quality of the fabric is good IMO - much better than department store suits. I would say it's definitely worth checking out if you are looking for a suit.
I've bought $200 suits from department stores only to spend another $100 on tailoring.. for a bit more you get a custom quality suit - from a company with a compelling business model.
If you think you're too proud: No one will know it's a used suit unless you tell them.
He outfitted my husband and 3 of my close guy friends for my wedding, and he referred me to an amazing tailor. That and his stuff is actually really affordable. As I recall, a decent-looking suit was something like $300 total.
Now, an aside... when I got my first job that needed suits, I did kind of the same thing. I went out in search of the most cost-efficient suits that didn't look ugly. I stumbled across a sale at Macy's and ended up buying a couple of suits, and a couple of pant / sportcoat combos for approximately $150-200 a set.
Then I started going to meetings, only to realize that while I 'met the grade', I was judged on the quality of my suits by some of the higher ups. It wasn't like the business card scene in 'American Psycho' or anything, but I'd be asked "Who are you wearing?", and other 'rich people questions' I didn't think people ever actually asked. The worst answer I found was "I dunno", but an only slightly better is answering with the name of a poor quality manufacturer.
Subsequent advice takes that into consideration, if you'd like to avoid being singled out. Please note that the advice works well for 'government-quality' attire, and would likely not pass as 'wall-street-quality' attire or "big-law-quality" attire.
Jos. A. Bank is a respected name in suits, mostly because the average suit cost is about triple ($600-750) the minimum suit cost you can get, but they run sales approximately once a month with buy-one-get-one or buy-one-get-two specials and the like that can knock the effective cost down to $200 or less (which is about the most I'll pay for a suit.) You can buy the pants unhemmed and take them to a local drycleaner to have them tailored for a nominal fee which helps avoid the 'off-the-rack' fit.
If you are like me, I often admire bold color choices on others that I would never pick out for myself, or that I don't think would look good on me. A good place to go for fashion advice is Men's Wearhouse. I'm sure mileage varies, but I've been to a few locations in different locales, and I've always gotten great accessory suggestions for ties, shirts, etc., that I would have never picked. It isn't pushy, and you can 'suggest-down' to whatever level you're comfortable wearing (for when they suggest a hot pink tie or whatever) and a good rep will get your tastes and start suggesting accordingly.
You'll pay more generally, but they have pretty aggressive sales on occasion too.
At Banks, sales are definitely a way to go (and, for suits and trousers, help defray the cost of a good fitting). As a separate example, they have had some of the best-fitting polo/rugby shirts I've found. They are normally rather pricey, but if you pick them up at the end of summer they are quite reasonable.
A book that used to be heavily recommended is "Dress for Success". In essence, the recommendation and instructions are to learn to know and then insist upon certain rather conservative but attractive styles that never go out of fashion.
"Dress for Success" appeared some years ago to have entered that perpetual "revise and republish" life, similar to, for example, the career advice guide "What Color Is Your Parachute" (a new version every year). I don't know what that means for its quality, compared to when the same edition continued to be valid and current year after year.
P.S. Thinking about what I just wrote, you may want to drive over to the part of town where discriminating people shop. If you're unsure, think of contacts who would know and get some local recommendations. If you can get a reliable recommendation to an individual salesperson, or perhaps even better, fitter or tailor, so much the better. (Assuming there are still some that haven't been squeezed out of the economy.)
Tell them what you're after, and count on their advice to steer you to quality items. Don't begrudge the markup that pays for this service, as long as it's not excessive.
I have several 10+ year old suits that are perfectly serviceable (thankfully, also fairly lightly worn), by virtue of following this route.
Hopefully, such service has not completely disappeared from today's marketplace. Again, you may have to drive to the right part of town to find it.