Tahari vs. Zara - May the Best Suit Win!
Once I find a brand of good quality and affordability, I do my absolute best to stick with it. Tahari has been one of the brands that I’ve been fond of since my first Tahari suit was passed down to me from my well-dressed Aunty Kim. Once given the helm, I completely began a style voyage of my own (which I’ve found that I am re-discovering as my weight fluctuates).
It’s safe to say that I have suits of varying brands from about 2006 to 2022 and can largely speak to the overall quality shift in the suits of the past versus the suits of the present.
Quality
Again, I am big on quality! This is mostly because I am paying for it but also because I want it to look a certain way while I am wearing it!
A brand either works towards ongoing manufacture of quality products or they decide to join the masses and drop the ball while raising the prices.
Sad to say in this post that Tahari has seemingly done exactly the latter:
I used to get quality suits from Tahari, and sure they would run me a couple hundred, but they’d fit perfectly and some [seemingly] tailored to perfection.
they were a thick and dependable quality material with slips sewn in perfectly for ease and comfort.
they were thick and smoothly laid enough to avoid that odd shoulder pad bulge that many suits have nowadays (excluding those that bulge because they’re a size too small 👀).
Link to Phone Case: https://amzn.to/3Ic36hc.
Let’s Talk Alternatives
Once I learned that I could not trust my money or my suits to Tahari so much anymore, I went on to seek out alternatives!
I had long since been a Worthington and Calvin Klein customer, but would only trust the purchase of suits to Calvin Klein out of those two. CK, however, does not too often have suits that actually catch my eye in terms of creativity, fit, or style. But, when they do, I certainly try to grab them!
The pink suit is brought to you courtesy of Zara!
This suit costed me about $150 as opposed to the $230+ that the Tahari suits cost, and as you can see, they still end up being quite alright.
They satisfy some of my more minimal needs like a partially tailored blazer that is ‘tall’ instead of a waist-length blazer (can’t stand those) and solid quality.
As for my remaining problem:
I mean look at this beautiful Mint Green Suit! Look at the asymmetric details on what would otherwise be a belted, double breasted blazer! It’s clear that Tahari still wants to be on top of their designs, and they definitely still want you to pay good money for them but, if the quality slips the way that it has, how could I possibly be expected to still spend $200+ per suit.
So then, who wins?
In terms of winning here, I would have to give the prize to Zara!
If I am still paying the same prices but getting a lower quality (no matter how cute), then I simply won’t be happy! I’m sorry that Tahari has put me in this place, but not sorry enough to continue to pay for thinning suits! I mean these things are thinning faster than a hairline! Not to mention the fact that they don’t even appear to be trying to attach (i.e. sew) the slips in anymore! Like, come on!
Until Tahari decides that they care about the quality of theirs suits again, I will happily be shopping for suits with Zara (I mean, unless they start making all of their suits in cropped tops 🙄, but that’s a topic for a forthcoming post).