the price is right; At what cost comes a perfectly tailored suit.

Byline: Melissa Ceria

Candice Hanson remembers the time she was standing in the locker room of her gym in a beige skirt suit with a flower applique and a woman nearby walked up to her. "It was Halle Berry," says Hanson, a Los Angeles entertainment lawyer. "She saw what I was wearing and loved it."

Yes, even celebrities will stop at the sight of a great suit. And among fall's other-more soft-edged-essentials, like a chiffon blouse or a cashmere cardigan, a great suit that can be worn season after season stands alone for its investment value-even if the cash register rings as high as your monthly mortgage.

"When I put on a Chanel suit, I'm ready for battle," says Hanson, who likes to conduct business in sophisticated looks by Lacroix, Klein, and Karan. "They're certainly expensive, but there's a sense of satisfaction because it's as though I've arrived."

The point of a well-made suit is to be noticed. But notice can come at a price. This season, ladies who lunch will be slipping into Giorgio Armani's flared dove-gray jacket and ankle-length pants ($3,725), Ralph Lauren's classic black-and-white silk-boucle skirt suit ($3,896), Narciso Rodriguez's beautifully sculpted black wool fleece-and-silk number ($4,445), and Valentino's schoolgirl plaid skirt suit with enormous fox collar ($5,990).

But why, exactly, are these top-drawer suits so pricey? Partly because the Euro has been driving down the dollar-which in turn is driving up the cost of looks from European designers, and those from U.S. designers who rely on European fabrics. And partly because the best new suits quench fall fashion's thirst for luxe fabrics (read: expensive) and intricate detailing (read: really expensive).

"Whichever house you look at, you see the suit is gaining personality," says Douglas Chen, the buyer and manager of Linda Dresner. "It's less about armor and more about a fashion statement."