Education Buying a suit - where's the smart money?

Seeing how much the people around here love to talk about shaving I figure there's a reasonable chance of some worthy experience and guidance on the subject suit buying. Let's hope so.

Other than a tux I bought a couple of years back I've never bought a suit. My parents got me one for 6th Form, I think from Burtons, that I didn't like the feel of and trashed playing football in it, and other than that the only suit I've ever had is a double-breasted jacket and pleated trouser hand-me-down from my Dad that must have been bought in the early '90s if not before. I've worn it to every interview and wedding I've been to in the last 12 years. Normally I resist the evil forces of fashion but I reckon enough is enough and am now considering buying a new suit.

Now I know we have a diverse population at Bit-tech, but can those who insist that you need to spend >£500 otherwise you just look cheap please move along, cos I ain't going there. Unless the majority feels that way, in which case it might be useful to hear and I'll just ditch the whole idea.

So where's the bang for buck purchase? I'll come right out and say that I've been making preliminary enquiries on the M&S and John Lewis websites , and there's plenty reviews on M&S that reckon £200 can have you looking pretty snappy, but is that really the case? I will be going in store to see for myself but I'm not sure I trust my eye on this one. A year or so ago I tried on some £400 suits at Jaeger and felt fairly underwhelmed and so have to wonder if I, or other people, can really tell the difference. I'm sure a salesman can talk for hours about the value of a proper £600+ tailored jobby, but surely it's BS in many cases...

 

Go to Jermyn Street in London.

You can get a beaut one from Harvie and Hudson/Charles Trywitt et all for about £250/300 including alterations.

I work in the City with people in £4k+ suits from Saville Row, and you'd never be able to tell the difference.

 

I'm gonna say Next. I got a slim fit jacket and trousers from there for £80 and it feels and fits beautifully on me. Whilst I'd love to spend £300 or so on one, I can't justify it, and no doubt this suit will last me ages to come!

If I were to wear my suit in some parts of London I'd probably get laughed out, but depending on where you are, you could easily get away with it (which I have done).

 

Ok here goes....I work in the retail environment and have done so for the last 16 years. I currently work for a retailer that you have mentioned above.

All i will tell you is that there isnt much difference between a £200 suit and a £600. All you need to look out for is if the suit is 100% wool. DO NOT buy polyester mix as they are horrible suits which will not last.

The reason a tailored suit costs as much as it does is because its is made just for you, its bespoke, it will fit you perfectly in everyway where as an off the peg might not.

What i suggest is go to places like TM Lewin and pick up a suit for £199 (they have a promotion running)

Or wait a week or so as the summer sales are about to begin and you might be able to pick up a nice Aquascutum suit for peanuts

 

That's interesting to hear, I've not come across that suggestion before. London is out of my normal range though so unless they take orders online/by phone I'll be needing to keep it local to Cambridgeshire/Suffolk area.

Just checked the respective websites - Harvie & Hudson doesn't seem to have much of a range but Charles Tyrwhitt has potential - would need to be able to return it easily though if I wasn't convinced.

 

Mars - I'm not gonna knock Next as it's years since I last bought anything there, but as they were the most uncomfortable shoes I've ever had, it's put me off for life. Thanks tho.

Flame - that's some splendid opinion right there, and the TM Lewin stuff looks pretty good, plus it looks like they've got an outlet in Cambridge. Rep to you and Mankz for the Jermyn Street intel.

 

If you are ever in London drop me a PM and I'll get you fitted in a suit, as I said I work for a British fashion retail company and all I do is sell suits

 

Whatever suit you go for, from £100 to £1000+, get it tailored. I mean the lot - sleeves, jacket tuck/length, seat, waist, trouser length - everything. If you find somewhere independent locally, it will likely ("only" or "up to", depending on your perspective) cost you £60-100, but it's worth it. A £100 suit that fits you like a glove will look miles better than a £200 (or £500... £1000+) suit that's just off the shelf.

It's the difference between it looking like your mum bought it for you as part of your school uniform and looking the part.

I've got 16 suits , ranging from around £300-£1500 and the differences between them are subtle at best (but they're all tailored). I think most could pick which ones are the most expensive, and which are the cheapest out of a line-up with close inspection and having a feel of the fabric, but not in isolation.

Something about a posh suit though, for me it just feels better. For my most important meetings, I'll always wear my best suits. I doubt many can tell whether it's a £300 suit or a £1500 suit (or if it was a £15k suit for that matter), but it's a mental thing.

 

Book a nice holiday to Thailand.

Whilst there go get measured up, pick out material you want and go back the next day and hand them £50. Screw it, get two for £100.

Job done.

 

Listen to the man. He knows his threads. So does flame696.

Jaeger do some very good clearance sales also. Choice is a bit limited as they seem to cater for the middle-aged German businessman, but recently they started to do some more nice patterns. All 100% wool or linen/silk mix, of course.

And Mister_Tad is right: an ill-fitting suit is self-confidence suicide. But a well-fitting suit makes you walk like a tiger.

 

^This

Get one tailored, you will never regret it. I worked for John Lewis for a number of years and had a lot of suits from them but my first tailored suit was the ONE! Unfortunately I can't get in it anymore but it still looks like new

 

Totally agree with the points above. Get it tailored! There is nothing worse looking than a bloke in a ill fitting suit (especially if like me you have a weird body shape). Also make sure you go and buy in person and not off the web! I'd also recommend going to a "proper" suit shop (Austin Reed, TM Levin etc) as they will be able to advise you better than say a Next.

Like Tad and Nexxo said a more expensive suit imho does feel much nicer and more empowering.

 

Having met you in person, you seemed of pretty normal body shape to me?

(With me, on the other hand, people were commenting that they were "expecting someone taller". )

 

Maybe H is a bit lanky for standard peg stuff.

I've not bought a decent suit in a while, but for standard work-wear I grabbed a reduced to £100 M&S that fits extremely well (not quite to tailored level, but a very good fit indeed, apparently it looks fine) and can highly recommend them for fit and wear life.

 

I've only recently purchased a 3-piece from Slaters and it was around the 200 mark.

I have quite broad shoulders so didn't need much tailoring but they did shorten the trousers.

 

Sorry but I have to disagree. From the outside bespoke suits don't look too obvious, but wearing them, there is a big difference.

A good midway is to get a decent premade suit, a Crombie or a Gieves and Hawkes are my personal favourites, then go and get measured and have the appropriate adjustments made by a good seamstress or something. Saves you a couple of grand, and you still get a nearly bespoke suit with nice cloths as well.

Keep an eye out for sales as well. I landed two £600 Duchamp suits for the princely sum of £240 last winter.

 

Quite a few more replies this morning, all useful, although I can tell you now I'm not going to Thailand to buy a suit

What a splendidly kind offer, thanks Flame. But I'm hoping to buy before a family wedding next month and I can't see myself down in London before that. And besides, I've seen Friends - I know how you city boys like to measure the inside leg

Is there a significant difference between getting a suit 'tailored' and getting one off the peg that then gets altered? Whether it's just better photos/sexier models or what I don't know but I like the look of the stuff on TM Lewin more than seen elsewhere. It's a 30 min drive for me to get to their Cambridge store, whereas M&S is 5 mins away on my bike, but if I can go to TM Lewin, pick up one of their sale suits and get measured up and arrange for them to alter it accordingly that would seem like a real contender at the moment.

Daft question: how do you know when you've got the perfect fit? Do you just know, or are there objective assessments I can make?

Edit: Above question perhaps even dafter considering JM has already given an opinion on this. However, what's the minimum for a bespoke suit in this country, as I've already said I'm not the type of person who can be sold by the 'just pay it, however much you pay you'll feel 10 times more expensive once you're wearing it' - I'm not looking for such affirmation.

Thanks all for the contributions.

 

£50 from matalan, got me a job, into uni and still looks good I dont see the point in these 100+ Suits tbh.

 

I have a couple of nice suits.

There is a tailor in London, near saville row, but not actually there, where you can get a bespoke suit for about £500. They have a menu where you can choose your fabric/pattern, then you have to wait a while as the suit gets made over in china where their off the shelf suits get made, then when it comes into the country you get it tailor fitted to you - will look through my receipts when I home to find the name.

There is also an amazing tailor here in brighton called Gresham Blake - I do not know if they are a one off or if there are others about, I got a suit from there last year for circa £650 and its one of my favourites.

I completely see the point of £100+ suits, they feel nice, they look nice, and more often than not if you pay that much it is going to get fitted - which if you are oddly shaped like me is a godsend! Plus, it really does make you walk tall and feel like a champion.

 

ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME.