Buying a suit in the UK

[Nick D]

I'm moving to the UK soon for a few years, and it was suggested to me that I should buy a suit after I get there, rather than buy one here and pack it (I'm not planning on wearing it on the plane). Does anyone have any suggestions on buying a suit in the UK? I can't afford to have one custom made, but I'd like to know where I should look.

I'll be in Yorkshire, though I will be traveling all around as much as I can.

~Nick

 

[Baron Kurtz]

What kind of suit are you after? And how much are you looking to pay? Burton's etc. will get you the standard off the peg nastiness. And of course, there's the 20 pound ASDA/Wal*Mart abominations.

If you'll be in a city, or visiting, i'd get out to some of the "ethnic" areas - that's where i see most reasonably priced pretty stylish suits. And by ethnic, i mean a area with high Indian subcontinent. There's not much suit-wise, so far as i can see, going on in the largely caribbean/african areas, and certainly not much interesting in white areas, but those south-central asian shops are churning out some pretty good looking stuff. Particularly the Pakistani stores.

bk

 

[Edward]

Really, it depends on your budget... money no object, I'd say get thee to one of the bespoke places on Saville row. Otherwise....

I've heard good things about www.asuitthatfits.co.uk - custom made to measure suits, if memory serves, when I looked at it on their website, it would have cost me about GBP300 (USD600ish) for a three piece with a spare set of trousers.

Back in 03, I bought a two piece suit in a fairly classic cut from high street retailer Next (three button jacket & trousers, GBP150). I wore it a lot and just recently it has hit that "past its best" point, so I've retired the trousers and demoted the jacket to casual "blazer" wear... A lot of folks are snobbish about next, but for me at least i found it a fairly cheap way of finding a suit with a nice cut, and if you're not wearing it day and daily, it'll be fine.

Marks and Spencer might be worth a look. I used to buy suits in there many years ago, though over time I felt that they got arrogant and pushed the prices up too far. The reason to buy in Marksies used to be to get branded quality at an own-brand price - once they started charging as a brand themselves, I went elsewhere. They do do fairly classic designs, and the Marksies bits I currently have (a Harris tweed blazer, and the ivory, shawl collar dj I'm pictured in in the Men of the lounge thread) are very nicely cut, quality garments. I bought them both from ebay for buttons, so...

The big advantage with the high street brands if you've got a larger or smaller than average waistline relative to your jacket size is that typically they sell mix and match - you buy the jacket and the trousers in the same cloth as separate pieces, allowing you to choose the right size in each for you, rather than buying a complete suit where the trouser waist size are dictated by what the manufacturer matches to the jacket.

A couple of brands I've had good experience with, to watch out for: Douglas, and Remus Umo. Remus is a brand owned by a Northern Ireland company, which I'm sure is available over here in England too - I've had two or three suits from them, all of which have been beautifully cut, really nice quality material. A nice wool two piece in a classic three button, notch lapel style (to my mind more thirties than sixties) is about GBP200. Moss Bros are also worth a look too, and they tend to do the classic stuff.

If you're considering buying vintage, I'm sure the Baron will be along in a minute with some excellent recommendations.

FWIW, I've decided that my next number of suits are going to come from outside the UK - I plan when I have the money to order a suit from Indy Magnoli, and see how I get on from there. If that works for me, there are a fair few I'd like to buy from Magnoli Clothiers.

 

[Edward]

Ha, I see the Baron must have been posting as I typed too...

 

[Micawber]

Any clues as to whereabouts in the UK?

 

[Nick D]

Edward, I like that A Suit That Fits website. I've spent some time on it and put together a couple really nice suits. Haven't bought anything yet, though.

Micawber, I'll be in the Leeds/Bradford area. Don't know exactly where I'll be yet.

Cheers,
Nick

 

[Nick D]

This is the SB 3-piece suit I've put together on A Suit That Fits. I could have lowered the price with less embellishment (notched and lapelled vest, trouser cuffs, etc.), but I want something that stands out from the modern uniform suit.

A Suit That Fits

Any thoughts or comments?

 

[cookie]

FWIW

The Marks and Sparks stuff like shirts I buy on thrift in Aussie are fantastic. I have had one of their linen suits which was not too bad either and their ties are also good.

 

[Jovan]

I'm a bit apprehensive about a site that charges for things that actually don't cost that much more to make.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

eh?

 

[Nick D]

Jovan, what in particular were you looking at? For the most part it seemed fair to me, more buttons or pockets are more expensive. The one thing I noticed was the back pockets in the Professional line, the right pocket only is 6 pounds, while left side only is 3 pounds. Odd, don't righties outnumber lefties? They're the same price in the Distinguished line, though. I considered getting the left pocket, but I'm not sure I could really get used to it, and I don't want to forgo back pockets.

 

[Edward]

Maybe it reflects a presumption that most folks will go for the right side pocket, the standard, and if they want a left side pocket it will be an additional instead of an alternative. Presumably if you take into account labour, materials, all the basic set-up costs for each feature you add to the suit, it costs them less to add a second rear pocket than to add the first alone?

As to your suit design.... looks good. Did you go for working buttons on the jacket cuffs? That's something i always consider a very classy touch. Not that it really makes much difference in practice - I very much doubt most folks are ever going to notice - but I like it. If you're looking for something that stands out, I'd be inclined to go with a peaked rather than a notched lapel on the jacket, maybe also the waistcoat (I'm presuming that's still an option? While since I checked). That would instantly stand apart from the regular notched lapels you see everywhere now. Also, I personally think a db waistcoat looks great with a sb blazer (again, if that is an option), and that would also be something very different from the ROTM.

 

[Jovan]

It just doesn't seem right to me. No Savile Row tailor would charge extra for little things like that from what I know.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Well of course not. We're in a somewhat different price region from Savile Row.

A company which has minimised the cost to the consumer must charge more for the extra fabric in the cuffs, for example. And, funnily enough, adding pockets is actually quite a bit of work.

bk

 

[Alan Eardley]

It just doesn't seem right to me. No Savile Row tailor would charge extra for little things like that from what I know.

Surely Savile Row tailors have a much larger contribution margin and many extraneous 'value adding' activities (e.g. fitting sessions) in which they can 'lose' extra costs like this?

Alan

 

[Jovan]

I just wonder about their quality is all. The last company I encountered who charged for such things were quite shoddy in their construction...

 

[Nick D]

I haven't set my mind completely on this particular company yet, I'm still looking around, but so far I've liked what I've seen. Also, the suits aren't sewn there, they will measure and alter there, but the suits are sent out to be made.

 

[Nick D]

As to your suit design.... looks good. Did you go for working buttons on the jacket cuffs? That's something i always consider a very classy touch. Not that it really makes much difference in practice - I very much doubt most folks are ever going to notice - but I like it. If you're looking for something that stands out, I'd be inclined to go with a peaked rather than a notched lapel on the jacket, maybe also the waistcoat (I'm presuming that's still an option? While since I checked). That would instantly stand apart from the regular notched lapels you see everywhere now. Also, I personally think a db waistcoat looks great with a sb blazer (again, if that is an option), and that would also be something very different from the ROTM.

Edward, those are all things I've looked at, actually. I also love the db vest with sb jacket look, but the suit in the link I posted is right at the outer edges of my budget as it is now. But those are all things I'll be considering for my next suit

Even if I end up not going with this company, the suit generator is an excellent tool for getting an idea of a suit, within the limitations of the options they provide.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

The least you'll pay for bespoke in the UK is about double what's currently being quoted on that website, with the extras. And then you'll have to go to a small or provincial tailor, and you'd get a 2-piece. Savile Row will cost you about 2500 pounds or more, or 10 times what these chaps are charging.

The price you see on the website is about average for a "high-street" suit, and probably of similar quality.

bk

 

[Alan Eardley]

Even if I end up not going with this company, the suit generator is an excellent tool for getting an idea of a suit, within the limitations of the options they provide.

I agree. I'm professionally interested in 'design wizards' such as this one. Usually they are not as good as this. In fact, after an initial scepticism I was quite taken with the thoroughness of the 'Measure Yourself' wizard. That's until I got to the 'age' question. How is this relevant to the fit of a suit?

Alan