A Student's First Time Abroad in London and Milan.

How much money do you want to spend?

London, on a scale from least to most expensive:


Marks and Spencer (very decent stuff)
Cordings
Harrods
Cleverley shoes / Royal Arcade
Savile Row

What exactly is it you want to buy with your $600 budget? You're being very vague

With a budget of $600, skip the bespoke suits, check out English accessories and OTR stuff:

Selfridges, Harrods, maybe Liberty's -- check out Drakes, Peckham Rye, and the shoe departments ...
Gieves and Hawkes post Christmas sale (Savile Row), Benson & Clegg has ties too (Piccadilly Arcade) .
Walk along Jermyn Street and drop by Turnbull Asser to see what's left from the sale.
If you're keen on good English shoes that won't break the bank, check out Cheaney, Loake, and Barker (in that order).
Bridle bags etc -- See Pickett (Burlington Arcade off Bond Street) and Sage Brown (Prince's Arcade).

This way, you cover all the notable establishments from high street fashion to classic Savile Row.

Go to all of these places to check out what you really want to buy, before dropping money on anything, so you can stretch your pound/dollar. I'm saying this because whilst $600 is a tidy sum for a college student, it isn't all that much for one to spend on expensive products.

Best thing to do is to draw up a list of what you need, for eg, one bag, one pair of shoes, couple of ties etc, and cover all the basics, and then if you have money left, buy some additional stuff. Better than blowing all $600 on a pair of shoes for example.

And ask to claim the VAT on your purchases.
Edited by bboysdontcryy - 12/25/12 at 2:23am

 

I gotta disagree with you there. We have Marks & Spencer in Dubai and unless there is a huge difference between the stores in London and the stores in UAE, I have to say I've found very little I liked there. The majority of their suits seem to be some poorly made polyester blend with only a few "higher end" selection available in 100% wool. The shoes I have seen aren't worth considering, and the only belts somewhat worthy of consideration are in their "luxury" line. "Luxury" seemingly meaning little more than "not shitty genuine leather belts with a vinyl coating". 

I'm not sure about Milan, but if Rome is a good gauge of what to expect, buy your ties in Milan (unless you get a good deal on English ties in London). They tend to run cheaper in Italy.

They do have decent overcoats (made from tweed and wool from English mills) here in London, and a Savile-Row inspired range (Have not checked them out), but by and large, M & S is not particularly known for their fine menswear. I've also never shopped in M & S for their clothing.

 

We don't have overcoats in M&S here so I can't speak to their quality, but I would be open to try them if we got them. I've seen lines inspired by Savile Row and Italy. Didn't much care for either of them. Then again, your buck does go far at Marks & Spencer. If only because their products are generally cheaply made.

Go to Jermyn street for shoes and dress shirts. You can do some very, very good deals on quality shirts there.