Australian Members

I really have to endorse Charles Nakhle here for shirts. I now own four beautiful shirts of his and I have not one complaint!! Well worth it!!
I saw Thomas Pink being sold in London and to me their shirts looked.....decent? Are they different here?

Thomas Pink aren't really that great. Somewhat decent fabrics on occasion, styling is contemporary. But; they bill themselves as a true British house. Except their merchandise is mostly made in tunisia/morocco/china/indonesia. So really, more of a Blitish house. (Crediting James May for that joke)

Also, for the price, I would go with Coles, Harvie & Hudson, Dunhill and a few of the designers that still have great quality. Or, save up and buy T&A, Budd or H&K. I almost exclusively wear T&A - never had a single fault.

I'd probably pay around $100 AUD for a Thomas Pink shirt provided they were cut slim. Only because I really hate fused collars. Their branding is really camp outside of an English context though. Stops me from pulling the trigger.

I'd like to try T&A but I don't have the patience for bespoke.

What can everyone recommend for a newish suit buyer? I start a new job with a Big4 accounting firm in the new year, and I need to 'suit up' everyday for work. Thus far I've only got a cheap suit, and I want to invest a bit of money into something I'll wear everyday.

I'm in Brisbane, and the budget is $1000-$1500 (if we can squeeze a few shirts in there too that'd be pretty great too). I've been looking at Herringbone, but I don't know where else in Brisbane to look. Any suggestions?

Originally Posted by Warhamster

Click to expand...

What can everyone recommend for a newish suit buyer? I start a new job with a Big4 accounting firm in the new year, and I need to 'suit up' everyday for work. Thus far I've only got a cheap suit, and I want to invest a bit of money into something I'll wear everyday.

I'm in Brisbane, and the budget is $1000-$1500 (if we can squeeze a few shirts in there too that'd be pretty great too). I've been looking at Herringbone, but I don't know where else in Brisbane to look. Any suggestions?

I'd suggest sticking to herringbone. You should be able to get one for $1K (probably $1.1K once you include alterations) and should have enough money to buy some of their shirts (only when on sale though).

Originally Posted by Warhamster

Click to expand...

What can everyone recommend for a newish suit buyer? I start a new job with a Big4 accounting firm in the new year, and I need to 'suit up' everyday for work. Thus far I've only got a cheap suit, and I want to invest a bit of money into something I'll wear everyday.

I'm in Brisbane, and the budget is $1000-$1500 (if we can squeeze a few shirts in there too that'd be pretty great too). I've been looking at Herringbone, but I don't know where else in Brisbane to look. Any suggestions?

I am afraid that, if you want anything decent, your choices are very limited!

Whilst I think that Herringbone shirts are overpriced at full price, I do think that their suits are very good value, and even better value on sale. That would be my main choice. I've bought quite a few suits from Herringbone over the past few years but have not bought any other suits locally, for what it's worth.

I guess that you could also try Rhodes and Beckett - their suits are not as good as Herringbone's, but they are quite a bit cheaper and don't look too bad. They are cut slim but their trousers tend to go straight down so a frequently-recommended alteration for R&B suits is to have the lower leg slimmed.

Myer and DJs have a reasonable selection of suits but they are not terribly impressive. Boss is overpriced and quite poor quality, the Euro brands such as Zegna and Paul Smith are horrendously overpriced here, and the "Australian" brands are often boxy and quite poorly made.

Mitchell Ogilvie sell "Kent and Curwen" suits for reasonable prices, although it's much better to buy them on sale. From memory, they are actually re-badged Anthony Squires suits (although I could be mistaken about that) but they are cut reasonably well.

There's a new menswear store opening soon, called Richards and Richards (run by Joe Richards, who used to own a menswear store here, and his sons). It's likely that their stuff will exceed your price range but they are, I believe, planning to start stocking Caruso suits, which are lovely. It could therefore be worth poking your head in there after 01 September to see what they have.

Originally Posted by Journeyman

Click to expand...

'll have to see if anyone in Brisbane stocks Roger Henley.


Here's a list.

Originally Posted by Journeyman

Click to expand...

I am afraid that, if you want anything decent, your choices are very limited!

Whilst I think that Herringbone shirts are overpriced at full price, I do think that their suits are very good value, and even better value on sale. That would be my main choice. I've bought quite a few suits from Herringbone over the past few years but have not bought any other suits locally, for what it's worth.

I guess that you could also try Rhodes and Beckett - their suits are not as good as Herringbone's, but they are quite a bit cheaper and don't look too bad. They are cut slim but their trousers tend to go straight down so a frequently-recommended alteration for R&B suits is to have the lower leg slimmed.

Myer and DJs have a reasonable selection of suits but they are not terribly impressive. Boss is overpriced and quite poor quality, the Euro brands such as Zegna and Paul Smith are horrendously overpriced here, and the "Australian" brands are often boxy and quite poorly made.

Mitchell Ogilvie sell "Kent and Curwen" suits for reasonable prices, although it's much better to buy them on sale. From memory, they are actually re-badged Anthony Squires suits (although I could be mistaken about that) but they are cut reasonably well.

There's a new menswear store opening soon, called Richards and Richards (run by Joe Richards, who used to own a menswear store here, and his sons). It's likely that their stuff will exceed your price range but they are, I believe, planning to start stocking Caruso suits, which are lovely. It could therefore be worth poking your head in there after 01 September to see what they have.

Wow! Thanks for all the information! Based on that I think I have a bit of research to do. I do have a large collection of business shirts (half-way decent Sportscraft, Ben Sherman, Shirt Studio and a few generic ones) so shirts aren't a massive issue... So I may end up spending more on the suit (up to $1500).

I'll definitely have to poke my head into Richards & Richards when they open - I won't be doing this for a little while, so I may be able to catch the Xmas sales at all of these places.

Would advise not getting too much gear until you actualy start and see what the place is really like.

It may be that suit jackets are only worn when it is cold or you have a client meeting.

On the Rhodes & Beckett topic, their Boston Brothers line is gone. The guy in the Chatswood concession told me Myer bought all the stock. Anony know what happened there?

Originally Posted by Sydguy

Click to expand...

Would advise not getting too much gear until you actualy start and see what the place is really like.

It may be that suit jackets are only worn when it is cold or you have a client meeting.

On the Rhodes & Beckett topic, their Boston Brothers line is gone. The guy in the Chatswood concession told me Myer bought all the stock. Anony know what happened there?

Rhodes & Beckett are scrapping the Boston Brothers concessions. They aren't making enough money so they decided to sell remaining stock to myer at wholesale. I liked Boston Brothers alot more than RHodes & Beckett as the shirts were usually about $50.00 or so cheaper than Rhodes & Beckett shirts, and almost identical apart from the non logo buttons. Which is actually better.

Journeyman, The Kent & Curwen suits are rebadged Durban not Anthony Squires. They are half canvassed. If you are a slim guy I would get them tailored. If you want some good tailoring done with stuff you've bough at Ebay or another visit Terry at Stuart Suits or George the tailor at Richards & Richards. Id probably buy a Durban suit of Terry buy it from their stock service so you can chose the fabric you want, buttons, trousers and then get the shoulders taken in waist supression. They also do a basted fitting too which is helpful in establishing a really good suit

Originally Posted by neyus

Click to expand...

Journeyman, The Kent & Curwen suits are rebadged Durban not Anthony Squires. They are half canvassed.

D'Urban are fully canvassed these days I believe.

Originally Posted by penguin vic

Click to expand...

D'Urban are fully canvassed these days I believe.

D'urban are fully canvassed and good value during David Jones sale period nevertheless there will be some tailoring (as per other suits) involved to make the suit slimmer since their suit are cut standard.

If D'urban are now fully canvassed then if you can pick them up between 600 and 800 then they are a good buy. I found out with d'urban you can size down and let them out in the seams as they actually have a extra fabric in the inlay.

I've also noticed that Rhodes and Beckett have changed manufacturers fir their suits. They used to be made in Egypt and half canvas but now made in china in a better factory because they shoulders are now not so heavy and stuff and the machine pickstitching is more refined than before. As mentioned in an earlier part of the thread if you can pick these up sale they are a reasonable buy.

Originally Posted by neyus

Click to expand...

Journeyman, The Kent & Curwen suits are rebadged Durban not Anthony Squires. They are half canvassed. If you are a slim guy I would get them tailored. If you want some good tailoring done with stuff you've bough at Ebay or another visit Terry at Stuart Suits or George the tailor at Richards & Richards. Id probably buy a Durban suit of Terry buy it from their stock service so you can chose the fabric you want, buttons, trousers and then get the shoulders taken in waist supression. They also do a basted fitting too which is helpful in establishing a really good suit

Thanks for that, Neyus - I knew that someone else made them, but I just chose the wrong place!

Got an email today from Herringbone.

'End of Season Warehouse Sale' in Melbourne.

9 Queen St, kicks off at 7am.

I mightn't be able to get there until lunchtime unfortunately. By which stage, shirts and suits that fit Jabba the ******* Hut alone will be the only remnants left.