4 day visit in London and Oxford - Shops to recommend for suits & knitwear?

[riton]

Hi guys,

I am from Paris and I will be soon in London for 3 days and in Oxford for 1 day.

I might purchase 2 suits, £200 to £300 a piece. But the main issue is I am fairly short 1,60m, so shopping for a suit is quite challenging

I was thinking about spending an afternoon in Bicester Village Outlet near Oxford & another in Westfield London, do you guys think it is worth a trip considering my suit size is UK 34 / 36 ?

Also I am quite a fan of scottish knitwear that I buy from eBay (scotland0007, kingscraig...), since a trip to Scotland is not possible, where can I find these items (sweaters, scarves...) in London/Bicester (without the mark up from stores like Selfridges or House of Fraser for instance).

Any advice or insight is appreciated.

Thanks for reading

Riton

 

[Macallan]

Bicester Village - yes
Westfield - just go into central London instead

If you do not find anything at Bicester Village; walk down Jermyn Street, you will have options like TM Lewin that are within your budget - if no luck, Marks & Spencers on Oxford Street (near Selfridges)

 

[riton]

Thanks Macallan for your input !

 

[Bounder]

Have a look at Bicester Village but where you really want to go is Old Hat on Fulham High Street in London.

Old Hat has a very large collection of vintage bespoke suits. They are usually in excellent condition. They are used, but you will often pay 200-300 GBP for something that would cost you 4000-5000 GBP today.

A lot of his stock is 50+ years old. While some of it is a bit dated, much of it is perfectly wearable today. Two piece suits have not changed radically for 100 years.

And here is the kicker. The average person was much shorter and thinner when many of these suits were made. A 36 was relatively common then while now it can be almost impossible to find RTW. In other words, while most stuff in Old Hat comes nowhere near to fitting me, you will be spoilt for choice.

 

[Loathing]

Old Hat closed down, did it not?

 

[Bounder]



Old Hat closed down, did it not?

Did it? It has been a year or so since I passed by. The owner had another shop next door. Is that gone too?

 

[darryl20]

When I traveled there last year I simply splurged on Marks & Spencer and Paul Smith. I think the selections of suits and sweaters of M&S are far better there than in their US stores.

 

[Dib]



When I traveled there last year I simply splurged on Marks & Spencer and Paul Smith. I think the selections of suits and sweaters of M&S are far better there than in their US stores.

Marks & Spencer suits are very average quality - surely the OP can get suits at the same price/quality ratio in Paris?

 

[riton]

@ Bounder :I am afraid Loathing is right, I tried to call but no response and no answering machine. Their website is down too. I wouldn't mind vintage suits though

@ darryl20 : in Paris, we have 2 Marks and Spencer and from what I saw and as Dib said, the M &S suits are ok but nothing exceptional for the price point but it is a big no no since their suits size starts from UK 38 ! As for Paul Smith, you are mainly paying for the brand/design right ? price wise, it is out of my range.

Thanks to all of you !

 

[Bounder]



@ Bounder :I am afraid Loathing is right, I tried to call but no response and no answering machine. Their website is down too. I wouldn't mind vintage suits though 

That is sad news. Old Hat was sort of an institution for a lot of people. Try contacting the owner, David Saxby, who, apparently, still has a shop in Fulham. Maybe he has moved his vintage stuff there.

http://www.davidsaxby.co.uk/

You should also give Hornets in Kensington a try. They have three shops, though each rather small, within walking distance of each other. They also specialize in vintage stuff though their selection tends to be somewhat more modern than Old Hat's was. They are certainly much closer to central London and a pleasant walk from the tube station.

 

[Bounder]



Also I am quite a fan of scottish knitwear that I buy from eBay (scotland0007, kingscraig... ), since a trip to Scotland is not possible, where can I find these items (sweaters, scarves...) in London/Bicester (without the mark up from stores like Selfridges or House of Fraser for instance).

Forgot to mention this. Alan Paine is English rather than Scottish but it's decent quality. (IIRC, the yarn is done in Scotland and their sweaters are assembled in Madagascar, of all places.) The prices are quite reasonable through their on-line store. http://www.ap-shoponline.com/