Marks and Spencer - fully canvassed £500 worth it? material?

[rossyl]

See here:

http://www.marksandspencer.com/Sarto...d_s=left-nav-2

The £500 suits seem to be the real deal, in terms of handwork and detail. Fully canvassed, pick stitching, hand finishing, functioning cuffs..etc. Anyone have any knowledge/thoughts on the cloth they use?

Also in terms of buying one of these in a sale for say £350 vs £450 for a more well known suit brand - which would offer the better value?

Take for example CadandtheDandy MTM starting at £350, or Suit Supply OTR starting at £200 half canvassed (I beliveve)


One of the main bad points I would say is: saying to someone you that your suit is an M&S suit, then someone else who is wearing their £100 machine washable suit says they are as well - resulting in you getting categorised as wearing a "cheap" suit.

Cheers

 

[Stanley the 2nd]

They have a selection of these at the Marble Arch M&S in London. They seem like nice suits. They do get heavily marked down during the sales so if you can hang on until the next sale you could grab a bargain.

 

[Macallan]

Originally Posted by rossyl

See here: http://www.marksandspencer.com/Sarto...d_s=left-nav-2 1. The £500 suits seem to be the real deal, in terms of handwork and detail. Fully canvassed, pick stitching, hand finishing, functioning cuffs..etc. Anyone have any knowledge/thoughts on the cloth they use? 2. Also in terms of buying one of these in a sale for say £350 vs £450 for a more well known suit brand - which would offer the better value? 3. Take for example CadandtheDandy MTM starting at £350, or Suit Supply OTR starting at £200 half canvassed (I beliveve) 4. One of the main bad points I would say is: saying to someone you that your suit is an M&S suit, then someone else who is wearing their £100 machine washable suit says they are as well - resulting in you getting categorised as wearing a "cheap" suit. Cheers
1. Difficult to say by only looking at pictures, although you could probably get better cloth options from custom tailors. 2. You can a well known suit brand for less - see how they fit and which you like better. Do not base your decisions only on whether if it is full-canvas or not, if it has pick-stitching and working cuffs, etc; a half-canvas suit with plastic buttons could fit better and you could like the style better too. During the sales, you should be able to get it for at least £100 cheaper. 3. If it is a good fit, then worth considering. Cad & The Dandy now starts at £450; there other options like George Tailor (£460). The advantages of RTW are you know how it fits and a much shorter timescale for alterations (if required). 4. Tell them your grandad purchased the suit and it did not fit him, although he did wear it once and there are some urine stains at crotch. Be confident and if they really ask, just say it is a Sartorial suit.

 

[jnm23q]

I have one of these - it's a great suit for the money.

Cloth is from Zegna, cut is slim but not as slim as (say) Ralph Black Label James. It's a herringbone type cloth, lovely quality, medium weight.

If you're worried about the "brand" you can get a Paul Smith / Boss suit from the Bicester outlet for £250 - £350. It don't be as good quality though. My PS one started to pill after 18 months.

Ede and Ravenscroft are a good mid range option and start at £600 OTR. Quite a full cut though.

 

[TheEdwardian]

Originally Posted by jnm23q

I have one of these - it's a great suit for the money.

Cloth is from Zegna, cut is slim but not as slim as (say) Ralph Black Label James. It's a herringbone type cloth, lovely quality, medium weight.

If you're worried about the "brand" you can get a Paul Smith / Boss suit from the Bicester outlet for £250 - £350. It don't be as good quality though. My PS one started to pill after 18 months.

Ede and Ravenscroft are a good mid range option and start at £600 OTR. Quite a full cut though.

I wear quite a lot of E&R RTW as it fits me well in a 38S, and they'll do basic alterations for free (I think, they do for me, but I've been going there for 10 years, I think they used to charge - maybe they just do the basics like finishing trousers free, anyway) They can be very good in sales, £4-500 including spare trousers. Just got a blazer for £150

Re M&S, (and with a nod to the old-timers thread ) (I've been around that long, I just lurk, rather than post) you, would do well to respect the opinion of Tom Mahon of the English Cut, the first thing I ever read about 'proper' clothes. Sadly they don't fit me well. I wouldn't doubt him on quality, but of course, fit is all.