question about buying suits in london

[ivanyan]

Hi everyone, I am a new international student at southampton, and I want to buy a 2 pieces suits for the future interview after I graduate. My budget is around 1,000 pounds(no more than 1,200 pounds), I wondering if that is enough for a bespoke one, or made to measure is also fine, anyone has any recommendation? Thank you so much

 

[jamiemcp]

You might get something at http://www.grahambrowne.co.uk/ but that will pretty much max out your budget, and you'll need to save something for shoes, shirt, tie etc.

Back in my days of going for grad interviews I wore a simple Austin Reed suit. I interview grads for my company and I would be a bit shocked if they turned up in a bespoke suit, as long as you actually wear a suit, with a decent pair of shoes and a conservative tie you wont go to far wrong. You wouldn't think that this would be that hard, but some of the sites I've seen would lead me to conclude differently.

 

[ivanyan]

Thank you for your advice. that is very helpful.

 

[Satmoche]

Try Kent Wang. He has made to measure suits around 600£ .

 

[BigBadBernard]

Agree with the first comment.

If you really must have something not off the peg for sizing reasons then it is really going to depend on how traditional vs fashion orientated you want to look.

People of the latter persuasion here seem to like Suit Supply, though I see some of the younger chaps in the City wearing this stuff and I think it looks pretty ropey. Apparently they do MTM.

Alternatively, for more traditional MTM you could check out Ede & Ravenscroft (£800 or thereabouts) or Roddy Charles (a bit cheaper). But, personally, in your situation, I would get a decent off the peg from somewhere like New & Lingwood and get it altered.

 

[SW1Y]

Alternatively, for more traditional MTM you could check out Ede & Ravenscroft (£800 or thereabouts) or Roddy Charles (a bit cheaper). But, personally, in your situation, I would get a decent off the peg from somewhere like New & Lingwood and get it altered.

E&R MTM's starting at a 1000 now for a 2 piece, but sound suggestions. I would visit all of these outfitters and try out there RTW suits, you might find something that works for you.

Do avoid flash and designer brands, follow the advice from the conservative business dress thread here on style forum if you want to look acceptable and presentable.

 

[BigBadBernard]

Gosh - prices these days...!

Actually, being based in Soton, the OP could get himself over to Robert Old in Bournemouth, who I think do a pretty solid MTM. Don't know if anyone out there has tried this recently, but it's a splendid shop...

 

[jamiemcp]

Gosh - prices these days...!

Actually, being based in Soton, the OP could get himself over to Robert Old in Bournemouth, who I think do a pretty solid MTM. Don't know if anyone out there has tried this recently, but it's a splendid shop...

I grew up in the New Forest, we all ways went to London to buy our clothes, admittedly that 20 years ago and I wasn't really interested in suits.

I can remember my Dad giving me his Harrods account card with a very strict limit to go to the sale and get a suit.

 

[heisshaw]

Definately some cheap suits at moss.co.uk/clearance-suits, I've bought from Moss before and they are pretty decent and a lot cheaper, so you can save some money London also has this pretty cool pickup dry cleaners business called www.zipjet.co.uk, so that could be good if you ever need to clean your suit

 

[GBR]

You can find some off Row MTM tailors - search here although The Cad and the Dandy should certainly meet your budget for bespoke and Graham Browne is also worth a look. Both have favourable reports. Try to stick with bespoke/MTM rather than simply buying left over suits in sales.

 

[Oleg]

Students spending £1200 on a suit?!!? Used to have that to live off for a term.

 

[jamiemcp]

Students spending £1200 on a suit?!!? Used to have that to live off for a term.

But back in the day a pint was only 50p

I have a friend who is a lecturer and apparently students even turn up to lectures theses days on a Thursday morning. Its all going down hill

 

[johndunne]

Some of the best made to measure suppliers in London I've found are EditSuits - editsuits.com.

If you're looking for something a little higher end try Volpe - prices start at around £1k.

Personally, I'm a huge fan of Reiss if you're looking for a 'put together' look but without going for the stuffy corporate suit.

Pair up a nice Reiss outfit with some shoes from Oliver Sweeney and you should be set to go.

If you are looking to save time on dry cleaning you should check out ihateironing.com

Lastly, one tip that is as true today as it was 50 years ago. If you do have to go for an off the shelf suit from say Moss brothers, always make sure you put some of the savings into a great tailor. Tailors can make a £400 suit look like a £2000 suit if they know what they're doing.

Hope this helps