Business Suit

[Exigeowner]

Possibly not strictly a business thread but close enough, I am looking to get myself a suit and for once in my life wanted to get a taylor made and fitted one ( hopefully making me look taller and thinner )

I guess its not essential to spend big money on a suit but as a one off purchase was intending to head down Savile Row way, I suspect there will be many shops so my question is any reccomendations / advise ? ( along with some est of costs )

I am young-ish so would be looking for a modern design / shop.

[Carrera2]

On recommendation from PH I've bought suits and shirts from Sims & Macdonald before on Lambs Conduit St. I like them. I hope that helps.

That is all.

[flyingjase]

Go to Saville Row and expect to spend well over £1k on a decent suit, mainly for the name.

Personally I'd go to an out of town tailor and get a bespoke suit. At one end you have the Indian companies that come over to a hotel, take your measures and then make the suit and send it to you - never tried that but they're cheap.

Or you could go to a company like www.dress2kill.com who will make a made to measure (although it will be machine cut) suit from £350. I've had a suit from them in the past and they are ok - you will get 3 fittings with them so you know that it's the right cut. They also do half price deals through the year (eg wool suit from £750 down to £375)

Or you could go to a company like www.sousterandhicks.com who have a shop in Woburn (as well as Saville Row). The Woburn shop is cheaper that the Saville Row one, so you could have the quality and label but with less cost.

Have fun - getting a bespoke suit is one of those things you have to do and will you will notice the difference

[stimmers]

Exigeowner said:

Possibly not strictly a business thread but close enough, I am looking to get myself a suit and for once in my life wanted to get a taylor made and fitted one ( hopefully making me look taller and thinner )

I guess its not essential to spend big money on a suit but as a one off purchase was intending to head down Savile Row way, I suspect there will be many shops so my question is any reccomendations / advise ? ( along with some est of costs )

I am young-ish so would be looking for a modern design / shop.

Richard James - Saville Row

http://www.richardjames.co.uk/

[johnfm]

I just get a decent suit from, say D&G, Prade or similar that fits well and then take it to my tailer for adjusting.

[AlexHancock]

If you want to look great try http://www.ozwaldboateng.co.uk/main.html - 9 Vigo Street just off Regent St.

[993rsr]

Exigeowner said:

Possibly not strictly a business thread but close enough, I am looking to get myself a suit and for once in my life wanted to get a taylor made and fitted one ( hopefully making me look taller and thinner )

I guess its not essential to spend big money on a suit but as a one off purchase was intending to head down Savile Row way, I suspect there will be many shops so my question is any reccomendations / advise ? ( along with some est of costs )

I am young-ish so would be looking for a modern design / shop.

Taylor made as in fully bespoke start at £2k depending on cloth, linings etc.

Here's a few options all based in or around Savile Row:

http://www.stevenhitchcock.co.uk/
http://www.dege-skinner.co.uk/tailoring/bespoke_su...
http://www.jasperlittman.co.uk/

Personally I'd suggest Steven Hitchcock, young guy with a real flare and the last tailor to complete a full Savile Row apprenticeship.

[dbroughton]

If you live anywhere near west London try Birkett in St Margarets.

They have tailors on site and offer a full bespoke for just over £1000. Made to measure (machine cut rather than hand cut) is about half that. You get Saville Row quality and service for half the price. A full bespoke suit from someone like Richard James is gonna cost £2000. Some of what you spend pays their rent.

[ginettag27]

Whereabouts are you based?

Quite a few places, sell suits that need adjusting, to suit your leg length for instance...

Repertoire in Marlow and also Beaconsfield... in South Bucks did this for me, some time ago..

[Exigeowner]

I am in Norfolk but can travel to get it done, Honestly speaking looking at some of the prices on the Websites given I think I have under estimated the costs a bit, I thought I would get something very special for about a grand which in my opnion is a shit load of cash for a suit but as stated I wanted something special as a one off purchase,

As it happens it probably best part of double that for the fully made ones.

[Noger]

If you go to someone like Kilgour, then you will be getting a top-notch service. This will include multiple fittings and around 100 hours of someones time. Somthing that isn't usually done with at the cheaper end of the market. You are also getting the best fabric. Again, the "£199 tailored suit" from the Indian chap (not that he isn't good ,I hear) is going to be a proportion polyester not Holland and Sherry's finest.

You might want to look into the Semi-Bespoke service that many companies offer. That cust out the middle stage of the fitting, and makes the whole thing a lot cheaper. You could get a very nice semi-bespoke, in a good fabric, with 2 pairs of trousers, well within your budget.

[ingelow]

Have you tried reading English Cut? (http://www.englishcut.com/) it's a blog by a Saville Row tailor (who lives in Cumbria most of the time) I think he's closed to new clients, but it's a great read, all about the industry etc - what's involved, costing, extras etc...

May be of some use if you've not been to the Row before?

[Louis.]

I would suggest looking at Marc Wallace. No they are not a saville Row tailor but they do make great suits and you can buy ready made suits or you can go to their store/shop in SW6 and be measured up. They have some good designs too.

www.marcwallace.com

hope that helps....

[bga]

There is a tailor in Brighton called Gresham Blake. They do made to measure from around £600 and I have been very impressed. I've got a couple now & won't go back to buying off the peg unless I want a cheap one. Best thing is that they have just opened a fitting room in London on South Moulton St where you get measured up & fitted etc. I had 3 fittings for my last suit & they even did a few bespoke touches such as shortening 1 trouser leg by 1/8" to compensate for (funnily enough) 1 leg that is fractionally shorter than the other.

[Jemco]

Exigeowner said:

I am in Norfolk but can travel to get it done, Honestly speaking looking at some of the prices on the Websites given I think I have under estimated the costs a bit, I thought I would get something very special for about a grand which in my opnion is a shit load of cash for a suit but as stated I wanted something special as a one off purchase,

As it happens it probably best part of double that for the fully made ones.

You need to go to the tailor that I use - Trotter & Deane on Angel Hill in Bury St Edmunds. Probably the most local to you of all of the suggestions made. The owner, John Deane-Bowers, races a classic Radical and I'm hoping will join our 2008 driver line up for the Silverstone 24 hour. If John's not around, ask for Stuart. Either way, feel free to let them know that you've been recommended by Kevin from Jemco Racing.

I generally pay £700-£900 (depending on the cloth) for a top quality hand made suit with fantastic personal service. Lead time, I think, is 4-6 weeks from start to finish including second fitting.

I hope that this helps.

Kevin

[lanan]

Jemco said:

Lead time, I think, is 4-6 weeks from start to finish including second fitting.

Kevin

A fair bit quicker getting a suit than a response from an Insurance broker thats for sure. ....

Edited by lanan on Friday 18th January 01:06

[POORCARDEALER]

Tailor local to me who has a factory, makes off the peg suits for several tailors on Saville Row, they have the Saville Row labels in them, he sells them at 250, Saville Row tailors sell them out at 695 ish.

[paoloh]

Get yourself a holiday to Thailand, India etc Buy a cut from cloth suit to fit you exactly for £50 and spend the rest on the holiday!!! Holiday and suit for the price of a suit in the UK.

[Broken Hero]

http://www.hollandesquire.com/

Holland Esquire.

I have 5 of their suits and they fit perfectly.

Dont think I will wear anything from anyone else now... good on the wallet too.

[Louis.]

Broken Hero said:

http://www.hollandesquire.com/

Holland Esquire.

I have 5 of their suits and they fit perfectly.

Dont think I will wear anything from anyone else now... good on the wallet too.

They are a favourite of mine too.