Men's suits in the UK - a waist of a question (Geddit?!)

August 3, 2017 4:49 AM

I can't believe I'm wasting my question on this...but it's been so long since I bought a suit and the last one I had was tailored in the far East so actually I've never really bought one off the peg. Can anyone recommend a retailer for a man's suit in the UK? Presumably it will have to be a national chain. Thanks!
posted by dance to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (7 answers total)

I've got shirts and trousers from M&S that were good. As far as an entire suit the only one I've bought was from a smallish independent shop in Bolton (which is probably closed now). How high end are you looking? (ie is M&S/Debenhams going to be OK or are you looking for more of a Saville row finish)

I've tried to get a shirt at Slaters, but they failed miserably in finding a shirt that would fit and essentially just said that it is the way it should fit when it obviously wasn't loose enough. I could have ripped the back of the shirt if I wanted to.
posted by koolkat at 6:38 AM on August 3, 2017

At M&S you select jacket and trousers separately, which makes it easier to get the right fit. (and if you go through trousers quicker than jackets you can get two pairs with one jacket). Not that it is by any means guaranteed you'll be able to find the right size of the style you actually want, unless you're in the Oxford Street flagship store. Basically self-service, which I also prefer, though YMMV. They also sell online, though buying without trying on is a bit of a gamble.
posted by Segundus at 7:02 AM on August 3, 2017

M&S is good given the volume of suits they buy, I also like Charles Tyrwhitt and Suitsupply.
posted by laukf at 7:54 AM on August 3, 2017

The UK has terrible suit selection on the high street. I would recommend that you go to Debenhams as they still have a good level of service. I still buy shirts from Lands End and have them shipped because places like Charles Tyrwhitt are inexpensive but they are not good quality and need repeated washings before even putting them on. I would rather pay £50 for a shirt and know it's good than pay £100 for five shirts that are supposedly £100 each individually and feel like I am wearing sandpaper.
posted by parmanparman at 7:59 AM on August 3, 2017

The suit my partner got from Slaters for a wedding is very well made. Also, they were very willing to do alterations, which included very quick ones on the day he picked it up because he'd lost a bit of weight on his tum.

His other suit is from M&S and is doing OK after five or so years.
posted by threetwentytwo at 8:15 AM on August 3, 2017

I bought my latest occasional suit from Moss Bros this year. I got one of the "Tailor Me" two piece suits so it's measured to me. It's not as expensive as a full bespoke but it fits a lot better than anything I have got from M&S. Highly recommended if you aren't standard shape. You were looking at about two weeks lead time when I got mine.
posted by DoveBrown at 9:12 AM on August 3, 2017

I once asked a tailor this exact question and he didn't hesitate to recommend M&S as the best of the UK high street bunch.

I've heard good things about Suit Supply too, but never tried them myself.
posted by jonnyploy at 6:35 AM on August 4, 2017