The Student Room Group

Where to get decent quality suits from?

I've seen NEXT have got an offer on for Suit Jacket, Shirt, and Trousers for £79. What is the quality of NEXT suits? Obviously better than Tesco's etc right? Any good sites/shops to get decent suits (mainly suit jacket and trousers needed) for around that price or is NEXT the best at that price?

Also, anyone here ever tried TM Lewin Shirts or Charles Tyrwhitt Shirts? What are they like and are they worth their offer price for 4 for £100 etc which they also have on?

Thanks in advance
Reply 1
You may want to check out suits from River Island, Zara and Topman. Really nice
Reply 2
Original post by delasandro
I've seen NEXT have got an offer on for Suit Jacket, Shirt, and Trousers for £79. What is the quality of NEXT suits? Obviously better than Tesco's etc right? Any good sites/shops to get decent suits (mainly suit jacket and trousers needed) for around that price or is NEXT the best at that price?

Also, anyone here ever tried TM Lewin Shirts or Charles Tyrwhitt Shirts? What are they like and are they worth their offer price for 4 for £100 etc which they also have on?

Thanks in advance


TM Lewin and Tyrwhitt suits are genuinely ok. But the offers you are talking about refer to shirts, not suits. I would certainly get them over anything like the rubbish you get in Next or M&S. TM Lewin are a shirtmaker, really - but their suits are about as cheap as you can get before becoming total crap. Even at the height of sales and using discounts, I doubt you'll get anything under £160. Some of the places which are just generic "suit shops" might do something ok from time to time, but again - you're looking at £150+.

Anything under £100 just cannot be any good, unless you know that it has been heavily discounted for some reason - such as being in an outlet.

If you are brave, you could get your measurements done and buy a high quality one second hand, and then have the alterations made. Some risk involved, though.
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 3
Original post by delasandro
I've seen NEXT have got an offer on for Suit Jacket, Shirt, and Trousers for £79. What is the quality of NEXT suits? Obviously better than Tesco's etc right? Any good sites/shops to get decent suits (mainly suit jacket and trousers needed) for around that price or is NEXT the best at that price?

Also, anyone here ever tried TM Lewin Shirts or Charles Tyrwhitt Shirts? What are they like and are they worth their offer price for 4 for £100 etc which they also have on?

Thanks in advance


I buy Charles Tyrwhitt shirts. V. good quality, good fabrics and range of styles.

Personally for shirts I'd recommend the slim fit spread collar shirts (Its a more modern and 'sharp' look imho) but whatever floats your boat. :smile:
Reply 4
There was a offer at Burton when I started college this year - suit jacket + trousers, shirt and shoes - all for £100, and the quality pretty good as well. Not sure if it'll come round again, but Burton is definitely a good place to check out
Reply 5
Original post by Clip
TM Lewin and Tyrwhitt suits are genuinely ok. But the offers you are talking about refer to shirts, not suits. I would certainly get them over anything like the rubbish you get in Next or M&S.


M&S is on par with TM Lewin if not better for suits. It's certainly a lot better than Next.
Reply 6
What's the occasion?

If it's just a one off job interview, Primark do nice cheap suits that actually look decent but they're by all means not designed to last.
If it's more a graduation/wedding type thing, I suggest you splash out and buy a suit from somewhere like Burtons or M&S.

Suggestion: Have you considered a three piece? I'm gay for a three piece.
Reply 7
Burton, Next, Matalan all do great quality suits... If you're willing to go for the extra quality and spend more cash, head for Moss :smile:
Reply 8
Original post by tamimi
What's the occasion?

If it's just a one off job interview, Primark do nice cheap suits that actually look decent but they're by all means not designed to last.
If it's more a graduation/wedding type thing, I suggest you splash out and buy a suit from somewhere like Burtons or M&S.

Suggestion: Have you considered a three piece? I'm gay for a three piece.


Well I just wanted to buy a suit or two that could be used for all occasions, whether it be for a job interview, for a job later on, weddings, graduation, dinners etc. Just generally a good quality suit or two for everything really.
Reply 9
M&S do some really good stuff.

Look on Ebay though. Seriously, you can get £200 suits for £40. That's where I've got 3 of my 4 from, and I haven't had any complaints.
Reply 10
Original post by delasandro
Well I just wanted to buy a suit or two that could be used for all occasions, whether it be for a job interview, for a job later on, weddings, graduation, dinners etc. Just generally a good quality suit or two for everything really.


Then I'd buy one from ASDA and one from Primark.

That way you're statistically less likely to ruin both and you'd have a better variety.

I suggest you buy a grey one from Primark and a black one from ASDA.
Purely due to the cotton to synthetic ratio both of them have. And in order to make sure you got a variety.

They should both total to about £100-150 quid and chuck a tenner for a shirt and tie. You'll be spending about £30 on a decent pair of black leather shoes too I assume. Totals your bill to about £170 for the full outfit.

Also, dinner suits are a completely different world. Unless you're just after a general smart look.
Reply 11
Original post by tamimi
Then I'd buy one from ASDA and one from Primark.

That way you're statistically less likely to ruin both and you'd have a better variety.

I suggest you buy a grey one from Primark and a black one from ASDA.
Purely due to the cotton to synthetic ratio both of them have. And in order to make sure you got a variety.

They should both total to about £100-150 quid and chuck a tenner for a shirt and tie. You'll be spending about £30 on a decent pair of black leather shoes too I assume. Totals your bill to about £170 for the full outfit.

Also, dinner suits are a completely different world. Unless you're just after a general smart look.


What about NEXT £79 suits or say Burtons for around the same price? Total for two £160, would that be better long term than spending say around £100-£150 on ASDA/Primark? Is there much quality difference?

And also, when we talk about quality, do we mean what other people can tell or just whether the material itself is better on one than another? As in, by wearing a cheap suit £50 suit, and a £100 suit, can the difference really be seen by others when I'm wearing it or not?
Reply 12
Original post by delasandro
What about NEXT £79 suits or say Burtons for around the same price? Total for two £160, would that be better long term than spending say around £100-£150 on ASDA/Primark? Is there much quality difference?

And also, when we talk about quality, do we mean what other people can tell or just whether the material itself is better on one than another? As in, by wearing a cheap suit £50 suit, and a £100 suit, can the difference really be seen by others when I'm wearing it or not?


You could. NEXT suits are simply not to my taste. Last time I went there I found it full of those "One button" semi casual suits which I genuinely think is B.S. It's just a matter of taste really. I much prefer the three button and double breast chicago sort of looks.

Also, Material. A decent suit would be physically heavier in terms of thread. I don't think ASDA or Primark, even Next or Burtons in fact would use 380 gsm or a high gildan. But it still looks like what you'd expect a suit to look like. It's not visually different. And I prefer it that way cus you spend less and the fact that it doesn't last through the ages is a good thing for me because I think it's nice buying a new suit every year or other year. (And since the cost is down, you don't feel bad about it)

In the end of the day all these things are just personal preferences OP. Go with what you fancy.
personally I don't like wearing NEXT, instead Burton, Primer, Matalan really do great in terms of quality and price. Also TM Lewin and Tyrwhitt have wide range of varieties as well as fabrics. They may be bit costlier than formers but if you are quality lover, go for laters. In fact i would suggest you to go online for suits. There are really some very good stores which can offer you the suits at much decent price. I personally always rely on online dealers of suits. There customer service is very good. They provide the suits at irrestible price. some online shops are:-
www.hangrr.com (my personal vote goes for this)
www.mytailor.com
www.asuitthatfits.com
Original post by Clip
TM Lewin and Tyrwhitt suits are genuinely ok. But the offers you are talking about refer to shirts, not suits. I would certainly get them over anything like the rubbish you get in Next or M&S. TM Lewin are a shirtmaker, really - but their suits are about as cheap as you can get before becoming total crap. Even at the height of sales and using discounts, I doubt you'll get anything under £160. Some of the places which are just generic "suit shops" might do something ok from time to time, but again - you're looking at £150+.

Anything under £100 just cannot be any good, unless you know that it has been heavily discounted for some reason - such as being in an outlet.

If you are brave, you could get your measurements done and buy a high quality one second hand, and then have the alterations made. Some risk involved, though.


Stumbled upon this old post and thought I'd add my two cents.

Having worked in the city for 2.5 years, I completely disagree with this statement.

I have owned several TM Lewin and M&S suits, and I must say the overall quality of both M&S wool blend and wool suits is far superior to that of a TM Lewin suit.

The feel of the fabric is similar and both are similarly comfortable. The exception however is that TM Lewin suits (particularly the trousers) simply do not last.

I'm also very surprised about your comment on Next suits. Have you ever owned one? I only hear good things about Next suits from colleagues - you get a good suit for the amount you pay.

From personal experience I would steer away from TM Lewin suits. You're spending £179-199 on a suit that simply will not last.

On the other hand, I find TM Lewin shirts to be very good value. They are very durable and are of a very good quality for what you pay.
In that price range definitely Zara or Topman. Banana Republic might also be an option.
versace or tom ford if you get an outlet piece
Reply 17
Primark

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