Suits at interview

The fit is more important than anything else. If it fits well, hangs as it should then it doesn't matter what it cost. You could spend a fortune on an expensive suit that just hangs on you like a sack and looks as though you slept in it for a week.

Reply 2

terpineol

If it looks like the family suit for court use borrowed from the thugs on your local council estate it may not work well.

With suits you really need to try lots, eventually you find one that fits nicely.

Alternatively if you father ever had any tailored for himself I find they fit me perfectly.

(suits my father had made for him that is, not your fathers ones)

Reply 3

OP

I've never had a suit before, but do the cheap ones from Tesco etc look like the family suit etc...?

It's just that suit I posted will cost me around £85 on the condition I buy today. The RRP is obviously inflated at £600 but its still a huge saving.

As I've never got a suit before, I won't know how it fits me but I can just send it back if it doesn't.

Reply 4

terpineol

Frankly if I were you I'd pop into matalan, go for the more traditional styles, and try and few and see what fits.

I worked there for a few years, you shouldn't need to spend more than £50 on a suit, if you are lucky with the sales you may be able to get down to £30 or so for something not completely tasteless.

Reply 5

jinglepupskye

callum9999

I've never had a suit before, but do the cheap ones from Tesco etc look like the family suit etc...?

It's just that suit I posted will cost me around £85 on the condition I buy today. The RRP is obviously inflated at £600 but its still a huge saving.

As I've never got a suit before, I won't know how it fits me but I can just send it back if it doesn't.

Measure yourself, or preferably get someone to measure you, then check the measurements that are given regarding leg length and sleeve length to check whether it will fit.

Reply 6

OP

jinglepupskye

Measure yourself, or preferably get someone to measure you, then check the measurements that are given regarding leg length and sleeve length to check whether it will fit.

There is virtually no information on that - only waist size. From what it says it should fit but I won't be able to tell until I try it on.

EDIT: I just found a customer service number - I'll give them a try.

Reply 7

Kathryn128

8

I'm not male, but if I were you, I'd definitely go and get properly measured for a suit.

If you can, I recommend you spend a bit on it, actually. You'll be able to use it whenever you need to be a bit formal, and nothing gives confidence and a good impression like a well-fitting suit. Don't buy things that have specific sizing like suits on the internet unless you are sure of what size you are, it's a pain to return things ordered online.

The sales are on at the moment, I've seen £400 suits selling for £175. Moss Bros or T.M. Lewin are good High St. suit stockists. Have a look and see. Marks and Spencer should be good at this too.

Reply 8

Huw Davies

11

A suit is by no means compulsory, and it isn't going to be very noticeable if it's a cheaper one as long as it fits alright. The cheaper end of M&S are good value for money at around £40.

You can get good quality at very good value from a charity shop if you poke around a bit, and those suits tend to last a while. You probably will need a suit throughout life and it might as well be a good quality one.

But seriously, if your interview's the only reason for your getting a suit, question whether it's worth bothering at all at this stage. Better to put it on the 18th\21st birthday plan and get a better one.

Reply 9

Tyraell

13

terpineol

Frankly if I were you I'd pop into matalan, go for the more traditional styles, and try and few and see what fits.

I worked there for a few years, you shouldn't need to spend more than £50 on a suit, if you are lucky with the sales you may be able to get down to £30 or so for something not completely tasteless.

This ^ ^ ^

I had (and still do) a £30 suit from somewhere or other which I wore for my interviews. For one of them, I was even covered in cat hairs (my cat had sat on the suit and I didn't notice - nobody told me!) and had a tasty, fresh coffee stain on my shirt and still did fine. Woops.

Reply 10

LearningMath

M&S have a reasonably cheap bespoke service i believe... or maybe it was semi-bespoke... take a look anyway :smile:

Reply 11

OP

Kathryn128

I'm not male, but if I were you, I'd definitely go and get properly measured for a suit.

If you can, I recommend you spend a bit on it, actually. You'll be able to use it whenever you need to be a bit formal, and nothing gives confidence and a good impression like a well-fitting suit. Don't buy things that have specific sizing like suits on the internet unless you are sure of what size you are, it's a pain to return things ordered online.

The sales are on at the moment, I've seen £400 suits selling for £175. Moss Bros or T.M. Lewin are good High St. suit stockists. Have a look and see. Marks and Spencer should be good at this too.

I wouldn't spend that much on a suit but I will go and look in shops instead.

http://www.marksandspencer.com/gp/product/B000UQSSYE/sr=1-2/qid=1230836770/ref=sr_1_2/276-8304180-2726338?ie=UTF8&node=&m=A2BO0OYVBKIQJM&keywords=&mnSBrand=core&size=9&rh=n:43483030,p_10:Black&page=

This one looks fine to me plus I can go and look at it instore to get a proper fitting one.

Reply 12

GorgeousMatt

12

Have a look at Tesco for cheap suits. There are ones which are £45 (iirc) for jacket and trousers, in a grey pinstripe or a black pinstripe, the fabric and fit don't reflect the price, and will be fine for a uni interview. There are also matching waistcoasts for around £15. Main thing to make sure is that it is not too big. Get a formal shirt from Primark, the £4 ones are good for the price.

Cheap shoes will always look crap. You can get decent looking lace ups for £35-45 from topman, they'll do.

Reply 13

thetopnotch

M&S also have a sale on now in stores,

I bought a very nice suit for £30 there a couple of years back right at the end of the sale, since only wierd sizes were left

Reply 14

Windsprite

1

jinglepupskye

The fit is more important than anything else. If it fits well, hangs as it should then it doesn't matter what it cost. You could spend a fortune on an expensive suit that just hangs on you like a sack and looks as though you slept in it for a week.

I've seen people wearing suits like that. It looked like they were wearing their dad's suit.

Reply 15

DougieG

10

I know that Cambridge specifically say that they're not bothered about what you wear. If you regularly wear a suit, that's fine, but equally don't go out and buy one just for interview. I'd imagine that other places would be exactly the same, but if not then Burton tends to do decent suits, and they're not too expensive if you get them in the sale. You can normally get a good suit for less than £100 there. And the key thing is that in a shop you can TRY IT ON! Don't buy a suit off the internet, it will almost certainly look a bit rubbish.

Reply 16

Ifailatwrittenquestions

where i live i get suits for £59 a piece D:, (From Moss) and they're damn good too :smile:

try see if theres a moss near you

Reply 17

Helenia

20

There's a giant thread on this forum about the need for suits (or not) - general consensus is that it's not essential as long as you look smart in whatever you go in, and that smart non-suit is better than ill-fitting suit.

Reply 18

OP

DougieG

I know that Cambridge specifically say that they're not bothered about what you wear. If you regularly wear a suit, that's fine, but equally don't go out and buy one just for interview. I'd imagine that other places would be exactly the same, but if not then Burton tends to do decent suits, and they're not too expensive if you get them in the sale. You can normally get a good suit for less than £100 there. And the key thing is that in a shop you can TRY IT ON! Don't buy a suit off the internet, it will almost certainly look a bit rubbish.

Yeah, I've decided to buy instore now. There seems to be a couple of half decent suits on the M&S website so I'll go and have a look at some point. I never wear suits but if other people are wearing them at the interview and I'm not, I'll probably feel even more self conscious than I would normally!

Thanks for the advice everyone.

Reply 19

terpineol