Where to go for my first suit as a wedding guest? (UK)

[Ddubs]

My Mother is getting married in June next year and I need a suit. This will be my first proper suit.

It seems consensus is to go for a ready to wear suit that requires minimal alteration or made to measure rather than going custom with a budget such as mine (currently around £1000 but will likely be stretched higher depending on how much more I can save).

My body proportions are not what I’d call standard for a bloke though, I’m 5’5” and very slim, so I’m not sure how much success I’d have with ready to wear and potential alterations.

I will be visiting London in October and I’m hoping to make the most of it by visiting both places that offer ready to wear and made to measure.

What would you suggest I do, and can anyone recommend places in London I should visit with a good made to measure service or even ready to wear?

 

[smooth bernie]

My Mother is getting married in June next year and I need a suit. This will be my first proper suit.

It seems consensus is to go for a ready to wear suit that requires minimal alteration or made to measure rather than going custom with a budget such as mine (currently around £1000 but will likely be stretched higher depending on how much more I can save).

My body proportions are not what I’d call standard for a bloke though, I’m 5’5” and very slim, so I’m not sure how much success I’d have with ready to wear and potential alterations.

I will be visiting London in October and I’m hoping to make the most of it by visiting both places that offer ready to wear and made to measure.

What would you suggest I do, and can anyone recommend places in London I should visit with a good made to measure service or even ready to wear?

First of all: congratulations!

Regarding tailors in London: other people have much more knowledge about this, but I would recommend Anglo-Italian as a good and safe choice, both for your suit and as a 'one-stop shop' destination, in case you also want to get a shirt, tie, and/or white pocket square. They also have ready-to-wear pieces so you can get a better feeling of what your suit size is, and what would likely need to get altered to achieve the fit you want.

If it's your first proper suit, I would consider getting a navy suit in high-twist wool (link), so you can also wear it to non-wedding occasions. This *could* justify spending a bit more, but that is up to you of course.

If it's within your budget, I'd also get some other stuff:
- Ties: e.g., navy grenadine tie, or a striped tie. Anglo-Italian has these, but you might want to check out Drake's too, since it's close by anyway. More affordable option: shop online at House of Huntington for Drake's ties/pocket squares from last season
- Over-the-calf socks in navy or in a shade that is slightly darker than your trousers. Anglo-Italian has some options
- Formal shoes, such as (black calf) oxfords, or (tassel) loafers. You could check out the Crockett & Jones store for this. I'd recommend going there just to see what your shoe size is, and which models fit your feet. Shopping online for a proper pair of Goodyear-welted shoes can be very irritating if you have to figure out which lasts fit you. Anyway, if C&J is too expensive: check out Carmina.
- Spread collar shirt, or an OCBD in white, light blue, or blue stripes. Check out Anglo-Italian, or Drake's. More affordable option: shop online at Proper Cloth

PS: if it's June next year, I would also consider whether you are likely to change in body weight between now and next year. You mentioned elsewhere being in your early 20's, and some of my friends outgrew their suits quite rapidly when they were your age, because they started to gain weight, or started to go more to the gym. Of course, it's unlikely that you suddenly go from EU 46 to EU 52 in a year, and most proper suits have some allowance so you can alter them if you outgrow them, but it's just something to keep in mind.
PPS: if you want, you can post fit pics in some of the StyleForum threads once you get your suit, to get some feedback.

 

[Satmoche]

First of all: congratulations!

Regarding tailors in London: other people have much more knowledge about this, but I would recommend Anglo-Italian as a good and safe choice, both for your suit and as a 'one-stop shop' destination, in case you also want to get a shirt, tie, and/or white pocket square. They also have ready-to-wear pieces so you can get a better feeling of what your suit size is, and what would likely need to get altered to achieve the fit you want.

If it's your first proper suit, I would consider getting a navy suit in high-twist wool (link), so you can also wear it to non-wedding occasions. This *could* justify spending a bit more, but that is up to you of course.

If it's within your budget, I'd also get some other stuff:
- Ties: e.g., navy grenadine tie, or a striped tie. Anglo-Italian has these, but you might want to check out Drake's too, since it's close by anyway. More affordable option: shop online at House of Huntington for Drake's ties/pocket squares from last season
- Over-the-calf socks in navy or in a shade that is slightly darker than your trousers. Anglo-Italian has some options
- Formal shoes, such as (black calf) oxfords, or (tassel) loafers. You could check out the Crockett & Jones store for this. I'd recommend going there just to see what your shoe size is, and which models fit your feet. Shopping online for a proper pair of Goodyear-welted shoes can be very irritating if you have to figure out which lasts fit you. Anyway, if C&J is too expensive: check out Carmina.
- Spread collar shirt, or an OCBD in white, light blue, or blue stripes. Check out Anglo-Italian, or Drake's. More affordable option: shop online at Proper Cloth

PS: if it's June next year, I would also consider whether you are likely to change in body weight between now and next year. You mentioned elsewhere being in your early 20's, and some of my friends outgrew their suits quite rapidly when they were your age, because they started to gain weight, or started to go more to the gym. Of course, it's unlikely that you suddenly go from EU 46 to EU 52 in a year, and most proper suits have some allowance so you can alter them if you outgrow them, but it's just something to keep in mind.
PPS: if you want, you can post fit pics in some of the StyleForum threads once you get your suit, to get some feedback.

Anglo-Italian is great but they do have that very louche look that some may not be keen on. It is fantastic value for the price though.
Similarly, Natalino is a great shout too if you want to 'save some money' for shoes, shirt and tie. Their shop is quite close to Anglo-Italian's.

For shoes, Crockett & Jones is a safe value however their recent price increase makes it more and more difficult not to consider other competitors.
Do check out Cheaney and Loake too, all three brands have a shop on Jermyn Street.