I’m about as unaware of current fashion as it’s possible to be, but I have a few weddings coming up and I’d rather not look like I’m wearing the same shirt and trousers which I wear to work every day. Can anyone suggest any shops to visit to get a new outfit? Not a suit (necessarily) but reasonably smart and modern. Budget – more than Topman/Next etc, less than Savile Row, and not quite so middle aged as M&S.

Also need a pair of smart brown leather shoes. I don’t think I need/want bespoke hand made, but I do want something a bit special which will last a long while. Say £150 budget? Anything to particularly go for, or avoid?

Initial research suggests I might need to venture further than Sheffield, so any suggestions for Leeds?

Cheers!

Suit – Slim fitted, navy blue, 1 (maybe 2) button. Jeff Banks at Debenhams is not high end tailoring but does a job for £200 ish, if you want to spend more head to House of Fraser or Hugo Boss.

Shirt – Extra slim fit from Charles Thyritt. White for a wedding in my eyes, and wear a tie FFS.

Shoes – It’s be a Barker at that price for me, maybe a brogue, the Truman is a lovely shoe though I’m not sure you’ll get them for £150.

Shoes – Russell and Bromely
Suits/jackets etc – Debenhams have some really nice designers at the moment

Cool, thanks for the suggestions. Budget is flexible – these things should last a while so I’d rather pay for decent quality.

Keep them coming!

Second the Charles Thyritt suggestion above, maybe even consider them for the suit as well, although it may end up being a touch more expensive than something like Debenhams or M&S (also not a bad place to consider).

Colours? Dark navy blue is a classic choice, single breasted with two buttons. White shirt, subtly patterned tie in another colour (knitted burgundy? Silk of course) and black Oxfords shoudl do you well.

White for a wedding in my eyes

Boooorrrrrrriiinnnngggg!!!

Screw that! Go with whatever colours suit you eg. If you are very fair, then dark colours tend to work best, such as blue or maroon.

Urgh . Just horsed round town this arvo looking for new trews for my suit.

Gave up in the end and just bought a plain black suit from slaters.

Since i only wear suits to non family funerals and job interviews(kilt for weddings and family funerals)- i figured black- but they had allsorts at all sorts of prices and will modify to suit.- worth just going for a look at different styles

Also- of all the weddings ive been to this year- it seems light grey is in. Blue imo looks like a car salesman

My biggest observation was that slim fit even in the sales brochure just looks like a suit that doesnt fit. And extra slim fit looks even worse!

Regular fit if you dont want to look like you borrowed someone a size smallers suit!

My biggest observation was that slim fit even in the sales brochure just looks like a suit that doesnt fit. And extra slim fit looks even worse!

Regular fit if you dont want to look like you borrowed someone a size smallers suit!

Well that depends on the individual, a good fit is a good fit. Nothing worse than a billowy shirt flowing over a paunch or a slim flitting shirt stretching over somebody who isn’t slim.

Also need a pair of smart brown leather shoes. I don’t think I need/want bespoke hand made, but I do want something a bit special which will last a long while. Say £150 budget?

You get what you pay for, Northampton made Goodyear welted shoes from the good manufacturers will last many years and be re-solable, I would put a topy sole on the fronts though to stop accelerated wear and slipping. I have tried many and now only wear Trickers as grensons/loakes just didn’t last and some are made in India, Barkers or sanders would be a slightly cheaper alternative but I doubt £150 would get the quality you want.

Colours? Dark navy blue is a classic choice, single breasted with two buttons. White shirt, subtly patterned tie in another colour (knitted burgundy? Silk of course) and black Oxfords shoudl do you well.

For an interview….
Have a look round the web for styles/looks that you think will work for you and then find it replicated by the department stores. It’s not that difficult.
Follow the basic rules about not having a matching pocket square/tie and only having one dominant accessory colour (tie/socks/square/shirt colour but not all of them)
Don’t scrimp on the shoes! You can get away with a cheaper suit but rubbish shoes kill whatever other effort you have made.

round town this arvo looking for new trews for my suit.

Eh? Where would you go apart from the provider of said suit? Anything else wouldn’t quite match. Even then you might not get a decent match anyway!

1 (maybe 2) button.

Spiv.

This, however, is excellent advice;

You can get away with a cheaper suit but rubbish shoes kill whatever other effort you have made.

I have an American colleague who I introduced to my tailor, where he bought a suit and it’s a peach of a suit. However, he insists on wearing it with awful, awful shoes, which totally ruins the whole thing!

What’s the feeling on boots with a suit? I’m quite taken with these but I’m not sure if they’d make me look a prat…

What is a spiv?

They’re lovely boots that would be much better if they finished below the ankle.

so any suggestions for Leeds?

Hawes & Curtis in the Victorian Quarter – the chap that sells the suits is a bit of a tit; just politely ask him to go away 🙂

Or go to Slaters just of the Headrow – they sell a fair amount of crap, but they do some good stuff. I walked away with two Ted Baker suits last year, altered, for £360.

Missed the edit window:

Re-reading your post, H&C for the shirts. They’re incredible quality for the money. You can order online and get delivered to the store if you want. They get some great cloth in sometimes and produce shirts that could easily command 3 or 4 times the money; only in the last few weeks I had half a dozen shirts from them that were a year old, darted to re-fit, rather than buy new.

If you go down the suit route, that’s a bit more of a minefield – M&S outlet as I discovered today, have a very tidy navy blue herringbone suit for about £150, but H&C suits are VERY well made, but their cloth is very hit and miss. Slaters will have a better selection and will move 10% if haggling is your thing.

Shoes? Good luck, clarks 🙂

TM Lewin for the suit. Either slim fit or regular as suits your build, and they’ll alter it to be spot on using their in-house tailors for very little on top of the price of the suit. I have the jackets tapered and the trouser waists taken in as I need larger trousers to accommodate cyclist thighs. And because it’s their tailors doing it, no issues with guarantees.

http://www.tmlewin.co.uk/All-Suits/

I don’t like TM Lewin suits, all shiny and nasty IMO. They look cheap, current ones do at least when I looked a month or so back.

Lewin = Estate Agent these days, sadly.

What’s the feeling on boots with a suit?

Fine, if you’re a gamekeeper and said suit is tweed. Otherwise, no. Just plain no.

Haha flashy. I dont wear mysuit often- it seems although a wide pinstripe was all the rage when i was 18- its inpossible to get a pair of trousers of that ilk today- but i still looked around anyway- never one to be at the forefront of fashion at the expense of a few quid.

Mr smith- i agree on slim fit shirts – they are neccesary but extra slim suits even on the model looked stressed amd fit to burst.

I wore Loakes like the ones above, with a Tweed Suit at my Wedding.
They’re spotty dog IMHO.