Getting fitted for a suit

M & S

Dorian Black all the way. Balbriggan store is super, guy there called Kevin knows his $hit. In house Tailors so everything can be adjusted.

Simona1986 wrote: »

I need to buy at least two suits (one for office and one for weddings) and want to get measured up in advance.
Can anywhere like Debenhams / next menswear do this or are you expected to have all your sixes already?
Anyone recommend anywhere along those lines, bearing in mind I detest clothes shopping. Budget circa 250e each but I'd prefer to spend half that if I could without scrimping on quality.

When you say "measured up in advance" do you mean you want a bespoke/ made-to-measure suit? If that's the case you will not get a good hard-wearing suit for €250. Not even close. At less than €200 you will be paying the price in quality, but if you're not going to be wearing a suit multiple times a week maybe that's ok. I personally think a lot of people go OTT on suits when they don't need to. I bought 2 really nice suits when I was in the US costing me €1000+ and honestly I wish I'd bought the 'lesser quality' ones that looked almost identical because I've barely worn them since. But I have 1 suit I bought in Burtons that I have worn a few times because it suits me better, and I don't wear suits to much except social events. So you could adjust your budget and buy a higher quality office suit and a lesser quality but more interesting social suit.

I know you say you detest clothes shopping but for suits you might just have to suck it up and try stuff on until you find somewhere that fits you as well as possible off the rack, then get some alterations done. Different suit brands have different types of cuts. Some will suit M&S better than the in-house Debenhams brands, for example.

I do always recommend M&S as a first stop if you want to go down the highstreet route, especially if it's for a suit or two that you're not going to need to wear more than a few times a month/year. Try the jacket size you think you are, then keep going down in size until you can't close it, then go up a size (as a ROUGH guide) 90% of guys in particular wear suits that are too big because they want to feel in a suit like they do in jeans and a t-shirt. Suits are meant to fit closer to the body than casual clothes. M&S have some really lovely suits in at the moment, and my Dad has multiple suits from them and if you look after them properly (ie having them cleaned as little as possible but using a clothes brush and hanging them after every wear to get off dirt) they'll last you years. My Dad has an M&S suit he bought 15 years ago, worn a few times a year for various occasions and it's still perfect.

I'd always recommend a navy suit for a first office suit, and tbh you can also wear than to 99% of weddings if you jazz up your accessories away from what you'd wear to the office.

Simona1986 wrote: »

How much are we talking?

Look at their website. I picked up one of their own brand suits for 220, spare trousers for 80, and a Douglas suit that was half price for 250.

You'll be pleasantly surprised at the quality.and service, m&s hasn't a patch on them. Just look at the reviews.

Simona1986 wrote: »

Thanks for the detailed reply, no I don't mean a custom made suit but someone to measure me and advise on what size is the correct fit as I don't have a clue and would just choose what feels comfortable as you've highlighted in your post. I don't mind paying a bit more, particularly if I could get someone to measure me and advise as to fit etc as opposed to just browsing and trying on suits from the racks.

It will only be for occasional use so there's not much value to me in spending big money. There seems to be a good range with 50% off on Debenhams online currently, would these be ok quality?

Ah ok I get where you're coming from.

If you're struggling to get the right fit I'd recommend not buying online in the first instance, simply because it's actually a lot of faff if the sizes are wrong to return them etc. You could go in to a local debenhams and try everything on then buy them online if the sale is only online. Debenhams in particular have 6 different suit fits available on their site, it would be hard for you to get it right without trying the different types on.

Fashionbeans have a decent basic guide on how suits should fit so you know what to look for: https://www.fashionbeans.com/article/how-a-suit-should-fit/

Debenhams have a free personal shopper service which might be useful if you want someone to guide you. I personally would hate to have a person that I don't know helping me buy my clothes so i can't advise on that score! Do you have any friends or family that have a good eye for fit? Having someone you trust who knows how a suit should fit is always helpful in situations like this.

I always get nervous that the sales people are going to tell me I look good because either a) they don't know what they're talking about or b) want a sale. I've been done that way before and it makes you panic and buy whatever they tell you.

However, I'd also be guided by other guys here who buy more suits than me.

I got my bestman and groomsman suits in Best Menswear in Dundrum. They got fitted out and got free adjustments 2 weeks before the wedding. Cost 250 each. Shirts and Dicky bows 50 each. So the final bill was approx. 600.
They were looking sharp!

Wheety wrote: »

Unless you're a strange shape, just go into M&S and try on a couple of suits. Their slim fitting ones look tailored. Fits me perfectly.

The counter point to that is unless you are a very standard shape you'll have a hard time finding a perfectly firing sir in M&S.
I'm guessing if OP was one of the lucky few, he'd have had no trouble getting a suit before now.

Recently, I've had good experiences with Best menswear in Dundrum. They are definitely salesmen, but they don't seem to push to hard on the most expensive etc.
They seem to take the approach that happy customers are return customers, which I see less and less of these days.

eviltimeban wrote: »

Wherever you get your suit, all I can say is this:

- Make sure the jacket at least covers half, if not all, of the buttocks. I'm sick of seeing guys walking around in suit jackets that are no longer than their waistband. Unless it already fits snugly, bring the jacket to a tailor and get them to take it in as necessary.

- Conversely make sure your trousers aren't too long - the trend now is for the hem to sit over the shoe (and if you go to Italy you'll see lots of ankles) but if you even have one "break" that'll be just fine.

- Your jacket sleeves shouldn't be too long either - you should be able to see 1/2 an inch of your shirt sleeves. So make sure you also have a good fitting shirt too!

Get a two button suit, and leave the bottom button undone while you wear it. For a nice touch, pop a white pocket square in your top pocket. Just fold it over and stick it in, it doesn't need to be ironed flat (unless you want to go for that style).

The rest is up to you. Just don't get a black suit.

Solid advice for OP

whiskeyman wrote: »

I've noticed this a lot.
Is this not the fashion now with skinny fitted suits?

Mostly old gents have the longer jackets.
I've rarely noticed any 'younger' lads with the jacket fully over the arse anymore. I agree half way at least looks better.

A suit is a classic piece of menswear and therefore the way it fits should reflect that. Sure, you can go for a more snug fitting Italian style suit, or a more generous English cut. But there's certain rules that should be stuck to, including the length of the jacket.

It also depends on your build. I'm tall so a longer jacket looks better on me.

Young lads, and let's face it, not so young lads in this country have no clue how to wear suits.