Latest news with #suits
The Sun
6 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
I tried a custom suit from a brand that uses the same Italian fabrics as top designers for 80% LESS
I'VE come to realise two truths about suits. Number one: a man will never look better than he does in a well-fitting suit. Number two: a man will rarely look more uncomfortable than he does in an ill-fitting suit. However, getting a perfect fit is much easier said than done, especially if you don't have off-the-rack dimensions. And, understandably, expertly-made tailor-made suits don't come cheap. With wedding season upon us, I decided to do a Suitsupply review: the brand makes made-to-measure suits from "just" £573, but is it cut from the right cloth? Shop custom suits at Suitsupply Pros: The business plan allows you to get the expertise of a tailor without the astronomical prices usually associated Gives you access to designer-level fabrics without their usual price tag You can do the whole thing online if you don't live near a store Great selection of ready-to-wear suits if you don't want to go down the made-to-measure route Cons: Getting the suits made in China and shipped to the UK doesn't seem like the most environmentally friendly choice I wonder if, long term, the company could aim to provide virtual consultations for people who can't make it into a store? It would be good to be able to order fabric swatches Rating: 9/10 How I tested Suitsupply 5 Shop custom suits at Suitsupply BUY HERE I won't lie — sometimes my job as Sun Shopping's reviews manager has some pretty sweet perks. For this Suitsupply review, I trotted over to the brand's London Vigo branch — right off Savile Row — had an appointment with one of the brand's expert tailors and, two weeks later, trotted back to pick up my new made-to-measure suit. I also did a deep dive into its website to get a sense of how easy it is to order a made-to-measure suit without having to trek down to London, and compared it to similar services to see if it offers decent value for money. How much are Suitsupply suits? At the time of writing, made-to-measure suits start at £573, while ready-to-wear suits start at a smidge under £400. Both top out at just over £1200. Who's it best for? The made-to-measure route I went down is great if you don't have, let's say... "traditional" dimensions. More generally, it's great if you want a high-quality yet fashion-forward suit that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. What we loved: The way that Suitsupply operates its business is clever: premium Italian fabrics and the expertise of British tailors are formed into suits in China, to keep the cost of the suit low. They're then sent back to the UK to be adjusted by expert British tailors. What we didn't: While the business model is clever, and Suitsupply consistently ranks excellently when it comes to working conditions in its factories, transporting every custom suit from China doesn't feel like the most sustainable choice. It'd also be nice to be able to order fabric swatches if you're shopping online. Does Suitsupply have sales? No, Suitsupply doesn't run sales, so now is as good a time to shop as any! Suitsupply review: The Nitty Gritty First impressions 5 Shop custom suits at Suitsupply It's immediately clear when you go to Suitsupply's website that this is a modern suitmaking outfit (pardon the pun). Despite its flagship store being just off Savile Row, there's nothing stuffy or tradition-bound about its suits. While there's a plentiful choice when it comes to sensible black, navy and grey suits, you'll also find some more outré ready-to-wear options, like a mint green double-breasted number, or a suit in this year's most on-trend colour, butter yellow. However, to test the brand's personalisation options, I headed to the Custom Made section of the website, where you can get anything from a full suit to a wool overcoat or single shirt made to order. If you go for a suit, you'll be greeted by an interface that allows you to pick from one of almost 400 fabrics, mostly from Italy, ranging from £571 to just over £1,200 (that's for the whole suit, unless you choose extras — more on that later). You can filter these by price, colour, season or print, making the overwhelming library of designs a lot easier to navigate. If you look closely, you'll notice that some are the fabrics are labelled as being woven by "Lanificio Ermenegildo Zegna" — that's the mill that makes the fabrics for Zegna, Gucci, Tom Ford and other high-fashion brands. At Suitsupply, a suit made from a Zegna fabric will cost between £873 and £1,073. I know that sounds mega expensive, but a ready-to-wear (i.e. not bespoke) suit from Zegna starts at £5,000. At Suitsupply, a suit made from a Zegna fabric will cost between £873 and £1073. I know that sounds mega expensive, but a ready-to-wear (i.e. not bespoke) suit from Zegna starts at £5000. Does it deliver? I wanted to get an impression of Suitsupply's whole shopping experience, and living in London, it was easy for me to head over to one of its branches for an appointment with a tailor. I was paired up with a tremendous chap called Alex, who has worked at Suitsupply for nine years. The custom suit fitting was as much a lesson in the art of tailoring as anything else — Alex told me things about my physique I didn't know myself. To his trained eye, for instance, it's obvious that I wear my work bag on my left shoulder, as it sits slightly lower than my right. I also have a 'backwards' posture and hold my arms in a slightly odd way. He also told me, in a manner so delicate that it could only belong to a tailor, that I have powerful shoulders and quads but a 'strong seat' (read: big arse), and altered the dimensions of my suit accordingly. Getting clothes made in this way certainly takes some honesty and humility. It was also a personal shopping appointment as much as anything else — Alex carefully ensured every decision was mine, but was more than happy to provide his thoughts and make sure I didn't make any decisions I'd regret. 5 Shop custom suits at Suitsupply And I can tell you now, there are certainly worse ways to spend a Monday evening than designing your perfect suit over a bottle of Heineken. It does seem a shame that this experience, which doesn't add anything to the cost of your suit, isn't available unless you go to a store. While there is an option to use WhatsApp or a phone call to receive personal style advice, I wonder if Suitsupply, at some point, could aim to offer more formalised virtual consultations, so that everyone could make use of its tailoring expertise. When I put this to the brand, they said that its knowledgeable customer service team are available to assist with questions regarding style, size and fit. However, it said that it doesn't offer virtual style consultations as "it can be challenging to offer the same experience digitally, especially when it comes to measuring someone for a suit or shirt". 5 Shop custom suits at Suitsupply Anyway, back to the suit — I settled on a beautiful Italian pure wool fabric, light enough for summer but heavy enough for winter, made from a four-ply weave that gave it a wonderful coarse texture. Alex measured me up, walked me through the rest of the process, and then told me to come back in a couple of weeks to collect my suit. Although his knowledge and expertise were extremely helpful, and if you live in or near London, I would suggest going down to a branch, it's not crucial — if you know your measurements and have a sense of what you want, the process is very easy to complete on the website. During those two weeks, my choices and dimensions were sent to Suitsupply's factory in China, where my suit was made up before being sent back to the UK for any final alterations to be done at the hands of British tailors. As it happens, Alex had done such a good job that no final alterations were needed; the suit fit me perfectly as soon as it arrived. How much is a Suitsupply suit? My suit came in at £770, which admittedly made me want to spit out my Heineken, but mostly because I thought that price would increase with every decision I made. In my head, it'd be, 'want double pleats instead of single? That's £50. Want a full lining rather than a half lining? That'll be £80. Want a six-button double-breasted suit rather than a two-button single? £120.' However, not a single decision I made increased the price. Upon asking, I discovered that the only add-ons are fancy mother-of-pearl or horn buttons (£10 extra, regardless of how many buttons there are on the suit), an unlined jacket (also £10 extra) and a second pair of trousers (…quite a lot extra, but that's not surprising). Even adding a personalised monogram to the lining of the suit and under the lapel didn't add anything to the cost. Of course, I understand that offering these extras for 'free' is probably accounted for in the initial pricing structure. But I prefer that system to feeling like I have to skimp when it comes to designing my dream suit to keep the price down. My criminally expensive taste also means I didn't exactly go for the cheapest fabric. Prices start at a smidge over £550, which isn't bad for a custom-made suit. Depending on your proportions, it might even end up cheaper than buying off the rack — my sizeable midriff and, erm, 'strong seat' mean I'd spend more money altering a ready-to-wear suit than getting it custom-made to begin with. Going bespoke also allows for more specific alterations — there are parts of a ready-to-wear suit that you simply can't change. In summary, treat yourself to a proper suit. You won't regret it. Suitsupply alternatives 5 Unsurprisingly, there are racks of tailoring companies out there, but only a few allow you to complete the entire process online. Moss, which has become synonymous with affordable suiting in the UK, allows you to do the entire thing on your laptop, though. It's also similarly priced to Suitsupply, although there's a smaller selection of fabrics, and I prefer Suitsupply's interface. Hockerty has a similar system, and you can get a suit from as little as £229, but, again, there's a smaller selection of fabrics, and few of them seem to be quite as luxurious as Suitsupply's. Suitsupply also has the upper hand when it comes to how specific you can be with your personalisation.
Washington Post
24-06-2025
- Climate
- Washington Post
NBA draft night fashion to meet blistering New York heat, as players know suits will get sweaty
NEW YORK — NBA draft night is all about getting dressed up, with players donning their finest suits for the walk on stage after their name is called. The weather in New York is better suited for shorts and flip-flops. With temperatures soaring to 100 degrees (38 Celsius) in the city on Tuesday, players knew their nice attire on draft night was going to get a little uncomfortable.
Washington Post
12-05-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
The six definitive rules of office lunch etiquette
For many federal workers, the return to the office after years of working remotely that the Trump administration mandated may have been bumpy, or it may have been welcome. And some people are finding the workplace is now permanently altered: Zooms aren't going anywhere, and suits and heels might feel like a relic of the past.
