The London Lounge

I have a question that I fully appreciate may fall short of the rarefied concerns of the excellent membership of this forum – but here goes…

A colleague of mine is not generally concerned about dressing, other than in a purely functional way to clear the hurdle of basic office attire. He is however, like me, changing shape as he gets older and realises that his usual source of off-the-peg suits is not providing a decent fit. He’s 6’ and as thin as a rake.

He’s always been most kind in his appreciation of my sartorial efforts, so we got to talking about suits and how they can fit. I took the opportunity to explain to him the spectrum of options that he might consider, and he may yet be tempted down the made-to-measure path, which as most here will realise, will inevitably lead to dissatisfaction with anything short of true bespoke – given time.

For the moment however, he’s set on getting another ready-made number and I have suggested he should then take it to an alterations tailor at the very least.

The conversation then turned to who produces the best factory-made suits? – to which I had no answer other than to suggest that well-known names are likely to price according to their advertising expenditure, rather than the quality of their garment.

Does anyone have a view as to who makes the best constructed factory-produced suits? Or at least is there any appreciable tendency to decent cloth in any particular brand?

Dear Melcombe,

that's a tough one for this forum. All I can offer is opinion, not experience. So I should probably just shut up

The best RTW used to be Chester Barrie, RIP. In terms of cloth, Ralph Lauren is interesting. Brioni's make is excellent for factory made suits, but they mostly use Super super something cloth, which is terrible.

Given the price tag of these high-end brands, take the gentleman to MTM. It will be cheaper, and it will fit. Steed might have an interesting offer.

Cheers, David

Some years ago, Thomas Mahon had a blog post where he spoke kindly of Marks &Spencer. That situation could easily have changed. Many of the Savile Row shops now offer RTW or, at least, MTO. But that is a bit of an expedition from Dorset.

Oxxford makes exceedingly well made suits and sports coats. Their RTW line can be found in many high-end clothing shops in the US; but how widely disseminated the brand is in the UK, I couldn’t say. For MTM, you would likely have to travel to the US to their main location in Chicago or flagship store in NYC..

I have six tweed Oxxford jackets in rotation. They have served me well for many years. The style is rather conservative and may not be for all tastes, but the quality is as good as it gets in non-bespoke and superior to much that is touted as “bespoke.” The downside, as is the case with many high-end RTW suits/jackets, is the high price you’re likely to pay, often as high as bespoke.

If business or pleasure bring you to the US, consider Oxxford for excellent quality, without the considerable investment of time required with bespoke.

One thing to consider is that the money one is likely to spend on a "well made" RTW suit could easily approach or surpass the cost of a made-to-measure suit from a reputable tailor (I was also going to suggest Steed). Whitcomb and Shaftsbury might be another option. Gieves and Hawkes also does RTW, I believe, and one would assume that their product is, um, a cut above.

Ede & Ravenscroft?

Thank you all so much - your comments are greatly appreciated.

davidhuh wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 16, 2021 10:00 pm

The best RTW used to be Chester Barrie, RIP. In terms of cloth, Ralph Lauren is interesting. Brioni's make is excellent for factory made suits, but they mostly use Super super something cloth, which is terrible.

Given the price tag of these high-end brands, take the gentleman to MTM. It will be cheaper, and it will fit. Steed might have an interesting offer.

Cheers, David

Thanks David, that brought back memories of a Chester Barrie green POW suit I had in my 20s (too long ago!) - It was a beautiful suit that I wore nearly to shreds; the first I ever had that wasn't fused in the chest. Sadly left on a train when trying to cope with luggage. I hope the new 'owner' had as much appreciation of it as I did.

Concordia wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 17, 2021 8:26 am

Some years ago, Thomas Mahon had a blog post where he spoke kindly of Marks &Spencer. That situation could easily have changed. Many of the Savile Row shops now offer RTW or, at least, MTO. But that is a bit of an expedition from Dorset.

I do remember that. I have not ventured into a non-food M&S for possibly a decade. My colleague and I work in W1 - I shall suggest he visits Marble Arch. I understood that they used to get lines that didnt appear in any other M&S store.

raykalendek wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 17, 2021 2:49 pm

Oxxford makes exceedingly well made suits and sports coats. Their RTW line can be found in many high-end clothing shops in the US; but how widely disseminated the brand is in the UK, I couldn’t say. For MTM, you would likely have to travel to the US to their main location in Chicago or flagship store in NYC..

Thank you for that mention. The request came from a bespoke-averse colleague, but I shall look up Oxxford when I next visit the offspring (she lately married a gentleman from NYC and is living in the US).

andy57 wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 17, 2021 5:41 pm

One thing to consider is that the money one is likely to spend on a "well made" RTW suit could easily approach or surpass the cost of a made-to-measure suit from a reputable tailor (I was also going to suggest Steed). Whitcomb and Shaftsbury might be another option. Gieves and Hawkes also does RTW, I believe, and one would assume that their product is, um, a cut above.

On reflection, I do think there's a strong economic argument for MTM from a good visiting tailor or similar compared to 'good' RTW. For my part MTM is what first pushed me down the bespoke route, once I wondered what was possible.

Scot wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 18, 2021 9:59 am

Ede & Ravenscroft?

Good call. I have some great E&R items myself. And they have occasional "promotions" - I shall definitely mention it to him.

New & Lingwood perhaps?