Looking for a polished business suit at around 500-800 pounds. I'm thinking power black .Any recommendations?

try auctions at ebay

I'm thinking of flying to US before I start and spending £1/2k on suits, shoes etc. Try it!

Not black, funeral.Hugo Boss , brown with a silver blue weave, black shoes.Alternate is hounstooth with brouges.And 1/2k or £500 in the states wont get you suit/shoes etc.Take your £500 and go to eastern europe where theyt make the damn things :)

http://www.indochino.com/shopping_detail.php?pid=37

eastern Europe? Thats a new one for clothes, not sure how cheap it would be or how good the suits would be

Should be able to get a decent enough suit for 500 - 800 in the UK if you shop around a bit. Taxman is right on the money imho.

Yeah, Mars is right. I suppose it should be possible for 500-800 in the UK. You could get an OK suit for that if you really shop around. Bit on the low side though. I'd budget around £3-4,000 if you can.

If you work as the leading tax partner at a big accounting firm in London you'll probably pay around £5K on two nice handmade suits like all your silly colleagues - the net cost of which is less than £600 with the result the person selling it will not only go round telling everyone else what a mug you are but also the fact he doubled the price and you still paid.

U guys cannot spend as much as 5k on a suit.. In Italy, handmade suits cost max 1k Euros and they're way better than anything you will ever buy in the UK!!

Any recommendations for around £200-£250? I know it's not the same league, but am hoping that someone knows of good fitting for a smaller person (although obviously not tailored) suits?Thanks!

You are a complete idiot if you pay 2k or more for a suit. Even in the range of 1k to 2k you are paying way too much. I have been buyng suits for quite some years now, and expensive does not equal good. Nor do the big brands (Hugo Boss, etc) equal good. Budget around 600 for a decent suit, shop around, find a good deal (proper quality material) and invest in good shirts and ties (at least as important as a good suit). If you are eager to spend 2k, just buy a couple of suits (variaty is the spice of life) or use the money to bring the suit to the dry-cleaner more often (nothing worse than a good/expensive suit which isn't taken care of properly... or the worst; wrong size).

Or go naked and use the 2K to hire someone with a nice suit to walk around in front of you.

Can't you just go to M&S and find something decent? I can't believe you're all complaining that GBP800 isn't enough for a suit. Have you all totally lost touch with reality? That's a lot of money.As for Hugo Boss, you have to be really tall or it won't work.

Hugo Boss Red Label is nice for shorter slimmer people.

I buy my suits from Stitch up tailors based in Hong Kong. George meets you in various hotels in UK and he brings it next time or couriers it in a box to your home. Should get 2 suits +spare trousers for £800. I believe he visits Deliottes or PWC in your office

Seriously, why do suits cost so much? I'm a new graduate about to start out in the consulting world and there's no way I can afford to pay anything like that much for a suit. £800 is about two weeks' net salary for me. Is this an investment I need to make or can I get by on something from Banana Republic or even Marks & Spencer?

M&S is absolutely fine, as long as it's one of the decent traditional ones (~£200) and not one of the washable polyester ones (~£60).£800 is excessive by any measure. There are plenty of tailors who will make you a good suit in any cloth or design you might wish for quite a bit less.

the prices for suits in the UK are a load of crap...and all the people who think paying a lot means good suits, then you are all wrong..My flatmate has a suit from India which cost him around 150 quid...I have a suit from M & S which cost me 250(am still a student) and it totally sucks in comparison to the Indian suit...and India is not the best place in the world to shop from but still.....this just shows how gullible people are in the UK...and 2k for a suit? get a life..

Crombie.They use superior cloth and the creases just fall out when you unpack. Nicely cut too, take pounds off you. Try the Jermyn St shop when they're having a sale or the Army & Navy concession in Victoria.

You can spend just about as much as you want on a suit, particularly if you go for a bespoke affair.That said, some advice:1) Don't buy black. A previously pointed out, black suits are for funerals.2) Don't buy big label 'designer' suits. Mostly they're overpriced and not very well cut.3) Never, ever, ever wear a brown suit unless you're going deer stalking or driven game shooting.4) You can get a good suit for £500 and a great one for £800 if you go to a reputable tailor.5) A good suit made of good material is more expensive than M&S but will last a lot longer before the backside goes shiny.Personally I tend to go for dark grey, blue grey, or blue with pinstripes. Don't forget to buy some good ties and double-cuff shirts to go with the suit plus a decent pair of shoes.EC

M&S is fine. Buy two pairs of trousers as they wear more than jackets. Depending on clients and the assignement you may not be wearing the jacket anyway. A lot of clients don't wear suits these days anyway.I'd rather spend £2,000 on things in my personal life than on something for work.

I'm addicted to Hugo Boss, but (on the basis of internet forum anonymity) - I would highly recommend the Jeff Banks collection at Debenhams.Couldn't be bothered to dry clean last week & happened to be wandering past & found that this season's cut is spot on.

I disagree1) Black is fine provided the cut isn't too formal2) I spent a long time shopping around for suits that fit (I'm 5ft 6 and slim) and yet within my price bracket of £250. I ended up just going for a very cheap £80 suit from my hometown (i.e. not overpriced London). Probably made of polyester or something cheap but it looks and feels better than all the other ones I tried on, bar one designer (Jeff Banks I think)The fit of the jacket is the most important thing3) Provided you you look half decent, clean, and tidy, and doesn't stand out too much no one cares what you wear. And certainly at the more junior levels an expensive suit reeks of wannabe.4) To emphasis point 3 again - No One Cares! Just make sure it fits well otherwise you'll have that 6th form student look.

Some good points Luq, but it's hard to take you too seriously when you advocate £80 black polyester suits of a "not too formal" cut. It's not a pretty thought.Meanwhile, back in reality, why not just find something for about £200, made out of wool, of classic cut and cloth, which fits?It really isn't hard.

Anyone else used these guys that come over from Hong Kong/India etc.... and hold sessions in hotels to fit and sell suits?Workingbrum mentions one above called Stitch-up above.Any other suggestions? and and websites/contact details for them?

As an addition to what I stated above; one of my personal favorite suits is done by René Lezard. Excellent fabrics, great fit, classic design and costs around 300 GBP / 400 Euro (if I recall correctly). I prefer it over all my other suits (I currently got one Hugo Boss, one tailormade and one designer I can't even remember)I don't tend to go for the latest trends; mostly because I don't think that adds to my professional approach and it ends up being useless after wearing it for one season.For most parts I agree with EC, except the fact that in my opinion a black suit can be fine/great and I absolutely don't like blue with pinstripes. But hey, we can't all wear the same :-)And Mark, I'll try and fit Jeff Banks sometime.

Ok I agree my description of a cheap suit isnt that appealing. What I meant to say is that I have a cheap black suit that looks like a normal suit and not some stiff formal funeral suit, and is well cut which gives me a smart appearance.

I agreed with Anon! In Italy you don't pay more for suits? And, the quality is relatively high. Why not!

Depends on the client - if it's Public Sector you're going to feel daft spending a fortune on a flash suit when everyone else dresses fairly casually! Get one decent suit for Corporate Events and a couple of average for clients unless you're working Finance/Legal.Re where to buy suits - Alexandre at HoF do made to measure suits of reasonable quality (it's HoF after all...) for max £400 - I got two in December when they were on a 2 for 1 offer and they still look and feel the business.

I always wait for the after christmas and mid-summer sales and wind up with 500 GBP suits for 250 GBP. Usually buy 2 new ones each year to rotate into my wardrobe since they don't last if you where suits every day of the week. They look fine, although not a nice as a 1000 GBP suit! Good enough for now.