Further to thread 16053, I was wondering anyone could update me on some good quality tailors who do bespoke suits in London?If you could give me an idea of price range and how long it took too? I am thinking around £200-£300 per suit, but not sure if this will be enough... will probably get tailored shirts too since I am quite scrawny!!Many thanks, D

A Marks and Spencer suit is £200.There is little wrong with Marks and Spencer suits but that is the sort of thing you are looking at for £200.Bespoke is more expensive still than made to measure. You are looking at £400 up in London (less sometimes in the provinces) for made to measure. Bespoke could be £800-£3000. Your only option at your price is to use one of those visiting Far East tailors that advertise in the papers, and even then you might struggle - not sure how much they charge.You are probably best getting a good off the peg and getting it adjusted if necessary. Please don't take this the wrong way, but the fact that your figures are quite a bit out suggests that you don't know too much about tailoring and that you might be better off waiting a little longer, finding out what suits you and what you like, etc, before getting a suit made.

Not taken the wrong way at all!! I haven't worn a suit for three years - different sort of work!The bespoke suit I last got was for £140 in 1998 in Cyprus!!! And since then have made do with two M+S bought for £120 in 2001!!OK will look at my finances and see if I can stretch a little more! Thanks for the advice!

And yes, perhaps I also got confused between bespoke and made-to-measure...

Unfortunately I think inflation has done its worst since your last purchases!I have had suits for £300-400 but not very recently and not in London.Difference in bespoke and made to measure is that the first is specifically crafted to you with new patterns made whereas the last is cut to an existing pattern and then assembled to a good fit. Obviously the first is more time consuming but there is also a whole different level of skill involved - a cutter is a senior and more skilled trade as there is a lot more to it than just sewing.If you can stretch try Redwood and Feller, Rochester Row SW1. For good off the peg, nothing wrong with M&S (£150-£200) but also look at sales and discount places to see if you can pick up a better make at the same sort of price. Also try places like Pakeman, Catto & Carter (Edinburgh or online) for traditional, rather boring but very solid well made suits.

Gieves & Hawkes tailored off the peg is £600 at the moment, with 10% discount if you have a G&H account (you don't need to use the account, just have one).This month they're also offering a second pair of trousers on some of their suits as well, which is an extra £200 value.

Do you betray your roots my friend, with that last sentence?!Gieves and Thieves is alright but not what it once was. Decent but a little pricey for what it is, and has a slight tendency to flirt with vulgarity.

Not at all, other than the fact that I've used them for about 20 years. They're ''safe'' and no worse in terms of the systemic industry problems than anyone else.I know others have said about the M&S fallback, but I never feel comfortable in the couple of theirs that I've had. Not feeling comfortable comes across, so it pays to invest.

Oh and btw, never done sales although I do have some CRM experience.I'm a systems engineer by profession and a Programme/ Change Manager for the last 10 years.

It wasn't a comment on sales-speak, just that "a $90 value!" is American English commonly found in advertisements, etc. "Value" is not generally used as a noun in quite the same way in the UK. That's all, no offence intended, hope none caused.

No problem at all, it probably indicates that I was part way through the cost-benefit section of a business case for an investment in change. Given the current client it's difficult to demonstrate intangibles so we end up mangling the language.

I too am quite scrawny. What I have found in London is that most tailors will only do made to measure within the same range as off-the-peg. So if your problem is that you can't find suits small (or large) enough in most shops, then going made-to-measure probably won't help. You may have to go bespoke, but it will definitely be more than £300. I have found some good Ted Baker suits in smaller sizes at Slater's for about £250. Branches are outside the city centre, but you can give them a call and ask what they have. Be sure to specify "Ralph's Room" which their more upmarket selection.As an aside, some tailors will offer to butcher an off-the-peg suit in a near size to make it "made to measure", but it's really not worth it. From experience, even if the result doesn't look terrible, the fabric will pull back into shape and tear out the new stitching over the course of a couple of years.

I am considering a bit of travelling before I start and have been looking at heading out to Japan etc perhaps passing through HK. Has anyone here had any experience of HK tailoring - might it be worth a detour to pick up a few cheaper suits?

I am considering a bit of travelling before I start and have been looking at heading out to Japan etc perhaps passing through HK. Has anyone here had any experience of HK tailoring - might it be worth a detour to pick up a few cheaper suits?

there is a great tailor on jeromes street in london that also caters for the destinguished gentlemen in Hong Kong. A super 140s, 3 piece will cost you 340£ for the first and 220£ thereafter - delivers anywhere in the world. Please ask for Yan 020 8569 5555

D, The place to go in hong Kong is Sam's in Kowloon, he's very well known and should be easy to find (haven't got his card with me), he does 24 hour suits, but check the fit/quality control; Osmond's of north Nicosia is also excellent - but no real fast service, and you need to supply the cloth, and I'm told Dubai and Singopore are good at the moment.

You'll find all you need to know about Sam's at:http://www.samstailor.com/For what it's worth, I'm another fan of Sam's -- they do great work for the price. I've got several suits from Sam's that have stood up to the rigour of day-to-day wear for 5+ years and they still look great and fit better than anything off-the-peg. You'll get a much better result if you give yourself a week and at least 2 (preferably 3) fittings.

With reference to the 'pretty look' thread ;-). Can you recommend any website where I can find 'first-timer guide to professional business look'? I mean all this stuff which you consultants already know (when it comes to business outfit) and I, consultant-to-be, should know. E.g. somebody few weeks ago wrote a great post with number of hints... but I wanna start with basics... we have such types of shirt... this type you wear when... but this one only with... etc.

With reference to the 'pretty look' thread ;-). Can you recommend any website where I can find 'first-timer guide to professional business look'? I mean all this stuff which you consultants already know (when it comes to business outfit) and I, consultant-to-be, should know. E.g. somebody few weeks ago wrote a great post with number of hints... but I wanna start with basics... we have such types of shirt... this type you wear when... but this one only with... etc.

>Can you recommend any website where I can >find 'first-timer guide to professional business >look'?Start here:http://www.zambeasy.com/forum/list.aspx?ID=16053

I've seen on this thread people mention Singapore as a good place for tailors. Can anyone give me any suggestions of who in Singapore is any good?Thanks,Bob

Village Idiot,My travel to China is looking likely now for next month, so a visit to Sam's might well be on the cards! Do you know actually what price bracket I can expect? There doesn't seem to be much on the website apart from some 'famous' guests!!Thanks for your advice, D

Price, like most things in HK, is negotiable and will vary depending on the quality of fabric you select, the finishing details you specify, and the number of items you purchase.As a rule of thumb, I bought 4 suits in good-quality Italian wool and 10 shirts. I think I paid about £350-400 for each suit (with 2 pairs of trousers) and about £15-20 for each shirt.In HK, you get what you pay for -- a £100 suit will look like a £100 suit and will probably fall apart within minutes.You should also have a pretty good idea about what you'd like before you go out there -- in terms of the style of the suit and in terms of the finishing touches. For some advice, go read this guy's site:http://www.englishcut.com/archives/000125.html

I got a suit made at Sam's 9 months ago - £150. Fine, the cloth was not necessarily the best, but I wanted to test the water. The result was excellent. But you do have to be very specific about the cut you want. I would recommend taking a suit you like with you and get them to copy it.

VI,Great link! Will browse, learn and become an expert!!!Many thanks, D