I have a formal event to go to and I'm thinking of buying a suit. I'm not gonna spend more than £200 on this tho. Hopefully less than £100 with a discount or something. I have like no money but I want to actually make an effort. Anyway, I'm a little worried about this because I find when I have purchased more structured menswear peices in the past the wide shoulders have looked comical on me like I'm wearing 80s shoulder pads. I want a nice slim suit (not too skinny so its restricting but pretty close cut so I don't look bulky) that doesn't necessarily have those large structured shoulders but also isn't feminine. I've had women's suits before but they had weird pleats, had a weird peplum thing going on at the bottom of the jacket, no pockets, trousers that were either super skinny or stupidly wide leg etc etc etc. Just want a slim navy/black/grey suit that looks like a suit and functions properly but that also doesn't expect me to have the shoulders of a burly rugby-playing bloke either. I don't mind if its mens or womens just as long as its masculine and doesn't have the issues I listed. So yeah I was wondering if any afabs of any kind (or even narrow shouldered cis guys I guess) who have had similar problems buying suits know what affordable high street shop has something available that would be worth going to try? I live in the UK so please don't suggest brands that only sell in America or whereever. Perhaps I'm just being silly and there are plenty of mens suits without exagerated shoulders- I dunno I haven't looked much, this is just based on a few annoying purchases I regret/sent back. And maybe there are some less stupid womens suits. I prefer menswear in general tho tbh. Just thought I'd ask.
I can vouch for Next doing good, affordable suits. I'm pretty small and had to actually order online because the 34 inch jacket was too big and they do a 32 inch online. The shoulders will always look a little big if you're not on T but theyre actually meant to. You measure whether or not they fit by putting the jacket on and then standing against a wall, if the seam is right up against the wall it's the right size. River Island is also a decent bet and I've not tried Topman suits but they look pretty good too. It'd be worth going around and trying a couple on. Once you have the shop then you need the fit, the jacket size and the trouser fit and size and you're sorted, you can work out colour and everything after that. Women's suits are likely to be pleated and fitted to hug at the waist, wouldn't recommend them at all and it can be extremely dysphoria inducing and just won't be what you're after.
Ah yes, I've been in Next shopping for womens suits before in fact I think I got one there, and that stupid pleated ugly suit is all I think about when I think of next, but of course they must also have mens suits and perhaps they are more inspiring. I went into the topman suiting section in my local topman once and all they had were skinny suit trousers that were painfully skinny (like I couldn't even squeeze into my usual size skinny),tho I have been into the oxford street topman a few times and it looked like there was a larger range. I've never yet had a reason to look properly but perhaps I should now. I very much appreciate that tip about standing against the wall I think that'll be handy. Yes I don't like the way women's suits fit but I'm imagining perhaps there are some brands that do sorta menswear-trend-style womens suits. Like I've bought "boyfriend jeans" and "boyfriend shorts" from womens before when I had to. Though tbh the real mens article is usually much better so thats sorta a last resort. I imagine the shoulders will always be a bit big in mens I suppose but I hope I can avoid buying something like this smart black coat I have where the shoulders are just so ridiculously huge I can't wear it because I look like a complete clown.
Have you looked in Zara, H&M and the like? I don't have a suit from there, but clothes generally fit with no problem. I even have coat from H&M and fits pretty good. Massimo Dutti has suits as well. Tht's all Incan think of atm.
Yep, they do indeed have men's suits. Ive recently just left Next after working there for over a year, my store has just got some of its menswear staff specifically trained to fit people for suits too so might be worth checking to see whether your local store had that service. At least then they'd be able to measure and fit you for a suit and you'll know what size and style you're after. Something to think about anyway.
