Machine Washable Suits (any good?)

darbooka

I haven't purchased a suit in ages and now have to find a new professional looking one. While shopping around I noticed a particularly large line of home washable suits at one of the major chain stores.
Are these the new future of formal attire or just a gimmick for lazy customers?
Do these hold up as well as dry-clean only suits or are they good only for a few wash cycles?

snuff2pay

I think they are great and would not dream of buying a dry clean one now. I have a few fron Tesco and Matalan and they stand up really well to washing and then simply being dried on a coat hanger. And with the money that I save on dry cleaning I can afford to replace them a bit more often.

darbooka

Thanks for your useful feedback!
Do these need to be ironed or washed in a particular way? Do you just chuck them into the washing machine?
About how long do they last?

Contains_Mild_Peril

My husband has a Marks & Spencer machine washable suit which still looks as good as new and very smart after several washes, but it's too soon to be able to tell you if it lasts well - he's had it less than a year so far. In general, though, I've found M&S clothes tend to last well.
He usually tumble dries it on the lowest setting (though I don't think you're supposed to) until it's about half dry, then hangs it up to finish drying, so it doesn't take much ironing.

Plasticman

I've had a couple of machine washable suits. The first one had a special 'bag' that you put it in when you washed it. The latest one just goes in the machine like everything else. Just iron it and it's fine. I wear them much more often than the dry clean ones because I don't have to keep paying out each time they are dirty.

shopndrop

My husband, son and myself wear washable suits for work. The only ones we have are from M & S My son had a couple when he had to wear them in the 6th form at school. They were worn on alternate days for 2 school years and he still wears them occasionally for work. I get fed up with mine before they wear out so I would say they are really good value for money.

Lil_Dee_2

I would be lost without the M&S washable suits :T !!! I wear them every day for work, and as mentioned by a couple of people - they are happy to go in the dryer.

Everything I have in the way of clothes goes into my tumble dryer, however, as Contains Mild Peril mentioned her DH does, I would never actually dry them in the dryer. I just put them in to get the creases out, so fifteen minutes at most, and I pull them out and place them onto hangers whilst still damp. TBH, I couldn't tell you where my iron is, these days !!!

darbooka

Thank you all so much for your useful feedback.
The only question I have (really not trying to be too pompous) but what general areas of work do you do where washable suits are OK? Are they really good enough for any of Martin's colleagues appear on the telly with Trevor Macdonald wearing one, are they good enough for a representative of a conniving corporate exploiter of consumers to wear in court, could the future replacement of the prime minister wear one to the weekly audience with the Queen?
Not that I fill any such role, but I wouldn't want to appear 'inferior' on the basis of a non-suitable suit.
Can you indicate by way of example what kinds of professions employ people that you know routinely wear washable suits?

Lil_Dee_2

darbooka wrote:

Not that I fill any such role, but I wouldn't want to appear 'inferior' on the basis of a non-suitable suit.

The best way for you to judge this, is to go take a look yourself. I would seriously go and take a walk around one of the larger M&S stores, and compare the 'machine washable' and 'dry clean only' suits. Yes, there are some awful machines washable suits, but there are some equally awful (IMHO) italian fabric, dry clean only, suits. It really is down to personal opinions and taste.

M&S aren't the only people to produce machine washable suits, I'm sure if you take a look around Next, Top Shop (slightly gritted teeth when I typed that one!) BHS, John Lewis etc. they will all have machine washable suits. I personally would rather have a machine washable - if only to stop the horrible shiney effect that happens to fabric after too much dry cleaning. As I say, it's personal choice I like machine washable suits. They're convenient, and easy to care for - and in some cases, they're pretty economical (not cheap!!) in comparison to others...and I've been wearing one of mine one and off for five years now. The only reason it needs changing is the lining has now become worn, outwardly, it still looks fine.

FYI - I work for a rather large company (over 40,000 employees) in an office environment, and have represented my company to third party companies over the years...no-one ever looked at my suit and curled their nose up (at least, not to my face !! ) My hair, maybe, but not my suit...

Alan_M_2

I just keep thinking of that advert where the guy steam at the bus stop and his suit shrinks:rotfl:

Ever thought of having a tailor made suit but thought they started at around £1000?

Try this guy, He vists London, measures you up, your suits are made in Hong Kong then shipped out to you. Cost starting around £300, depending on the price of the cloth you choose.

http://www.raja-fashions.com

darbooka

Thanks Alan,
But his site says "Suits range from US $350 ..., also depending on the material". Does he charge a premium in sterling because of the rip-off-britain pricing perception?