DIY - Machine washable suits

ncmscnc

I have never wore a suit to work before. :rotfl:

I have just found an Accounts Payable job with a big retail company in the city starting Monday and working on my full qualification.
I would like to wear suit every day I go in and have the suit jacket handy on the chair every time there is a meeting or a discussion so I may at least look presentable all the time. Internal progression in my mind.

I am looking at Matalan suits without vest starting for £45 and M&S suits starting at £79
These are still expensive but I am looking to buy one a month maybe?

My questions are,

• How reliable are these machine washable suits?
• How many should own and rotate between if you are wearing them everyday?
• How many times do you wear them before you wash them?
• Do you wear vest in the office all day?
• Does the tie go inside the vest?
• Is it easy to iron?
• Do people notice same trousers everyday? (Obviously goes with the same suit for the whole week)
• Any other tips to wear them everyday? like rotate between three suits and wash them every two weeks?
• Is this practical or I am over thinking this?

Please feel free to tell me off If I am coming across pretentious.

ukjoel

ebay is brilliant for suits.
A lot of people either buy them for one off event s like weddings/ jon interviews or buy them in the sale in the hope they will fit into them but never do.

Less people wear suits to work so its a buyers market at the moment and I am paying less than ever for fairly good suits.

A £200 M&S/ john lewis suit thats in really good condition can be had for £30 or less, and decent makes like aquascutum and crombie can be had for under £50.

The fashion brands like ted baker, boss, and next can vary and often you are paying for the label and not the quality of the suit.
Look at wool content.


They last a lot better and longer than the washable suits, and look a lot better.

Yes they need dry cleaning but worth looking at a steamer and doing it yourself.

I wouldn't waste money on a washable suit, with suits the better quality stuff stands out a mile.

Even if you factor in adjustments to have it shortened if required its a better bet.

getmore4less

There are seriously cheap good quality suits from the main brands in the sales

.the summer sale had 2pc at £50 from the like of house of fraser and JL.
Sizes go quick helps to be a bid odd.

Jacket+2/3 pairs of trousers to match if it has to be suit all the time.
Should be good for a year.
Rotate a new set in when on sale.

ashe

Is the working environment actually suit-based culture? if not you might stand out a lot as many places dont have such strict dress codes anymore.

You might be far better off with smart trousers, a shirt, tie and blazer. Blazers only need a dry cleaning once in a while and then everything else is washable (you dont really wash ties). You can get smart blazers online for about £10-£25 on ebay so can have a decent selection to go with different shirts.

Higher ups wont promote you based purely on you having a suit and if it was that sort of snooty environment they would spot a washable suit a mile off.

Owain_Moneysaver

Never hang a suit jacket on the back of the chair. The collar gets crushed and the shoulders will lose their shape. Always use a suit hanger.

"Fashion" suits from M&S simply won't cut it in a city environment if British tailoring is expected. What were the interviewers wearing?

And the tie goes inside the waistcoat. The vest is worn under the shirt. I don't know anyone under 60 who still wears vests.

onomatopoeia99

ashe wrote: »

Is the working environment actually suit-based culture? if not you might stand out a lot as many places dont have such strict dress codes anymore.

At our place people would look at you like you arrived with an extra head if you turned up in a suit.

ncmscnc

2-3 trousers per jacket! Good idea!

ncmscnc

I didn’t think of eBay at all!

ncmscnc

Oh jeez. Lol. I did mean the waistcoat.

The interviewers were ladies wearing cardigan and printed dress.

It’s hard to judge, men in my team wear just shirts, some even look scruffy. Presumably they were here for longer and permanent?

Corporate are wearing suits and ties all the time.

It’s hard to fit in with corporate colleagues without suit as I am seriously looking to progress into FP&A analyst roles from where I am on the AP transactional role.

ncmscnc

Ha ha. I am just looking to reduce friction where possible.

Corporate and office colleagues work side by side in an open plan office.
They wear their suits all the time away from the desk.

We seem to just have shirt and not even a tie.

I just need to try other avenues of improving myself like actually finishing my three papers left on my qualification. Lol

Owain_Moneysaver

In that case I would go for smart shirt and tie, but no suit - you will appear smarter than your colleagues, but not so smart you alienate them. At least in sartorial terms.