The best suit brands are experts in their field, and when you slip into one of their creations, you should feel transformed. You might find you stand a little taller, your back a little straighter, your chest a little broader. Your best suit, providing you pick the right one for your specific needs and tastes, can be one of the most important pieces of clothing in your wardrobe.
And, if you can afford it, no suit will ever make you feel better than a bespoke creation. Thankfully, we’re fortunate to have a very rich history of handmade suiting in the UK, with the tailors of Savile Row being near enough the stuff of menswear legend at this point. But if you’re after something that is more readily available and less costly than the (justifiable) price point of a bespoke suit, then we’ve got you covered with an array of the best suits for men. Whether you’re getting ready for a season of partying, embracing the suited lifestyle day-to-day, or need an upgrade for your office ‘fits, these are our best suiting brands you should look to.
Before you keep scrolling, though, a few things to keep in mind:
- Have a good tailor in mind for adjustments and alterations. Most shops will do them in-house, but you may need to tweak your suit over time. It’s also worth bearing in mind that a lot of dry-cleaners will do simple alterations like trimming trouser length and waist changes for a relatively low cost.
- Spend some time on your research. What are you buying it for? A suit for the office will probably look a bit different than the one you buy for a summer wedding, for example. Do you want something classic and conservative, or casual and unstructured? These are all important factors that will come into play with this kind of purchase.
- Know your body type. Height, weight, shoulder type — they’ll all inform what looks best on you.
And, perhaps most importantly, don’t rush into buying something cheap and fast that might do the job. Suits are an investment, and they should last you years.
The best suit brands according to GQ:
- For office-going: Hawes & Curtis, Charles Tyrwhitt, Reiss, Ralph Lauren, Moss
- For attending a wedding: Percival, Wax London, Mr. P
- London’s finest ready-to-wear: Paul Smith, Drake’s
- Surprisingly affordable: Abercrombie, Uniqlo
- Über-luxe suiting: Armani, Tom Ford, Burberry
- Newer kids on the block: Stoffa, Husbands, Oliver Spencer
For office-going
A long history says a lot about the success of a suit brand, so given that Hawes & Curtis has been running since 1913, it’s safe to deem it one of the most reliable names on the market. With one of the most extensive sartorial selections available in the industry, its core client is the office-goer: more specifically, the office-goer who shows he means stylish business every single day. This is thanks to the multitude of staple silhouettes, classic colours and versatile textures on offer, ranging from more traditional designs in herringbone pinstripe to more contemporary creations in breathable mid blue wool. All must-haves for meetings, if you ask us.
For a day in the office, you want your suit to look professional and dapper – but you also want it to feel wearable and comfortable too. For this balance of traits, we suggest taking a trip to Charles Tyrwhitt. Founded in London in 1986, the menswear label shaped itself with a purpose to “make it easy to dress well” – a statement that couldn’t ring more true after assessing its sets. The standout design is the Ultimate Performance: sold in a variety of editions yet all bound by a canvas that incorporates stretch, resistance and breathability. Added bonus that its slim fits also work to flatter your frame.
More than simply a high street brand, Reiss has a fantastic range of every kind of suiting that can form the backbone of your office wardrobe – particularly if you fall into the suited and booted 5 days a week camp. More often than not, Reiss’ suits are cut for a slim silhouette, giving a traditionally tailored look, and although they aren’t always made from luxury fabrics, you can find a well-fitting and well-made suit for under £1,000 (with alterations available in store, too).
Ralph Lauren might’ve started his brand hawking ties from a drawer in the Empire State Building, but his ambitions were obvious from the start. Today, his empire encompasses a half-dozen or so sub-labels, Polo most prominent among them. Polo serves up classic American sportswear and preppy staples with a subtly cosmopolitan twist; tailoring from the line includes flannel three-pieces, navy sack suits, and a killer selection of entry-level tuxedos.
Ermenegildo Zegna, an entrepreneurial 18-year-old suiting whiz, founded his eponymous brand in 1910. Soon, the tailoring house that bears his name became famous for its obsession with fabric, commandeering its production chain from “sheep to shop”. Its lauded fabric is used in these Moss suits, offering plenty of off-the-rack options for work, play, and the increasingly blurry line between, with luxury Italian fabrics at high street prices.
For attending weddings
Fast becoming a prominent British brand in the tailoring scene, Percival’s linen and seersucker creations work everywhere from the office to one of the many wedding receptions on your calendar this summer. Just choose your fighter – forest green or pale blue?
Wax London has spent the past decade shaping a roster of elegant, ethically-inclined clothing – and has amassed quite the loyal following in the process. Key to this quick success is the label’s suit range, bi-annually adapted to meet the codes of the season yet still sticking to designs which you’ll call upon year on year. For 2025, with the summer wedding season in mind, its ‘Fintry’ sets will make sure you bring something a bit different to the formal dress code game: whether it be through fiery rust shades or textured seersucker.
When you have the pedigree of a pioneering online menswear hub that Mr Porter has, it’s not surprising that any in-house label resulting from the years spent curating the best men’s brands around would be a winner. Mr. P is understated and surprisingly inexpensive, but packs a punch when it comes to design and quality. The wide-ranging collection of suiting on offer covers a myriad of needs from evening wear, in both classic tux and contemporary corduroy varieties, all the way to cotton twill casual suiting via timeless wool tailoring that is perfect for daily wear.
London’s finest Ready-To-Wear
Sir Paul Smith started working in a shop in the early 1950s and, through launching his namesake label in the late ‘70s to the present, the Paul Smith team have since been producing ready-to-wear suiting that is traditional but playful; classic, but colourful; and made from some of the best fabrics available.
A frequent fave of some of menswear’s best and brightest (such as recent collaborator and all-round men’s clothing guru, Aaron Levine), Drake’s is another brand that roots itself in tradition, but doesn’t allow itself to be stifled by it. Instead, you’ll find textural and tactile suiting, made in Savile Row, that takes well-established dress codes and plays with them a bit, combining fine wool suiting with punchy knitwear or Del Boy-style shearling overcoats.
link