Help! DH's new job needs a new wardrobe!

[ArtyFartyQueen]

DH starts a new job next Monday so we are going shopping over the next few days. He's gone from being smart casual, I.e smart jeans and casual shirts to needing to wear business wear i.e suits every day.

Does anyone have any advice for how many suits/shirts etc he should need, how often he would need to dry clean them and any ideas of places he can go? Were going to an outlet shopping centre tomorrow to have a look!

Any advice much appreciated!

My DH used to get his suits from Slaters. They always had a good selection and also do shirts and ties. He could start with just one suit but two would be better and enough shirts for a week. No one needs to be ironing shirts mid week! A few ties and nice plain pair of black shoes and he is sorted. My DH doesn't get his dry cleaned too often as it can make them go a bit shiny however he isn't a very sweaty person so they don't seem to get dirty.

M & S use to do machine washable suits! & make sure shirts are non ironing type - I reckon 2 suits or some places do 2 trousers one jacket

Burtons & Matalan for cheaper end to start with - worth a look as they often have different qualities

My dh gets everything from Charles Tywitt or whatever it’s called. One stop shopping.

charles tyrwitt have a sale they are really good quality shirts will wash and wash but do need ironing lots reduced to £19.95 also a multibuy offer my father buys from there all the time classic business stuff also sell the ties
I reckon 1 suit in grey or navy to start with and 5 shirts and 3 ties polishable black shoes preferably lace ups blue/grey/black socks
as someone said above too much cleaning not good for suits, make sure suit fits well

Thanks all - machine washable suits might be the way forward!

Let's see what we can get in the outlet centre tomorrow!

Always get two trousers to every jacket. They wear more. I'd say they need dry cleaning after a couple of weeks if they can be rotated. (They can be hung outside to air in the interim if you can) Go for at least a weeks worth of shirts, they only do one wear. It might be helpful to stick to one or two colours to start as it means everything can be mixed and matched.

Depending on his role washable suits can look a bit cheap (they tend to be a bit shiny) sorry.

Charles Tyrwitt or however it is spelt has always been a winner here. Next & M&S for high street options.

None iron shirts seem to be sweatier and not breathable according to DP so we go for shirts that need ironing - but they go to the dry cleaners 20 at a time 😂 very cheap centrally ( London)

I would say go to M&S first for a dark grey, or navy suit for now. Buy a selection of shirts and ties and then see what everyone else is wearing once he starts and take it from there. Different depts tend to have their own styles.
Most men will of course take their jackets off at work anyway whilst sitting at their desks and walking around.
Do not of course buy a black suit.

When my husband had to wear a suit and tie every day he would have them cleaned 10/15 a time at a wash and iron service in central London. They kept crease free all day which as he had lots of client dinners in the evenings was good. I think he had a couple of navy suits which he’d probably got dry cleaned in rotation.

M&S machine washable & yes 1x jacket = 2 x trousers. Get 2 jackets diff colours & 4 trousers in sales

Go to a large M&S and try the different suit cuts. Get 3 suits.
Buy at least 5 shirts (to last a week), the ‘non iron’ type from T M Lewin.
Get ties and cufflinks while you’re there too.
Black simple lace up shoes from Clarks or Russel & Bromley.
Wishing your DH good luck!

M&S here, one stop shop! Two suits is perfect but initially one jacket and two pairs of trousers is fine plus 5 shirts (unless you want to wash midweek), and a couple of ties or course. A pair of shoes that can be shined is also needed. Once he's started he can get a measure of what people actually wear and can purchase another suit or jacket and trousers combos as required.

Thank you all for your brilliant advice!

when my son bought a suit from M&S the lovely man suggested that he had 2 sets of trousers with the 1 jacket. this proved really helpful as he used the trousers much more and they wore out more quickly/needed washing more often