Work requires expensive tailored clothes

[PriscillaPartridge]

I work at a very traditional law firm. I earn very little compared to the partners who impose this policy. Work clothes must be of good quality fabrics and preferably fitted by a tailor/adjusted to fit. I asked if M&S was ok, but was directed to more suitable brands such… some places are £300 a skirt. Any ideas on where to shop for expensive looking but not big ££ clothes?

When you decide if you like the outfit and it is suitable cut the labels out.

I've worked in law firms for years -
and in some pretty big ones - and have never come across this at all.

Back in the day it was a bit "edgy" wearing a trouser suit and then going to business
casual but I have never heard any law
firm do this!

I'm afraid I just don't believe this. How can they insist that you have your clothes tailored to fit when virtually nobody does this and especially not someone on a relatively low salary?

Massimo Dutti

This is crazy. I've worked at some of the most highly regarded law firms in London and never heard of anything like this. I was a partner for seven years and never spent anything like £300 on a work skirt.

It has to be Vardags....

OP this sounds absolutely beyond bizarre and this is my industry. It's surely not a binding term of your employment contract and unless they're willing to pay for your wardrobe they can get fucked. Whoever told you this might be trying to make sure you don't dress too casually in the office (which has been the trend across the city since lockdown) in the most unhelpful and extreme way. Just do what the rest of us do and try to be a savvy shopper within your budget; mix and match high street labels, remember good quality accessories and cardigans can make a big difference and take advantage of sales.

they cant enforce this and they know this-if they want you to wear a certain brand they pay for it

Have they ever commented on your or another persons clothing - saying it’s not expensive enough?

My cousin was a barrister and that's very conservative. No way was she spending £300 on skirts - more like £30. M&S is fine if you get something plain. It's the blazer where you want to spend if you want an investment piece, but even that you can get at a reasonable price.

Bonkers. You can do all of the things suggested by pp but my main concern would be what this says about the broader culture.

And I say this as someone who loves an expensive suit… but only when I have proactively decided to (over) spend my own money on it.

Good leather handbag is a must.

Is it? Do people really notice this kind of thing?

I don't.

Why ? I work in the same profession and most companies no longer has similar rules . Never even ages ago when I started has anyone demanded tailored office clothes

This sounds like a slightly nuts policy however if true, Vinted for Hobbs, LK Bennett and perhaps Massimo Dutti. You can pick things up very cheaply indeed and just stick them back on if they don't suit.

As an aside, I just googled Vardags (I work in pharma so not my area!) - fascinating!

Can't you just buy a nice suit that you can afford?

Would they tell you - "Your clothes are not expensive enough. I will send you home."

???

This sounds bonkers but if you have to play thr game I agree that fit is huge. You'll be better off shopping around to find the brands that fit you really well, or buying decent quality second hand and then spending a bit more on having it tweaked to your measurements. Something really well fitting will look better than spending 100s on something that doesn't quite fit right. For tops/jackets it's usually best to pick something that fits your shoulders well as that's more time consuming to alter (unless you have a big bust in which it might not be possible to go that way!).

TheRealReal is American so you have to pay shipping, but the prices are just insane and if you sign up to the website you get discount codes and sometimes free shipping. I sound like an add for them, but genuinely half my clothes come from there.

You can pay hundreds of pounds for an item of clothing snd it could still be made out of horrible synthetic fabrics and be a terrible fit and badly put togther. Better to get something OK quality and have it tweaked, though I agree with pp that if the company insists in high end tailoring, they need to pay for it.

I am SO invested in finding out what company this is... But agree with pps the trick is finding something that fits you like a glove, it doesn't have to be ££££.

I work for a Top 20 firm and nobody wears this to the office any more - not even our managing partner. Only court warrants anything tailored these days.

It’s jeans, trainers and whatever else you fancy. People have even been wearing shorts today - and the world didn’t stop turning because we saw some knees 😉

I don’t know the answer to your question because Hobbs was the most I would spend on workwear pre-Covid and the move to ditching formal work clothes.

Genuinely aghast at such a weird policy.

I've worked in a few law firms and have never heard of this sort of thing!
OP how can they know where your clothes come from?

You d completely ignore that directive. Smart is good enough!

If they want specific brands, tell them you want a clothing allowance. Otherwise, just buy what you want, that is office appropriate. What are they going to do, realistically?

Not sure I agree, the female partners I knew had 3 or 4 suits that they rotated, it wasn't a different outfit every day.

Vented, depop, eBay, designer outlet stores, tk maxx

charity shops in posh areas or online

or cheap but unlikely to be recognised brands eg George rather than M and S (can guarantee your snobby employer would never venture into Asda 😂)

and yes as pps say, find a local seamstress to tidy them up - it’s good fit that makes a difference

I used to work in a similar environment and they loved silk blouses or pure wool or cashmere jumpers and tartan style skirts in muted shades. Good leather handbag, polished leather shoes. Skirt suits that are tailor fitted with silk blouses. I used to wear a string of pearls that went down well. You can get these on eBay. Choose the old cream looking ones, or a double string with knots between each pearl rather than newer looking ones. Small discrete earrings too.