The first suit I ever owned (aside from the navy polyester monstrosity I wore to my cousins wedding when I was 14) was from Marks & Spencer. My father bought it for me to wear to interviews during Sixth Form. It was a charcoal two-button number that he purchased from the flagship Marble Arch store during the January sales for an eye-watering amount to my teenage mind.
I remember trying it on in the fitting rooms next to an old man who looked like he had a microphone draped around his neck. He nodded sagely at me as he inspected my new suit and muttered “Good shoulders on this young man.” I felt old and horrifyingly adult all at once. That suit saw me through sixth form interviews, university interviews, and even my first internship before literally falling apart after a wild night out somewhere during year two at Manchester.
But it taught me an appreciation for Marks & Spencer that stuck with me. Even as I slowly replaced that stalwart suit with items from ever more trendy (read: annoying to me now) brands my collection of clothes still has a bedrock of M&S.
The reason M&S endures, despite becoming somewhat of a middle aged man joke over the last few years is quite simple: everybody owns something from there.
It’s shorthand for boring your mother, but my romance with grey mid-weight technical wool trousers continues despite how uncool they apparently are because theyre amazing. I’ve been to enough industry conferences to notice that when off-duty almost every stylish “I-only-shop-at-Custom-Housewares-for-pants” stylist will quietly inform you that “actually, my trousers are all M&S.” (Hi Jackets team, you know you love them) Within M&S universe Collection is their premium line. It’s their best clothes that sit a little above their core lines but below their now defunct Autograph line. (Can we please have a minute of silence for Autograph.
It wasn’t great but it was a bloody solid premium line) The question of course is do Collection really live up to the inflated pricing and if there are enough gems there to justify looking past everything else. Having shamefully browsed M&S more than enough in the years I’ve spent surreptitiously price checking their clothes whilst reviewing brands I can’t actually afford I’m going to breakdown what you should and shouldn’t buy from Collection. Knitwear is, hands down, where Collection really shine.
I still have a grey cashmere crew neck I picked up for £99 about four years ago that has easily outlasted similar sweaters from places charging triple the price. Why? Volume.
They sell enough cashmere that they can both keep quality high and prices relatively low. Collection cashmere also knits tighter than standard M&S do. The cuffs and collar ribbing is noticeably better quality and doesn’t stretch out after wearing them a couple of times.
Color wise they default mainly to navy, grey, black, or occasionally burgundy. Basically anything but bright red, you want these basics to last. The stalwart M&S navy merino roll-neck is a medium weight that you can layer under coats but is still plenty heavy enough to throw on on its own.
It’s sold year round in their standard range but I prefer the fit of the Collection one. It has a nicer mid-weight feel that the standard range doesn’t always nail. I’ve sent so many people to buy this sweater based on my recommendation that come October I get about five texts from people who know I have extensive pants telling me “I need to dress smartish for winter but don’t want to spend loads.
What should I get?” At around the £40 mark it’s almost twice the price of their standard merinos but worth the extra for better shoulders and longevity. Collection shirts are a little bit of a mixed bag. Fabric quality is definitely better across the board but especially with their textured weaves.
Think herringbones, chelsea cottons, or their dobby weaves. The thread count on Collection formal shirts is typically higher which means the shirts have a nicer hand and hang better. The fit however fluctuates wildly season to season so I always find myself having to try them on in-store.
Standard slim is generously cut (unlike their other ranges slim often seems to mean squeeze-me-until-i-can’t-breath-if-you’ve-worked-out-in-the-last-decade slim) and their standard fit is so baggy it’s verging on sack-style. That being said their white twill shirt with the subtle sheen is a legitimately great buy at £45. It’s a semi-slick fabric that has barely-there self-striping that gives it a nice depth without making you look like a backstreet Boy band member.
The collar holds its shape really well after repeated wears and washes too. I’ve had mine almost daily for the last two years and still feels like it can hold its own in client meetings. Wools are where Collection really step up their game.
They do a camel wool overcoat every year that they tweak the cut of just enough to justify the renewal. This season’s is a Crombie inspired number that manages to look a lot more expensive than the £150 price tag. The wool blend is high enough in actual wool content (usually around 70-80%) to drape really well but the synthetics help make it more durable than a pure wool coat would be in London’s filthy weather.
Internal finishing on the seams is also almost on par with coats triple the price. Bound seam edges and a thick durable lining mean you won’t get the same balding at the elbow pit immediately. Mac wise they step it up too.
Collection mac has better waterproofing and nicer hardware than the standard issue M&S raincoat. They do a seasonal navy double-breasted number with welted pockets rather than the flapped pockets on the standard versions. Actual bonus points for a collar that stays popped when you do it too, half these things disappointingly unpop immediately after you do so.
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The better hardware and waterproofing means you can actually wear this outside of cities that get approximately four weeks of rain a year. Trousers are honestly where I struggle to see the Collection worth across the entire range. Yes, they generally use higher wools for winter weights and better cottons for summer trousers but the cut is still just bland.
They don’t feel distinctly traditional or modern cutting somewhere unfortunate in the middle. The exception to this is their Collection formal trousers that utilize a half- canvas construction. When they go for classics they knock them out of the park.
I have a pair of charcoal trousers with subtle tape detailing down the outseam that are the perfect work trouser. The unsung hero here has to be their leather goods. Their rotation of leather portfolios, document holders, and wash bags are constantly surprising me with the quality of full-grain leather they utilize at these prices.
I picked up a tan leather card holder about three years ago that now has such a nice patina people comment on it like it’s vintage Connolly. It isn’t, but I’ll accept the compliment. After years of being crushed in my jacket pockets the stitching has held up and the leather has only gotten better with age.
Rare for something this affordable. Don’t sleep on their belts either, Collection formal belts use a nicer leather with finishing at edge you usually don’t see until you’re paying £70+ for another brand. They won’t touch some of the specialist leather goods companies out there but as a gateway into owning a decent quality belt they’re fantastic.
Suits. Where we begin. Collection suiting has stayed relatively consistent in terms of quality which is impressive for the price bracket they sit in.
The biggest difference you’ll notice when you move into Collection is the half canvas construction used in their suits. Instead of being fully fused like you’ll find in the standard range they use half canvas which instantly makes them feel better on your body. They do a navy birdseye suit that rotates through slightly altered cuts every year.
It is without a doubt the best “first proper interview suit” you can buy on the high street. It retails at around £199 but the natural shoulder line and minimally padded chest somehow moulds to your body over time rather than stubbornly refusing to. The one thing they continually get wrong (and this is something I find across both their main and Collection lines) are shirt collars.
They either flare out far too much or just collapse sadly down your shoulders as the day goes on. It’s a shame as the actual shirt fits are usually great but I find myself hesitating when I recommend people pick up their shirts. Their foray a few years back into a cashmere collaboration with Scottish mill Johnstons of Elgin was a masterstroke.
The quality of cashmere was leaps and bounds above your standard M&S offering and while not cheap still felt like real value for money. Seriously try and dig some of these up second hand, they’re worth it. The thing to remember about M&S Collection is that they budget for you to never buy full price.
Because they know you’re going to wait for that sale everything is priced with fairly hefty mark-ups. Wait for the end of season sales where they’ll slash prices by up to 50% and you’ll feel like you’ve somehow outsmarted the system.
I’ve got a ridiculous email notification for when their collections go half price.
Marks & Spencer have stayed reliable because they’ve refused to dip their quality below a certain level. Other high street staples like NEXT and Jigsaw have been slowly reducing their quality over the years but M&S know their customers would notice and be up in arms. Which I suppose is why Collection exist, they’re for the customers who love M&S but want something that feels like a smidge upmarket.
What to buy? 100% cashmere and merino knitwear. Without a doubt.
Even at full price their coats, particularly wool coats and macs are excellent value. Leather goods are always a great place to shop for gifts that will look WAY more expensive than they are. Suits are great for building out a work wardrobe, particularly in standard cuts and colours.
What to avoid? Pretty much all of their t-shirts and casual basics. Obviously any item that’s particularly on trend as those probably won’t last you more than a year or two.
And almost all of their shoes, frustratingly even Collection justify the markup poorly when it comes to footwear.
