Suits in Bournemouth: How to Buy One That Fits
Looking for suits in Bournemouth tends to start on a phone and end in a fitting room, and the short answer is worth having up front: buy where the jacket, the trousers and the waistcoat are in the same room and you can put all three on together. Almost everything that goes wrong with a suit is a fit problem, and a photograph cannot show you fit. We are on Seamoor Road in Westbourne, about ten minutes from the town centre. Everything in this guide is on the rails.
At a glance
- Judge the shoulder first. It is the one seam a tailor cannot easily move.
- A two piece covers most of the year. The waistcoat is what turns it into a wedding suit.
- Autumn rewards texture: corduroy, wool blends, a puppytooth check.
- Black tie has fewer rules than people fear, and they are worth following.
- Alterations need lead time. Buy earlier than feels necessary.
- Fit starts at the shoulder
- Two piece, three piece or separates
- Weddings, races and black tie
- Cloth for a British autumn
- Coming in to Westbourne
Fit starts at the shoulder
Stand square in the jacket and find the shoulder seam. It should land on the edge of your shoulder, not part way down your arm and not stopping short of the bone. That seam is the expensive one to move, which is why we look at it before anything else. Sleeves come up. Waists come in. Trouser hems are a twenty minute job. Get the shoulder right and the rest is admin.
- Shoulder seam sitting on the bone, with no dent or overhang
- A centimetre or so of shirt cuff showing below the sleeve
- Jacket long enough to cover the seat
- Room for a flat hand inside the buttoned jacket, no more
Most men come in expecting one size and leave in another. Chest measurements drift over the years, and off the peg sizing has moved as well, so the number you wore at your last wedding is a starting point rather than an answer. Try the size either side. It costs nothing and it settles the question in two minutes.
Two piece, three piece or separates
A navy or charcoal two piece does more work than any other thing in a man's wardrobe. It goes to the office, the funeral, the interview and the christening, and nobody ever notices it twice. If you own one suit, own that one. Our two piece suits sit in that territory deliberately.
The waistcoat changes the register. It is what makes a photograph look like a wedding rather than a Tuesday, and it gives you somewhere to go when the jacket comes off after the speeches. Buy the three pieces together where you can, because matching a waistcoat to a jacket months later is a fight you will lose on shade.
Separates are the honest option for anyone who wants the jacket more often than the suit. A textured blazer with different trousers reads as considered rather than formal, and it survives a dress code that says smart but means nothing of the kind. The blazer jackets get worn far more than their owners expect.
Weddings, races and black tie
Wedding guest dressing has loosened, and colour is where that shows most. Sage green, sky blue and a warm brown all photograph beautifully in daylight and none of them will date the album the way a novelty tie does. For a summer wedding or a race day, a lighter tone with the waistcoat left in reads correctly without any effort.
Black tie is stricter and simpler. A dinner jacket, a plain white dress shirt, a proper bow tie you tie yourself, black shoes with a shine on them. Velvet is allowed and always has been. Our dinner suits and tuxedos cover both the traditional black and the ones with a bit more in them.
- Wedding guest: colour is welcome, novelty is not
- Races: same as a wedding, with shoes you can stand in all day
- Black tie: dinner jacket, white dress shirt, self tie bow, black shoes
- Office: navy or charcoal, and a shirt that fits the collar properly
Cloth for a British autumn
Summer suiting is built to stay light and it shows the moment the weather turns. Autumn cloth has weight, and weight is what makes a jacket hang properly instead of creasing across the back by lunchtime. Corduroy has come back and deserves it. A wool blend with a check in it hides a long day. Puppytooth reads plain from across a room and interesting up close, which is a useful trick in a suit you will wear a lot.
Shoes settle the whole thing. Brown leather with green, brown or blue cloth. Black with charcoal, navy and black tie. Nothing in our footwear range is there to be looked at on its own, and a good pair outlasts two suits.
Coming in to Westbourne
No appointment needed. Come in, try things on, and take the advice or leave it. We keep the full range on the floor rather than in a stockroom, so you can see the jacket, the waistcoat and the trousers together in daylight, which is the only reliable way to judge a colour.
Alterations go out to a local tailor and come back inside a fortnight in normal weeks. For a wedding, give yourself a month. Groups are worth booking a quiet morning for, and a phone call first saves everyone standing around.
- 30 Seamoor Road, Westbourne, Bournemouth BH4 9AS
- Monday to Saturday, 10am to 5.30pm
- 01202 751008
Frequently asked questions
Where can I buy a suit in Bournemouth?
Baks is at 30 Seamoor Road in Westbourne, a few minutes west of Bournemouth town centre and walkable from the beach. We carry suits, blazers, waistcoats and separates on the shop floor rather than in a stockroom, so you can try a full three piece on in one visit and see the colours in daylight. The shop is open Monday to Saturday, 10am to 5.30pm, and no appointment is needed. If you are coming in for something specific, a call to 01202 751008 first means we can have your size waiting.
How do I know if a suit jacket fits?
Look at the shoulder seam before anything else. It should sit on the edge of your shoulder bone, with no dent above it and no overhang past it, because that is the one part a tailor cannot easily change. After that, check you can slide a flat hand inside the buttoned jacket, that about a centimetre of shirt cuff shows below the sleeve, and that the jacket covers your seat. Sleeve length, waist shaping and trouser hems are all straightforward alterations, so do not reject a jacket for those alone.
Do I need a three piece suit for a wedding?
No, but the waistcoat is what most people are picturing when they think of a wedding suit, and it does two useful things. It lifts a two piece into occasion territory in photographs, and it gives you somewhere to go when the jackets come off after the speeches. If you think you will want one, buy all three pieces at the same time. Matching a waistcoat to a jacket later is difficult, because shades vary between production runs even within the same style.
How long do suit alterations take?
Our alterations go to a local tailor and normally come back within a fortnight. That covers the usual work: shortening sleeves, taking in the waist, hemming trousers. For a wedding or anything with a fixed date, give yourself a month so there is room for a second fitting if the first one is close but not right. Groups take longer simply because there are more of you, so start earlier than one person would.
What colour suit should I buy first?
Navy or charcoal. Both work for the office, an interview, a funeral and a christening, and neither draws attention to itself, which is the point of a first suit. Once that one is in the wardrobe, the second can be more interesting: a green or brown corduroy for autumn, a lighter tone for summer weddings and race days, or a textured blazer that works with trousers you already own. Buy the plain one first and the interesting one will get worn more.
