Burton Suits

Burton suits have a long history in British menswear, some good some bad.

As a English department store brand, its had its ups and downs. It was first founded at the turn of the century. For many years, they were the most popular suitmaker in Britain. After the war, they had stores blanketing England. They still sell quite a bit. I believe only Marks and Spencer group now sells more. For a long time it was a style and pricepoint for the average bloke. For most of the years between its founding and 1980 the quality was surprisingly good. In the 1960s, they had a much larger committment to tailoring and measuring, even making them made to measure. However, it seems around 1980 that it faded away a little.

Now they are known as the bargain basement suit maker. They'll regularly have styles priced at 79 pounds. They have also pushed their designs to cater to more of a younger crowd. They offer your basic selection of black and greys, with a slimmer cut geared toward a youth athletic fit.

The styles from the 50s and 60s though are still very popular as vintage wear. They had a bunch of styles and designs to choose from.

An interesting note on these. Montague Burton, the founder of the stores, was ordered to issue suits to English soldiers who were decommissioned after WWII. He provided a three piece gettup with a suitcoat instead of the traditional two-piece. Since then, the term "full monty" came into existence and is still in use today.

Lately, they've brought in some other designers to release exclusive lines. Marc Ecko was one of the latest additions.