Fashion is big business in the UK. We all love looking our best and wearing the latest fashions, but with a bewildering array of fashion designers, outlets and retailers we should examine how the current fashions gets to the masses before spending our hard-earned pennies.

How should one go about purchasing high-end clothing? Which fashion shops will break the bank? This FAQ will aid in narrowing down your choice of retailer.

Women’s day wear is made to be comfortable but still fashionable, whereas evening wear is sophisticated and glamorous. For women there is also a distinct separate branch of fashion for lingerie, and there are many fashion shops that specialize in these garments. There are also niche markets for women such as sportswear, knitwear and outerwear.

Like women, men’s fashion can broadly be considered to be split into day wear and evening wear, and business attire/casual wear. Men’s clothing is arguably a smaller market than women’s, and is less varied in content. However, this has lead to a higher level of specialization in the quality of fashion garments which are available for men.

Men’s business wear and evening wear usually includes suits, and the making of these all-important garments have been honed to an art. Shoes and watches are also extremely important in men’s fashion, as men have a smaller range of accessories with which to make a statement.

Some large retailers sometimes offer a wide gamut of clothing, but in designs which are considered bland enough that they will have appeal to many consumers. The price can be low as the design process generally follows a ‘one-size-fits-all’ mentality, and uses cheaper manufacturing methods when possible. We can consider these to be mass-market.

Off-the-peg fashion shops currently dominate the UK market, and can run from supermarkets to high street fashion outlets that carefully choose each garment in their range to keep up with fashion. These garments are not specially fitted for each customer but will come in a range of sizes.

Similar to off-the-peg clothing, ready-to-wear clothing comes in a number of sizes but tends to also be well-tailored for a specific body type. These clothes will be a good fit and a possible bargain if you can find garments that closely match your body size and type.

To truly get a great fit and the latest fashions, one needs to seek out fitted clothing. This clothing will be specially fitted for your body size. This is commonly known as bespoke clothing for men and haute-couture for women.

Even within custom tailoring, there are many specializations. Semi-bespoke tailoring means the tailor will alter a suit to your exact size, whereas full-bespoke tailoring will see your garment being made from scratch to your exact measurements.