Rocking a New Suit, with Roco Clothing

We had a very important event to attend, which required new outfits for everyone. This is something that doesn't happen every day, the graduation ceremony for my daughter's BSC Hons degree in computing and I intended to do it right. Which meant the boy needed a new suit. I had no idea where to start with this, I haven't bought a lot of suits in my time, especially not for small people, but Roco Clothing offered to send us a complete suit from their range, for free, in order to show us how much choice and style is actually available for boys. We chose the Navy and Navy Check Waistcoat set and this is a review of the product and service.

Roco Clothing specialise in formal wear for girls and boys up to the age of 16. The website contains everything you could possibly need to dress a child for a formal occasion, including suits and dresses, shoes, accessories and babywear. It's brilliant to have everything in one place and we had a lot of fun choosing the perfect suit. The suit range includes christening and page boy suits, morning suits and tuxedos, as well as less formal 3 and 5 piece suits. I was impressed by the wide variety of styles, which is particularly important for older children, as they usually have a firm idea of what they will and won't wear.

L Chose a 5 piece suit, which consisted of a jacket, trousers, waistcoat, shirt and tie. I feel I should mention at this point that L comes from a family of spectacularly short-armed men. Imagine a whole tribe of slightly more intelligent T Rexes. This is the reason why you can't see much of his hands in the photos, so it's important to bear in mind that if you have averagely-armed males in your family, it's likely the arm length of the jacket will be much more appropriate and less hand-hiding that it is in these pictures!

I was very impressed with the quality of the items supplied. The shirt didn't need much ironing, and the standard of stitching on the garments was excellent. I've got so used to having to reinforce the buttons on new clothing, that it made a pleasant change to not be faced with hanging threads and dodgy needlework. The false pockets looked the part, and stayed neat and tidy throughout the day, as there was no way to cram anything in there. The tie was a clip on one, attached to a length of elastic, which went around the neck. The tie and waistcoat provided a lovely contrast to finish the outfit.

The only slight issue we had, was that the trousers were a very generous fit. They had helpful elastic adjusters in the waistband, but we had to pull them in so much, they became much less comfortable to wear. L has had a bit of a growth spurt, so he might be a bit on the skinnier side for a 12 year old, but I think if I was going to order again, I would go for a size smaller, as there was plenty of leg length too.

Which leads me nicely on to the shoes. These lace-up black formal shoes are by Paisley of London and available in sizes Infant 8 to Youth 6. L is a size 4 and they fitted perfectly. They are quite long in the front, but they were still comfortable to wear and didn't slip off at all. The leather was incredibly soft, which I think reflected the quality of the shoe. The shoes are available in black matt, black patent, brown or white,

Overall, we were very impressed with the quality and fit of the suit and shoes. L is 12 and a half, so I picked aged 13 for the suit, but I think age 12 would have been better, but the cut was perfect and he was comfortable on the day, apart from the slight issue with the trousers. There is also plenty of growing room, which is great. Most importantly, L loved the suit and was happy to wear it, which is definitely the deciding factor when it comes to almost teenage boys!