Nothing here yet.
I spent years thinking this whole area was a con, basically. Grey suits for men who wanted to look rich without saying so, or plain jumpers that cost more than they had any right to for the amount of actual stitching involved. What changed my mind was handling a decent merino crew next to a supermarket one and realising the difference wasn't branding, it was the yarn, and you could feel it in about two seconds.
If you've got nothing in this space yet, start with one good knit and a shirt in a heavier cotton, not the thinnest one on the rail. The knit does the most work because it covers you in meetings, on trains, under a coat, and it looks deliberate without looking like you tried. Go fine gauge, proper wool or a wool and silk mix, in navy or a dark grey rather than anything with a pattern, because the whole point of this stuff is that it should look quiet from across a room and only reward someone who gets close enough to touch it. The shirt matters more than people expect, a decent two fold cotton holds its shape through a full day of sitting at a desk and getting up for coffee, where the cheap stuff goes baggy at the elbow by lunchtime.
Care is where a lot of this gets ruined before it's even had a chance. Hand wash or a cold wool cycle for the knitwear, always, tumble drying a merino jumper once will teach you that lesson permanently, mine came out looking like it belonged to a much smaller man. Shirts want ironing while slightly damp if you can be bothered, and a wool suit or trouser needs brushing and hanging rather than being balled into a bag, though I'll admit mine has survived a crumpled weekend bag more times than it should have and come back fine after a steam. After a season of proper wear a good knit softens rather than pills, the shoulders of a well made jacket settle into you instead of fighting you, and the collar on a solid shirt keeps its shape wash after wash where a weaker one goes floppy by autumn.
This stuff suits the bulk of the working year, autumn through to early spring especially, when a fine knit under a coat does more for you than a heavy jumper ever could, and it carries into smart weekend wear without looking like office leftovers. Over a year or two the good pieces get softer, fade slightly in a way that looks earned rather than tired, and start fitting you more like they know you.
Nothing here yet.