Quote:
Originally Posted by
Bull 
A few of you have asked me why I reserve such vitriol for Gilt.
Simple: they sell utter shit misrepresented as high-quality shit. An anecdote should suffice to illustrate their trickery and shady market practices.
Not long ago, I purchased a navy 2B Zegna blazer from Gilt. It was priced in the $500s, marked down from "$1650" or some such made-up, invented number.
The coat arrived, and it was fine. But plainly not up to Zegna mainline snuff. Shoulder padding was heavy and somewhat vulgar. Canvass was stiff. Handwork was at a bare, bare minimum - embarassing, I'd say, for a Zegna mainline garment.
I swung by Barneys to take a look at THEIR navy 2B blazers, and was utterly disappointed. The shoulder was graceful, soft, and pick-stitched all around in thread of the same, exact color so as not to seem ostentaious, but provided a wonderful effect that my coat did not have. Shoulders were also padded more lightly, and did not "stick out" (thereby providing the dreaded "dimple effect").
The roll to the lapel did not compare - on the Barneys Zegna blazer, I saw a soft, graceful roll - not quite like a Kiton but not as stiff as a Brioni - somewhere in between.
The cut on the Barneys Zegna was far more flattering. It hung slightly looser in exactly the right places. My Gilt Zegna blazer was "slim cut" - so it still fits fine as a 38S, but I have little room to navigate. I've come to appreciate this sort of a "Matador" fit (lol), but it's not for everyone, and I can imagine they got quite a few returns.
Insult was added to injury a mere couple weeks later when a whole size run was sold in the $200s. Yes you read that correctly. How on earth could a garment that was supposed to sell "originally" for the $1600s end up at this price point? Simple: it didn't. These coats were made for Gilt, for a price point in the $500s (for idiots like me who thought they were snagging a nifty value.)
All of this would be fine if the relevant disclaimers were provided: (1) NOT Zegna mainline quality, (2) NOT traditional Zegna fit, (3) ETC ETC. No such disclaimers were provided. I was led to believe in every respect that I was getting a Zegna mainline garment along the lines of what they produce for Neiman's/Sak's/Barneys/etc.
That is decidedly NOT what I got.
To quote Will, "lesson learned..."
wow. so you have derived your sweeping conclusion from a) one article, and b) over aesthetic choices that were made by Zegna rather than Gilt?
did gilt advertise that it was mainline? even if it did, how do you know it wasn't? are you aware that brands do change their specs? for example, armani collezioni sometimes makes fused suits, sometimes they don't. shoulder padding varies over time and by model. i could go on. how do you know that your blazer wasn't one of Zegna's more old-school cuts? or that it was an unsuccessful model for some of the stylistic reasons you mention, thereby explaining why it ended up getting dumped on gilt in the first place?
and how do you know that zegna made it specially for gilt? gilt deals primarily in low-volume remainders -- especially as far as the european luxury brands are concerned. i think it is highly unlikely, bordering on absurd, that they would commission zegna to make a small number of unfashionably-cut blazers, especially given that the overall profile of the stuff they sell is clearly leaning towards the young, trendy buyer. surely they know their customers a bit better.
and BTW, i don't think $1500-ish for a zegna canvassed blazer is absurd. have you checked zegna's pricing recently? whether or not it flatters your body is hardly relevant and i doubt zegna factored that consideration into their list pricing. maybe they designed it for a middle-aged body that needs stronger shoulders. maybe some buyers don't like a light canvas.
i have no illusions about gilt either. all they do is provide arbitrage between leftover trickles of luxury or pseudo-luxury goods from various sources and buyers that otherwise have limited access to them. everyone wins, and gilt makes a pile of money. sometimes their stuff is great, sometimes it is merely okay / meh. i recognize the value of the service they provide but am a lukewarm fan at best.
but this reaction is so ridiculously over-the-top (and more importantly, based on ONE experience and around issues that originate with the manufacturer?!) that i don't even know where to begin.
dude, i think you need to drink more decaf and unclench. and worry a bit less about jumping so energetically on the "gilt sucks" SF bandwagon. or at least, do so with a better reasoned case.
