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Off-the-rack, different "designer", same suit

nexus

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I ran into this just the other day and was curious about it so I thought I'd post about it here.

I was looking at a couple of off the rack suits the other day. One, from Calvin Klein and the other a Michael Kors. Nice enough suits in that boxy, off the rack sort of way. But on closer inspection, they are IDENTICAL SUITS. Different pattern, but every detail is identical, from cut to button choice to stitching. Even the little lot number on the size tag in the inside jacket pocket is the same. Made in China, unsurprisingly.

It appears that chinese manufacturers are just wholesaling suits, and labels are sweeping in, buying them up and slapping their own brand plate on the inside.

Is this common or is it a new thing??
 

amplifiedheat

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Well, I remember hearing that most rental tuxedos, regardless of brand, were made by one company. I also remember seeing some pretty shocking figures on cost versus MSRP. This wouldn't surprise me.
 

Ianiceman

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Originally Posted by nexus
I ran into this just the other day and was curious about it so I thought I'd post about it here.

I was looking at a couple of off the rack suits the other day. One, from Calvin Klein and the other a Michael Kors. Nice enough suits in that boxy, off the rack sort of way. But on closer inspection, they are IDENTICAL SUITS. Different pattern, but every detail is identical, from cut to button choice to stitching. Even the little lot number on the size tag in the inside jacket pocket is the same. Made in China, unsurprisingly.

It appears that chinese manufacturers are just wholesaling suits, and labels are sweeping in, buying them up and slapping their own brand plate on the inside.

Is this common or is it a new thing??


I've always believed this to be the case for most 'designer' (I hate that word) clothes. Knocked up in the same sweat shops as the stuff you get in Target. Does anyone really believe that Lauren, Boss, Armani et al are personally designing every suit that shows up in the store? For what you pay for high end 'designer' suits that might not fit you well, you could have one made bespoke.
 

Rick's Tailoring

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yes, both those suits are made by peerless. I am sure if you search this website you will find a solid amount of disdain for these wretchedly made garments.
 

KingOfTheForum

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It's sort of how bottles are made in the same shape and design, but companies slap different labels on them....You're quite the investigator.
 

KingOfTheForum

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Originally Posted by Ianiceman
I've always believed this to be the case for most 'designer' (I hate that word) clothes. Knocked up in the same sweat shops as the stuff you get in Target. Does anyone really believe that Lauren, Boss, Armani et al are personally designing every suit that shows up in the store? For what you pay for high end 'designer' suits that might not fit you well, you could have one made bespoke.

Exactly my sentiment. For LESS than those expensive brand products, I can have a bespoke created.
 

nexus

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Originally Posted by Rick's Tailoring
yes, both those suits are made by peerless. I am sure if you search this website you will find a solid amount of disdain for these wretchedly made garments.

Isn't Peerless is from Quebec? These are made in China.

Still, same thing.

The suits themselves don't look that bad, though they are fused. The issue I have with them isn't just that I find this brand licensing misleading, but also the pricing. The CK suit was $500, Michael Kors was $600. I'm in Canada btw. Same suit, different prices. And I can't believe the markup just for the brand name - I bet these suits are sold as store brands in different shops as well for half that price - which is really what they are worth.
 

nexus

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Originally Posted by KingOfTheForum
It's sort of how bottles are made in the same shape and design, but companies slap different labels on them....You're quite the investigator.

Entirely different.

Bottles are mere containers. I am paying for the product inside the bottle, which is indicated by the label outside.

Here, unwary consumers are purchasing something based on a label.

Its more like if Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola, RC Cola and No-Name cola all purchased their cola from the same factory, and slapped their own labels on it and sold it for different prices.
 

KingOfTheForum

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Originally Posted by nexus
Entirely different.

Bottles are mere containers. I am paying for the product inside the bottle, which is indicated by the label outside.

Here, unwary consumers are purchasing something based on a label.

Its more like if Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola, RC Cola and No-Name cola all purchased their cola from the same factory, and slapped their own labels on it and sold it for different prices.



Nah. It's the same.
 

Nataku

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Originally Posted by KingOfTheForum
Nah. It's the same.


......
plain.gif
 

francisl

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I didn't realise this about Calvin Klein, I saw some of their new suits and quite liked them.
 

nexus

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Originally Posted by francisl
I didn't realise this about Calvin Klein, I saw some of their new suits and quite liked them.

Keep in mind that Calvin Klein appears to have a pretty broad range of products.

These suits were pretty nice looking on the rack which is what attracted me to it in the first place.

It fit pretty well, shoulders are perfect, length is just right. It would need $100 of tailoring work to make it look good - it suffers from the usual problem of low to mid range RTW suits in that they are way too boxy in the waist. When the in-store tailor pinned it up on me it looked downright sharp. The problem is exactly that, though - if you have to spend $100 on alterations on a suit that is already $600, you're looking at like $850 after tax.

If it were half that price, it'd still be pushing the limits of what I would want to spend on a RTW suit.
 

amplifiedheat

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"Conglomerate" is a particularly ugly word.
 

hermes man

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Originally Posted by Ianiceman
I've always believed this to be the case for most 'designer' (I hate that word) clothes. Knocked up in the same sweat shops as the stuff you get in Target. Does anyone really believe that Lauren, Boss, Armani et al are personally designing every suit that shows up in the store? For what you pay for high end 'designer' suits that might not fit you well, you could have one made bespoke.

emporio armani (EA) suit goes for 1.2k$us-1.6k$us

all made in italy

giorgio armani(GA) all made in italy cost around 2.5k$us,3k$us+

of course made in italy too but maybe different higher end firm than EA

armani jeans (AJ) yes mostly made in china

imo the only the designer truly design are the one that comes out in the runway (thats why they are alot more expensive

example in last spring summer 2010 prada ... a runway jacket cost 3k$us whereas a complete suits only cost around 2.5k$us..

and in emporio armani like long sleeves t-shirt cost around 200$us+- but the one in S/S 2010 runway one cost around 400$us , also i noticed in AJ and EA made in china stuffs cost almost half less than the stuffs made in Italy
 

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