Hickey freeman suits - Page 3

Pass it by. HF Limited is made for the Rack. Half-canvassed. Still made in Rochester, just not to the regular HF full-canvassed standards.

There is no such thing as a standard size. Even your own body is not perfectly proportioned on each side, so why would you think that a mass-produced garment intended for a pattern that doesn't exist in reality could fit better or even equally well as a garment that is tailored just for you. A made-to-measure suit, particularly one purchased from an American concern, is going to fit better than any OTR suit. That's not opinion that's fact.

Total crap.

I agree with you in principle. However, MTM is not necessarily the perfect choice either. I blew $2K on an MTM piece of shit before (I was in Paris for 2 weeks and got carried away with my spending).

Reality, if you cant find a good MTM tailor, then your probably better off with an OTR suit. A good MTM tailor - thats a different matter! Finding this good tailor is also another matter! OTR is convienient for the masses - is that not what our society is about? Convenience?

The Brooks Brothers Golden Fleece is roughly on par with a HF suit.

I think their suits are great quality and they can be had for quite cheap if you know where to look. You can usually find them for much less than Brooks and they are equal to, if not better than the Golden Fleece line, IMO. Outside of Oxxford, and English American, I don't think you will find better USA made suits than HF or BB GF's. I have a Vanguard line that I got off the B/S section, it is charcoal, 130's Loro Piana with a ticket pocket, and working cuffs, flat front pants and a fantastic overall fit. I only had to have the pants let out a touch and taken up a tad for "no break". The suit had never been worn and I had it for $300. I get more positive responses for that suit than any other I own. I actually had it on when I visited the HF store on Madison Ave and Richard (the manager) loved it, he told me it was one of the best HF's he has seen. If I died tomorrow, I would be buried in it. The Rack usually has a good amount if you catch it on the right time of year, I picked up a Madison glen plaid from there that was down to $750 with another 50% off that due to a clearance. Gilt also has HF on there at least 4 times a year, they always look like the Vanguard line as they are flat front and trimmer looking. They usually go for $300-$400ish on there and they are not the LTD line, which is the outlet brand (even still not a bad suit for $300 compared to what you see at retail "sales").

How are HF suits compared to Ralph lauren polo label ? (made in italy)

Quality of PRL may be a bit lower than HF (fused vs canvassed and so on). But PRL fit is awesome! and HF fit is rather boring...

To my untrained eye HF silhouette is almost similar to Canali - strong shoulders and not too slim. With the similar quality HF will be cheaper.

+1 Thanks! I had a feeling it was too good to be true.

You're right. I misspoke. What I meant to say was that 46L in HF Madison fits ME as if made for me. Other brands in an identical size fit differently.

HF has a variety of cuts.

Good to see this thread. In the past, on this bored, I have seen HF listed on various "best bargain" or "most underrated" lists, which I think sells them quite short. Having handled dozens of their products, I always felt they were very high quality and better than a lot of the stuff that is constantly hyped.

It is also interesting what jefferyd says about their new designer ... I have recently seen them make some VERY interesting (and slimmer cut) garments under the "Tailored Sport," "Sporty Look," "Tailored Look" and "Modern Madison" lines. The two "Platinum" line SC's I have listed for sale ( ) are borderline radical for HF. Stuff like that used to be confined to their Hickey line - which I also thought was VERY good. I know it's dissolved, but as I understand it, they will continue with similar product under a new name.

It seems that the company is working at evolving, without losing their roots and identity or settling.

FWIW, there are quite a number of new people at the company. The article mentions Joseph Abboud, but also Mike Cohen, former president of Oxxford and Doug Williams, former president of Polo Ralph Lauren. If nothing else one might infer that it is anything but same-old, same-old...

Very cool!