Suit rankings (opinions wanted)

Since apparently there are rankings for English shoes fairly often on here and Ask Andy, I thought it may be interesting to see how people ranked RTW canvassed suitings. From what I have gathered, it seems to be something like this, but feel free to provide input and your own opinions.

Top Tier:
Kiton
Attolini
Borrelli
Barbera Satoriale
Oxxford
Brioni?
St Andrew?

Second Tier:
D'Avenza
Isaia
Belvest
Castangia?
RLPL (Chester Barrie)?

Third Tier:
Corneliani
Canali
Zegna
Hickey-Freeman (Burberry London)

Does this tier system make sense? or am I totally off?

Borrelli suits would seem to me to belong in the second tier. Also, I would put at least Zegna Napoli from the third tier to second. I would add Armani to the third tier.

Drizz, Here is prior thread with lots of discussion on suit quality rankings http://<a href="http://www.styleforu......nd+rank</a> August 2003, "Best Quality", including Classy Freddy (if the link is bad)

Borrelli suits would seem to me to belong in the second tier.  Also, I would put at least Zegna Napoli from the third tier to second.  I would add Armani to the third tier.

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Borrelli suits are every bit as well made as Kiton and Borrelli. Depending on what fabric one gets with Borrelli, they are every bit in the top tier, whatever your criteria is.

Yes, they are $2000 USD less expensive than Kiton and Brioni, but that premium one is paying for Kiton and Brioni is largely due to brand equity and brand premium.

According to what I have read, Borrelli has hand work just as much as Attolini, so Borrelli can be rank with big boys.

According to what I have read, Borrelli has hand work just as much as Attolini, so Borrelli can be rank with big boys.

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http://www.styleforum.net/cgi-bin....li+suit koji

I have a Zegna Napoli Couture from Wilkes Bashford that is every bit as good, if not better, than my Brioni. I have heard rumors that the Zegna Napoli line has changed recently and isn't as good, but this suit is from last year and I would definitely put it up against the other top tier makers (though I don't own Kiton, Attolini or Borrelli at this point).

If you are going to put St. Andrew's, Barbera and Brioni in the top tier, then D'Avenza and Castangia belong there as well.

When I compared my Borrelli pants (over a dozen pairs) with comparable Kiton pants, there are clear differences. A light blue cotton/cashmere Kiton pant had hand sewn button holes and hand finishing at pockets, etc. A light blue Borrelli cotton pant had no hand sewing that I could see. I wear and enjoy both--however, the Kiton looks and feels a notch or two better. Individual miles per gallon and opinions may vary.

True, Kiton does have more handwork on their pants than just about anyone (though some Borrelli pants have a lot of handwork too.) But when rating tailoring company, the focus is really on the jacket, as to most of them, especially Italian firms, the pants are little more than an afterthought.

I think we went through this discussion? When it comes to this high end and quality suits .. Styling and personal taste only matters since all of mentioned houses make fine suit.

I read through the original thread, which was certainly enlightening, I guess my primary purpose for making this thread was to find out what people thought were the chief differences between each tier, and how many there should be. What are the main differences between say, a Brioni, a Belvest, and an Oxxford, beyond the amount of handwork, and of course, the fabrics?

One thing that these sort of discussions miss is comfort and construction. The emphasis is on handwork, which I am not sure that I can even identify, an issue for real industry people and connoisseurs, instead of issues that the normal person encounters every day, like shoulder comfort, durability of construction, and quality of fabric.

Most of my jackets and suits are new, so I do not know how they will age. But the most comfortable shoulders are my Borrelli and then the D'Avenzas, both of which feel like wearing sweaters. My Centofanti bespoke jacket's shoulders are stiff by comparison because of the style, but he fixed that problem on my jacket he is making now. My Boss casual jacket's fabric looks dull and lifeless compared to the other jackets I have (D'Avenza, Isaia, Borrelli, Canstangia). One amusing point: my least favorite jacket (not counting the Boss, which was meant to go with jeans), is the Canstangia, but Centofanti's tailor went berzerk over this jacket, I mean he loved it. I think I do not like the unforgiving nature of its silk content.

By the way, I have a vested interest in d'Avenza's prestige: I have a sweetheart deal in this local boutique that essentially sells RTW d'Avenza at discount prices. But even I can tell the Borrelli is a notch better, and probably the most beautiful garment I have ever seen besides my Centofanti bespoke suit.