Australian Members



truevision said:

which company are you using for shipping ?

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comgateway



tone76 said:

Welcome aboard!

I have to say that since discovering SF, I have been keen to learn more about what I wear so I can make better choices. I'd be keen to hear more insights about wool, particularly the technical stuff. It's a great fabric and I know Australia produces some of the best stuff in the world. I've always wondered why we just send the raw material OS and get other countries to value-add and then sell it back to us, that seems a little weird to me. I guess that's globalization for you.

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Thanks, i am happy to answer any questions to the best of my ability.

In regards to the value adding Australia once had a thriving wool processing industry. When I was at uni (not that long ago) I worked for a French company that processed raw wool into “Tops” (not garments, but scoured and combed wool ready to be processed into fabric). I believe this company still has one factory in Wagga. This is the last bastion of the Australian wool processing industry. Labour, maintenance and OH&S costs I would presume are much cheaper in the countries where Australian wool is processed today.

But yes Australia is one of the few countries still producing large quantities of wool for garments. I would hazard a guess that the majority of coveted woollen fabrics / garments on the market contain a large percentage of Australian wool.

For those interested in more info have a look at the AWI website. AWI is a not for profit company owned by Australian wool producers to invest in R & D and global marketing.
http://www.wool.com/default.htm

Wool cotton why bother wearing anything else? Synthetics no thanks.

i have a travel blanket that my father bought in 1950 which proudly states on the label 100% Merino Wool which is still in excellent condition, not one moth hole. Just proves you can't beat quality.



Geoffrey Firmin said:

After living for 12 years in rural NSW I also wonder how much the prolonged drought damaged the wool industry.

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The drought has been hard on the wool industry, as it has been on the majority of regional Australia.
Consistently low wool prices (started well before the drought) driven by low global demand has been the real killer to the Australian wool industry. This combined with recent high prime lamb prices has made wool production an unattractive investment for a lot of producers. Without going into too much detail and boring everyone; high lamb prices and the drought have reduced the size of Australia flock to the lowest numbers in over 100yrs.

That said the market for quality wool has recently rallied. It may not sustainable, but it is welcome.

Called into the Harrolds sale at lunch. Didn't buy anything - all still pretty exxy even with the discounts. The R Caruso suits were the bees knees though.

What is really remarkable though is the fit out in the Sydney store, which is enormous. It is really impressive. They have a full and very nice bar in there for crying out load.

So did i. Picked up an awesome pair of Naked and Famous raw denims for 118

then went to the Ralph Lauren sale in Waterloo and picked up a few things



jaypee said:

So did i. Picked up an awesome pair of Naked and Famous raw denims for 118

then went to the Ralph Lauren sale in Waterloo and picked up a few things

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How is the RL sample sale? Anything nice you got that you can flog on B&S?

Tom Ford suits at Harrolds in Melbourne were only $2-$3000 on sale! There was one completely 'fcuk-off' suit which caught my eye...basically a white with black houndstooth suit...which would make an amazing party suit if one had more money than sense.



blahman said:

How is the RL sample sale? Anything nice you got that you can flog on B&S?

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Lamb Skin jacket? RLPL cashmere blazer?



Selvaggio said:

Called into the Harrolds sale at lunch. Didn't buy anything - all still pretty exxy even with the discounts. The R Caruso suits were the bees knees though.

What is really remarkable though is the fit out in the Sydney store, which is enormous. It is really impressive. They have a full and very nice bar in there for crying out load.

Click to expand...

The staff are helpful and charming and the free coffee offered would be the best in Sydney...some exotic blend they have for punters. Caruso is the best value suit around according to my alterations tailor.



Selvaggio said:

Called into the Harrolds sale at lunch. Didn't buy anything - all still pretty exxy even with the discounts. The R Caruso suits were the bees knees though.

What is really remarkable though is the fit out in the Sydney store, which is enormous. It is really impressive. They have a full and very nice bar in there for crying out load.

Click to expand...

The staff are helpful and charming and the free coffee offered would be the best in Sydney...some exotic blend they have for punters. Caruso is the best value suit around according to my alterations tailor.

DraleonPastoralCo said:

The drought has been hard on the wool industry, as it has been on the majority of regional Australia.
Consistently low wool prices (started well before the drought) driven by low global demand has been the real killer to the Australian wool industry. This combined with recent high prime lamb prices has made wool production an unattractive investment for a lot of producers. Without going into too much detail and boring everyone; high lamb prices and the drought have reduced the size of Australia flock to the lowest numbers in over 100yrs.

That said the market for quality wool has recently rallied. It may not sustainable, but it is welcome.

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How many years to restock....?



meister said:

The staff are helpful and charming and the free coffee offered would be the best in Sydney...some exotic blend they have for punters. Caruso is the best value suit around according to my alterations tailor.

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I own a couple of Caruso suits, and they are fantastic value, when on sale at Harrolds



Selvaggio said:

Called into the Harrolds sale at lunch. Didn't buy anything - all still pretty exxy even with the discounts. The R Caruso suits were the bees knees though.

What is really remarkable though is the fit out in the Sydney store, which is enormous. It is really impressive. They have a full and very nice bar in there for crying out load.

Click to expand...

meister said:

The staff are helpful and charming and the free coffee offered would be the best in Sydney...some exotic blend they have for punters. Caruso is the best value suit around according to my alterations tailor.

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I wandered in there on Wednesday morning between appointments. I thought the fit out was nice. The staff were super helpful. Walked out with a nice charcoal Brioni number that fit me like a glove for half price. Quite chuffed really...



bhall41 said:

I own a couple of Caruso suits, and they are fantastic value, when on sale at Harrolds

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Even better value when you find them in the op shop.

Dropped into Harrolds tonight myself. I was sorely tempted by a Caruso navy mohair jacket that was an outstanding fit. But it was $900, even on sale. My wife confirmed later that she would indeed have killed me, so a lucky escape.

I did buy a pair of Paul Smith navy wool slacks that were on the 70% off rack. They were marked down to $100, which I thought fair enough and the wife concurred. The original price was over $900 - seriously does anybody pay that kind of money for Paul Smith pants?