Australian Members

[Henry Carter]

Melbourne fellow - why haven't I heard about Suit your style yet? Their stuff looks pretty nice and well priced, well styled etc.

 

[smeggett]

For anyone wondering about Suit Supply sizing, when I entered my measurements into their online sizing calculator it recommended my a 40R suit. Knowing that MJ Bale 38R suits fit me well, I went against their advice and ordered a 38R.

The tourser are a perfect fit and the jacket isn't far off - it could do with a little more waist suppression, but overall I'm glad I sized down from what they recommnded, lest I be stuck wearing a tent!!

 

[ovlov]

Calling for more input guys. As usual please allow for iPhone flash making the pics a little more washes out than reality:

A better pic can be found at http://www.aacrack.co.uk/catalogue.asp?product_id=78
Under Deep Sea.
Thinking if going for this in a plain Oxford wholecut. On the website it shows a burnished version that seems much darker (burnishing doesn't just produce a darker leather does it?)
I went in thinking oxblood would be better and more versatile but I saw a sample as an actual shoe and the colour looked too washed out. Any ideas or suggestions guys?
Wearable to court?

 

[sliq]

For anyone wondering about Suit Supply sizing, when I entered my measurements into their online sizing calculator it recommended my a 40R suit. Knowing that MJ Bale 38R suits fit me well, I went against their advice and ordered a 38R.

The tourser are a perfect fit and the jacket isn't far off - it could do with a little more waist suppression, but overall I'm glad I sized down from what they recommnded, lest I be stuck wearing a tent!!

Re SuitSupply suits (not shirts, sorry), their fits are from tight to loose:
Havana
Washington
Lazio
Soho
La Spalla
Sienna
Sevilla
Napoli

With the Napoli, best to size down 1 size.

I have about... 4 suitsupply suits. they fit very well OTR and only require trousers to be hemmed. with a free returns policy, you can try on a few suits and return those you don't like.

 

[Journeyman]



Calling for more input guys. As usual please allow for iPhone flash making the pics a little more washes out than reality:

A better pic can be found at http://www.aacrack.co.uk/catalogue.asp?product_id=78
Under Deep Sea.
Thinking if going for this in a plain Oxford wholecut. On the website it shows a burnished version that seems much darker (burnishing doesn't just produce a darker leather does it?)
I went in thinking oxblood would be better and more versatile but I saw a sample as an actual shoe and the colour looked too washed out. Any ideas or suggestions guys?
Wearable to court?

ovlov,

That looks like a dark blue - is that right?

Whilst I suppose that it could be taken for black in a certain light, I'd say that if you don't have many pairs of shoes, I wouldn't choose a dark blue pair of shoes as my next pair.

I know that you are thinking of having a pair of shoes made up for you, and that there is, of course, the temptation there to have something interesting or different made up.

However, if you've only got a few pairs of good shoes, especially if you want to wear them to court, I'd go for something more conservative, like black, dark brown or deep burgundy.

At the risk of being a bit of a party-pooper, I'd also be a bit hesitant about going for a plain-toe wholecut, as the lack of a medallion or a captoe can mean that wrinkles are more obvious. If you don't mind that, then that's fine, but it's something to consider when making your choice of shoe.

 

[California Dreamer]



Too easy - have you got a link to this forum thread, CD?

It's here. Post 83738.

http://www.styleforum.net/t/9006/th...ount-store-bragging-thread/83738#post_6706604

 

[ovlov]

ovlov,

That looks like a dark blue - is that right?

Whilst I suppose that it could be taken for black in a certain light, I'd say that if you don't have many pairs of shoes, I wouldn't choose a dark blue pair of shoes as my next pair.

I know that you are thinking of having a pair of shoes made up for you, and that there is, of course, the temptation there to have something interesting or different made up.

However, if you've only got a few pairs of good shoes, especially if you want to wear them to court, I'd go for something more conservative, like black, dark brown or deep burgundy.

At the risk of being a bit of a party-pooper, I'd also be a bit hesitant about going for a plain-toe wholecut, as the lack of a medallion or a captoe can mean that wrinkles are more obvious. If you don't mind that, then that's fine, but it's something to consider when making your choice of shoe.

Thanks JM,
Knew I could count on you for some sage advice. Yes it will be my 3rd pair or quality shoes though both my others are black (oxford cap and brogued derby) so I would like to branch out for something new. I thought dark blue would be good because a- I love those navy Carmina whole cuts the get posted around here every now and then and b- in the dark light of the court room I figured they would not stand out.

I had not considered the wrinkle issue at all (is this why there seem to be a lot of shell whole cuts around?) I might go for a medallion or something then.

As i said I was also considering oxblood but it looked too washed out. Maybe I'll enquire about the burnished sample. Would this increase the price? I have the added problem that this is a sweet gift I am getting here. So I need to be considerate of price and not go running around for the most difficult to make shoes on the most expensive leathers.

 

[PapaRubbery]

Hope we all had an enjoyable Cup Day. I was on call for work so I didn't get to get written off. Instead, ate too much and channeled my inner italian man. I call him Luigi.

 

[Foxhound]

Thanks mate. I concur. A darker navy would work much better and be far more versatile. I do like the pink shirt and navy knit combo.

I'm considering a TOJ0 varsity jacket, in either all black, or grey body with black sleeves. I actually also like the look of the navy/black combo, but not sure how practical that would be? Thinking in terms of what I could match it with.

Anyone able to shed some light on how to size? I've had a read through the thread, and am just about to shoot an email off to Charly to get his thoughts.

Foxhound, I think you have one? Recommended?

I can't recommend them enough. To be honest, don't listen to anyone but Charly about sizing, he knows exactly what's up. I do recommend Black Sleeves and Navy body, like what I have. I think it looks far superior to black and black, although, the Black Sleeves with Grey Body on their site looks phenomenal.

 

[CoffeeDudeGuy]

Hope we all had an enjoyable Cup Day. I was on call for work so I didn't get to get written off. Instead, ate too much and channeled my inner italian man. I call him Luigi.



Where's the Italian Background?

 

[Henry Carter]

I know a few of you were waiting on these to come in, so heads up that some new knit ties have just been uploaded to the site HERE including this beauty -

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

 

[Foxhound]

Just found this. #fashion

 

[couldnthaveknow]

Allen Edmonds to be sold to private equity firm Brentwood Associates




The new buyer of Allen Edmonds will keep its management team and its Port Washington headquarters, according to Allen Edmonds CEO Paul Grangaard.
Brentwood Associates, a Los Angeles private equity firm, has reached a deal to buy the high-end shoemaker from fellow private equity firm Goldner Hawn Johnson & Morrison, according to a news release issued Monday.
"This is terrific for all of our employees and Milwaukee," Grangaard said.
Goldner Hawn had been looking for a buyer after owning Allen Edmonds for seven years. The Wall Street Journalpreviously reported that Men’s Wearhouse was a possible buyer..
The entities are not yet revealing the purchase price. Grangaard expects the deal to close by the end of the year.
Brentwood is a perfect match for Allen Edmonds, Grangaard said Monday afternoon in an interview with The Business Journal. The company has previously owned Ariat International, a high-end brand of cowboy boots; Bell Automotive Products, a maker of car accessories; Oriental Trading Co., a direct marketer of novelty gifts; and Prince Manufacturing, one of the top manufacturers of tennis racquets.
“They have a great deal of experience and expertise with growing consumer companies,” Grangaard said.
The firm will be able to invest additional capital into the company, allowing it to add more retail stores, stretch product development and continue to invest in e-commerce, he said.
Brentwood believes strongly in “omnichannel retailing,” or selling products however the customer wants to receive them, Grangaard said. Allen Edmonds has been growing its online presence and adding additional retail stores to supplement the network of department and shoe stores that sell its shoes.
The firm has assured Grangaard that it will continue to grow the company in Port Washington, Grangaard said. The company has added about 250 Port Washington employees in the last three years and is now at about 480 workers.
“They did a lot of research on what Allen Edmonds means to people, and of course 'made in the USA' is right at the top of the list,” he said.
Through the sale process, Grangaard had been hoping to stay with the company, he said. He was previously a Goldner Hawn executive and became CEO of Allen Edmonds in 2008. He said coming to Allen Edmonds felt like “coming home to a place he’d never been before,” quoting the song “Rocky Mountain High.”
“This has been just a fantastic place for me to hang my hat the last five years, and I’m glad to continue doing so,” he said. “I feel very privileged that they want me to do that.”
The company is expecting record sales in 2013 for the third year in a row, the release said.Jack Morrison, a managing partner of Goldner Hawn, said last week the company is expecting sales of more than $120 million.



http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2013/11/04/allen-edmonds-to-be-sold-to-private.html

 

[couldnthaveknow]

This is my own musings on the allen edmonds deal

I think the risk to ae's products are to the downside, in the near term.

Although its going from one PE firm to another, different firms have different styles. At the risk of over simplifying and generalising, PEs generally don't spell positive for the quality of the product and reputation of the brand in the long run, in my opinion. If I were to fall back on general reasoning

- Its rare a PE firm knows retail better than a retailer, or shoes better than a shoemaker etc

- Hence, their 'moves' to extract value out of a retailer or shoe maker is limited to the generic moves. Principally, gut the crap out of the business (like whittle down R&D etc) to decrease cost, restructure the capital makeup (increase debt vs equity), or hire consultants to find ways to make the business more profitable

To question why one PE firm is selling, and another PE firm is buying (in this situation, obviously someone's goign to have paid too much or received too much for the business) - the orthodox reason is of course the buyer sees more value in it than the seller, which can only come from 2 things

1) the seller thinks the market will grow, but the buyer thinks the market will stagnate (I dont think this is it though - menswear on the whole has grown pretty well over recent years, and the US is on a recovery trajectory)

2) The buyer thinks the company can be run more profitably, than what the seller is doing now, which has been discussed above.

Hence risk to ae's products are to the downside, in the near term, in my view.

Anyway, that's my first impression on it

 

[fxh]

Me at the Cup yesterday -

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!