Deciding on an overcoat purchase between Orazio Luciano, Ring Jacket, or Loro Piana-thoughts and suggestions would be appreciated

[barryzhang27]

Orazio is great, but I think black coats generally look bad. Not a fan of that Loro Piana coat's style. I don't know what RJ coat you are looking at, but they make a solid product. I think a model like this, or this should be nice. Don't know if the weight is suitable for your location.

As for size, I have two points. (1) Different coats are meant to fit differently. A 48 in one brand may have a pit to pit measurement of x inches and another may have a pit to pit measurement of x+3 inches and both are meant to fit someone the same size. (2) I generally find that a little extra room in an overcoat isn't a bad thing. You can take the chest in some, but you may not have to.

The Ring Jacket coat is single breasted, wide lapels, dark navy. Very classic looking coat. My only concern is that the pit to pit measurement is about 1.25 to 1.5 inches larger than well-fitting coats that I currently own. I'm not familiar with what a skilled tailor can or can't do about chest alterations. Do you think the amount that I described could be altered with a simple matter of taking in the side seams, or would it require more extensive alterations to the chest of the coat itself? If it weren't for the sizing issue, I'd probably purchase the Ring Jacket coat without question.

 

[barryzhang27]

LP's tailoring is piece dependent. Based on my personal experience, my LP pure cashmere pieces, including outerwear, consistently show wear faster than the other pieces in my wardrobe.

My black overcoats haven't been worn since the beginning of the pandemic because they're not that versatile. Too formal to wear it when going out. I've been wearing the navy / grey / beige coats instead.

The general consensus on SF is that Orazio Luciano has exceptional quality. However, a gentleman here on SF works/worked (no idea what he's doing now) for Kiton had his MTO piece dissected during a tailoring class at Kiton, in which their tailors found the piece was fused and the jacket was used as a sample of what not to do. Also, apparently the person that founded Orazio Luciano was kicked out of Kiton for doing something shady, however I don't remember the specifics. How to interpret this story is up to you. I do note that there are many members that do have a positive experience from them on the forum.

Can't complain about the quality of Ring Jacket from what I've heard, but can't speak from personal experience as I've never purchased anything from them.

I'd say choose the coat that would fit you the best and would be the most versatile. Likely no one will be identify the brand of the coat that you are wearing since it's a sartorial piece, so might as well get something that you'll be wearing a lot of without any reservations.

Could you elaborate on your experience with LP? Do you own any of their outerwear? Other posts on this forum that I've seen have noted that LP outerwear is of excellent quality but the rest of their RTW is not as good as the price would suggest.

Yes, you're correct about the issue of brands. I'm only concerned in so far as quality is concerned (since I can't go and physically try on each of these coats in person) so I have to go off of reputation/what the seller is saying to try and determine which is more worth it for the price.

 

[TheShetlandSweater]

The Ring Jacket coat is single breasted, wide lapels, dark navy. Very classic looking coat. My only concern is that the pit to pit measurement is about 1.25 to 1.5 inches larger than well-fitting coats that I currently own. I'm not familiar with what a skilled tailor can or can't do about chest alterations. Do you think the amount that I described could be altered with a simple matter of taking in the side seams, or would it require more extensive alterations to the chest of the coat itself? If it weren't for the sizing issue, I'd probably purchase the Ring Jacket coat without question.

That should be easy to fix, but as I said above, you may not have to change it at all. Not all coats that will fit you well will have the same pit-to-pit measurements. Also, coats are a little more flexible than other garments.

Also, I am not a big fan of single breasted coats with lapels. I think they rarely look good.

I think something like this coat from Berg & Berg or the coats I linked to above look much better.

 

[rwtc]

Could you elaborate on your experience with LP? Do you own any of their outerwear? Other posts on this forum that I've seen have noted that LP outerwear is of excellent quality but the rest of their RTW is not as good as the price would suggest.

Yes, you're correct about the issue of brands. I'm only concerned in so far as quality is concerned (since I can't go and physically try on each of these coats in person) so I have to go off of reputation/what the seller is saying to try and determine which is more worth it for the price.

Every single cashmere piece I own from LP wore out, from their outerwear, vests, and sweaters. My cashmere pieces from Cucinelli, Kiton, and Attolini hold up fine, with the exception of the thin sweaters, for which I’ll never buy again. Each piece is worn very infrequently.

I’ve pretty much moved on from LP because I am not a fan of their aesthetic and pieces showing wear too easily. YMMV

 

[rwtc]

Also, I am not a big fan of single breasted coats with lapels. I think they rarely look good.

Do you mean all single breasted coats with a lapel of any kind? Do you like this one then?

 

[barryzhang27]

That should be easy to fix, but as I said above, you may not have to change it at all. Not all coats that will fit you well will have the same pit-to-pit measurements. Also, coats are a little more flexible than other garments.

Also, I am not a big fan of single breasted coats with lapels. I think they rarely look good.

I think something like this coat from Berg & Berg or the coats I linked to above look much better.

Hmm ok I will keep that in mind then. Perhaps I should reach out to a tailor and ask their opinion as well just to be certain, but thanks. Yes, I agree that coats are more flexible than say, a suit would be with regards to size and fit. It will also depend on what is worn underneath.

I will have to disagree with you about single breasted coats with lapels? currently every coat that I own is single breasted with lapels (although I would like to add a double-breasted coat to my collection at some point). I'm a shorter guy, so I find that single breasted coats have a subtle lengthening effect on me since there isn't as much going on visually as say, a double breasted coat. The eye is drawn upward when looking at the coat on the wearer. Also, I think they're more versatile since they can look good dressed up or down. Just my two cents though.

 

[barryzhang27]

That should be easy to fix, but as I said above, you may not have to change it at all. Not all coats that will fit you well will have the same pit-to-pit measurements. Also, coats are a little more flexible than other garments.

Also, I am not a big fan of single breasted coats with lapels. I think they rarely look good.

I think something like this coat from Berg & Berg or the coats I linked to above look much better.

Here’s the coat in question though.

 

[TheShetlandSweater]

Do you mean all single breasted coats with a lapel of any kind? Do you like this one then?

View attachment 1532525

It's alright. Better than most single breasteds, but I would never purchase something like that myself.

 

[rwtc]

Here’s the coat in question though.

Looks good, but the gorge looks a bit high

 

[barryzhang27]

Every single cashmere piece I own from LP wore out, from their outerwear, vests, and sweaters. My cashmere pieces from Cucinelli, Kiton, and Attolini hold up fine, with the exception of the thin sweaters, for which I’ll never buy again. Each piece is worn very infrequently.

I’ve pretty much moved on from LP because I am not a fan of their aesthetic and pieces showing wear too easily. YMMV

From what I’ve read on this forum, Attolini and Kiton certainly are regarded as higher build quality than LP, although I haven’t read or heard much about Cucinelli. From seeing their pieces online, they seem a little more fashion forward than say, Kiton. You seem to be saying that their quality of construction and fabric is good though.

 

[rwtc]

It's alright. Better than most single breasteds, but I would never purchase something like that myself.

All good, we all have our own preferences. I am partial to single breasted coats though. Pic related is one of my favourite cuts from Cucinelli. Their SB notch lapel coats are also very well designed.

 

[barryzhang27]

Looks good, but the gorge looks a bit high

I wonder if it’s a two-three button roll with the third button hidden. I’ll be getting more details on it tomorrow

 

[TheShetlandSweater]

Hmm ok I will keep that in mind then. Perhaps I should reach out to a tailor and ask their opinion as well just to be certain, but thanks. Yes, I agree that coats are more flexible than say, a suit would be with regards to size and fit. It will also depend on what is worn underneath.

I will have to disagree with you about single breasted coats with lapels? currently every coat that I own is single breasted with lapels (although I would like to add a double-breasted coat to my collection at some point). I'm a shorter guy, so I find that single breasted coats have a subtle lengthening effect on me since there isn't as much going on visually as say, a double breasted coat. The eye is drawn upward when looking at the coat on the wearer. Also, I think they're more versatile since they can look good dressed up or down. Just my two cents though.

I'm going to disagree. I am not a shorter guy, but I know shorter guys. Anyone who isn't meeting you for the first time knows how tall you are and they really don't care (maybe some ladies will though). Furthermore, I have never seen a shorter person wearing clothes that should make them look taller and thought "wow, he looks tall today".

I also think single breasted coats look more formal than double breasteds (historically, double breasteds were treated as more casual). Here is a double breasted worn in some different ways, a number of them casual. I think it looks good styled more casually.

 

[rwtc]

From what I’ve read on this forum, Attolini and Kiton certainly are regarded as higher build quality than LP, although I haven’t read or heard much about Cucinelli. From seeing their pieces online, they seem a little more fashion forward than say, Kiton. You seem to be saying that their quality of construction and fabric is good though.

Cucinelli’s fabrics are exceptional and their outerwear are mostly full canvassed, but it’s piece dependent. Their fit is also exceptional. Honestly speaking, I don’t think many forum members have enough of a sample size to give a fair review. They do have less handwork than Kiton and Attolini, but to me the cut is much more flattering as RTW, which is why I prefer BC.

I do disagree about Cucinelli being more fashion forward than Kiton. My God, there is a lot of RTW Kiton garbage, which I won’t even get into..... I’d say for RTW, BC looks better than Kiton in general.

 

[barryzhang27]

I'm going to disagree. I am not a shorter guy, but I know shorter guys. Anyone who isn't meeting you for the first time knows how tall you are and they really don't care (maybe some ladies will though). Furthermore, I have never seen a shorter person wearing clothes that should make them look taller and thought "wow, he looks tall today".

I also think single breasted coats look more formal than double breasteds (historically, double breasteds were treated as more casual). Here is a double breasted worn in some different ways, a number of them casual. I think it looks good styled more casually.

What you say is true, although I was thinking more in terms of a visual impression and not something explicitly noticeable just by the cut of the coat you’re wearing. For instance, would you say that there can be a visual difference between wearing horizontal vs vertical stripes? Commonly what I hear is that horizontal stripes have a widening effect on the wearer, whereas vertical can have a slimming effect. Now, I wouldn’t take this as any kind of certain knowledge to go off of though.

I will say, I was actually hoping to find a nice double breasted overcoat. There’s one currently listed on these forums in the classifieds (navy by ring jacket) but it appears as though the seller is no longer active on here. Bit of a shame, although since I don’t plan on purchasing immediately, I will keep looking to see if there’s anything that I like out there.