Edward Greens at the Polo Mansion

[johnnynorman3]

I think the sportcoat I got is actually newer -- a model from last year I believe. We'll see.

As for machine versus hand: for one, I've found that a hand canvassed lapel will have a more lasting roll and will lay flatter on the chest. It holds its shape better, most likely due to the fact that when doing it by hand, the maker can get the thread tension right. Moreover, I imagine that along with hand canvassing the lapel, the maker takes greater care in the pressing. I've seen a lapel that has been canvassed by machine (i.e. seen the exposed lapel in a basted state) and hand stitching the lapel canvas is a far superior method. I'm not sure whether Polo BL does it by machine or hand, but in any event it is done very well if it is machine.

In terms of the hand canvassing the rest of the coat, I'm not really sure what the difference would be. The canvassing is stitched in at only a few critical areas (hence the term "floating front&quot, so I can't see why doing it by hand would give you that much advantage. However, once again, where the canvas is placed by hand, I've found that the canvas molds to the body just a little bit better. I'd chalk this up not to the stitching though, but rather to the care that is probably also taken in molding the canvas into shape prior to stitching it into the coat.'

Seriously though, I don't mean any knock on Blue Label. I absolutely love the cut and the fabrics are usually excellent. The are also very light and soft.

 

[retronotmetro]

I have a Fall '04 blue label suit, purchased from polo.com, shipped to me in what was presumably the original factory plastic bag with a printed Corneliani inventory label in Italian. The front of this suit is clearly and unmistakably fused.

 

[Mike C.]

Seriously though, I don't mean any knock on Blue Label. I absolutely love the cut and the fabrics are usually excellent. The are also very light and soft.

Either way it's a great product... It's just that I'm going to take the guy's word for it that his product is not fused. He doesn't have any reason to lie; I'm not his customer or a vendor. I'm certainly not going to take an amature "pinch test" over his word.

I'll be talking to the guy in a few days again, this time I'll be a bit more inqusitive about the process of machine canvassing. Until then the leading authrity says the suits aren't fused.

 

[imageWIS]

Ok, this is an easy problem to solve, I had a MTM RL Polo (Blue Label) 3-piece suit made last year and it is currently at the tailor. It had to be altered and opened, thus I will call my tailor tomorrow, er today (its 12:03 now) and post the results, easy enough, no?

Jon.

 

[johnnynorman3]

Cool, Imagewis.

 

[A Harris]

As for machine versus hand: for one, I've found that a hand canvassed lapel will have a more lasting roll and will lay flatter on the chest. It holds its shape better, most likely due to the fact that when doing it by hand, the maker can get the thread tension right. Moreover, I imagine that along with hand canvassing the lapel, the maker takes greater care in the pressing. I've seen a lapel that has been canvassed by machine (i.e. seen the exposed lapel in a basted state) and hand stitching the lapel canvas is a far superior method. I'm not sure whether Polo BL does it by machine or hand, but in any event it is done very well if it is machine.

I'm fairly certain that the only RTW suits on the US market that have the lapels pad-stitched by hand are made by Oxxford. That's not a guess, I've cut almost all of them open and looked. Everybody else does it with a machine. I once saw a double-breasted Brioni jacket that had the tips of the peak-lapel basted by hand, presumably so that they will lay better (flat) against the chest. But that's still a far cry from Oxxford. And maybe that Hickey handmade you've got johnnynorman3... Attolini could be another exception, but I highly doubt it.

There is some handwork in the construction/tailoring of the chest canvas in high-end RTW suits, but not that much. They are basically 'machine-canvased.'

 

[johnnynorman3]

I think you are right, Andrew. Regular Hickey's are clearly machine padded. Oxxford are definitely hand. With the demise of H. Freeman (who also did machine padding), Norman Hilton is the only American RTW maker that I know of that does full canvas work. I've never seen a Norman Hilton suit so I can't speak to those.

I have never examined the lapels of Brioni or Kiton very closely so I can't speak to those. But you are right that doing the pad stitching by hand is very rare in RTW garments. I sort of lament this, because it is an area that really makes a notable difference when it is done by hand IMO. But if using machines mantains price reasonability, I'm willing to live with it.

BTW, I'm about 95% certain that the Hickey Freeman I just got is pad stitched by hand.

 

[cloud9eleet]

Phil,

How do we get the 200.00 discount? Is this a sale or a special for you?

JW

 

[Ambulance Chaser]

My curiosity piqued by this thread, I visited the Georgetown Polo store on Saturday to see the Polo Blue Label suits for myself.  My verdict: the suits are definitely fused.  (Indeed, it would be antithetical to what we know of Polo's pricing policy for Polo to slap its label on a fully canvassed Corneliani suit and sell the suit for less than what Corneliani charges.)  That said, the fusing is so light and well done that, in my mind, it occupies a middle ground between the fused construction of Boss and the canvassed construction of Canali.  The cut, as one would expect from Corneliani, is perfect for the young and fit.  Although I have a strong preference for canvassed suits, I would not hesitate to add a Blue Label to my suit rotation if the price was right.

 

[Phil]

The 200 discount is for a limited time, for their trunk show event. Not sure when it started or ended however.