Australian Members

[sliq]

Time to check out RL store for khaki suit. Been eyeing that khaki suit on the mannequin in Myer Bourke St store for a year. Sz36, my size, but couldn't get myself to pull the trigger. Now it's gone and I miss it. Price was fluctuating between reg price and $750. If it is now $500 it might convince me just enough to drop my cash down.
Still almost 2 months left of my 6month no purchase commitment though...

i go thrifting. good cure to buying from retail or online. sooo rewarding!

 

[California Dreamer]



On the other hand i did buy a blue blazer from RL too... both the suit and the blazer are made in italy, possibly by corneliani?

I've tried that exact jacket on in RL Chaddy. It fit me like a glove, but they wanted $1k for it; at that price I thought I'd rather go to Patrick Johnson. It is by Corneliani, IIRC.

 

[fxh]



And I'm still trying very hard not to jump on the dub monk bandwagon.

In the Funny You Should Mention It WAYWT all the hep cats are doin' it mode:


edit:test

 

[joiji]

Quote:
Brick and mortar I understand, but online I don't. Would it be a fair assumption to say that online retailers are trying too hard to cling to the profit margins or brick and mortar stores, and thats why they aren't seeing a great deal of success?

 

[RemyMichel]



Brick and mortar I understand, but online I don't. Would it be a fair assumption to say that online retailers are trying too hard to cling to the profit margins or brick and mortar stores, and thats why they aren't seeing a great deal of success?

I actually think that they're backed into a corner, with fickle spending making it hard to control stock, wages not getting any cheaper and people spending less, the only real place they can make up ground is to hike up the prices and hope people are used to paying too much.

 

[Henry Carter]



When was this?

I was their from 1998 when I was 18 to 2003.

 

[Manuhiri]

Hey, to the guys who have bought from Meermin – how exactly do you do it? Do you have to fill out that form and they contact you via email or something? Thinking of trying my luck with their double monks.

Just to follow up on this. Once you've agreed on your shoes the guys at Meermin send you a paypal invoice by email. They then send you another email telling you when they expect to ship and then finally a TNT shipment notification when the package is on its way.

My Meermins are still very stiff but as they've only had five wears or so I'm giving them a bit longer before deciding whether to make another purchase.

 

[Simon at Elite]

If Rembrandt does supply to Joe Black, then a half canvassed suit with Dormeuil fabric plus included alterations can be had for a little over $500. That is a decent price for a suit not coming out of China or Thailand. Rembrandt branded suits also go on sale fairly often in DJs as well.
Actually I'm interested to know where a full MTM suit can be had for $300. Looking to get a friend in for his first decent yet affordable suit.
And I'm still trying very hard not to jump on the dub monk bandwagon.

My first question is why would you take a great fabric like Dormeuil and then half canvas it? You say it's not coming out of China or Thailand then I ask where is it made. Certainly not Australia. You can't make a half canvas suit out of Dormeuil at Australian labour rates for $500 much less sell it at that price. I have a lot of tailoring connections in Asia and couldn't have it made to sell at that price there.

there are plenty of online tailoring services in Australia where you can buy MTM suits for well under $300 .Looking at my profile might be a starting point

 

[AriGold]



I've tried that exact jacket on in RL Chaddy. It fit me like a glove, but they wanted $1k for it; at that price I thought I'd rather go to Patrick Johnson. It is by Corneliani, IIRC.

Yeah it is quite a nice jacket. i picked it up at half price which makes it a bit better value at $500, but i still wouldn't call it a steal.

 

[Naka]

If Rembrandt does supply to Joe Black, then a half canvassed suit with Dormeuil fabric plus included alterations can be had for a little over $500. That is a decent price for a suit not coming out of China or Thailand. Rembrandt branded suits also go on sale fairly often in DJs as well.

Actually I'm interested to know where a full MTM suit can be had for $300. Looking to get a friend in for his first decent yet affordable suit.

And I'm still trying very hard not to jump on the dub monk bandwagon.

My first question is why would you take a great fabric like Dormeuil and then half canvas it? You say it's not coming out of China or Thailand then I ask where is it made. Certainly not Australia. You can't make a half canvas suit out of Dormeuil at Australian labour rates for $500 much less sell it at that price. I have a lot of tailoring connections in Asia and  couldn't have it made to sell at that price there.

there are plenty of online tailoring services in Australia where you can buy MTM suits for well under $300 .Looking at my profile might be a starting point

EDIT: Also, as enthusiastic as you are about your product, I find your website confusing to navigate and there isn't much too information regarding where the fabrics are milled, excluding the Taylor & Lodge category.

 

[lennier]



Peter Hess: "other business shouldn't be allowed to compete with mine because I'm SPECIAL, mummy said so."

Yet more evidence of the sense of entitlement that exists both in Australian society as a whole and most particularly in traditional retail.

 

[Simon at Elite]

EDIT: Also, as enthusiastic as you are about your product, I find your website confusing to navigate and there isn't much too information regarding where the fabrics are milled, excluding the Taylor & Lodge category.

Spam??? Oh come on that's a tad unfair. I was commenting on a thread and someone asked me a question about buying a reasonably priced suit. Where do you think I was going to suggest? At least I tried to be somewhat discreet about it rather than blatantly posting links I gave him a gentle nudge to where he could find what he asked for. Nor did I post any text about the site or the available suits. So Spam? Perhaps but only by the broadest definition.

In reply to your comments. I do agree with you about the navigation. Yep the site is crap but we're working on both making it easier to get around in and also preparing a new more presentable one as we are about to go hard on the business suit market. What I do disagree with is your suggestion about the fabric origin. I don't think anyone thinks they are going to get an overly high quality fabric in a $300 suit. However, we do say where the bulk wool was milled before being sent to China for dying as well as making perfectly clear how the suit is manufactured and in many cases giving the option of fused or paying a little more for a full canvas.

This was my point in my original post. It's difficult to determine the differences between suits as few sites really give you any information. Go to just about any site and try to find out how their suits are canvassed. Only a few will tell you and the reason is that the vast majority are fused and made as cheaply as possible in one of the many Asian suit factories. I don't have any problem with that but I do think that a customer should have a better idea of what they're purchasing. I also hold a personal opinion that anything more than $500 for a fused factory made suit is extortion when I know a number of sources where I can land one in Australia for under $100 and although I don't buy from therm you can be sure others do.

In the more expensive suits the wool is almost exclusively Australian Merino. We have been making some suits for the execs at Woolmark and in return they have been giving us valuable advice on sourcing quality fabric. It's an alliance we are careful to maintain so it's Australian Merino practically all the way. Again we disclose where the raw wool is processed so I find it a little difficult to understand your reply.

Yes I know I'm going to be accused of more spam but give me a break. I am replying to another member and while I do talk about our suits I think this post is mostly general opinion in nature. No names or links guys and agreeing that the site is crap has to make me the worst spammer in history

 

[blahman]

The Joe Black suits are made in NZ. And your site is indeed pretty awful in design. The structure and tone on it can be very off putting. Your site is what your potential customers can see and it will impact on their impression of your business and your products and you too.

 

[xiaoli]

Dropped by MJ Bale to check out the Wood Dobby jacket. Which was totally different from the photos online. Apparently they all have flap pockets rather than the patch pockets shown in their online store.

Didn't get anything in the end. My search for the perfect blue blazer continues.

 

[The Ernesto]



To cover exorbitant rents? Melbourne has retail rents that make it into the top 5 cities in the world (and ave rents in sydney are higher). A joke if you compare the spending done in other cities in the world like NYC, London, Paris, Hong Kong and so on.

It's true rents are ridiculous, but Australian retail has been ripping people off for decades and now it's biting them on the arse.

Have a read of this...

http://www.smh.com.au/business/david-jones-forced-to-walk-a-new-path-20120323-1vp6l.html

In particular:

In international retailing circles, Australia is often referred to as ''Treasure Island'', where the prices at which we mug punters buy goods are far higher than those in most of the rest of the world. And this is why ''price harmonisation'' is the term our retailers hate to hear.

and

As one retail investor concisely summed it up: ''The insider trading on retail pricing is dead. Thanks to the internet, consumers have all the pricing information.'' The profit gross margin in Australia on discretionary goods now runs at between 15 and 50 per cent. Experts say this simply cannot last.