Battistoni jacket for me?

[Uncorrelated]

I've been paying some extra attention to my wardrobe lately and reading up on style at places like this forum. Totally coincidentally, over exactly the same period, the jackets in my closet have gone from pretty nice to shoddy and ill fitting. I've started looking for replacements.

The jackets I've been wearing are Brooks Brothers and it wasn't hard to find ones I like more. The problem is that over the course of checking out a good sample of the selections at Saks, Barneys and Paul Stuart, I kept finding jackets which I liked more than the last and the prices were steadily climbing. Ultimately I settled on a Battistoni at Baneys. The arms, chest, and shoulders are pretty much perfect for me off the rack and they're having a trunk show now, so I'd order it MTM to get the waist and length right too. I'm really taken with the freedom of movement it gives me. I can move my arms around, beyond any reasonable amount, with hardly any disturbance of the rest of the jacket, which is something I can't say of any of the others I tried. Its great, except for the price. This will end up costing me about $2600.

I can afford it, although it would have to be the end of the little sartorial spending spree I've been on lately. My main questions are 1) do I need to spend that much to get the qualities I see in this jacket? and 2) is it the best use of that much money, considering how many nice shirts, ties, pairs of shoes, ... I could get instead? I know that 2) is subjective, but I'm sure there are others here who have faced the same question and whose experience would be useful even if they can't directly answer the question.

Thoughts?

Thanks,

--Scott

 

[pfr0g]

Seems very high for a Battistoni Sportcoat. I passed on some Battistoni Spoartcoats at $400 form Barney's warehouse sale as I was not impressed with them. I think you can do a lot better for the money. Get a Kiton/Attolini off the internet that have close to your measurements and spend 150 or so for a really good tailor to tweek it.

I really cant see spending 2600 on a Battistoni but others may disagree.

 

[chorse123]

I'm sorry, but I couldn't disagree with pfr0g more. Battistoni are excellent jackets. I think someone mentioned that they are made by St. Andrews. Also, fit is far more important than minute gradations of "quality." If the jacket fits extremely well, and you can stomach the cost, why not.

 

[Earthmover]

If the shoulders and chest fit well, you should ask yourself whether you need to go MTM to get the length and the waist right. What's your height? If you are of normal proportions, a good tailor can reasonably tweak the waist and length (length is harder, but some tweaking can be done depending on factors) to make it work well for you. I see some Battistonis on sale at Barney's, in good patterns/fabrics seasonally (plus during this currently ongoing warehouse sale) that if you can get a good tailor, there is absolutely no reason to pay full price. Even during a regular barney's sale, you can pick it up for ~1200 or so. If you are actually considering getting a $2600 coat, you can nab two coats for $2600 with tailoring done during sale time. It's something to think about. Jackets can be altered to a fairly good degree as long as the shoulders and chest fit well.

 

[Master Shake]

Battistoni are made by Sartoria Castangia, and are excellently made. If you can stomach the price, great. I have gotten all of mine on sale. For $2600, you can most likely get a bespoke jacket, which is what I would do at that price point.

 

[HalfCanvas]

I agree that they are really, really well made. Between Brioni and Battistoni, I don't really see that much of a quality difference in terms of stitching and such. The problem here, I think, is that you're taking quite a big jump from RTW Brooks to $2600 MTM Battistoni. That's a HUGE leap. Is a sportcoat really that important to you, or are you being influenced by the peer pressure of the forum?

In my own personal opinion, unless you are a really hard fit, the benefits of MTM are that you can choose your fabric and styling details. Is that worth an extra $2000? Maybe, maybe not. For me, it is not.

 

[von Rothbart]

I want to echo chorse's sentiment and I couldn't disagree with pfr0g more. Battistoni are extremely well made, they're as good as, probably better made than Brioni at 1/3 less because you don't pay for Brioni's name recognition and extravagant James Bond ad campaign. And I love Battistoni's cut better than Brioni's.

 

[pfr0g]

Originally Posted by Master Shake

Battistoni are made by Sartoria Castangia, and are excellently made. If you can stomach the price, great. I have gotten all of mine on sale. For $2600, you can most likely get a bespoke jacket, which is what I would do at that price point.

Isnt Castangia Bergdof Goodman house brand and not Barney's? If it is indded Castangia I would agree it is very well made. My point was not to say Battistoni is crap my point is I dont think that it is worth $2600 bucks.

 

[pfr0g]

Originally Posted by von Rothbart

I want to echo chorse's sentiment and I couldn't disagree with pfr0g more. Battistoni are extremely well made, they're as good as, probably better made than Brioni at 1/3 less because you don't pay for Brioni's name recognition and extravagant James Bond ad campaign. And I love Battistoni's cut better than Brioni's.

So you think $2600 for a Battistoni Sportcoat is a good deal? OK....

 

[Uncorrelated]

Thanks, all, for the responses.

It is certainly true that reading this forum, Flusser, and some other sources had a lot of influence on my deciding to replace my current jackets. I don't think it had much influence on my settling on Battistoni rather than something else. I realy did try on a lot of jackets and make direct comparisons between them. I settled on the Battistoni almost entirely on fit. For the most part, I didn't watch the prices while I did this --- which was probably dumb.

I think I can get a decent fit by altering an off the rack jacket, although I don't have one of those bodies for which standard cuts are exceptionally close to correct. The fit of the unaltered Battistoni was unusually good. The logic behind MTM was mostly that they were offering it to me at the trunk show price, so why not. That is a bit short sighted, as people have pointed out, since it precludes getting it at a discount off the web or on sale. I'll definitely look into that. It is too bad I've missed the Barneys sale. Does anyone know where to look? I don't see much on ebay and none on STP.

This would be a really big jump from the Brooks Brothers stuff I've been wearing. That is what's giving me pause and why I'm soliciting advice before pulling the trigger.

Thanks,

--Scott

 

[von Rothbart]

FAIK, Barneys is the only US retailer that sells Battistoni and in limited store locations.

 

[pfr0g]

Originally Posted by von Rothbart

AFAIK, Barneys is the only US retailer that sells Battistoni and in limited store locations.

Are they definitely made by Castangia, I really thought Castangia just made Bergdorf line? I still feel that 2600 is expensive but maybe I overlooked them too hastily. I am having a Castangia suit made myself but it is less than 2600 unless I go crazy on the fabric. I am going MTM bc I require very specific details.

Scott,

Take a look at

http://virtualclotheshorse.com/
http://shopthefinest.com
http://www.ehaberdasher.com/

You can find some good deals on sport coats ($700). I did not mean to discourage your purchase of the Battistoni as I may have judged its quality to quickly. However I still hold that 2600 is better spent elsewhere for a sportcoat. Good luck in your hunt for a new jacket.

 

[Master Shake]

When you say "Bergdorf line," do you mean that make suits that are branded "Bergdorf Goodman?" Bergdorf sells Castangia suits under the Castangia label. I've read here multiple times that Castangia makes for Battistoni.

I also have compared the two. I have suits and jackets from both labels, and the way the suits are lined (the outline of the lining, not the stitching or anything like that) and the labels inside the pockets are all the same. Sitting here at work, I am not sure what the other telltale signs are.

I prefer the Castangia cut, which has a less padded shoulder, but aside from that, they are both relatively the same cut.

Are you getting a Castangia suit MTM for less than $2600? That's not a bad price at all. Is that at Bergdorf's?

 

[SGladwell]

Originally Posted by pfr0g

Are they definitely made by Castangia, I really thought Castangia just made Bergdorf line?

I thought Cantarelli (sp?) was the house BG line.

 

[pfr0g]

Originally Posted by Master Shake

I prefer the Castangia cut, which has a less padded shoulder, but aside from that, they are both relatively the same cut.

Are you getting a Castangia suit MTM for less than $2600? That's not a bad price at all. Is that at Bergdorf's?

I guess I was confused. My tailor said to go take a look at Castangia at Bergdorf and I thought he said it was under thier private lable but I could be mistaken.

He also mention the soft shoulder on Castangia (something I was looking for) as I was not totally satisfied with the Belvest suit he showed me.

I am getting the Castangia suit from a Men's botique were i have bought a ton of Borrelli shirts and ties all at really steep discount. I am getting a good deal on the suit because of my repeat business and some consulting I did relating to thier POS system. Also the tailor almost fell over when I told him I was going to WWChan (not knocking them at all mind you) for my next suit and he said I would be much happier with Castangia. It looks like Castangia is well regraded around here and I may be getting a killer deal on this one huh. I am closer to the 2k mark then 2.6k they are doing right by me I think.